• Peter Pushko, Terrence M Tumpey, Fang Bu, John Knell, Robin Robinson, and Gale Smith.
• Novavax, Inc., Vaccine Technologies, 1 Taft Court, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. ppushko@novavax.com
• Vaccine. 2005 Dec 30; 23 (50): 5751-9.

AbstractAvian influenza viruses represent a growing threat for an influenza pandemic. To develop recombinant vaccine for avian influenza of the H9N2 subtype, we expressed in insect cells virus-like particles (VLPs) consisting of three structural proteins of influenza A/Hong Kong/1073/99 (H9N2) virus. Upon infection of Sf9 cells with recombinant baculoviruses, the hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA), and matrix (M1) proteins were co-expressed in the infected cells, self-assembled, and released into the culture medium as VLPs of 80-120nm in diameter. VLPs exhibited functional characteristics of influenza virus including hemagglutination and neuraminidase activities. In BALB/c mice, VLPs elicited serum antibodies specific for influenza A/Hong Kong/1073/99 (H9N2) virus and inhibited replication of the influenza virus after challenge. Thus, VLPs represent a potential strategy for the development of human vaccines against avian influenza H9N2 viruses.

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