Publications by authors named "Maho Inukai"
The rabies virus strain Komatsugawa isolated from a dog in Tokyo in the 1940s retains biological properties as a field strain, providing an effective model for studying rabies pathogenesis. To facilitate molecular studies on the pathogenesis, this study aimed to establish a reverse genetics system for the Komatsugawa strain. By transfecting the full-length genome plasmid of this strain, infectious virus with artificially introduced genetic markers in its genome was rescued.
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- The study focuses on enhancing the safety of genetically modified live rabies vaccines by using a new mutation (G333Leu) that is less likely to revert to a pathogenic form compared to the previously used mutation (G333Glu).
- While G333Glu demonstrated a risk of developing pathogenic characteristics after multiple passages in mice, G333Leu maintained its attenuated status without significant pathogenic reversion.
- Both vaccine strains induced similar protective immune responses, but G333Leu proved to be a more stable and safer option for rabies vaccine development.
The rabies virus strain Komatsugawa (Koma), which was isolated from a dog in Tokyo in the 1940s before eradication of rabies in Japan in 1957, is known as the only existent Japanese field strain (street strain). Although this strain potentially provides a useful model to study rabies pathogenesis, little is known about its genetic and phenotypic properties. Notably, this strain underwent serial passages in rodents after isolation, indicating the possibility that it may have lost biological characteristics as a street strain.
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