Heterogeneity in the Antibody Response to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Primo-vaccinated Calves

Abstract

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines are routinely used as effective control tools in large regions worldwide and to limit outbreaks during epidemics. Vaccine-induced protection in cattle has been largely correlated with the FMD virus (FMDV)-specific antibodies. Genetic control of cattle immune adaptive responses has been demonstrated only for peptide antigens derived from FMDV structural proteins. Here, we quantify the heterogeneity in the antibody response of cattle primo-vaccinated against FMD and study its association with the genetic background in Holstein and Jersey sires. A total of 377 FMDV-seronegative calves (122 and 255 calves from 16 and 15 Holstein and Jersey sires, respectively) were included in the study. Samples were taken the day prior to primo-vaccination and 45 days post-vaccination (dpv). Animals received commercial tetravalent FMD single emulsion oil vaccines formulated with inactivated FMDV. Total FMDV-specific antibody responses were studied against three viral strains included in the vaccine, and antibody titres were determined by liquid-phase blocking ELISA. Three linear hierarchical mixed regression models, one for each strain, were formulated to assess the heterogeneity in the immune responses to vaccination. The dependent variables were the antibody titres induced against each FMDV strain at 45 dpv, whereas sire's 'breed' was included as a fixed effect, 'sire' was included as a random effect, and 'farm' was considered as a hierarchical factor to account for lack of independence of within herd measurements. A significant association was found between anti-FMDV antibody responses and sire's breed, with lower immune responses found in the Jersey sires' offspring compared with those from Holstein sires. No significant intrabreed variation was detected. In addition, farm management practices were similar in this study, and results of the serological assays were shown to be repeatable. It therefore seems plausible that differences in the immune response may be expected in the event of a mass vaccination campaigns.

Characterisation of the Whole Blood mRNA Transcriptome in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey Calves in Response to Gradual Weaning

“…Greater bacterial killing and neutrophil oxidative burst activity, were also observed in the whole blood from the post-weaned Holstein calves, following incubation with Escherichia coli [ 15 ]. Furthermore, calves from J sires had lower total anti-foot-and-mouth disease virus serum antibody titres, in response to three different vaccine strains, than calves from Holstein sires suggesting that the genetic background of calves influences humeral immune responses [ 16 ].…”

Genome-wide association study for response to vaccination in Angus calves1

“…Despite widespread adoption of vaccination protocols in the beef cattle industry, BRDC remains extremely prevalent due to varying levels of vaccine efficacy [5, 6]. Research into response to vaccination has identified multiple environmental and management variables which impact an individual calf’s ability to mount an antibody response [7–9]. Factors such as maternally derived antibody levels from colostrum, calf age, seasonality, and weaning status all impact a calf’s individual immune system, and result in variability in its response to vaccination [10–12].…”

Viral Infection Skews Immunoglobulin Light Chain Repertoire Diversity

“…For example, the BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) vaccine provides a wide range of protection against tuberculosis in humans, ranging from nearly ineffective to nearly completely effective (1, 2). Vaccination of pigs against foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) is characterized by significant animal-to-animal variation in anti-FMDV IgA (3); and post-vaccination anti-FMDV antibody responses in cattle are significantly affected by genetic background (4). Furthermore in swine there is substantial antibody response variation to vaccination against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and to infection with Mycoplasma hyorhinis (5, 6).…”