Browsing by Author "Ramesh, Ashwin"

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    Combined Live Oral Priming and Intramuscular Boosting Regimen with Rotarix® and a Nanoparticle-Based Trivalent Rotavirus Vaccine Evaluated in Gnotobiotic Pig Models of G4P[6] and G1P[8] Human Rotavirus Infection
    Hensley, Casey; Nyblade, Charlotte; Zhou, Peng; Parreño, Viviana; Ramesh, Ashwin; Frazier, Annie; Frazier, Maggie; Garrison, Sarah; Fantasia-Davis, Ariana; Cai, Ruiqing; Huang, Peng-Wei; Xia, Ming; Tan, Ming; Yuan, Lijuan (MDPI, 2023-05-02)
    Human rotavirus (HRV) is the causative agent of severe dehydrating diarrhea in children under the age of five, resulting in up to 215,000 deaths each year. These deaths almost exclusively occur in low- and middle-income countries where vaccine efficacy is the lowest due to chronic malnutrition, gut dysbiosis, and concurrent enteric viral infection. Parenteral vaccines for HRV are particularly attractive as they avoid many of the concerns associated with currently used live oral vaccines. In this study, a two-dose intramuscular (IM) regimen of the trivalent, nanoparticle-based, nonreplicating HRV vaccine (trivalent S60-VP8*), utilizing the shell (S) domain of the capsid of norovirus as an HRV VP8* antigen display platform, was evaluated for immunogenicity and protective efficacy against P[6] and P[8] HRV using gnotobiotic pig models. A prime–boost strategy using one dose of the oral Rotarix® vaccine, followed by one dose of the IM trivalent nanoparticle vaccine was also evaluated. Both regimens were highly immunogenic in inducing serum virus neutralizing, IgG, and IgA antibodies. The two vaccine regimens failed to confer significant protection against diarrhea; however, the prime–boost regimen significantly shortened the duration of virus shedding in pigs challenged orally with the virulent Wa (G1P[8]) HRV and significantly shortened the mean duration of virus shedding, mean peak titer, and area under the curve of virus shedding after challenge with Arg (G4P[6]) HRV. Prime–boost-vaccinated pigs challenged with P[8] HRV had significantly higher P[8]-specific IgG antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) in the spleen post-challenge. Prime–boost-vaccinated pigs challenged with P[6] HRV had significantly higher numbers of P[6]- and P[8]-specific IgG ASCs in the ileum, as well as significantly higher numbers of P[8]-specific IgA ASCs in the spleen post-challenge. These results suggest the promise of and warrant further investigation into the oral priming and parenteral boosting strategy for future HRV vaccines.
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    Development of Chimeric Hepatitis B (HBV) – Norovirus (NoV) P particle as candidate vaccine against Hepatitis B and norovirus infection
    Giri-Rachman, Ernawati Arifin; Irasonia Tan, Marselina; Ramesh, Ashwin; Fajar, Putri Ayu; Nurul Ilmi, Annisa; Retnoningrum, Debbie Sofie; Hertadi, Rukman; Irawan, Apriliani; Wojciechowska, Gladys Emmanuella Putri; Yuan, Lijuan (Elsevier, 2023-08-01)
    Introduction: Hepatitis B remains a global problem with no effective treatment. Here, a mucosal vaccine candidate was developed with HBsAg and HBcAg, to provide both prophylactic and therapeutic protection against hepatitis B. The antigens were presented using the P particle of human norovirus (HuNov). As a result, the chimeric HBV – HuNoV P particle can act as a dual vaccine for hepatitis B and HuNoV. Methods: The vaccine candidate was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. HBV-HuNoV chimeric P particles were successfully expressed and isolated, with sizes of approximately 25.64 nm. Then, the HBV-HuNoV chimeric P particles were evaluated for safety and immunogenicity in mice and gnotobiotic (Gn) pigs. After three doses (5 µg/dose in mice and 200 µg/dose in Gn pigs) of intranasal immunization, humoral and cellular immune responses, as well as toxicity, were evaluated. Results: The vaccine candidate induced strong HBV-HuNoV specific IFN-γ producing T-cell responses in the ileum, spleen, and blood of Gn pigs. Serum IgG and IgA antibodies against HBV-HuNoV chimeric P particles also increased significantly in Gn pigs. Increased HBsAg- and HuNoV-specific serum IgG responses were observed in mice and Gn pigs, although not statistically significant. The vaccine candidate did not show any toxicity in mice. Conclusions: In summary, the chimeric HBV-HuNoV P particle vaccine given intranasally was safe and induced strong cellular and humoral immune responses in Gn pig. Modifications to the vaccine structure and dosage need to be evaluated in future studies to further enhance immunogenicity and induce more balanced humoral and cellular responses.
