PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Nerome, Kuniaki
AU  - Imagawa, Toshifumi
AU  - Sugita, Shigeo
AU  - Arasaki, Youta
AU  - Maegawa, Kenichi
AU  - Kawasaki, Kazunori
AU  - Tanaka, Tsuyoshi
AU  - Watanabe, Shinji
AU  - Nishimura, Hidekazu
AU  - Suzuki, Tetsuro
AU  - Kuroda, Kazumichi
AU  - Kosugi, Isao
AU  - Kajiura, Zenta
TI  - The potential of a universal influenza virus-like particle vaccine expressing a chimeric cytokine
AID  - 10.26508/lsa.202201548
DP  - 2023 Jan 01
TA  - Life Science Alliance
PG  - e202201548
VI  - 6
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/6/1/e202201548.short
4100  - http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/6/1/e202201548.full
SO  - Life Sci. Alliance2023 Jan 01; 6
AB  - The efficacy of the current influenza vaccines is frequently reduced because of antigenic drift, a trade-off of developing improved vaccines with broad cross-protective activity against influenza A viruses. In this study, we have successfully constructed a chimeric cytokine (CC) comprising the M2 protein, influenza A neuraminidase stalk, and interleukin-12. We produced virus-like particles (VLPs) containing CC and influenza hemagglutinin (HA) proteins using a baculovirus system in Eri silkworm pupae. The protective efficacy of the CCHA-VLP vaccine was evaluated in mice. The CCFkH5HA-VLP vaccine increased the survival rates of BALB/c mice, infected with a lethal dose of PRH1 and HKH5 viruses, to 80% and 100%, respectively. The results suggested that CCHA-VLP successfully induced potent cross-reactive protective immunity against infection with homologous and heterologous subtypes of the influenza A virus. This is the first study to design a CC-containing HA-VLP vaccine and validate its protective efficacy.