Abstract

A series of in vitro constructed recombinants of endogenous and exogenous avian leukosis viruses (ALVs) will be used in lines of chickens which have been bred for endogenous virus content to study the role of specific ALV sequences in tissue tropism, the effect of thymotropism on immune response, and immune response to avian leukosis virus infections. Studies on tissue tropism will focus on the role of the LTR, env, and sequences near the 5' LTR in the tissue specific replication of ALVs. Studies on immune response will evaluate the relative roles of internal and external viral proteins in eliciting protection against ALV and avian sarcoma virus infections. Immune response to retrovirus infections will also be approached using avian leukosis virus vectors to express human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope and core (gag) proteins in immunocompetent chickens. B-cells responses to the expressed HIV proteins will be measured by assaying sera of inoculated birds for titers of neutralizing activity for HIV and titers of antibodies to specific HIV proteins. These data will be compared to similar data collected for immune responses to ALV env and gag proteins and to influenza virus H7 protein expressed by the same vector. The purpose of these studies is to define the immunogenic potential of specific HIV proteins in hosts whose immune system is not compromised by HIV infection and to compare the immunogenic potential of HIV proteins to comparably expressed ALV and flu proteins.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA023086-12
Application #
3166016
Study Section
Experimental Virology Study Section (EVR)
Project Start
1988-01-01
Project End
1992-12-31
Budget Start
1989-01-01
Budget End
1989-12-31
Support Year
12
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
660735098
City
Worcester
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
01655

  Publications

Justewicz, D M; Morin, M J; Robinson, H L et al. (1995) Antibody-forming cell response to virus challenge in mice immunized with DNA encoding the influenza virus hemagglutinin. J Virol 69:7712-7
Foster, R G; Robinson, H L (1994) Establishment of interference in osteoblasts by an osteopetrosis-inducing avian leukosis virus. Virology 205:376-8
Foster, R G; Lian, J B; Stein, G et al. (1994) Replication of an osteopetrosis-inducing avian leukosis virus in fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and osteopetrotic bone. Virology 205:179-87
Robinson, H L; Hunt, L A; Webster, R G (1993) Protection against a lethal influenza virus challenge by immunization with a haemagglutinin-expressing plasmid DNA. Vaccine 11:957-60
Taglienti-Sian, C A; Banner, B; Davis, R J et al. (1993) Induction of renal adenocarcinoma by a nonmutated erbB oncogene. J Virol 67:1132-6
Fynan, E F; Webster, R G; Fuller, D H et al. (1993) DNA vaccines: protective immunizations by parenteral, mucosal, and gene-gun inoculations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 90:11478-82
Robinson, H L; Ramamoorthy, L; Collart, K et al. (1993) Tissue tropism of avian leukosis viruses: analyses for viral DNA and proteins. Virology 193:443-5
Fynan, E F; Robinson, H L; Webster, R G (1993) Use of DNA encoding influenza hemagglutinin as an avian influenza vaccine. DNA Cell Biol 12:785-9
Brown, D W; Kawaoka, Y; Webster, R G et al. (1992) Assessment of retrovirus-expressed nucleoprotein as a vaccine against lethal influenza virus infections of chickens. Avian Dis 36:515-20
Robinson, H L; Tracy, S E; Nair, N et al. (1992) Characterization of an angiosarcoma-inducing mutation in the erbB oncogene. Oncogene 7:2025-30

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