Development of a full-length cDNA-derived enterovirus A71 vaccine candidate using reverse genetics technology

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is responsible for epidemics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. To circumvent difficulties in obtaining clinical enterovirus isolates that might be contaminated with other viruses, a platform technology was developed to quickly generate vaccine virus strains based on the published enterovirus genomic sequences. A recombinant plasmid containing the full-length infectious cDNA clone of EV-A71 vaccine strain E59 was directly generated after transfecting the recombinant plasmid into Vero, RD or HEK293A cells, and phenotypic characteristics similar to the parental strain were observed. The cDNA-derived infectious EV-A71 virus grown in Vero cells produced relatively stable virus titers in both T-flasks and microcarrier culture systems. To evaluate the genetic stability of the cDNA-derived EV-A71 viruses, the immunodominant structural proteins, VP1 and VP2, of the recombinant EV-A71 viruses were sequenced and analyzed. The cDNA-derived EV-A71 virus showed weak pathogenicity in a human SCARB2 mouse model. These results show the successful generation of a recombinant virus derived from a published viral genomic sequence that demonstrated good genetic stability and viral yields, which could represent an efficient and safe vaccine strain for cGMP-grade manufacturing.