title: A broad protection provided by matrix protein 2 (M2) of avian influenza virus.
abstract: To prevent a future influenza A virus subtype pandemic outbreak, developing a broad-spectrum vaccine would be highly beneficial. The ion channel protein M2 is highly conserved in a diverse number of influenza A virus subtypes. This distinguishing characteristic makes M2 an attractive vaccine target for a broadly protective vaccine. We expressed a full-length M2 protein which was C-terminally fused to a small peptide in Escherichia coli. Because this recombinant M2 (rM2) protein forms multimeric complexes with high molecular weight, it serves as a potential immunogen. Antibodies induced by the rM2 protein prevented the replication of different subtypes of influenza A virus both in vitro and in vivo. Animal study demonstrated that rM2 immunization protected mice against influenza A virus infection via limiting replication of virus progeny in vivo and attenuating lung damage. As such, the M2 protein is a highly potential candidate for next generation vaccine development with the capability of protecting against various influenza A virus subtypes.
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 427 Maduan Street, Nan'gang District, Harbin 150001, China. Electronic address: mqw@hvri.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Qingwen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 427 Maduan Street, Nan'gang District, Harbin 150001, China; The State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1 Xujiaping, Chengguan District, Gansu 730046, China. Electronic address: guangliang.liu@stonybrookmedicine.edu.
authors.forename: Guangliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 427 Maduan Street, Nan'gang District, Harbin 150001, China.
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 427 Maduan Street, Nan'gang District, Harbin 150001, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Kehui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xiangdong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Dongwei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: pangh@xtal.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 427 Maduan Street, Nan'gang District, Harbin 150001, China. Electronic address: chenhongyan@caas.cn.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D056738:Cross Protection; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000086082:Viroporin Proteins
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; C488937:M2 protein, Influenza A virus; D000086082:Viroporin Proteins
keywords: Antibody; Influenza A virus; M2 protein; Protection; Vaccine