| Title |
Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Pre-pandemic H5N1 Vaccine (MG1109) in Mouse and Ferret Models |
| Author |
Min-Suk Song1, Ho-Jin Moon2, Hyeok-il Kwon1, Philippe Noriel Q. Pascua1, Jun Han Lee1, Yun Hee Baek1, Kyu-Jin Woo3, Juhee Choi3, Sangho Lee3, Hyunseung Yoo3, In gyeong Oh3, Yeup Yoon3, Jong-Bok Rho4, Moon-Hee Sung4, Seung-Pyo Hong4, Chul-Joong Kim2, and Young Ki Choi1* |
| Address |
1College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Republic of Korea, 2College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea, 3Mogam Biotechology Research Institute, Yongin 446-799, Republic of Korea, 4Bioleaders Corporation, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 50(3),487-488, 2012,
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| DOI |
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| Key Words |
HPAI H5N1, pre-pandemic vaccine, cross-reactivity, ferrets |
| Abstract |
The threat of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus causing the next pandemic remains a major concern. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of an inactivated whole-virus H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine (MG1109) formulated by Green Cross Co., Ltd containing the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of the clade 1 A/Vietnam/1194/04 virus in the backbone of A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (RgVietNam/04xPR8/34). Administration of the MG1109 vaccine (2-doses) in mice and ferrets elicited high HI and SN titers in a dose-dependent manner against the homologous (RgVietNam/04xPR8/34) and various heterologous H5N1 strains, (RgKor/W149/06xPR8/34, RgCambodia/04xPR8/34, RgGuangxi/05xPR8/34), including a heterosubtypic H5N2 (A/Aquatic bird/orea/W81/05) virus. However, efficient cross-reactivity was not observed against heterosubtypic H9N2 (A/Ck/Korea/H0802/08) and H1N1 (PR/8/34) viruses. Mice immunized with 1.9 μg HA/dose of MG1109 were completely protected from lethal challenge with heterologous wild-type HPAI H5N1 A/EM/Korea/W149/06 (clade 2.2) and mouse-adapted H5N2 viruses. Furthermore, ferrets administered at least 3.8 μg HA/dose efficiently suppressed virus growth in the upper respiratory tract and lungs. Vaccinated mice and ferrets also demonstrated attenuation of clinical disease signs and limited virus spread to other organs. Thus, this vaccine provided immunogenic responses in mouse and ferret models even against challenge with heterologous HPAI H5N1 and H5N2 viruses. Since the specific strain of HPAI H5N1 virus that would potentially cause the next outbreak is unknown, pre-pandemic vaccine preparation that could provide crossprotection against various H5 strains could be a useful approach in the selection of promising candidate vaccines in the future. |
