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Vaccine2018; 36(46); 7003-7010; doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.09.065

A single dose of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VP2 based vaccines provides complete clinical protection in a mouse model.

Abstract: African horse sickness is a severe, often fatal, arboviral disease of equids. The control of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) in endemic countries is based currently on the use of live attenuated vaccines despite some biosafety concerns derived from its biological properties. Thus, experimental vaccination platforms have been developed over the years in order to avoid the biosafety concerns associated with the use of attenuated vaccines. Various studies showed that baculovirus-expressed AHSV-VP2 or modified Vaccinia Ankara virus expressing AHSV-VP2 (MVA-VP2) induced virus neutralising antibodies and protective immunity in small animals and horses. AHSV is an antigenically diverse pathogen and immunity against AHS is serotype-specific. Therefore, AHS vaccines for use in endemic countries need to induce an immune response capable of protecting against all existing serotypes. For this reason, current live attenuated vaccines are administered as polyvalent preparations comprising combinations of AHSV attenuated strains of different serotypes. Previous studies have shown that it is possible to induce cross-reactive virus neutralising antibodies against different serotypes of AHSV by using polyvalent vaccines comprising combinations of either different serotype-specific VP2 proteins, or MVA-VP2 viruses. However, these strategies could be difficult to implement if induction of protective immunity is highly dependent on using a two-dose vaccination regime for each serotype the vaccine intends to protect against. In our study, we have tested the protective capacity of MVA-VP2 and baculovirus-expressed VP2 vaccines when a single dose was used. Groups of interferon alpha receptor knock-out mice were inoculated with either MVA-VP2 or baculovirus-expressed VP2 vaccines using one dose or the standard two-dose vaccination regime. After vaccination, all four vaccinated groups were challenged with AHSV and clinical responses, lethality and viraemia compared between the groups. Our results show that complete clinical protection was achieved after a single vaccination with either MVA-VP2 or baculovirus sub-unit VP2 vaccines.
Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Publication Date: 2018-10-08 PubMed ID: 30309744PubMed Central: PMC6219453DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.09.065Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article is about a study conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a single dose of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VP2-based vaccines in providing complete clinical protection. The study found that a single dose vaccination resulted in complete clinical protection against AHSV.

Introduction to the Research

  • The article begins by discussing African horse sickness (AHS), a severe arboviral disease in equids that often proves fatal. The disease is controlled in endemic countries through the use of live attenuated vaccines, despite the biosafety concerns associated with their use.
  • This has led to the development of alternate vaccination platforms, attempts to overcome the biosafety drawbacks of attenuated vaccines. Notably, vaccines featuring baculovirus-expressed AHSV-VP2 or modified Vaccinia Ankara virus expressing AHSV-VP2 (MVA-VP2) have showed promise in inducing immunity and neutralising the virus in small animals and horses.

About AHSV and AHS Vaccines

  • Understanding AHSV’s antigenic diversity and the serotype-specific immunity against AHS is very important. This is why current vaccines are administered in polyvalent preparations, combining attenuated strains from different AHSV serotypes to induce a broader immune response.
  • Previous studies have shown the possibility of inducing cross-reactive, virus-neutralising antibodies in response to different AHSV serotypes by using polyvalent vaccines, a feature that could prove challenging if a two-dose vaccination regime is necessary for every intended serotype.

The Study and its Findings

  • In this study, the researchers evaluated the protective capacity of MVA-VP2 and baculovirus-expressed VP2 vaccines when just a single dose was given.
  • The test subjects were groups of interferon alpha receptor knockout mice. They were inoculated with either MVA-VP2 or baculovirus-expressed VP2 vaccines, using either a single dose or a standard two-dose regime.
  • These vaccinated groups were then exposed to AHSV and the researchers noted and compared their clinical responses, the lethality, and the occurrence of viraemia in these groups.
  • The findings illustrated that complete clinical protection was achieved through a single vaccination with either MVA-VP2 or baculovirus subunit VP2 vaccines.

This study’s results suggest that implementing a single-dose vaccination regime might be sufficient for inducing complete clinical protection against the African horse sickness virus, a prospect that could simplify future vaccination efforts, improve vaccine acceptance, and reduce vaccination cost.

Cite This Article

APA
Aksular M, Calvo-Pinilla E, Marín-López A, Ortego J, Chambers AC, King LA, Castillo-Olivares J. (2018). A single dose of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VP2 based vaccines provides complete clinical protection in a mouse model. Vaccine, 36(46), 7003-7010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.09.065

Publication

Vaccine
ISSN: 1873-2518
NlmUniqueID: 8406899
Country: Netherlands
Language: English
Volume: 36
Issue: 46
Pages: 7003-7010

Researcher Affiliations

Aksular, Mine
  • Department of Biological & Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK; Oxford Expression Technologies Ltd, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK; The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NB, UK.
Calvo-Pinilla, Eva
  • CISA-INIA, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
Marín-López, Alejandro
  • CISA-INIA, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
Ortego, Javier
  • CISA-INIA, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
Chambers, Adam C
  • Oxford Expression Technologies Ltd, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
King, Linda A
  • Department of Biological & Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
Castillo-Olivares, Javier
  • Department of Biological & Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK; The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NB, UK; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, CB3 0ES Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: fjc37@cam.ac.uk.

MeSH Terms

  • African Horse Sickness / prevention & control
  • Animals
  • Baculoviridae / genetics
  • Capsid Proteins / immunology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Drug Carriers
  • Female
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Mice
  • Survival Analysis
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Vaccines, Subunit / administration & dosage
  • Vaccines, Subunit / immunology
  • Vaccines, Synthetic / administration & dosage
  • Vaccines, Synthetic / immunology
  • Vaccinia virus / genetics
  • Viral Vaccines / administration & dosage
  • Viral Vaccines / immunology
  • Viremia / prevention & control

Grant Funding

  • BBS/E/I/00001792 / Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
  • BBS/E/I/00002536 / Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

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This article has been cited 12 times.
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