AUTHOR=Wu Peipei , Lu Jihu , Zhang Xuehua , Mei Mei , Feng Lei , Peng Daxin , Hou Jibo , Kang Sang-Moo , Liu Xiufan , Tang Yinghua 

TITLE=Single Dose of Consensus Hemagglutinin-Based Virus-Like Particles Vaccine Protects Chickens against Divergent H5 Subtype Influenza Viruses

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.01649

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2017.01649

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>The H5 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus is one of the greatest threats to global poultry industry. To develop broadly protective H5 subunit vaccine, a recombinant consensus HA sequence (rHA) was constructed and expressed in virus-like particles (rHA VLPs) in the baculovirus-insect cell system. The efficacy of the rHA VLPs vaccine with or without immunopotentiator (CVCVA5) was assessed in chickens. Compared to the commercial Re6 or Re6-CVCVA5 vaccines, single dose immunization of chickens with rHA VLPs or rHA-CVCVA5 vaccines induced higher levels of serum hemagglutinin inhibition titers and neutralization titers, mucosal antibodies, IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines in sera, and cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses. The rHA VLPs vaccine was superior to the commercial Re6 vaccine in conferring cross-protection against different clades of H5 subtype viruses. This study reports that H5 subtype consensus HA VLP single dose vaccination provides broad protection against HPAI virus in chickens.</p>