Vaccine potential of a murine gammaherpesvirus-68 mutant deficient for ORF73.
A murine gammaherpesvirus (MHV-68) containing a deletion of the putative plasmid maintenance protein ORF73 exhibits a severe latency deficit. In this study the ability of an ORF73 deletion mutant (Delta73) to confer in vivo protection against subsequent challenge with wild-type virus has been examined. Vaccination studies have shown that Delta73 vaccination reduced latent infection of wild-type challenge virus to a level below the limit of detection. These results indicate that a live-attenuated gammaherpesvirus that cannot persist is an effective vaccine.
Division of Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK.
Polly
P
Fowler
Division of Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK.
Stacey
S
Efstathiou
D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated; D014765:Viral Vaccines
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated; D014765:Viral Vaccines; C109540:latency-associated nuclear antigen