Description
- Abstract:
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of respiratory illness in the elderly, necessitating effective vaccines and reliable methods to measure immune responses. This study aimed to measure vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody responses to RSV using a pseudotyped lentivirus system in a high-risk elderly cohort. Pre- and post-vaccination serum samples from nursing home residents were tested using a pseudotyped lentiviral vector generated in 293T cells expressing the RSV fusion (F) long protein. Neutralization assays were conducted to measure functional antibody activity against RSV, while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) quantified total RSV-specific antibodies. Post-vaccination samples showed a significant rise in neutralizing titers against the RSV F protein from both the A2 and B strains of the virus, indicating that vaccination elicited robust F-specific neutralizing antibodies across subtypes. In contrast, no significant increase in antibodies against the RSV attachment (G) glycoprotein was observed, reflecting the fact that the vaccine is comprised only of F protein. ELISA results confirmed an overall increase in RSV-specific antibody levels after vaccination and were modestly correlated with neutralization titers, suggesting that not all binding antibodies had neutralizing capability. These findings demonstrate that the 293T cell-based pseudotyped lentivirus neutralization assay is a potential tool for evaluating RSV vaccine-induced immunity. The F-specific neutralizing antibody response supports the RSV F protein as a promising target for vaccines, particularly to protect high-risk elderly populations such as nursing home residents.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Sc. M.)--Brown University, 2025
Citation
Parakh, Harshini,
"Pseudotyping Lentivirus in 293T cells to Measure Antibodies that Block Entry of Respiratory Syncytial Virus"
(2025).
Biology and Medicine Theses and Dissertations, Biotechnology.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:hkv3449z/
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Biology and Medicine Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Biology and Medicine department....