title: Further protection against antigenic drift of influenza virus in a ferret model by DNA vaccination.
abstract: Previously we showed that immunization of ferrets with DNA encoding the hemagglutinin (HA), nucleoprotein (NP), and matrix protein (M1) of influenza virus induced protective immune responses. A DNA vaccine encoding HA (from a 1991 strain), NP and M1 (from a 1989 strain) protected ferrets better against challenge with the antigenic drift variant A/Georgia/03/93 than did the inactivated vaccine from the 1992-93 influenza season. Here we report that the same DNA vaccine protected ferrets against a second, further divergent, drift variant (A/Johannesburg/33/94). Furthermore, the extent of protection provided by the DNA vaccine was equivalent to the homologous protection provided by an inactivated vaccine that exactly matched the challenge strain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virus and Cell Biology, Merck Research Labroatories, West Point, PA 19486, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Donnelly
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ulmer
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation / Q000276:immunology*; D002645:Chickens; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005289:Ferrets; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000276:immunology*; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; C031540:M-protein, influenza virus; C488936:M1 protein, Influenza A virus; C048842:NP protein, Influenza A virus; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D009698:Nucleoproteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins