National Research Council of Canada

Kevin Young

Lakshmi Krishnan

Subash Sad

Valeria Alcon

Fanny Tzelepis

Modified non-human mammalian hepatoma cell lines that express hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigens and which are capable of generating tumours in a syngeneic animal model are provided. The cell lines are generated by genomic integration of an expression construct that comprises one or more HCV antigen-encoding sequences under the control of a constitutive promoter. The expression construct further comprises a selectable marker and a reporter gene under the control of the same promoter. The cell lines are useful for testing prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against HCV either in vitro or in vivo.

Animal models, cell lines and methods for screening hepatitis C virus vaccines

The present invention relates to a recombinant bacterium expressing an antigen that is translocated to the cytosol of a host organism, and uses thereof. To this end, the present invention provides a recombinant bacterium comprising a nucleic acid encoding an antigen that is translocated to the cytosol of a host cell utilizing Type III secretion system. The recombinant bacterium is generally chosen from intracellular pathogens that reside in the phagosome and fail to induce rapid T cell activation. The translocated antigen may be a viral antigen, a bacterial antigen, or a tumor antigen. Methods of imparting immunity using the recombinant bacterium are also provided.

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Ottawa, Canada

Kevin Young