Activation of the autophagy pathway by Torovirus infection is irrelevant for virus replication.

Autophagy is a conserved eukaryotic process that mediates lysosomal degradation of cytoplasmic macromolecules and damaged organelles, also exerting an important role in the elimination of intracellular pathogens. Despite the antiviral role of autophagy, many studies suggest that some positive-stranded RNA viruses exploit this pathway to facilitate their own replication. In this study, we demonstrate that the equine torovirus Berne virus (BEV), the prototype member of the Torovirus genus (Coronaviridae Family, Nidovirales Order), induces autophagy at late times post-infection.

Improving recombinant MVA immune responses: potentiation of the immune responses to HIV-1 with MVA and DNA vectors expressing Env and the cytokines IL-12 and IFN-gamma.

Recombinants based on vaccinia virus vectors, especially on the highly attenuated modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) strain, are now being tested in clinical trials for safety and immunogenicity, using prime/boost heterologous regimes of vaccination. Due to the limited replication capacity of MVA, it is necessary to develop procedures that can enhance the specific cellular immune responses to the recombinant antigen delivered by the MVA vector. In this investigation, we have characterized the systemic immune responses in BALB/c mice using interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or interleukin-12 (IL-12) in an adjuvant-like manner elicited by MVA recombinants or naked DNA vectors expressing one of those cytokines in combination with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope (Env) as antigen.

Mucosal immunization of sheep with a Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) env DNA vaccine protects against early MVV productive infection.

Gene gun mucosal DNA immunization of sheep with a plasmid expressing the env gene of Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) was used to examine the protection against MVV infection in sheep from a naturally infected flock. For immunization, sheep were primed with a pcDNA plasmid (pcDNA-env) encoding the Env glycoproteins of MVV and boosted with combined pcDNA-env and pCR3.1-IFN-gamma plasmid inoculations.

Induction of protective immunity against malaria by priming-boosting immunization with recombinant cold-adapted influenza and modified vaccinia Ankara viruses expressing a CD8+-T-cell epitope derived from the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium yoelii.

We immunized mice with an attenuated (cold-adapted) influenza virus followed by an attenuated vaccinia virus (modified vaccinia virus Ankara), both expressing a CD8(+)-T-cell epitope derived from malaria sporozoites. This vaccination regimen elicited high levels of protection against malaria. This is the first time that the vaccine efficacy of a recombinant cold-adapted influenza virus vector expressing a foreign antigen has been evaluated.