The present invention is based on the surprising finding that H5 protein of clade 1 H5N1 induces, in particular by a single-shot vaccination, a cross-clade protective immune response to influenza viruses with H5N1 HA.

In one aspect, the invention is thus directed to H5 protein of clade 1 H5N1 virus for use in a method of treating or preventing infections with H5N1 virus of a different clade, namely of a clade different from clade 1 or from any clade with the exception of clade 1, respectively.

For many diseases due to microbes or the like, proliferation of microbes themselves is a cause of a symptom. However, there were cases where a substance released by the microbes is a cause of a symptom. In such cases, when attempting to treat a disease with an antibody, it was necessary to obtain an antibody against an antigen that is a substance causing the disease. However, it was difficult to find the underlying substance causing the disease among substances released by the microbes. An antibody (polyclonal) binding to not only an antigen but also to a substance, which is secreted by the antigen and accelerates the deterioration of a symptom, is obtained by immunizing birds with a lysis solution produced from lysing microbial cells as an antigen. Further, an antibody obtained with a surface protein of a virus as an antigen is expected to inhibit an infection by a virus.

The present invention relates to the production of adeno-associated viral vectors in insect cells. The insect cells therefore comprise a first nucleotide sequence encoding the adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid proteins, whereby the initiation codon for translation of the AAV VP1 capsid protein is an AUG. Upstream of the VP1 open reading frame an alternative out of frame start codon is placed such that translation initiation of the VP1 protein is modified, i.e. reduced, to allow production of VP1:VP2:VP3 in a good stoichiometry resulting in AAV with high potency.

This disclosure relates to immunogenic compositions and methods of enhancing an immune response to an antigen. In certain embodiments, the disclosure relates to virus-like carries comprising a TLR5 agonist on the exterior without an antigen.

The present invention relates to a transfer vector for inserting a gene into a genetic locus of a baculovirus sequence. The transfer vector comprises an expression cassette comprising a eukaryotic promoter operably linked to the gene and a bipartite selection cassette. The present invention also relates to methods of using the transfer vector and derived bacmids and baculoviruses.

This disclosure describes a composition and method of magenitic nanoparticles (MNP) that are bound to a baculovirus (BV). The MNP-BV can be systemically administered to a patient, and a strong magnetic field applied to the target btissue, thus allowing uptake and expression only in the target tissue. Off-target effects are not seen because the MNP-BC is inactivated by the complement system outside of the magnetic field.

Vaccination methods to control PCV2 infection with different PCV2 subtypes are disclosed. Specifically, a PCV2 subtype b (PCV2b) ORF2 proteins or immunogenic compositions comprising a PCV2b ORF2 protein are used in a method for the treatment or prevention of an infection with PCV2 of a different subtype, the reduction, prevention or treatment of clinical signs caused by an infection with PCV2 of a different subtype, or the prevention or treatment of a disease caused by an infection with PCV2 of a different subtype.

The present invention relates to methods of facilitating the expression of recombinant polypeptides from cells, extracellular fluids, extracellular fibers, or any combination thereof, obtained from transgenic insect cells and larvae comprising a bacterial GlcNAc-6-P 2′-epimerase (GNPE), which is capable of converting N-acetyl-D-glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcNAc-6-P) to N-acetyl-D-mannosamine-6-phosphate (ManNAc-6-P). The invention relates to methods to promote efficient glycoconjugate sialylation, by providing simpler ways to produce large intracellular pools of sialic acid precursors. The invention is also directed to nucleic acids, vectors, and cells comprising nucleic acids encoding polypeptides involved in the synthesis of sialic acid precursors, and cells in combination with nucleic acids encoding glycosyltransferases, including sialyltransferases, to facilitate the production of humanized recombinant glycoproteins. The engineered cells can be used to produce glycosylated proteins lepidopteran insects and cultured cell lines derived from Spodoptera frugiperda, Trichoplusia ni, and silkworms, such as Bombyx mori, particularly those that can be infected by baculovirus expression vectors.

Disclosed herein are recombinant baculoviruses suitable for detecting the presence of arthropod-borne viruses in a biological sample of a test subject. The information derived from the detection may also be used to render a diagnosis on whether the test subject is infected with the arthropod-borne viruses or not, so that proper course of treatment may be assigned to the subject.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a nucleic acid comprising a heterologous nucleic acid insert flanked by interrupted self-complementary sequences, wherein one self-complementary sequence is interrupted by a cross-arm sequence forming two opposing, lengthwise-symmetric stem-loops, and wherein the other of the self-complementary sequences is interrupted by a truncated cross-arm sequence. Methods of delivering the nucleic acid to a cell are also provided.