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    Early influences of microbiota on white matter development in germ-free piglets
    Ahmed, Sadia; Travis, Sierrah; Díaz-Bahamonde, Francisca; Porter, Demisha; Henry, Sara; Ravipati, Aditya; Booker, Aryn; Ding, Hanzhang; Ju, Jing; Ramesh, Ashwin; Pickrell, Alicia M.; Wang, Maosen; LaConte, Stephen M.; Howell, Brittany R.; Yuan, Lijuan; Morton, Paul D. (Frontiers, 2021-12-27)
    Abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the underlying white matter (WM) tracts, lie at the intersection of many neurodevelopmental disorders. The influence of microorganisms on brain development has recently been brought into the clinical and research spotlight as alterations in commensal microbiota are implicated in such disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety via the gut-brain axis. In addition, gut dysbiosis is common in preterm birth patients who often display diffuse WM injury and delayed WM maturation in critical tracts including those within the PFC and corpus callosum. Microbial colonization of the gut aligns with ongoing postnatal processes of oligodendrogenesis and the peak of brain myelination in humans; however, the influence of microbiota on gyral WM development remains elusive. Here, we develop and validate a neonatal germ-free swine model to address these issues, as piglets share key similarities in WM volume, developmental trajectories, and distribution to humans. We find significant region-specific reductions, and sexually dimorphic trends, in WM volume, oligodendrogenesis, and mature oligodendrocyte numbers in germ-free piglets during a key postnatal epoch of myelination. Our findings indicate that microbiota plays a critical role in promoting WM development during early life when the brain is vulnerable to environmental insults that can result in an array of disabilities manifesting later in life.
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    Enterobacter cloacae inhibits human norovirus infectivity in gnotobiotic pigs
    Lei, Shaohua; Samuel, Helen; Twitchell, Erica; Bui, Tammy; Ramesh, Ashwin; Wen, Ke; Weiss, Mariah; Li, Guohua; Yang, Xingdong; Jiang, Xi; Yuan, Lijuan (2016-04-26)
    Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis worldwide. Study of HuNoV biology has been hampered by the lack of an efficient cell culture system. Recently, enteric commensal bacteria Enterobacter cloacae has been recognized as a helper in HuNoV infection of B cells in vitro. To test the influences of E. cloacae on HuNoV infectivity and to determine whether HuNoV infects B cells in vivo, we colonized gnotobiotic pigs with E. cloacae and inoculated pigs with 2.74 × 10(4) genome copies of HuNoV. Compared to control pigs, reduced HuNoV shedding was observed in E. cloacae colonized pigs, characterized by significantly shorter duration of shedding in post-inoculation day 10 subgroup and lower cumulative shedding and peak shedding in individual pigs. Colonization of E. cloacae also reduced HuNoV titers in intestinal tissues and in blood. In both control and E. cloacae colonized pigs, HuNoV infection of enterocytes was confirmed, however infection of B cells was not observed in ileum, and the entire lamina propria in sections of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were HuNoV-negative. In summary, E. cloacae inhibited HuNoV infectivity, and B cells were not a target cell type for HuNoV in gnotobiotic pigs, with or without E. cloacae colonization.
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    Evaluation of the 50% Infectious Dose of Human Norovirus Cin-2 in Gnotobiotic Pigs: A Comparison of Classical and Contemporary Methods for Endpoint Estimation
    Ramesh, Ashwin; Parreño, Viviana; Schmidt, Philip J.; Lei, Shaohua; Zhong, Weiming; Jiang, Xi; Emelko, Monica B.; Yuan, Lijuan (MDPI, 2020-08-28)
    Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the leading causative agents of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis that affect people of all ages worldwide. However, very few dose–response studies have been carried out to determine the median infectious dose of HuNoVs. In this study, we evaluated the median infectious dose (ID50) and diarrhea dose (DD50) of the GII.4/2003 variant of HuNoV (Cin-2) in the gnotobiotic pig model of HuNoV infection and disease. Using various mathematical approaches (Reed–Muench, Dragstedt–Behrens, Spearman–Karber, exponential, approximate beta-Poisson dose–response models, and area under the curve methods), we estimated the ID50 and DD50 to be between 2400–3400 RNA copies, and 21,000–38,000 RNA copies, respectively. Contemporary dose–response models offer greater flexibility and accuracy in estimating ID50. In contrast to classical methods of endpoint estimation, dose–response modelling allows seamless analyses of data that may include inconsistent dilution factors between doses or numbers of subjects per dose group, or small numbers of subjects. Although this investigation is consistent with state-of-the-art ID50 determinations and offers an advancement in clinical data analysis, it is important to underscore that such analyses remain confounded by pathogen aggregation. Regardless, challenging virus strain ID50 determination is crucial for identifying the true infectiousness of HuNoVs and for the accurate evaluation of protective efficacies in pre-clinical studies of therapeutics, vaccines and other prophylactics using this reliable animal model.
