Enhancement of Serological Immune Responses to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine by a Supplement Made of Extract of Cochinchina Momordica Seeds

Abstract

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals. Vaccination against FMD is a routine practice in many countries where the disease is endemic. This study was designed first to investigate the extract of the seeds of Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. (ECMS) for its adjuvant effect on vaccination of inactivated FMDV antigens in a guinea pig model and then to evaluate the supplement of ECMS in oil-emulsified FMD vaccines for its immunopotentiation in pigs. The results indicated that ECMS and oil emulsion act synergistically as adjuvants to promote the production of FMDV-and VP1-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and subclasses in guinea pigs. A supplement of ECMS in a commercial FMD vaccine significantly enhanced FMDV-specific indirect hemagglutination assay titers as well as VP1-specific IgG and subclasses in pigs. Therefore, ECMS could be an alternative approach to improving swine FMD vaccination when the vaccine is poor to induce an effective immune response.Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, particularly domestic species, such as cattle, swine, and sheep. Financial losses due to FMD are huge, and it is believed to be the most economically important animal disease in the world (26). Vaccination against FMD is a routine practice in many countries where the disease is endemic. Most commercially available FMD vaccines are inactivated whole-virus preparations containing oil emulsions as an adjuvant to improve their efficacy. However, some FMD vaccines have been reported to induce poor immune responses. For example, Xie et al. (33) observed that only 20.9% of piglets produced immune responses with antibody titers high enough for protection following vaccination against FMD (type O) in the Ningxia province of China. Hao et al. (12) analyzed 91 serum samples of pigs having received vaccination against FMD (type O) and found that only 31.9% of the samples had antibody titers required for immune protection immunity. Therefore, there is a need to improve currently available FMD vaccines in order to effectively protect animals from FMD infection.Our previous research has demonstrated that a supplement of saponin extracted from the bark of Quillaja saponaria Molina (Quil A) in vaccines significantly enhances immune responses to FMD vaccination (32). However, Quil A may be limited in veterinary use because of its hemolytic activity (23). Another study has shown that an extract from a traditional Chinese medicine, the seeds of Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. (ECMS), has an adjuvant effect on the immune responses elicited by ovalbumin (OVA), with a much lower hemolytic activity (30). ECMS has also been proven effective in enhancing immune responses to vaccination against avian influenza (H5N1) in chickens (24). The medical use of the seeds has been described in ancient Chinese medical literature, Kai Bao Materia Medica, from the Song Dynasty (AD 793) (10) and is currently included in both Chinese pharmacopoei...

Momordica cochinchinensis (L.) Spreng: Aril Extract Prevents Adverse Reproductive Parameters of Male Rats Induced with Valproic Acid

“…In further studies, the biochemical and molecular analyses will be performed to explain additional mechanisms of how the MC could prevent such adverse effects. The protective tissue damage effect demonstrated in this study is a phytotherapeutic property of MC extract besides other pharmacological properties shown in previous reports (Zheng et al;Jung et al, 2013aJung et al, , 2013bLiu et al;Chuethong et al;Tien et al;Kang et al;Tsoi et al;Xiao et al, 2007Xiao et al, , 2009Rajput et al, 2007Rajput et al, , 2010. Moreover, MC extract indeed did not affect any male reproductive parameters including testicular histology as compared to the control.…”

p‐Hydroxylcinnamaldehyde slows the progression of 4NQO‐induced oesophageal tumourigenesis via the RhoA‐MAPK signaling pathway

“…Additionally, both CEA and SCC are known to be typical tumour‐related antigens (TAAs) in oesophageal tumourigenesis . Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and macrophage inhibitory factor 1 (MIC‐1) are also extensively regarded as malignant biomarkers of ESCC . Accordingly, we evaluated the CEA, SCC, IL‐6, and MIC‐1 content in the serum of the mice.…”

Rapeseed Oil and Ginseng Saponins Work Synergistically To Enhance Th1 and Th2 Immune Responses Induced by the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine

“…For example, Gerber reported that Quil A, in combination with oil as an adjuvant, promoted greater immune responses in pigs immunized against pseudorabies virus, in guinea pigs immunized against canine parvovirus, and in cats immunized against feline infectious virus (33), Martinez-Fernandez et al found that an oil emulsion containing Quil A increased the immune responses induced by Fh12 fatty acid-binding protein of Fasciola hepatica in sheep (34), and Xiao et al observed that supplements of saponins such as Quil A and extract from the seeds of Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng in FMD vaccines significantly enhanced immune responses in pigs (29,35). The synergism between RO and GS-R may be explained by the depot effect of oil emulsion, which slowly releases antigens at the injection site in combination with the immunostimulating effect created by GS-R. Figure 3 showed that serum IgG levels progressively declined but RO/GS-R reduced the rate of the decline.…”