Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)

• Published in: Scientific reports 2019-05, Vol.9 (1), p.6788-6788, Article 6788
• Main Authors: Rocke, Tonie E., Kingstad-Bakke, Brock, Wüthrich, Marcel, Stading, Ben, Abbott, Rachel C., Isidoro-Ayza, Marcos, Dobson, Hannah E., dos Santos Dias, Lucas, Galles, Kevin, Lankton, Julia S., Falendysz, Elizabeth A., Lorch, Jeffrey M., Fites, J. Scott, Lopera-Madrid, Jaime, White, J. Paul, Klein, Bruce, Osorio, Jorge E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13/31; 13/44; 38/1; 38/32; 631/250; 692/699/255/1672; Animal diseases; Animals; Antigens; Ascomycota - immunology; Ascomycota - pathogenicity; Bats; Calnexin; CD4 antigen; Chiroptera; Chiroptera - immunology; Chiroptera - microbiology; Chiroptera - virology; Flow cytometry; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Fungi; Helper cells; Hibernation; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humanities and Social Sciences; Immune response; Immunization; Immunization - veterinary; Lymphocytes; multidisciplinary; Mycoses - epidemiology; Mycoses - prevention & control; Mycoses - veterinary; Myotis lucifugus; Nose Diseases - epidemiology; Nose Diseases - microbiology; Pilot Projects; Polymerase chain reaction; Poxviridae - genetics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Serine; Serine proteinase; Syndrome; Vaccination; Vaccines; Viral Vaccines - administration & dosage; White-nose syndrome; γ-Interferon
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43210-w

White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans ( Pd ) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus . In a pilot study, we immunized bats with one of four vaccine treatments or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control and challenged them with Pd upon transfer into hibernation chambers. Bats in one vaccine-treated group, that received raccoon poxviruses (RCN) expressing Pd calnexin (CAL) and serine protease (SP), developed WNS at a lower rate (1/10) than other treatments combined (14/23), although samples sizes were small. The results of a second similar trial provided additional support for this observation. Bats vaccinated orally or by injection with RCN-CAL and RCN-SP survived Pd challenge at a significantly higher rate (P = 0.01) than controls. Using RT-PCR and flow cytometry, combined with fluorescent in situ hybridization, we determined that expression of IFN-γ transcripts and the number of CD4 + T-helper cells transcribing this gene were elevated (P