Cross-Serotype Immunity Induced by Immunization with a Conserved Rhinovirus Capsid Protein: e1003669

• Published in: PLoS pathogens 2013-09, Vol.9 (9)
• Main Authors: Glanville, Nicholas, Mclean, Gary R, Guy, Bruno, Lecouturier, Valerie, Berry, Catherine, Girerd, Yves, Gregoire, Christophe, Walton, Ross P, Pearson, Rebecca M, Kebadze, Tatiana, Burdin, Nicolas, Bartlett, Nathan W, Almond, Jeffrey W, Johnston, Sebastian L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asthma; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Design; Experiments; Human rhinovirus; Immune system; Immunology; Lymphocytes; Molecular weight; Peptides; Proteins; Vaccines
• ISSN: 1553-7366; 1553-7374
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003669

Human rhinovirus (RV) infections are the principle cause of common colds and precipitate asthma and COPD exacerbations. There is currently no RV vaccine, largely due to the existence of ~150 strains. We aimed to define highly conserved areas of the RV proteome and test their usefulness as candidate antigens for a broadly cross-reactive vaccine, using a mouse infection model. Regions of the VP0 (VP4+VP2) capsid protein were identified as having high homology across RVs. Immunization with a recombinant VP0 combined with a Th1 promoting adjuvant induced systemic, antigen specific, cross-serotype, cellular and humoral immune responses. Similar cross-reactive responses were observed in the lungs of immunized mice after infection with heterologous RV strains. Immunization enhanced the generation of heterosubtypic neutralizing antibodies and lung memory T cells, and caused more rapid virus clearance. Conserved domains of the RV capsid therefore induce cross-reactive immune responses and represent candidates for a subunit RV vaccine.