Field-isolate recombinant tick-borne encephalitis viruses define reporter-stability guidelines for antiviral testing in flaviviruses

Recombinant tick-borne encephalitis viruses with stable reporter genes enable effective antiviral testing, with Nluc showing superior stability over eGFP in diverse cell types.

• Why it matters: Understanding and developing reliable experimental systems for antiviral discovery against arthropod-borne viruses like TBEV is crucial for global health, yet current platforms face stability challenges.
• What they did: Two new recombinant TBEV viruses were created using the CPER method, inserting reporter genes eGFP or Nluc into the viral genome, and their replication and stability were analyzed across cell lines.
• The result: Nluc demonstrated greater stability than eGFP, enabling high-content screening and drug testing, and the study provides design principles to improve reporter gene stability in flavivirus platforms.