[P007] Poster

12:10 PM - 1:00 PM JST(3:10 AM - 4:00 AM UTC)

[P04-493] Establishing pseudoviruses, serological detection systems, and antiviral molecule screening platforms for influenza virus infections via baculovirus surface display technology

○Li-Yun Cheng¹, Ching-Fen Shen², Ping-Chung Kuo³, Chih-Hsuan Tsai¹ (1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan), 2. Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan), 3. School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan))

Keywords:

Influenza,Baculovirus,Inflammatory cytokine profile,Serological detection,Antiviral molecule screening

Influenza is a seasonal illness that causes billions of infections and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths annually. Also, the high mutation rate of influenza viruses leads to the emergence of new variants. Therefore, detection and treatment are crucial in addressing the threat of a future epidemic. However, studies on influenza viruses typically require high biosafety level (BSL) laboratories. To address this, we developed influenza virus pseudotypes by baculovirus surface display technology. The sequences of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) of different seasonal influenza viruses were inserted into baculovirus, an insect DNA virus safe for use in BSL-1 laboratories, to generate HA-Bac and NA-Bac, respectively. The HA and NA proteins were designed to anchor on the surface of these HA- and NA-Bacs and infected insect cells. Different HA- and NA-Bacs were transduced into respiratory epithelial cells and macrophage cells and found to induce distinct inflammatory cytokine responses. We then applied the infected cells and lysates as antigens to develop a cell-based and lysate-based ELISA to detect HA- and NA-specific antibodies in patients’ serum. The lysate-based ELISA demonstrated better performance in profiling corresponding antibody responses. In addition, hemagglutination and neuraminidase activity assay indicated that the infected cells expressing HA and NA could be applied for antiviral drug screening. In summary, this study established a series of safe influenza pseudoviruses, serological detection systems, and antiviral screening platforms, providing useful tools for investigating influenza pathogenesis and may be adaptable to other emerging respiratory viruses to enhance public health preparedness.