The genomic RNAs of influenza A viruses are associated with the viral polymerase subunits (PB1, PB2, PA) and nucleoprotein (NP), forming ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs). Transcription/replication of the viral genome occurs in the nucleus of infected cells. A role for Hsp90 in nuclear import and assembly of newly synthetized RNA-polymerase subunits has been proposed. Here we report that the p...

Influenza vaccines that target the highly variable surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin and neuraminidase cause inconvenience of having vaccination every year. For this reason, development of universal vaccines targeting conserved viral components is needed. In this study, we generated recombinant adenovirus (rAd) vaccine encoding nucleoprotein (NP) of A/PR/8/34 influenza virus, designated rAd/N...

Currently, there are only two approved vaccines against influenza virus, one containing killed virus and the other containing live, attenuated virus. Each year, there is a reformation of the vaccine formulation, depending on which strains are thought to become most dangerous in the upcoming season. Numerous groups and pharmaceutical companies are developing universal vaccines that would not req...

As pigs are susceptible to infection with both avian and human influenza A viruses, they have been proposed to be an intermediate host for the generation of pandemic virus through reassortment. The broad susceptibility of pigs to influenza viruses emphasizes the importance of surveillance of swine influenza virus. Thus, A latex agglutination test (LAT) was developed for rapid detection of antib...

Heterosubtypic immunity (HSI) is defined as cross-protection against influenza virus of a different serotype than the virus initially encountered and is thought to be mediated by influenza virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Since gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) stimulates cytotoxic cells, including antigen-specific CTL which may control virus replication by secretion of antiviral cytoki...

UNLABELLED Current influenza virus vaccines primarily aim to induce neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is a safe and well-characterized vector for inducing both antibody and cellular immunity. We evaluated the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of MVA encoding influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) and/or nucleoprotein (NP) in cynomolgus macaques. Animals were ...

Fatal influenza outcomes result from a combination of rapid virus replication and collateral lung tissue damage caused by exaggerated pro-inflammatory host immune cell responses. There are few therapeutic agents that target both biological processes for the attenuation of influenza-induced lung pathology. We show that Saikosaponin A, a bioactive triterpene saponin with previouslyestablished ant...

Background and Aims: Influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) has the capacity to be used as subunit vaccine, but little is known about the impact of different cultures on its structure. In the present study we aimed to evaluate and compare the Isoelectric focusing (IEF) property of extracted viral nucleoproteins derived from Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line and embryonated chicken eggs (EC...

It is commonly perceived that the human immune system is naive to the newly emerged H5N1 virus. In contrast, most adults have been exposed to influenza A H1N1 and H3N2 viruses through vaccination or infection. Adults born before 1968 have likely been exposed to H2N2 viruses. We hypothesized that CD4(+) T cells generated in response to H1N1, H3N2, and H2N2 influenza A viruses also recognize H5N1...

An in vivo system in which expression of a synthetic influenza virus-like chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) RNA is driven by influenza virus proteins synthesized from cloned cDNAs has been developed. Expression of the four influenza virus core proteins (nucleoprotein, PA, PB1 and PB2) was performed by transfection of four pGEM recombinant plasmids, each containing one of the four viral ge...