Like most animal viruses, studying influenza A in model systems requires secondary methodologies to identify infected cells. To circumvent this requirement, we describe the generation of replication-competent influenza A red fluorescent viruses. These influenza A viruses encode mCherry fused to the viral non-structural 1 (NS1) protein and display comparable growth kinetics to wild-type viruses in vitro. Infection of cells with influenza A mCherry viruses was neutralized with monoclonal antibodies and inhibited with antivirals to levels similar to wild-type virus. Influenza A mCherry viruses were also able to lethally infect mice, and strikingly, dose- and time-dependent kinetics of viral replication were monitored in whole excised mouse lungs using an in vivo imaging system (IVIS). By eliminating the need for secondary labeling of infected cells, influenza A mCherry viruses provide an ideal tool in the ongoing struggle to better characterize the virus and identify new therapeutics against influenza A viral infections.
Keywords: 2A; Antivirals; In vivo imaging system (IVIS); Influenza A virus; Interferon; Microneutralization assay; NS1; Neutralizing antibodies; Replication-competent virus; Virus neutralization assay; mCherry.
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