Xingming Shi

Preparation and immunological effectiveness of a swine influenza DNA vaccine encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles

Preparation conditions of a DNA vaccine against swine influenza encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles were determined. The nanoparticles were prepared according to a complex coacervation method using chitosan as a biodegradable matrix forming polymer. Under the preparation conditions, chitosan nanoparticles containing the DNA vaccine were produced with good morphology, high encapsulation rate and high stability. Transfection test indicated that the vaccine could be expressed as an antigen in cells, and maintained good bioactivity. In addition, better immune responses of mice immunized with the chitosan nanoparticles containing the DNA vaccine were induced and prolonged release of the plasmid DNA was achieved compared to the DNA vaccine alone. These results laid a foundation for further development of DNA vaccines in nanoparticles before ultimate industrial application.

Preparation and efficacy of a live newcastle disease virus vaccine encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles.

Background Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious viral disease of poultry caused by pathogenic strains of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Live NDV vaccines are administered by drinking water, eyedrops or coarse aerosol spray. To further enhance mucosal immune responses, chitosan nanoparticles were developed for the mucosal delivery of a live NDV vaccine. Methodology/Principal Findings A lentogenic live-virus vaccine (strain LaSota) against NDV encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles were developed using an ionic crosslinking method. Chitosan nanoparticles containing the lentogenic live-virus vaccine against NDV (NDV-CS-NPs) were produced with good morphology, high stability, a mean diameter of 371.1 nm, an encapsulation rate of 77% and a zeta potential of +2.84 mV. The Western blotting analysis showed that NDV structural proteins were detected in NDV-CS-NPs. The virus release assay results of NDV-CS-NPs indicated that NDV was released from NDV-CS-NPs. Chickens immunized orally or intranasally with NDV-CS-NPs were fully protected whereas one out of five chickens immunized with the LaSota live NDV vaccine and three out of five chickens immunized with the inactivated NDV vaccine were dead after challenge with the highly virulent NDV strain F48E9. Conclusions/Significance NDV-CS-NPs induced better protection of immunized specific pathogen free chickens compared to the live NDV vaccine strain LaSota and the inactivated NDV vaccine. This study lays a foundation for the further development of mucosal vaccines and drugs encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles.

Identification of a Conserved B-cell Epitope on Reticuloendotheliosis Virus Envelope Protein by Screening a Phage-displayed Random Peptide Library

Background The gp90 protein of avian reticuloendotheliosis-associated virus (REV-A) is an important envelope glycoprotein, which is responsible for inducing protective antibody immune responses in animals. B-cell epitopes on the gp90 protein of REV have not been well studied and reported. Methods and Results This study describes the identification of a linear B-cell epitope on the gp90 protein by screening a phage-displayed 12-mer random peptide library with the neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) A9E8 directed against the gp90. The mAb A9E8 recognized phages displaying peptides with the consensus motif SVQYHPL. Amino acid sequence of the motif exactly matched 213SVQYHPL219 of the gp90. Further identification of the displayed B cell epitope was conducted using a set of truncated peptides expressed as GST fusion proteins and the Western blot results indicated that 213SVQYHPL219 was the minimal determinant of the linear B cell epitope recognized by the mAb A9E8. Moreover, an eight amino acid peptide SVQYHPLA was proven to be the minimal unit of the epitope with the maximal binding activity to mAb A9E8. The REV-A-positive chicken serum reacted with the minimal linear epitopes in Western blot, revealing the importance of the eight amino acids of the epitope in antibody-epitope binding activity. Furthermore, we found that the epitope is a common motif shared among REV-A and other members of REV group. Conclusions and Significance We identified 213SVQYHPL219 as a gp90-specific linear B-cell epitope recognized by the neutralizing mAb A9E8. The results in this study may have potential applications in development of diagnostic techniques and epitope-based marker vaccines against REV-A and other viruses of the REV group.

Protection of chickens against infectious bronchitis by a recombinant fowlpox virus co-expressing IBV-S1 and chicken IFNγ.

A fowlpox virus expressing the chicken infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) S1 gene of the LX4 strain (rFPV-IBVS1) and a fowlpox virus co-expressing the S1 gene and the chicken type II interferon gene (rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma) were constructed. These viruses were assessed for their immunological efficacy on specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens challenged with a virulent IBV. Although the antibody levels in the rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma-vaccinated group were lower than those in the attenuated live IB vaccine H120 group and the rFPV-IBVS1 group, the rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma provided the strongest protection against an IBV LX4 virus challenge (15 out of 16 chickens immunized with rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma were protected), followed by the attenuated live IB vaccine (13/16 protected) and the rFPV-IBVS1 (12/16 protected). Compared to those of the rFPV-IBVS1 and the attenuated live IB vaccine groups, chickens in the rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma group eliminated virus more quickly and decreased the presence of viral antigen more significantly in renal tissue. Examination of affected tissues revealed abnormalities in the liver, spleen, kidney, lung and trachea of chickens vaccinated with the attenuated live IB vaccine and the rFPV-IBVS1 vaccine. In rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma-vaccinated chickens, pathological changes were also observed in those organs, but were milder and lasted shorter. The lesions in the mock control group were the most severe and lasted for at least 20 days. This study demonstrated that chicken type II interferon increased the immunoprotective efficacy of rFPV-IBVS1-ChIFNgamma and normal weight gain in vaccinated chickens although it inhibited serum antibody production.

