Development of HiBiT-tagged mumps virus-like particles assembled from authentic viral structural proteins for...

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Mumps outbreaks persist despite vaccination, questioning vaccine effectiveness against current strains.
• Existing serological tests have limitations in practicality and specificity.
• There is a need for improved methods to assess immunity against mumps virus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rapid, practical neutralization assay for mumps virus.
• To enable assessment of antibody responses against multiple mumps virus genotypes.
• To support seroepidemiological surveillance and vaccine evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Development of HiBiT-tagged mumps virus-like particles (hiMuV-VLPs) using authentic viral proteins.
• Morphological and functional characterization of hiMuV-VLPs, including cellular entry.
• Validation of the hiMuV-VLP assay against plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT) using human sera.
• Incorporation of hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) proteins from various mumps genotypes into the VLP platform.

Main Results:

• hiMuV-VLPs were morphologically similar to native virions and capable of cellular entry.
• The hiMuV-VLP assay demonstrated biological relevance and practicality when compared to PRNT.
• The platform successfully incorporated HN proteins from multiple mumps genotypes.
• The assay enabled the assessment of strain-specific neutralizing antibody responses.

Conclusions:

• The hiMuV-VLP assay is a valuable tool for assessing mumps virus immunity.
• This assay facilitates large-scale seroepidemiological surveillance.
• It aids in evaluating vaccine-induced immunity against heterologous strains and predicting population susceptibility to new variants.