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Because H5N1 influenza viruses continuously threaten the public health, the WHO has prepared various clades of H5N1 mock-up vaccines as one of the measures for pandemic preparedness. The recent worldwide outbreak of H5Nx virus which belongs to clade 2.3.4.4 and of which H5N6 subtype belongs and already caused human infection also increases the need of pandemic vaccine for such novel emerging viruses. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy and immunogenicity of an egg-based and inactivated whole-virus H5N8 (IDCDC-RG43A) developed by CDC containing HA and NA gene of the parent virus A/gyrfalcon/Washington/41088-6/2014. Mice vaccinated two times elicited low to moderate antibody titer in varying amount of antigen doses against the homologous H5N8 vaccine virus and heterologous intra–clade 2.3.4.4 H5N6 (A/Sichuan/26221/2014) virus. Mice immunized with at least 3.0 µg/dose of IDCDC-RG43A with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant were completely protected from lethal challenge with the mouse-adapted H5N8 (A/Environment/Korea/ma468/2015, maH5N8) as well as cleared the viral replication in tissues including lung, brain, spleen, and kidney. Vaccinated ferrets induced high antibody titers against clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8/H5N6 viruses and the antibody showed high cross-reactivity to clade 2.2 H5N1 but not to clade 1 and 2.3.4 viruses as measured by hemagglutinin inhibition and serum neutralization assays. Furthermore, administration of the vaccine in ferrets resulted in attenuation of clinical disease signs and virus spread to peripheral organs including lung, spleen, and kidney from high dose challenge with maH5N8 virus. The protective and immunogenic characteristic of the candidate vaccine are essential attributes to be considered for further clinical trials as a pre-pandemic vaccine for a potential pandemic virus.

Background In addition to seasonal influenza viruses recently circulating in humans, avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of H5N1, H5N6 and H7N9 subtypes have also emerged and demonstrated human infection abilities with high mortality rates. Although influenza viral infections are usually diagnosed using viral isolation and serological/molecular analyses, the cost, accessibility, and availability of these methods may limit their utility in various settings. The objective of this study was to develop and optimized a multiplex detection system for most influenza viruses currently infecting humans. Methods We developed and optimized a multiplex detection system for most influenza viruses currently infecting humans including two type B (both Victoria lineages and Yamagata lineages), H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, H5N6, and H7N9 using Reverse Transcriptional Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) technology coupled with a one-pot colorimetric visualization system to facilitate direct determination of results without additional steps. We also evaluated this multiplex RT-LAMP for clinical use using a total of 135 clinical and spiked samples (91 influenza viruses and 44 other human infectious viruses). Results We achieved rapid detection of seasonal influenza viruses (H1N1, H3N2, and Type B) and avian influenza viruses (H5N1, H5N6, H5N8 and H7N9) within an hour. The assay could detect influenza viruses with high sensitivity (i.e., from 100 to 0.1 viral genome copies), comparable to conventional RT-PCR-based approaches which would typically take several hours and require expensive equipment. This assay was capable of specifically detecting each influenza virus (Type B, H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, H5N6, H5N8 and H7N9) without cross-reactivity with other subtypes of AIVs or other human infectious viruses. Furthermore, 91 clinical and spiked samples confirmed by qRT-PCR were also detected by this multiplex RT-LAMP with 98.9% agreement. It was more sensitive than one-step RT-PCR approach (92.3%). Conclusions Results of this study suggest that our multiplex RT-LAMP assay may provide a rapid, sensitive, cost-effective, and reliable diagnostic method for identifying recent influenza viruses infecting humans, especially in locations without access to large platforms or sophisticated equipment.

Neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors (NAIs) are widely used antiviral drugs for the treatment of humans with influenza virus infections. There have been widespread reports of NAI resistance among seasonal A(H1N1) viruses, and most have been identified in oseltamivir-exposed patients or those treated with other NAIs. Thus, monitoring and identifying NA markers conferring resistance to NAIs—particularly newly introduced treatments—are critical to the management of viral infections. Therefore, we screened and identified substitutions conferring resistance to laninamivir by enriching random mutations in the NA gene of the 2009 pandemic influenza [A(H1N1)pdm09] virus followed by deep sequencing of the laninamivir-selected variants. After the generation of single mutants possessing each identified mutation, two A(H1N1)pdm09 recombinants possessing novel NA gene substitutions (i.e., D199E and P458T) were shown to exhibit resistance to more than one NAI. Of note, mutants possessing P458T—which is located outside of the catalytic or framework residue of the NA active site—exhibited highly reduced inhibition by all four approved NAIs. Using MDCK cells, we observed that the in vitro viral replication of the two recombinants was lower than that of the wild type (WT). Additionally, in infected mice, decreased mortality and/or mean lung viral titers were observed in mutants compared with the WT. Reverse mutations to the WT were observed in lung homogenate samples from D199E-infected mice after 3 serial passages. Overall, the novel NA substitutions identified could possibly emerge in influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses during laninamivir therapy and the viruses could have altered NAI susceptibility, but the compromised in vitro/in vivo viral fitness may limit viral spreading. IMPORTANCE With the widespread emergence of NAI-resistant influenza virus strains, continuous monitoring of mutations that confer antiviral resistance is needed. Laninamivir is the most recently approved NAI in several countries; few data exist related to the in vitro selection of viral mutations conferring resistance to laninamivir. Thus, we screened and identified substitutions conferring resistance to laninamivir by random mutagenesis of the NA gene of the 2009 pandemic influenza [A(H1N1)pdm09] virus strain followed by deep sequencing of the laninamivir-selected variants. We found several novel substitutions in NA (D199E and P458T) in an A(H1N1)pdm09 background which conferred resistance to NAIs and which had an impact on viral fitness. Our study highlights the importance of continued surveillance for potential antiviral-resistant variants and the development of alternative therapeutics.

The reverse genetics (RG) system of influenza A viruses is well established. However, the conventional sequence-dependent method for cloning influenza genome segments is time-consuming and requires multiple processes (eg. enzyme digestion and ligation) and exhibits low cloning efficiency compared to the sequence-independent cloning method. In this study, we improved influenza genome cloning into the pHW2000 vector for an RG system by incorporating a sequence-independent circular polymerase extension cloning (CPEC) approach which requires only 2 steps (reverse transcription and one-pot CPEC-PCR) and takes about 4 hours before the transformation. The specifically designed viral gene and vector primers used for CPEC-PCR have improved cloning efficiency ranging from 63.6 to 100% based on the results of gene-specific colony PCR which was additionally confirmed by enzyme digestion. We successfully cloned all genes from broad subtypes of influenza A viruses (H1-H12, N1-N9) and rescued by the RG system. Our results demonstrate that this method—one-Pot cloning for influenza A virus—was efficient in terms of required time and cloning rate. In conclusion, the novel cloning method for influenza A virus will contribute to a significant reduction in the time required for genetic studies of emerging influenza viruses.

