title: Antibody and cellular immune responses of naïve mares to repeated vaccination with an inactivated equine herpesvirus vaccine.
abstract: Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) continues to cause severe outbreaks of abortions or myeloencephalopathy in horses despite widely used vaccination. The aim of this work was to determine the effects of frequent vaccination with an inactivated EHV vaccine on immune development in horses. Fifteen EHV-1 naïve mares were vaccinated a total of 5 times over a period of 8 months with intervals of 20, 60, 90 and 60 days between vaccine administrations. Total antibody and antibody isotype responses were evaluated with a new sensitive EHV-1 Multiplex assay to glycoprotein C (gC) and gD for up to 14 months after initial vaccination. Antibodies peaked after the first two vaccine doses and then declined despite a third administration of the vaccine. The fourth vaccine dose was given at 6 months and the gC and gD antibody titers increased again. Mixed responses with increasing gC but decreasing gD antibody values were observed after the fifth vaccination at 8 months. IgG4/7 isotype responses mimicked the total Ig antibody production to vaccination most closely. Vaccination also induced short-lasting IgG1 antibodies to gC, but not to gD. EHV-1-specific cellular immunity induced by vaccination developed slower than antibodies, was dominated by IFN-γ producing T-helper 1 (Th1) cells, and was significantly increased compared to pre-vaccination values after administration of 3 vaccine doses. Decreased IFN-γ production and reduced Th1-cell induction were also observed after the second and fourth vaccination. Overall, repeated EHV vaccine administration did not always result in increasing immunity. The adverse effects on antibody and cellular immunity that were observed here when the EHV vaccine was given in short intervals might in part explain why EHV-1 outbreaks are observed worldwide despite widely used vaccination. The findings warrant further evaluation of immune responses to EHV vaccines to optimize vaccination protocols for different vaccines and horse groups at risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: bw73@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Babasyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Freer
authors.affiliation: Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur, 112 Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torsteinsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur, 112 Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Svansson
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, MAST, Office of Animal Health and Welfare, 800 Selfoss, Iceland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Björnsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Perkins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid; D022283:Herpesvirus Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses / Q000276:immunology; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000276:immunology; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D022283:Herpesvirus Vaccines; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C038535:glycoprotein gC, herpes simplex virus type 1; C515577:glycoprotein gD, herpes simplex virus type 1; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: EHV Multiplex assay; Equine herpesvirus; Horse; IgG isotype; Interferon-gamma; Th1-cell