PLoS Pathogens (Jul 2020)

Tetrameric glycoprotein complex gH/gL/gQ1/gQ2 is a promising vaccine candidate for human herpesvirus 6B.

  • Bochao Wang,
  • Kouichi Hara,
  • Akiko Kawabata,
  • Mitsuhiro Nishimura,
  • Aika Wakata,
  • Lidya Handayani Tjan,
  • Anna Lystia Poetranto,
  • Chisato Yamamoto,
  • Yasunari Haseda,
  • Taiki Aoshi,
  • Lisa Munakata,
  • Ryo Suzuki,
  • Masato Komatsu,
  • Ryuko Tsukamoto,
  • Tomoo Itoh,
  • Chikako Nishigori,
  • Yasuyuki Saito,
  • Takashi Matozaki,
  • Yasuko Mori

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008609
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 7
p. e1008609

Abstract

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Primary infection of human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) occurs in infants after the decline of maternal immunity and causes exanthema subitum accompanied by a high fever, and it occasionally develops into encephalitis resulting in neurological sequelae. There is no effective prophylaxis for HHV-6B, and its development is urgently needed. The glycoprotein complex gH/gL/gQ1/gQ2 (called 'tetramer of HHV-6B') on the virion surface is a viral ligand for its cellular receptor human CD134, and their interaction is thus essential for virus entry into the cells. Herein we examined the potency of the tetramer as a vaccine candidate against HHV-6B. We designed a soluble form of the tetramer by replacing the transmembrane domain of gH with a cleavable tag, and the tetramer was expressed by a mammalian cell expression system. The expressed recombinant tetramer is capable of binding to hCD134. The tetramer was purified to homogeneity and then administered to mice with aluminum hydrogel adjuvant and/or CpG oligodeoxynucleotide adjuvant. After several immunizations, humoral and cellular immunity for HHV-6B was induced in the mice. These results suggest that the tetramer together with an adjuvant could be a promising candidate HHV-6B vaccine.