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    High Protective Efficacy of Probiotics and Rice Bran against Human Norovirus Infection and Diarrhea in Gnotobiotic Pigs
    Lei, Shaohua; Ramesh, Ashwin; Twitchell, Erica; Wen, Ke; Bui, Tammy; Weiss, Mariah; Yang, Xingdong; Kocher, Jacob; Li, Guohua; Giri-Rachman, Ernawati; Trang, Nguyen Van; Jiang, Xi; Ryan, Elizabeth P.; Yuan, Lijuan (2016)
    Probiotics have been recognized as vaccine adjuvants and therapeutic agents to treat acute gastroenteritis in children. We previously showed that rice bran (RB) reduced human rotavirus diarrhea in gnotobiotic pigs. Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the major pathogens causing non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis worldwide. In this study, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) were first screened for their ability to bind HuNoV P particles and virions derived from clinical samples containing HuNoV genotype GII.3 and GII.4, then the effects of LGG+EcN and RB on HuNoV infection and diarrhea were investigated using the gnotobiotic pig model. While LGG+EcN colonization inhibited HuNoV shedding, probiotic cocktail regimens in which RB feeding started 7 days prior to or 1 day after viral inoculation in the LGG+EcN colonized gnotobiotic pigs exhibited high protection against HuNoV diarrhea and shedding, characterized by significantly reduced incidence (89 versus 20%) and shorter mean duration of diarrhea (2.2 versus 0.2 days), as well as shorter mean duration of virus shedding (3.2 versus 1.0 days). In both probiotic cocktail groups, the diarrhea reduction rates were 78% compared with the control group, and diarrhea severity was reduced as demonstrated by the significantly lower cumulative fecal scores. The high protective efficacy of the probiotic cocktail regimens was attributed to stimulation of IFN-γ(+) T cell responses, increased production of intestinal IgA and IgG, and maintenance of healthy intestinal morphology (manifested as longer villi compared with the control group). Therefore, probiotic cocktail regimens containing LGG+EcN and RB may represent highly efficacious strategies to prevent and treat HuNoV gastroenteritis, and potentially other human enteric pathogens.
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    High protective efficacy of rice bran against human rotavirus diarrhea via enhancing probiotic growth, gut barrier function, and innate immunity
    Yang, Xingdong; Twitchell, Erica; Li, Guohua; Wen, Ke; Weiss, Mariah; Kocher, Jacob; Lei, Shaohua; Ramesh, Ashwin; Ryan, Elizabeth P.; Yuan, Lijuan (Nature Publishing Group, 2015-10-13)
    Previously, we showed that rice bran (RB) was able to reduce human rotavirus (HRV) diarrhea in gnotobiotic pigs. Here, we investigated its effect on the growth of diarrhea-reducing probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Escherichia coli Nissle (EcN), and the resulting effects on HRV diarrhea, gut epithelial health, permeability and innate immune responses during virulent HRV challenge. On 3, 5, and 7 days of age pigs were inoculated with 2 × 104 colony-formingunits LGG+EcN to initiate colonization. Daily RB supplementation (replacing 10% calorie intake) was started at 5 days of age and continued until euthanasia. A subset of pigs in each group was challenged orally with 105 focus-forming-units of virulent HRV at 33 days of age. RB completely prevented HRV diarrhea in LGG+EcN colonized pigs. RB significantly promoted the growth of both probiotic strains in the gut (~5 logs) and increased the body-weight-gain at 4–5 weeks of age compared to non-RB group. After HRV challenge, RB-fed pigs had significantly lower ileal mitotic index and villus width, and significantly increased intestinal IFN-γ and total IgA levels compared to non-RB group. Therefore, RB plus LGG+EcN colonization may represent a highly effective therapeutic approach against HRV and potentially a variety of other diarrhea-inducing enteric pathogens.
