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Updated: Feb 25, 2026
Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes: A Functional Genomics Tool for the Study of Positive-strand RNA Viruses
Published on: December 29, 2015
Development of a stable Japanese encephalitis virus replicon cell line for antiviral screening
Qiu-Yan Zhang1,2, Xiao-Dan Li1,2, Si-Qing Liu1
1Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Abstract:
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), an important pathogen in Eastern and Southern Asia and the Pacific, has spread to Australia and other territories in recent years. Although the vaccine for JEV has been used in some countries, development of efficient antiviral drugs is still an urgent requirement. Replicon systems have been widely used in the research of viral replication and antiviral screening for West Nile virus (WNV), yellow fever virus (YFV) and dengue virus (DENV). Here, a novel JEV replicon harboring the Rluc and Pac gene (JEV-Pac-Rluc-Rep) was constructed. Furthermore, we established a BHK-21 cell line harboring JEV-Pac-Rluc-Rep (BHK-21/PAC/Rluc cell line) through continuous puromycin selection. Characterization of cell line stability showed that the replicon RNA could persistently replicate in this cell line for at least up to 10 rounds of passage. Using a known flavivirus inhibitor, the JEV replicon cell line was validated for antiviral screening. The JEV replicon cell line will be a valuable tool for both compound screening and viral replication studies.
