Protective immunity against equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) infection in mice induced by recombinant EHV-1 gD.
The ability of recombinant preparations of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) glycoprotein D (gD) to elicit specific antibody and T lymphocyte responses in the BALB/c mouse model of respiratory infection was investigated. Recombinant gD (rgD) expressed as a glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein in Escherichia coli elicited both high titer neutralizing antibody (nAb) and CD4 T cell proliferative responses following subcutaneous or intranasal immunization, but elicited only a weak antibody response after intraperitoneal immunization. Protection against respiratory tract infection with pathogenic EHV-1 RacL11 was observed in mice immunized subcutaneously with GST-gD. Furthermore, the degree of protection correlated to the titer of nAb and the T cell response observed. Finally, GST-gD was more effective in protecting against respiratory RacL11 infection if delivered intranasally. These results confirm that gD plays an important role in eliciting the protective immune response against EHV-1 infection, and indicate that subunit vaccines containing preparations of gD may be very effective if delivered directly to the upper respiratory tract.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Louisiana State University Medical Center, School of Medicine in Shreveport, 71130, USA.
Y
Y
Zhang
P M
PM
Smith
E B
EB
Tarbet
N
N
Osterrieder
S R
SR
Jennings
D J
DJ
O'Callaghan
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006736:Horses; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins