A bioluminescent imaging mouse model for Marburg virus based on a pseudovirus system

Marburg virus (MARV) can cause lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans. Handling of MARV is restricted to high-containment biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) facilities, which greatly impedes research into this virus. In this study, a high titer of MARV pseudovirus was generated through optimization of the HIV ba...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Li Zhang, Qianqian Li, Qiang Liu, Weijin Huang, Jianhui Nie, Youchun Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-08-01
Series:Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2017.1325050
Description
Summary:Marburg virus (MARV) can cause lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans. Handling of MARV is restricted to high-containment biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) facilities, which greatly impedes research into this virus. In this study, a high titer of MARV pseudovirus was generated through optimization of the HIV backbone vectors, the ratio of backbone vector to MARV glycoprotein expression vector, and the transfection reagents. An in vitro neutralization assay and an in vivo bioluminescent imaging mouse model for MARV were developed based on the pseudovirus. Protective serum against MARV was successfully induced in guinea pigs, which showed high neutralization activity in vitro and could also protect Balb/c mice from MARV pseudovirus infection in vivo. This system could be a convenient tool to enable the evaluation of vaccines and therapeutic drugs against MARV in non-BSL-4 laboratories.
ISSN:2164-5515
2164-554X