Recently, human infections caused by severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), which can lead to fatality, have dramatically increased in East Asia. With the unavailability of vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent and/or treat SFTSV infection, early rapid diagnosis is critical for prevention and control of the disease. Here, we report the development of a simple, rapid and sensitive portable detection method for SFTSV infection applying reverse transcription-loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) combined with one-pot colorimetric visualization and electro-free reaction platform. This method utilizes a pocket warmer to facilitate diagnosis in a resource-limited setting. Specific primers were designed to target the highly-conserved region of L gene of SFTSV. The detection limit of the RT-LAMP assay was approximately 100 viral genome copies from three different SFTSV strains. This assay exhibited comparable sensitivity to qRT-PCR and 10-fold more sensitivity than conventional RT-PCR, with a rapid detection time of 30 to 60 minutes. The RT-LAMP assay using SFTSV clinical specimens has demonstrated a similar detection rate to qRT-PCR and a higher detection rate compared to conventional RT-PCR. Moreover, there was no observed cross-reactive amplification of other human infectious viruses including Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), Dengue, Enterovirus, Zika, Influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). This highly sensitive, electro- and equipment-free rapid colorimetric visualization method is feasible for resource-limited SFTSV field diagnosis.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N6) and A(H5N8) virus infections resulted in the culling of more than 37 million poultry in the Republic of Korea during the 2016/17 winter season. Here we characterize two representative viruses, A/Environment/Korea/W541/2016 [Em/W541(H5N6)] and A/Common Teal/Korea/W555/2017 [CT/W555(H5N8)], and evaluate their zoonotic potential in various animal models. Both Em/W541(H5N6) and CT /W555(H5N8) are novel reassortants derived from various gene pools of wild bird viruses present in migratory waterfowl arising from eastern China. Despite strong preferential binding to avian virus–type receptors, the viruses were able to grow in human respiratory tract tissues. Em/W541(H5N6) was found to be highly pathogenic in both chickens and ducks, while CT/W555(H5N8) caused lethal infections in chickens but did not induce remarkable clinical illness in ducks. In mice, both viruses appeared to be moderately pathogenic and displayed limited tissue tropism relative to HPAI H5N1 viruses. Em/W541(H5N6) replicated to moderate levels in the upper respiratory tract of ferrets and was detected in the lungs, brain, spleen, liver, and colon. Unexpectedly, two of three ferrets in direct contact with Em/W541(H5N6)-infected animals shed virus and seroconverted at 14 dpi. CT/W555(H5N8) was less pathogenic than the H5N6 virus in ferrets and no transmission was detected. Given the co-circulation of different, phenotypically distinct, subtypes of HPAI H5Nx viruses for the first time in South Korea, detailed virologic investigations are imperative given the capacity of these viruses to evolve and cause human infections.

Several subtypes of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are emerging as novel human pathogens, and the frequency of related infections has increased in recent years. Although neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors (NAIs) are the only class of antiviral drugs available for therapeutic intervention for AIV-infected patients, studies on NAI resistance among AIVs have been limited, and markers of resistance are poorly understood. Previously, we identified unique NAI resistance substitutions in AIVs of the N3, N7, and N9 NA subtypes. Here, we report profiles of NA substitutions that confer NAI resistance in AIVs of the N4, N5, N6, and N8 NA subtypes using gene-fragmented random mutagenesis. We generated libraries of mutant influenza viruses using reverse genetics (RG) and selected resistant variants in the presence of the NAIs oseltamivir carboxylate and zanamivir in MDCK cells. In addition, two substitutions, H274Y and R292K (N2 numbering), were introduced into each NA gene for comparison. We identified 37 amino acid substitutions within the NA gene, 16 of which (4 in N4, 4 in N5, 4 in N6, and 4 in N8) conferred resistance to NAIs (oseltamivir carboxylate, zanamivir, or peramivir) as determined using a fluorescence-based NA inhibition assay. Substitutions conferring NAI resistance were mainly categorized as either novel NA subtype specific (G/N147V/I, A246V, and I427L) or previously reported in other subtypes (E119A/D/V, Q136K, E276D, R292K, and R371K). Our results demonstrate that each NA subtype possesses unique NAI resistance markers, and knowledge of these substitutions in AIVs is important in facilitating antiviral susceptibility monitoring of NAI resistance in AIVs.IMPORTANCEThe frequency of human infections with avian influenza viruses (AIVs) has increased in recent years. Despite the availability of vaccines, neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs), as the only available class of drugs for AIVs in humans, have been constantly used for treatment, leading to the inevitable emergence of drug-resistant variants. To screen for substitutions conferring NAI resistance in AIVs of N4, N5, N6, and N8 NA subtypes, random mutations within the target gene were generated, and resistant viruses were selected from mutant libraries in the presence of individual drugs. We identified 16 NA substitutions conferring NAI resistance in the tested AIV subtypes; some are novel and subtype specific, and others have been previously reported in other subtypes. Our findings will contribute to an increased and more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of NAI-induced inhibition of influenza virus and help lead to the development of drugs that bind to alternative interaction motifs.