Figure 4
Protective efficacy of Ad5-Gn priming and Gn protein boosting. Six-week-old C57/BL6 wildtype mice (PBS/PBS (n = 5), Gn/Gn (n = 5), rAd5-Gn (n = 5), Gn/rAd5 (n = 4)) immunized with rAd5-Gn (1 × 108 infectious unit) and/or Gn protein intramuscularly at 2-week intervals and challenged with SFTS virus at 5 weeks after the second immunization (Fig. S1c). The mice received the anti-interferon receptor antibody and IL-10 at 4 days and 1 day before the virus challenge. (a) Weight loss of mice. (b) Weights of the spleen of mice. (c) Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure viral genomic RNA from the spleen of challenged mice. (d to k) Pathological changes in the liver and spleen of mice infected with SFTSV. Representative Hematoxylin and Eosin-stained tissue sections of the (d) liver and (e) spleen from SFTSV-infected mice. (f) The scores for inflammatory cell infiltration, (g) thrombus, and (h) necrosis in the liver. (i) Area of the cross-section of the spleen and (k) number of megakaryocytes evaluated using histological images obtained from a slide scanner. (j) Diffuse white pulp in the spleen was determined using a 5-point score system, as follows: 0 = no abnormality detected (NAD), 1 = minimal, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, 4 = moderately severe, and 5 = severe. P-values are calculated using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni multiple comparison and Tukey’s multiple comparison or Mann–Whitney U test.
