Therapeutic vaccination of koalas harbouring endogenous koala retrovirus (KoRV) improves antibody responses and reduces circulating viral load.

ABSTRACT: The long-term survival of the koala is under serious threat from multiple factors, including infectious disease agents such as Chlamydia and koala retrovirus (KoRV). KoRV is present in both exogenous and endogenous forms, depending on the geographical location of the population. In the northern half of Australia, it is present as an endogenous infection in all koalas, making a case for an urgent need to develop a therapeutic vaccine that might prevent KoRV-associated pathologies in these koalas. To this end, we determined the therapeutic effects of vaccinating koalas harbouring endogenous KoRV with a recombinant KoRV Env protein combined with a Tri-adjuvant. We found that vaccination led to a significant increase in circulating anti-KoRV IgG levels, as well as increase in neutralisi

SUBMITTER: Olagoke O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7367292 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature