---
title: "NanoLuc-expressing Feline Calicivirus as a Reporter for Antibody Neutralisation and Antiviral Scre"
id: "biorxiv-3-feline-calicivirus-encoding-nanoluc-luciferase-as-a-tool-for-assessing-antibody"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-3-feline-calicivirus-encoding-nanoluc-luciferase-as-a-tool-for-assessing-antibody"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Infectious Disease"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.20.745972v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-08-20T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# NanoLuc-expressing Feline Calicivirus as a Reporter for Antibody Neutralisation and Antiviral Scre
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-3-feline-calicivirus-encoding-nanoluc-luciferase-as-a-tool-for-assessing-antibody
- **Specialty:** [Infectious Disease](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/infectious-disease.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.20.745972v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-08-20T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- The authors created a recombinant **feline calicivirus (FCV)** reporter by inserting **NanoLuc luciferase** into the LC protein of the FCV Urbana strain (designated FCV-UrbanaNL) using reverse genetics. - They compared the replication kinetics of FCV-UrbanaNL with its parental FCV-Urbana and evaluated reporter stability across multiple serial passages; specific numerical kinetics and passage data were not reported in the source summary. - The reporter virus was used to develop high-throughput virus neutralisation assays to test a panel of monoclonal antibodies that recognise FCV Urbana, enabling quantification of neutralising activity via luciferase readout. - To assess neutralisation breadth, the investigators swapped the major capsid protein **VP1** of Urbana with VP1 from the vaccine strain F9 and a virulent systemic strain NSW‑E1, and used the reporter system to compare antibody neutralisation across these capsid variants. - The FCV-UrbanaNL system was deployed to screen candidate antivirals; the nucleoside metabolite **GS-441524** (active form of remdesivir) was identified as having antiviral potential against FCV in this reporter assay. - The authors propose the NanoLuc reporter virus as a tractable molecular tool to accelerate evaluation of vaccine candidates, monoclonal antibodies, and small-molecule antivirals against classical and virulent FCV strains. - Competing interests: the authors declared no competing interest. Funding sources were listed (including BBSRC and charitable trusts); granular grant details and experimental protocols were not provided in the source summary.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
Feline calicivirus encoding NanoLuc luciferase as a tool for assessing antibody neutralisation and antivirals | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results Feline calicivirus encoding NanoLuc luciferase as a tool for assessing antibody neutralisation and antivirals Hagar Sasvari , Kelsey Urquhart , Rahaf Alharbi , Marie McCallum , Lotta H Truyen , Sora Ogawa , Juan Barcena , Matteo Bordicchia , Vanessa R Barrs , View ORCID Profile David Bhella , William Weir , View ORCID Profile Brian James Willett , View ORCID Profile Margaret J Hosie , View ORCID Profile Lee Sherry doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.20.745972 Hagar Sasvari 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Kelsey Urquhart 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Rahaf Alharbi 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Marie McCallum 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Lotta H Truyen 2 MRC-University of Centre for Virus Research & Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, Leipzig University; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Sora Ogawa 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Juan Barcena 3 Centro de Investigacion en Sanidad Animal, CISA-INIA/CSIC; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Matteo Bordicchia 4 University of Sydney; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Vanessa R Barrs 5 Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site David Bhella 6 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre of Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for David Bhella William Weir 7 School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Brian James Willett 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Brian James Willett Margaret J Hosie 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Margaret J Hosie Lee Sherry 1 MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Lee Sherry For correspondence: lee.sherry{at}glasgow.ac.uk Abstract Info/History Metrics Preview PDF Abstract Feline calicivirus (FCV) is among the most common viruses to infect cats worldwide, with prevalence estimated to range from 10-90% depending on the population sampled. Typical FCV infection presents with oral ulcerations, fever and in some cases can also lead to clinical signs such as pneumonia or "limping syndrome". However, some FCV strains have been isolated from cats exhibiting virulent systemic (VS) disease, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Breakthrough VS-FCV infections have been recorded in vaccinated cats and, therefore, there is considerable interest in developing novel therapeutics for use in the face of VS-FCV outbreaks. However, to design effective therapeutics, a tractable system to systematically assess the efficacy of novel vaccine candidates or antivirals is required. Here, we used reverse genetics to develop an FCV reporter virus, inserting NanoLuc luciferase into the LC protein of FCV-Urbana (FCV-UrbanaNL). We characterised the replication kinetics of FCV-UrbanaNL in comparison to its parent virus and assessed the stability of the reporter over multiple passages. Subsequently, we developed virus neutralisation assays to assess a range of monoclonal antibodies that recognise FCV Urbana. We then assessed the breadth of neutralisation by exchanging the major capsid protein, VP1, of FCV Urbana with VP1 from the vaccine strain F9 and the VS-FCV strain NSW-E1. Finally, we evaluated the utility of the FCVNL reporter system to screen candidate antiviral compounds, identifying GS-441524 (the active metabolite of the parent nucleoside remdesivir) as having therapeutic potential against FCV. These findings highlight the potential of this reporter virus as a powerful molecular tool to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared BBSRC , BB/T002239/1 BSAVA PetSavers , SRP 07.23 Petplan Charitable Trust, https://ror.org/01qhvn038 , S24-1326-1365 Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted August 20, 2026. Download PDF Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You are going to email the following Feline calicivirus encoding NanoLuc luciferase as a tool for assessing antibody neutralisation and antivirals Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website. 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Share Feline calicivirus encoding NanoLuc luciferase as a tool for assessing antibody neutralisation and antivirals Hagar Sasvari , Kelsey Urquhart , Rahaf Alharbi , Marie McCallum , Lotta H Truyen , Sora Ogawa , Juan Barcena , Matteo Bordicchia , Vanessa R Barrs , David Bhella , William Weir , Brian James Willett , Margaret J Hosie , Lee Sherry bioRxiv 2026.08.20.745972; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.20.745972 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools Feline calicivirus encoding NanoLuc luciferase as a tool for assessing antibody neutralisation and antivirals Hagar Sasvari , Kelsey Urquhart , Rahaf Alharbi , Marie McCallum , Lotta H Truyen , Sora Ogawa , Juan Barcena , Matteo Bordicchia , Vanessa R Barrs , David Bhella , William Weir , Brian James Willett , Margaret J Hosie , Lee Sherry bioRxiv 2026.08.20.745972; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.20.745972 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (7911) Biochemistry (18506) Bioengineering (14659) Bioinformatics (43781) Biophysics (22278) Cancer Biology (19400) Cell Biology (26566) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (13817) Ecology (20710) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25145) Genetics (16015) Genomics (23272) Immunology (18444) Microbiology (41942) Molecular Biology (17818) Neuroscience (92182) Paleontology (689) Pathology (2943) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5023) Physiology (8003) Plant Biology (15768) Scientific Communication and Education (2087) Synthetic Biology (4503) Systems Biology (10122) Zoology (2356)
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