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Updated: Nov 18, 2025
Simplified Reverse Genetics Method to Recover Recombinant Rotaviruses Expressing Reporter Proteins
Published on: April 17, 2020
Host Transcriptomic Response Following Administration of Rotavirus Vaccine in Infants' Mimics Wild Type Infection
Alberto Gómez-Carballa1,2,3, Ruth Barral-Arca1,2,3, Miriam Cebey-López1,2,3
1Genetics, Vaccines and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS) and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Insights
Rotavirus (RV) vaccination and infection induce similar transcriptome changes in children. A nine-transcript signature can differentiate vaccinated from infected or healthy children, aiding vaccine development.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Transcriptomics
Background:
- Rotavirus (RV) is a significant global cause of childhood illness and death.
- The precise immunological mechanisms of RV vaccine protection remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the transcriptomes of children with natural RV infection versus those vaccinated with RotaTeq®.
- To identify molecular signatures differentiating RV infection, vaccination, and healthy states.
Main Methods:
- Transcriptome analysis of children with community-acquired RV infection and RV-vaccinated children.
- Application of machine learning to identify differentiating gene expression patterns.
Main Results:
- RV vaccination elicits transcriptome changes similar to natural RV infection, involving cell cycle and gastrointestinal pathways.
- A nine-transcript signature accurately distinguishes vaccinated from naturally infected children (AUC: 90%) and infected from healthy children (AUC: 100%).
- A specific microRNA, hsa-mir-149, was identified with a potential role in host defense against viral pathogens.
Conclusions:
- RV vaccination mimics natural infection at the transcriptomic level.
- The nine-transcript signature may serve as a biomarker for vaccine-induced protection and differentiate infection statuses.
- Findings may inform the development of improved RV vaccines and antiviral therapies, and elucidate links to intussusception.
Background:
Rotavirus (RV) is an enteric pathogen that has devastating impact on childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. The immunologic mechanism underlying the protection achieved after RV vaccination is not yet fully understood.
Methods:
We compared the transcriptome of children affected by community-acquired RV infection and children immunized with a live attenuated RV vaccine (RotaTeq®).
Results:
RV vaccination mimics the wild type infection causing similar changes in children's transcriptome, including transcripts associated with cell cycle, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, intussusception, and abnormal morphology of midgut. A machine learning approach allowed to detect a combination of nine-transcripts that differentiates vaccinated from convalescent-naturally infected children (AUC: 90%; 95%CI: 70-100) and distinguishes between acute-infected and healthy control children (in both cases, AUC: 100%; 95%CI: 100-100). We identified a miRNA hsa-mir-149 that seems to play a role in the host defense against viral pathogens and may have an antiviral role.
Discussion:
Our findings might shed further light in the understanding of RV infection, its functional link to intussusception causes, as well as guide development of antiviral treatments and safer and more effective vaccines. The nine-transcript signature may constitute a marker of vaccine protection and helps to differentiate vaccinated from naturally infected or susceptible children.
