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- A stepping stone towards next generation RSV vaccine
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causing severe respiratory infection in infants and children’s belongs to pneumovirus genus in paramyxoviridae family. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses classified into HSRV-A (10 genotypes GA1-7, NA1-2 and SSA1) and HSRV-B (14 genotypes GB1-4, SAB1-3, and BA1-6) groups; have adaptive advantage over host immune system through mutation and nucleotide duplication. The 15kb genome of HSV containing 10 genes encodes for 11 proteins (NS1, NS2, N, M, P, G, F, SH, M2-1, M2-2 and L) sequentially from NS1 to L genes with two ORF for M2 protein (1). Within the host NS1 and NS2 inhibit type-I interferons (IFNs) signalling, M2-1 and M2-2 encodes matrix proteins required for virus assembly contains CD8 epitopes, SH, S and F encodes for viral coat and G is a surface glycoprotein, L encodes for RNA polymerase whereas P is a cofactor for L (1). In order to combat over RSV generated illness a live attenuated RSV vaccine has been considered as an attractive strategy for immunization of infants and children’s beyond their neonatal period. However administration of live attenuated RSV fails to induce sufficient immune response. In such case reverse genetics can laid the foundation of development of engineered virus. Matrix protein M2-2 is responsible for virus assembly, where its depletion restricts virus assembly or virus replication. In such a case enhanced transcription of viral genes elicits substantial humoral and cellular immun...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.