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    Human norovirus animal model essential for vaccine development
    Yuan, Lijuan; Parreño, Viviana; Ramesh, Ashwin (Research Features, 2021-12-29)
    Human noroviruses are the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis and represent an incredibly high burden on the healthcare sector. Currently no vaccines or drugs exist to prevent or treat the disease. This is in part due to a lack of animal models. Here, Dr Lijuan Yuan and the team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University developed and validated gnotobiotic pigs as an animal model for the human norovirus GII.4/2003 Cin-2. Determining dose-response relationships as well as the median infectious dose, by using different statistical approaches for this virus, means we are one step closer on the path to vaccine development.
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    Increased and prolonged human norovirus infection in RAG2/IL2RG deficient gnotobiotic pigs with severe combined immunodeficiency
    Lei, Shaohua; Ryu, Junghyun; Wen, Ke; Twitchell, Erica; Bui, Tammy; Ramesh, Ashwin; Weiss, Mariah; Li, Guohua; Samuel, Helen; Clark-Deener, Sherrie; Jiang, Xi; Lee, Kiho; Yuan, Lijuan (Nature Publishing Group, 2016-04-27)
    Application of genetically engineered (GE) large animals carrying multi-allelic modifications has been hampered by low efficiency in production and extended gestation period compared to rodents. Here, we rapidly generated RAG2/IL2RG double knockout pigs using direct injection of CRISPR/Cas9 system into developing embryos. RAG2/IL2RG deficient pigs were immunodeficient, characterized by depletion of lymphocytes and either absence of or structurally abnormal immune organs. Pigs were maintained in gnotobiotic facility and evaluated for human norovirus (HuNoV) infection. HuNoV shedding lasted for 16 days in wild type pigs, compared to 27 days (until the end of trials) in RAG2/IL2RG deficient pigs. Additionally, higher HuNoV titers were detected in intestinal tissues and contents and in blood, indicating increased and prolonged HuNoV infection in RAG2/IL2RG deficient pigs and the importance of lymphocytes in HuNoV clearance. These results suggest that GE immunodeficient gnotobiotic pigs serve as a novel model for biomedical research and will facilitate HuNoV studies.
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    Modeling human enteric dysbiosis and rotavirus immunity in gnotobiotic pigs
    Twitchell, Erica; Tin, Christine; Wen, Ke; Zhang, Husen; Becker-Dreps, Sylvia; Azcarate-Peril, M. Andrea; Vilchez, Samuel; Li, Guohua; Ramesh, Ashwin; Weiss, Mariah; Lei, Shaohua; Bui, Tammy; Yang, Xingdong; Schultz-Cherry, Stacey L.; Yuan, Lijuan (2016)
    BACKGROUND: Rotavirus vaccines have poor efficacy in infants from low- and middle-income countries. Gut microbiota is thought to influence the immune response to oral vaccines. Thus, we developed a gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model of enteric dysbiosis to study the effects of human gut microbiota (HGM) on immune responses to rotavirus vaccination, and the effects of rotavirus challenge on the HGM by colonizing Gn pigs with healthy HGM (HHGM) or unhealthy HGM (UHGM). The UHGM was from a Nicaraguan infant with a high enteropathy score (ES) and no seroconversion following administration of oral rotavirus vaccine, while the converse was characteristic of the HHGM. Pigs were vaccinated, a subset was challenged, and immune responses and gut microbiota were evaluated. RESULTS: Significantly more rotavirus-specific IFN-γ producing T cells were in the ileum, spleen, and blood of HHGM than those in UHGM pigs after three vaccine doses, suggesting HHGM induces stronger cell-mediated immunity than UHGM. There were significant correlations between multiple Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and frequencies of IFN-γ producing T cells at the time of challenge. There were significant positive correlations between Collinsella and CD8+ T cells in blood and ileum, as well as CD4+ T cells in blood, whereas significant negative correlations between Clostridium and Anaerococcus, and ileal CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Differences in alpha diversity and relative abundances of OTUs were detected between the groups both before and after rotavirus challenge. CONCLUSION: Alterations in microbiome diversity and composition along with correlations between certain microbial taxa and T cell responses warrant further investigation into the role of the gut microbiota and certain microbial species on enteric immunity. Our results support the use of HGM transplanted Gn pigs as a model of human dysbiosis during enteric infection, and oral vaccine responses.
