J apanese encephalitis is caused by Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a mosquitoborne virus of the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus (1). The JEV genome is composed of a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA of ≈11 kb with a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polyprotein. The polyprotein is processed into 3 structural proteins, capsid, membrane, and envelope (E), and 7 nonstructural proteins, NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5 (2).JEV is distributed in temperate and tropical areas of eastern and Southeast Asia. In 2010, JEV genotype 1 was the predominant virus circulating. However, genotype 5 was also identified in mosquitoes in South Korea (3). Since that time, JEV genotype 5 has been detected in mosquitoes in many areas of South Korea (4). We report isolation of JEV genotype 5 virus from patient specimens and differences in sequences among other JEV strains (genotypes 1-5). The StudyWe isolated JEV (strain K15P38) from samples of a 27-year-old woman who came to a hospital in Kyeonggi-do, South Korea, on November 8, 2015.The patient had mild symptoms, such as fever, headache, apathy, and nausea. The patient recovered. We obtained documentation from the hospital that she had been vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples were obtained during the acute and convalescent phases.We detected JEV IgM in serum and CSF samples by using an ELISA (Inbios, https://inbios.com) for convalescent-phase samples, but not acute-phase samples. We isolated virus by inoculating the convalescent-phase CSF sample onto BHK-21 cells. After a cytopathic effect was observed, we confirmed presence of virus by using a quantitative real-time PCR. We performed whole-genome sequence analysis of the virus by using virus genome extracted from 5 passaged culture supernatants and QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN, https://www.qiagen.com).We performed next-generation sequencing for full-length genes by using the Illumina (https://www. illumina.com) and confirmed gaps from next-generation sequencing by using Sanger sequencing. We assembled nucleotide sequences by using the SeqMan program in DNASTAR software version 5.06 (https://www. dnastar.com). We then conducted molecular phylogenetic analysis of ORF nucleotide sequences with 30 previously reported JEV strains by using MEGA 6.0 software (https://www.megasoftware.net) and the maximum-likelihood method (5) and calculated timescale phylogenies by using BEAST version 2.6.0 software (6). We deposited the polyprotein genome sequence of strain K15P38 in GenBank (accession no. MK541529).We compared the entire ORF sequences of K15P38 virus with previously reported strains of JEV genotypes 1-5. Phylogenetic analysis showed that K15P38 belonged to JEV genotype 5 by (Figures 1,2,

In 2009, the global outbreak of an influenza pandemic emphasized the need for an effective vaccine adjuvant. In this study, we examined the efficacy of poly-γ-glutamic acid/chitosan (PC) nanogel as an adjuvant for the influenza vaccine. PC nanogel significantly enhanced antigen-specific cross-presentation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity. Compared with alum, the protective efficacy of the pandemic H1N1 influenza (pH1N1) vaccine was substantially increased by PC nanogel, with increased hemagglutination-inhibition titers, CTL activity, and earlier virus clearance after homologous and heterosubtypic [A/Philippines/2/82 (H3N2)] virus challenges. However, CD8+ T cell-depleted mice displayed no protection against the heterosubtypic virus challenge after immunization with PC nanogel-adjuvanted pH1N1 vaccine. We also observed that using PC nanogel as a vaccine adjuvant had a dose-sparing effect and significantly enhanced the long-lasting protection of the pH1N1 vaccine. Together, these results suggest that PC nanogel is a promising vaccine adjuvant that could broadly prevent influenza virus infection.

Micelles for mucosal immunity: A mucosal vaccine system based on γ-PGA nanomicelles and viral antigens was synthesized. The intranasal administration of the vaccine system induces a high immune response both in the humoral and cellular immunity (see picture).

An easy but robust strategy for the synthesis of bioderived polyelectrolyte nanogels for protein antigen loading and vaccine adjuvant systems that can improve both humoral (Th2) and cellular immunity (Th1) is presented. The synthesized polyelectrolyte nanogels promote the uptake of antigens into antigen-presenting cells and strongly induce ovalbumin-specific INF-γ producing cells, cytotoxic T cell activity, and antibody production.

Micellen für die Schleimhautimmunität: Ein mukosales Impfsystem wurde hergestellt, das auf γ‐PGA‐Nanomicellen und viralen Antigenen basiert. Die intranasale Verabreichung des Impfsystems löst eine starke Immunreaktion der humoralen sowie der zellulären Immunität aus (siehe Bild).

Influenza viruses cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Long-term or frequent use of approved anti-influenza agents has resulted in drug-resistant strains, thereby necessitating the discovery of new drugs. In this study, we found aprotinin, a serine protease inhibitor, as an anti-influenza candidate through screening of compound libraries. Aprotinin has been previously reported to show inhibitory effects on a few influenza A virus (IAV) subtypes (e.g., seasonal H1N1 and H3N2). However, because there were no reports of its inhibitory effects on the other types of influenza viruses, we investigated the inhibitory effects of aprotinin in vitro on a wide range of influenza viruses, including avian and oseltamivir-resistant influenza virus strains. Our cell-based assay showed that aprotinin had inhibitory effects on seasonal human IAVs (H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes), avian IAVs (H5N2, H6N5, and H9N2 subtypes), an oseltamivir-resistant IAV, and a currently circulating influenza B virus. We have also confirmed its activity in mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza virus, showing a significant increase in survival rate. Our findings suggest that aprotinin has the capacity to inhibit a wide range of influenza virus subtypes and should be considered for development as a therapeutic agent against influenza.

No abstract

Objective Neutralising antibodies are one of the factors to measure individual’s immune status for control of infectious diseases. We aimed to confirm the persistence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralising antibody levels in patients who had recovered from coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods Plasma donors in South Korea who had completely recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection had follow-up testing to determine the persistence of neutralising antibodies using a plaque-reduction neutralisation test and ELISA. Results Of the 111 participants (20–29 years, 37/111 [33.3%]; 30–39 years, 17/111 [15.3%]; 40–49 years, 23/111 [20.7%]; 50–59, 21/111 [18.9%]; 60–65 years, 13/111 [11.7%]; male, 43/111 [38.7%]; female, 68/111 [61.3%]), 66.1% still had neutralising antibodies approximately 9 months(range 255 to 302 days) after confirmation of the diagnosis. Conclusions In this study, we analyzed the titre of neutralising antibodies associated with predicting immune status in individuals with natural infection. Information about the persistence and change in levels of neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can be utilised to provide evidence for developing vaccination schedules for individuals with previous infection.