Recombinant Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Firefly Luciferase Reporter Strain

Application

Modified recombinant syncytial virus (RSV) strain expressing a bioluminescent reporter protein for high throughput screening and vaccine development.

Key Benefits

• Provides a new high throughput screening tool for RSV vaccine development and drug discovery.
• Firefly luciferase based assays show better signal-to-noise than fluorescence-based assays.

Market Summary

RSV is a major cause of respiratory illness, especially in young children and the elderly. In the United States, nearly all children have been infected with RSV by age two. Currently, no vaccine or small molecule treatment for RSV exists, demonstrating a significant need for tools that allow for the development of potential treatments.

Technology Summary

Researchers at Emory have created a recombinant RSV strain that expresses firefly luciferase. Firefly luciferase is a bioluminescent protein from Photinus pyralis that is highly used as a genetic reporter in high throughput genetic screening assays. In the modified RSV, the bioluminescence serves as a reporter of RSV infection and replication activity. Therefore, this RSV strain serves as useful tool for high throughput screening of antiviral agents and measurement of anti-RSV antibodies.

Development Stage

The bioluminescent RSV strain has been engineered and is ready to distribute.