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    Modeling human enteric dysbiosis and rotavirus immunity in gnotobiotic pigs. [poster]
    Twitchell, Erica; Tin, Christine; Wen, Ke; Zhang, Husen; Becker-Dreps, Sylvia; Azcarate-Peril, M. Andrea; Vilchez, Samuel; Li, Guohua; Ramesh, Ashwin; Weiss, Mariah; Lei, Shaohua; Bui, Tammy; Yang, Xingdong; Schultz-Cherry, Stacey L.; Yuan, Lijuan (2016-12)
    Background Oral vaccines, such as those for rotavirus are less efficacious in children from underdeveloped regions, where most severe disease occurs, than in children from more affluent areas. This disparity may be due to altered gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis), environmental enteropathy (EE), high maternal antibody titers, malnutrition, or influence of concurrent enteropathogens. Composition of gut microbiota in children is influenced by method of delivery, environmental hygiene and nutritional status. Studies have shown composition of gut microbiota to be significantly different between African and northern European infants and between malnourished and well-nourished children. A recent study has shown that EE was associated with failure of the oral rotavirus vaccine Rotarix, and underperformance of the oral polio vaccine. An animal model to study the effects of enteric dysbiosis on oral vaccine immunity is needed to evaluate potential treatments to reverse the dysbiosis and/or improve vaccine efficacy. Pigs and humans have similar immune systems, high genomic and protein sequence homology, omnivorous diet, and colonic fermentation, making pigs valuable models in biomedical research. The neonatal gnotobiotic (Gn) pig is a well-established model of human rotavirus disease and immunity.
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    A New Gnotobiotic Pig Model of P[6] Human Rotavirus Infection and Disease for Preclinical Evaluation of Rotavirus Vaccines
    Nyblade, Charlotte; Hensley, Casey; Parreño, Viviana; Zhou, Peng; Frazier, Maggie; Frazier, Annie; Ramesh, Ashwin; Lei, Shaohua; Degiuseppe, Juan Ignacio; Tan, Ming; Yuan, Lijuan (MDPI, 2022-12-15)
    Human rotavirus (HRV) is a leading cause of gastroenteritis in children under 5 years of age. Licensed vaccines containing G1P[8] and G1-4P[8] strains are less efficacious against newly emerging P[6] strains, indicating an urgent need for better cross protective vaccines. Here, we report our development of a new gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model of P[6] HRV infection and disease as a tool for evaluating potential vaccine candidates. The Arg HRV (G4P[6]) strain was derived from a diarrheic human infant stool sample and determined to be free of other viruses by metagenomic sequencing. Neonatal Gn pigs were orally inoculated with the stool suspension containing 5.6 × 105 fluorescent focus units (FFU) of the virus. Small and large intestinal contents were collected at post inoculation day 2 or 3. The virus was passaged 6 times in neonatal Gn pigs to generate a large inoculum pool. Next, 33–34 day old Gn pigs were orally inoculated with 10−2, 103, 104, and 105 FFU of Arg HRV to determine the optimal challenge dose. All pigs developed clinical signs of infection, regardless of the inoculum dose. The optimal challenge dose was determined to be 105 FFU. This new Gn pig model is ready to be used to assess the protective efficacy of candidate monovalent and multivalent vaccines against P[6] HRV.
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    Parenterally Administered P24-VP8* Nanoparticle Vaccine Conferred Strong Protection against Rotavirus Diarrhea and Virus Shedding in Gnotobiotic Pigs
    Ramesh, Ashwin; Mao, Jiangdi; Lei, Shaohua; Twitchell, Erica; Shiraz, Ashton K.; Jiang, Xi; Tan, Ming; Yuan, Lijuan (MDPI, 2019-11-06)
    Current live rotavirus vaccines are costly with increased risk of intussusception due to vaccine replication in the gut of vaccinated children. New vaccines with improved safety and cost-effectiveness are needed. In this study, we assessed the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a novel P24-VP8* nanoparticle vaccine using the gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model of human rotavirus infection and disease. Three doses of P24-VP8* (200 μg/dose) intramuscular vaccine with Al(OH)3 adjuvant (600 μg) conferred significant protection against infection and diarrhea after challenge with virulent Wa strain rotavirus. This was indicated by the significant reduction in the mean duration of diarrhea, virus shedding in feces, and significantly lower fecal cumulative consistency scores in post-challenge day (PCD) 1–7 among vaccinated pigs compared to the mock immunized controls. The P24-VP8* vaccine was highly immunogenic in Gn pigs. It induced strong VP8*-specific serum IgG and Wa-specific virus-neutralizing antibody responses from post-inoculation day 21 to PCD 7, but did not induce serum or intestinal IgA antibody responses or a strong effector T cell response, which are consistent with the immunization route, the adjuvant used, and the nature of the non-replicating vaccine. The findings are highly translatable and thus will facilitate clinical trials of the P24-VP8* nanoparticle vaccine.