Insects are a group of arthropods and the largest group of animals on Earth,with over one million species described to date.Like other life forms,insects suffer from viruses that cause disease and death.Viruses that are pathogenic to beneficial insects cause dramatic economic losses on agriculture.In contrast,viruses that are pathogenic to insect pests can be exploited as attractive biological control agents.All of these factors have led to an explosion in the amount of research into insect viruses in recent years,generating impressive quantities of information on the molecular and cellular biology of these viruses.Due to the wide variety of insect viruses,a better understanding of these viruses will expand our overall knowledge of their virology.Here,we review studies of several newly discovered RNA insect viruses in China.
QIU YangWANG ZhaoWeiLIU YongXiangQI NanSI JieXIANG XueXIA XiaoLingHU YuanYangZHOU Xi
Objective: To evaluate the potential adjuvant effect of Agrocybe aegerita lectin(AAL), which was isolated from mushroom, against a virulent H_9N_2 strain in vivo and in vitro. Methods: In trial 1, 50 BALB/c male mice(8 weeks old) were divided into five groups(n=10 each group) which received a subcutaneous injection of inactivated H_9N_2(control), inactivated H_9N_2+0.2%(w/w) alum, inactivated H_9N_2+0.5 mg recombinant AAL/kg body weight(BW), inactivated H_9N_2+1.0 mg AAL/kg BW, and inactivated H_9N_2+2.5 mg AAL/kg BW, respectively, four times at 7-d intervals. In trial 2, 30 BALB/c male mice(8 weeks old) were divided into three groups(n=10 each group) which received a subcutaneous injection of inactivated H_9N_2(control), inactivated H_9N_2+2.5 mg recombinant wild-type AAL(AAL-wt)/kg BW, and inactivated H_9N_2+2.5 mg carbohydrate recognition domain(CRD) mutant AAL(AAL-mut R63H)/kg BW, respectively, four times at 7-d intervals. Seven days after the final immunization, serum samples were collected from each group for analysis. Hemagglutination assay, immunogold electron microscope, lectin blotting, and coimmunoprecipitation were used to study the interaction between AAL and H_9N_2 in vitro. Results: Ig G, Ig G1, and Ig G2 a antibody levels were significantly increased in the sera of mice co-immunized with inactivated H_9N_2 and AAL when compared to mice immunized with inactivated H_9N_2 alone. No significant increase of the Ig G antibody level was detected in the sera of the mice co-immunized with inactivated H_9N_2 and AAL-mut R63 H. Moreover, AAL-wt, but not mutant AAL-mut R63 H, adhered to the surface of H_9N_2 virus. The interaction between AAL and the H_9N_2 virus was further demonstrated to be associated with the CRD of AAL binding to the surface glycosylated proteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that AAL could be a safe and effective adjuvant capable of boosting humoral immunity against H_9N_2 viruses in mice through its interaction with the viral surface glycosylated
Li-bao MABao-yang XUMin HUANGLv-hui SUNQing YANGYi-jie CHENYa-lin YINQi-gai HEHui SUN
