Viral Immunogenicity and Design of Vaccines

A Special Issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915) belonging to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 May 2027 | Viewed by 471

Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
2. Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Interests: virus

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite being the most genetically diverse biological entities collectively on the planet, viruses share common principles that govern how their molecular features are recognized and engaged by the immune system. Historically, viral immunogenicity was often framed as “foreignness plus multivalency”. Today, high-resolution structural, biochemical, and immunological approaches are revealing, with quantitative details, the specific “ingredients” of a viral immunogen and how these “ingredients” together shape the host immune response. This Special Issue of Viruses, “Viral Immunogenicity and Design of Vaccines,” invites original research and reviews that dissect the molecular and cellular basis of viral immunogenicity and translate these insights into rational vaccine design. We particularly welcome work that links fundamental mechanisms—at the level of structure, molecular composition, innate–adaptive crosstalk or B/T cell recognition—to the development of safe, durable and broad antiviral immunity across diverse viral families.

Prof. Dr. Wei Cheng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • virus
  • immunogenicity
  • antibody response
  • T cells
  • B cells
  • innate receptor
  • toll-like receptor

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1339 KB  
Article
Functional Evaluation of Neutralizing Antibodies Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype O Using a Luciferase-Based Surrogate Neutralization Assay
by Hyejin Kim, Dong-Wan Kim, Yeonrae Chae, Yerin Kim, Giyoun Cho, Ji-Hyeon Hwang, Yoon-Hee Lee, Jong-Hyeon Park and Sung-Han Park
Viruses 2026, 18(9), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18091015 - 14 Sep 2026
Abstract
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that seriously threatens livestock health. Protective immunity induced by vaccination is primarily associated with the generation of neutralizing antibodies; however, conventional virus neutralization tests are time-consuming and require the handling of live virus, limiting [...] Read more.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that seriously threatens livestock health. Protective immunity induced by vaccination is primarily associated with the generation of neutralizing antibodies; however, conventional virus neutralization tests are time-consuming and require the handling of live virus, limiting their suitability for rapid and repeated evaluation in routine settings. In this study, we established a surrogate neutralization assay for the functional evaluation of neutralizing antibody activity against FMD virus (FMDV) serotype O. The assay measures changes in luciferase-based luminescent signals generated following exposure of LgBiT-expressing cells to HiBiT-tagged virus-like particle (VLP) preparations. FMDV serotype O-derived VLPs exhibited stable capsid protein expression, assembly characteristics, and morphological integrity similar to those of virus particles, as confirmed by sucrose gradient fractionation and electron microscopy. In the presence of neutralizing antibodies, a reduction in luminescent signals was observed, enabling functional discrimination of antibody activity. The surrogate assay results showed a strong correlation with those of the conventional virus neutralization test for FMDV serotype O (R2 = 0.9068). This study demonstrates the feasibility of the surrogate neutralization assay for assessing the functional activity of neutralizing antibodies and its potential applicability to vaccine immunogenicity assessment and functional antibody analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Immunogenicity and Design of Vaccines)
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