Equine Immunoglobulin and Equine Neutralizing F(ab′)2 Protect Mice from West Nile Virus Infection
Jiannan Cui,
Yongkun Zhao,
Hualei Wang,
Boning Qiu,
Zengguo Cao,
Qian Li,
Yanbo Zhang,
Feihu Yan,
Hongli Jin,
Tiecheng Wang,
Weiyang Sun,
Na Feng,
Yuwei Gao,
Jing Sun,
Yanqun Wang,
Stanley Perlman,
Jincun Zhao,
Songtao Yang,
Xianzhu Xia
Affiliations
Jiannan Cui
College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Yongkun Zhao
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Hualei Wang
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Boning Qiu
College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
Zengguo Cao
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Qian Li
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Yanbo Zhang
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Feihu Yan
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Hongli Jin
College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
Tiecheng Wang
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Weiyang Sun
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Na Feng
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Yuwei Gao
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Jing Sun
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China
Yanqun Wang
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China
Stanley Perlman
Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Jincun Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China
Songtao Yang
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
Xianzhu Xia
Institute of Military Veterinary, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
West Nile virus (WNV) is prevalent in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, West Asia, and North America, and causes epidemic encephalitis. To date, no effective therapy for WNV infection has been developed; therefore, there is urgent need to find an efficient method to prevent WNV disease. In this study, we prepared and evaluated the protective efficacy of immune serum IgG and pepsin-digested F(ab′)2 fragments from horses immunized with the WNV virus-like particles (VLP) expressing the WNV M and E proteins. Immune equine F(ab′)2 fragments and immune horse sera efficiently neutralized WNV infection in tissue culture. The passive transfer of equine immune antibodies significantly accelerated the virus clearance in the spleens and brains of WNV infected mice, and reduced mortality. Thus, equine immunoglobulin or equine neutralizing F(ab′)2 passive immunotherapy is a potential strategy for the prophylactic or therapeutic treatment of patients infected with WNV.
