Protein sequence database for pathogenic arenaviruses

BACKGROUND: Arenaviruses are a family of rodent-borne viruses that cause several hemorrhagic fevers. These diseases can be devastating and are often lethal. Herein, to aid in the design and development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for arenavirus infections, we have developed a database containing protein sequences from the seven pathogenic arenaviruses (Junin, Guanarito, Sabia, Machupo, Whitewater Arroyo, Lassa and LCMV). RESULTS: The database currently contains a non-redundant set of 333 protein sequences which were manually annotated. All entries were linked to NCBI and cited PubMed references. The database has a convenient query interface including BLAST search. Sequence variability analyses were also performed and the results are hosted in the database. CONCLUSION: The database is available at and can be used to aid in studies that require proteomic information from pathogenic arenaviruses

A consensus epitope prediction approach identifies the breadth of murine T CD8+ -cell responses to vaccinia virus

The value of predictive algorithms for identifying CD8+ T (TCD8+)-cell epitopes has not been adequately tested experimentally. Here we demonstrate that conventional bioinformatic methods predict the vast majority of TCD8+-cell epitopes derived from vaccinia virus WR strain (VACV-WR) in the H-2b mouse model. This approach reveals the breadth of T-cell responses to vaccinia, a widely studied murine viral infection model, and may provide a tool for developing comprehensive antigenic maps of any complex pathogen

A Multivalent and Cross-Protective Vaccine Strategy against Arenaviruses Associated with Human Disease

Arenaviruses are the causative pathogens of severe hemorrhagic fever and aseptic meningitis in humans, for which no licensed vaccines are currently available. Pathogen heterogeneity within the Arenaviridae family poses a significant challenge for vaccine development. The main hypothesis we tested in the present study was whether it is possible to design a universal vaccine strategy capable of inducing simultaneous HLA-restricted CD8+ T cell responses against 7 pathogenic arenaviruses (including the lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Lassa, Guanarito, Junin, Machupo, Sabia, and Whitewater Arroyo viruses), either through the identification of widely conserved epitopes, or by the identification of a collection of epitopes derived from multiple arenavirus species. By inoculating HLA transgenic mice with a panel of recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVACVs) expressing the different arenavirus proteins, we identified 10 HLA-A02 and 10 HLA-A03-restricted epitopes that are naturally processed in human antigen-presenting cells. For some of these epitopes we were able to demonstrate cross-reactive CD8+ T cell responses, further increasing the coverage afforded by the epitope set against each different arenavirus species. Importantly, we showed that immunization of HLA transgenic mice with an epitope cocktail generated simultaneous CD8+ T cell responses against all 7 arenaviruses, and protected mice against challenge with rVACVs expressing either Old or New World arenavirus glycoproteins. In conclusion, the set of identified epitopes allows broad, non-ethnically biased coverage of all 7 viral species targeted by our studies

Protein sequence database for pathogenic arenaviruses.

BackgroundArenaviruses are a family of rodent-borne viruses that cause several hemorrhagic fevers. These diseases can be devastating and are often lethal. Herein, to aid in the design and development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for arenavirus infections, we have developed a database containing protein sequences from the seven pathogenic arenaviruses (Junin, Guanarito, Sabia, Machupo, Whitewater Arroyo, Lassa and LCMV).ResultsThe database currently contains a non-redundant set of 333 protein sequences which were manually annotated. All entries were linked to NCBI and cited PubMed references. The database has a convenient query interface including BLAST search. Sequence variability analyses were also performed and the results are hosted in the database.ConclusionThe database is available at http://epitope.liai.org:8080/projects/arena and can be used to aid in studies that require proteomic information from pathogenic arenaviruses