A two-plasmid rescue system for rescue of recombinant LaSota strain of newcastle disease virus

Abstract:

The conventional rescue system of newcastle disease virus (NDV) contains a cDNA clone plasmid and three helper plasmids expressing NDV: nucleocapsid protein (NP), phosphoprotein (P) and polymerase protein (L), respectively. These four plasmids have to be transfected into the same host cell simultaneously to complete the assembly of the virus, which is relatively inefficient. [Objective] To improve the rescue efficiency of NDV, this study aims to establish a two-plasmid rescue system. [Methods] The expression cassettes of NP, P, and L genes were constructed and sequentially cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pCI to generate a single-helper plasmid, named pCI-NPL, capable of co-expressing NP, P, and L proteins. During this process, the genomic cDNA of the NDV LaSota strain was incorporated downstream of the CMV promoter in the pCI expression vector. Simultaneously, the reporter gene EGFP was inserted into the genome between the P and M genes, accompanied by the introduction of a hammerhead ribozyme sequence at the 5′ end and a hepatitis delta virus ribozyme sequence at the 3′ end. This culminated in the development of the full-genome transcriptional plasmid termed pCI-LaSota-EGFP. The two plasmids pCI-LaSota-EGFP and pCI-NPL were co-transfected as a two-plasmid system into BHK-21 cells to rescue the recombinant virus rLaSota-EGFP. The biological characteristics of the virus were then examined. [Results] RT-PCR, fluorescence microscopy, Western blotting, and growth characterization confirmed that rLaSota-EGFP was correctly constructed and expressed the foreign gene. The rescued recombinant virus rLaSota-EGFP had similar biological characteristics to wild-type (WT) LaSota. [Conclusion] A novel two-plasmid rescue system for NDV based on the CMV promoter was successfully established, laying a foundation for the efficient rescue of recombinant NDV and other paramyxoviruses.