{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,27]],"date-time":"2026-09-27T19:21:22Z","timestamp":1790536882622,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,23]],"date-time":"2024-05-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1716422400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. (ALGENEX)"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this study, we pioneered an alternative technology for manufacturing subunit influenza hemagglutinin (HA)-based vaccines. This innovative method involves harnessing the pupae of the Lepidoptera Trichoplusia ni (T. ni) as natural biofactories in combination with baculovirus vectors (using CrisBio\u00ae technology). We engineered recombinant baculoviruses encoding two versions of the HA protein (trimeric or monomeric) derived from a pandemic avian H7N1 virus A strain (A\/chicken\/Italy\/5093\/99). These were then used to infect T. ni pupae, resulting in the production of the desired recombinant antigens. The obtained HA proteins were purified using affinity chromatography, consistently yielding approximately 75 mg\/L of insect extract. The vaccine antigen effectively immunized poultry, which were subsequently challenged with a virulent H7N1 avian influenza virus. Following infection, all vaccinated animals survived without displaying any clinical symptoms, while none of the mock-vaccinated control animals survived. The CrisBio\u00ae-derived antigens induced high titers of HA-specific antibodies in the vaccinated poultry, demonstrating hemagglutination inhibition activity against avian H7N1 and human H7N9 viruses. These results suggest that the CrisBio\u00ae technology platform has the potential to address major industry challenges associated with producing recombinant influenza subunit vaccines, such as enhancing production yields, scalability, and the speed of development, facilitating the global deployment of highly effective influenza vaccines.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v16060829","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,23]],"date-time":"2024-05-23T09:58:47Z","timestamp":1716458327000},"page":"829","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Development of a Fully Protective Pandemic Avian Influenza Subunit Vaccine in Insect Pupae"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ana","family":"Falc\u00f3n","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. (ALGENEX), Ronda de Poniente 14, 28760 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6869-6954","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susana","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Pulgar\u00edn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. (ALGENEX), Ronda de Poniente 14, 28760 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0968-7713","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergi","family":"L\u00f3pez-Serrano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unitat Mixta d\u2019Investigaci\u00f3 IRTA-UAB en Sanitat Animal, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"},{"name":"Programa de Sanitat Animal, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroaliment\u00e0ries, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3614-1066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edel","family":"Reytor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. (ALGENEX), Ronda de Poniente 14, 28760 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miguel","family":"Cid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. (ALGENEX), Ronda de Poniente 14, 28760 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-5789-7558","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Nu\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. (ALGENEX), Ronda de Poniente 14, 28760 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lorena","family":"C\u00f3rdoba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unitat Mixta d\u2019Investigaci\u00f3 IRTA-UAB en Sanitat Animal, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"},{"name":"Programa de Sanitat Animal, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroaliment\u00e0ries, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ayub","family":"Darji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unitat Mixta d\u2019Investigaci\u00f3 IRTA-UAB en Sanitat Animal, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"},{"name":"Programa de Sanitat Animal, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroaliment\u00e0ries, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0983-9278","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Escribano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alternative Gene Expression S.L. 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