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Review
. 2017 May;12(5):283-295.
doi: 10.2217/fvl-2016-0141. Epub 2017 Apr 28.

Virulence determinants of West Nile virus: how can these be used for vaccine design?

Jaclyn A Kaiser  1   1 , Tian Wang  1   2   3   1   2   3 , Alan Dt Barrett  1   2   3   1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Virulence determinants of West Nile virus: how can these be used for vaccine design?

Jaclyn A Kaiser et al. Future Virol. 2017 May.

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV), a neurotropic mosquito-borne flavivirus, has become endemic in the USA and parts of Europe since 1999. There is no licensed WNV vaccine for humans. Considering the robust immunity from immunization with live, attenuated vaccines, a live WNV vaccine is an ideal platform for disease control. Animal and mosquito studies have identified a number of candidate attenuating mutations, including the structural proteins premembrane/membrane and envelope, and the nonstructural proteins NS1, NS2A, NS3, NS4A, NS4B and NS5, and the 3' UTR. Many of the mutations that have been examined attenuate WNV using different mechanisms, thus providing a greater understanding of WNV virulence while also identifying specific mutations as candidates to include in a WNV live vaccine.

Keywords: West Nile virus; attenuation; flavivirus; live attenuated vaccine; virulence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure This work was supported in part by NIH grant R01 AI099123 (T Wang) and a grant from the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation (ADT Barrett). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Figures

<b>Figure 1.</b>
Figure 1.. Attenuating mutations in the West Nile virus genome.
A representation of the different genes in the West Nile virus genome with arrows indicating attenuating mutations. The black arrows above the genome denote mutations engineered using reverse genetics, and the gray arrows below the genome denote attenuating mutations identified in natural West Nile virus isolates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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