Date of Award
12-2021
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Thesis
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Christopher Stobart
Abstract
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is currently a leading cause of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI). Despite contributing to a significant mortality rate in young children and immunocompromised populations, it still lacks a vaccine. Live-attenuated vaccines are the preferred vaccination model for RSV, but achieving attenuation, immunogenicity, and stability can be difficult. Previous studies have indicated that deletion of the RSV G protein attenuates viral replication, but the role of the protein’s mucin domains has not been fully explored. We generate two new RSV strains here with varying G protein deletions: A2-line19F-G155 with deletion of the G-protein mucin domains, and A2- line19F-G155S with deletion of both the G-protein mucin domains and the transmembrane domain (thus only expressing a secreted G protein lacking mucin). In comparing these strains to a previously categorized strain with the same genetic background and a normal, complete G protein (A2-line19F), we categorize the phenotypes of these novel strains. Both G-protein viruses were more easily neutralized, more attenuated in Hep2 cells, and demonstrated less thermostability than A2-line19F. Therefore, with further testing these strains may have potential as future RSV vaccine candidates.
Recommended Citation
Roe, Molly Kathleen, "Characterization of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Attachment Protein Mucin Domains" (2021). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 596.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/596