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

• Published in: Virology journal 2020-08, Vol.17 (1), p.121-121, Article 121
• Main Authors: Yu, Lei, Pan, Jun, Cao, Guangli, Jiang, Mengsheng, Zhang, Yunshan, Zhu, Min, Liang, Zi, Zhang, Xing, Hu, Xiaolong, Xue, Renyu, Gong, Chengliang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; Antigenic determinants; Antigens; Avian flu; Avian influenza; avian influenza virus; Baculoviridae - genetics; baculovirus; Bombyx; Cells (Biology); chicken and mice; Chickens; Codons; Cytomegalovirus; Cytotoxicity; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Disease Models, Animal; DNA; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Epitopes; Epitopes - genetics; Epitopes - immunology; Gene transfer; Genetic engineering; Health aspects; HEK293 Cells; Humans; Immune response; Immunization; Immunofluorescence; Immunohistochemistry; Infection; Infections; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype - genetics; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype - immunology; Influenza vaccines; Influenza Vaccines - genetics; Influenza Vaccines - immunology; Influenza viruses; Lymphocytes T; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Orthomyxoviridae Infections - immunology; polyantigen epitope vaccine; Poultry; Poultry Diseases - immunology; Poultry Diseases - prevention & control; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Proteins; Serotypes; Support vector machines; T cells; T-Lymphocytes - chemistry; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Vaccines; Vaccines, Synthetic - administration & dosage; Vaccines, Synthetic - immunology; Viruses; Western blotting
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12985-020-01388-w

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. 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 codon-optimized 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. 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. 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.