AIV polyantigen epitope expressed by recombinant baculovirus induces a systemic immune response in chicken and mouse models

Abstract

Background: The protective efficacy of avian influenza virus (AIV) vaccines is unsatisfactory due to the presence of various serotypes generated by genetic reassortment. Thus, immunization with a polyantigen chimeric epitope vaccine may be an effective strategy for protecting poultry from infection with different AIV subtypes. Methods: Baculovirus has recently emerged as a novel and attractive gene delivery vehicle for animal cells. In the present study, a recombinant baculovirus BmNPV-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT containing a fused codon-optimized sequence (CTLT) of T lymphocyte epitopes from H1HA, H9HA, and H7HA AIV subtypes, and another fused codonoptimized sequence (THB) of Th and B cell epitopes from H1HA, H9HA, and H7HA AIV subtypes, driven by a baculovirus P10 promoter and cytomegalovirus CMV promoter, respectively, was constructed. Results: Western blotting and cellular immunofluorescence demonstrated that the CTLT (THB) can be expressed in rBac-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT-infected silkworm cells (mammalian HEK293T cells). Furthermore, the recombinant virus, rBac-CMV-THB-CTLT, was used to immunize both chickens and mice. Conclusions: The results of an indirect ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and T lymphocyte proliferation assay indicated that specific humoral and cellular responses were detected in both chicken and mice. These results suggest that rBac-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT can be developed as a potential vaccine against different AIV subtypes.

Solutions against emerging infectious and noninfectious human diseases through the application of baculovirus technologies

“…Finally, the antigen-displaying alternative baculoviruses are also being explored as another approach to developing vaccines for influenza. The HA incorporation into the baculovirus surface demonstrated an ability to elicit strong humoral and cell-mediated immunity that protected animals from the lethal challenge of influenza viruses (Prabakaran et al 2008;Prabakaran and Kwang 2014;Yu et al 2020).…”

Strategic construction of mRNA vaccine derived from conserved and experimentally validated epitopes of avian influenza type A virus: a reverse vaccinology approach

“…Th epitope TET (QYIKANSKFIGIT) was derived from the sequence of tetanus neurotoxin of Clostridium tetani . It was recently demonstrated that the incorporation of TET in a vaccine was able to induce humoral and cellular immunity in chickens and mice [ 10 ]; and was also utilized as marker to identify vaccinated from unvaccinated chickens [ 11 ]. Thus, induced immunity through this epitope may also enable the distinction of vaccinated chickens from infected ones.…”

Advances in Development and Application of Influenza Vaccines

“…Additionally, Liu and colleagues ( 173 ) evaluated another BEVS-based H5 subunit vaccine (A/goose/Guangdong/1/96) and found that this vaccine could protect BALB/c mice as well as specific pathogen-free (SPF) and commercial broiler chickens, thus suggesting that it could be used as a candidate H5 influenza vaccine strain for humans and animals. Moreover, Yu and colleagues ( 174 ) used BEVS to construct a recombinant baculovirus vectored BmNPV-CMV/THB-P10/CTLT vaccine that contains the fused codon-optimized sequence of T lymphocyte epitopes (CTLT) from H1HA, H9HA, and H7HA AIV subtypes, and another fused codon-optimized sequence of Th and B cell epitopes (THB) from H1HA, H9HA, and H7HA AIV subtypes, which was then used to immunize mice and chickens. Their findings demonstrated that the vaccine could activate influenza virus-specific humoral and cellular responses in both species of the animal, suggesting that the vaccine could be used as a universal vaccine against different subtypes of AIV.…”