Evaluation of recombinant fowlpox virus expressing infectious bronchitis virus S1 gene and chicken interferon-γ gene for immune protection against heterologous strains.

Abstract A recombinant fowlpox virus (rFPV-IFNγS1) that co-expressed the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) S1 gene and the chicken interferon-γ gene has been constructed. To evaluate the efficacy of the recombinant fowlpox virus vaccine against heterotypic IBV strains, 60 4-week-old Specific-Pathogen-Free (SPF) chickens were inoculated with this vaccine and 3 weeks post inoculation challenged with the homotypic IBV strain LX4 and the heterotypic IBV strains LHB, LHLJ04XI, LTJ95I and LSC99I. Antibodies against IBV were detected in vaccinated chickens 1-week post inoculation. The number of CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes in the peripheral blood increased rapidly in the vaccinated groups challenged with strains LX4, LHB and LHLJ04XI. There were significant differences in the number of CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes between the vaccinated groups challenged with strains LTJ95I and LSC99I and all the control groups. The morbidity was below 30% in vaccinated groups challenge with strains LX4, LHB and LHLJ04XI, but was 40% greater than that in the other groups. In addition, the lesions and the amount of virus shedding were less severe in the vaccinated groups challenged by strains LX4, LHB and LHLJ04XI when compared with the other groups, but there was no significant difference in the average body weight of the chickens in all groups (all p >0.05). These results indicate that the rFPV-IFNγS1 protected chickens against challenge with homotypic IBV strain LX4 and heterotypic strains LHLJ04XI and LHB.

Construction of an infectious Marek's disease virus bacterial artificial chromosome and characterization of protection induced in chickens.

Mareks disease virus (MDV) is a highly oncogenic alphaherpesvirus that induces rapid-onset T-cell lymphoma in poultry. The complete genome of the avirulent vaccine strain MDV-814 was cloned as an infectious bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) using an 8.8-kb fragment containing the self-designed selective marker guanosine phosphoriboxyl transferase. The recombinant virus MDV-814-BAC was generated by co-transfection of a BAC transfer vector and MDV-814 total DNA, and was purified by eight rounds of selective passaging. The infectivity of the BAC DNA clone was validated by MDV reconstitution from chicken embryo fibroblasts transfected with MDV-BAC DNA, which was extracted from electroporated Escherichia coli DH10B cells. In vitro, the BAC-derived virus had similar biological characteristics and growth kinetics as the wild-type parental and recombinant viruses, and chickens immunized with BAC derivatives by various delivery mechanisms acquired protection against virulent MDV challenge. Construction of this MDV-BAC may aid the development of recombinant vaccines-containing multiple antigens.

Expression of HA of HPAI H5N1 virus at US2 gene insertion site of turkey herpesvirus induced better protection than that at US10 gene insertion site.

Herpesvirus of turkey (HVT) is being widely used as a vector for development of recombinant vaccines and US2 and US10 genes are often chosen as insertion sites for targeted gene expression. However, the different effects of the two genes for generation of recombinant HVT vaccines were unknown. In order to compare the effects of inserted genes in the two sites on the efficacy of the recombinant vaccines, host-protective haemagglutinin (HA) gene of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 was inserted into either US2 or US10 gene locus of the HVT. The resulting US2 (rHVT-US2-HA) or US10 (rHVT-US10-HA) recombinant HVT viruses were used to infect chicken embryo fibroblasts. Plaques and the growth kinetics of rHVT-US2-HA-infected chicken embryo fibroblasts were similar to those of parental HVT whereas rHVT-US10-HA infected chicken embryo fibroblasts had different growth kinetics and plaque formation. The viremia levels in rHVT-US10-HA virus-infected chickens were significantly lower than those of rHVT-US2-HA group on 28 days post infection. The vaccine efficacy of the two recombinant viruses against H5N1 HPAIV and virulent Mareks disease virus was also evaluated in 1-day-old vaccinated chickens. rHVT-US2-HA-vaccinated chickens were better protected with reduced mortality than rHVT-US10-HA-vaccinated animals following HPAIV challenge. Furthermore, the overall hemaglutination inhibition antibody titers of rHVT-US2-HA-vaccinated chickens were higher than those of rHVT-US10-HA-vaccinated chickens. Protection levels against Mareks disease virus challenge following vaccination with either rHVT-US2-HA or rHVT-US10-HA, however, were similar to those of the parental HVT virus. These results, for the first time, indicate that US2 gene provides a favorable foreign gene insertion site for generation of recombinant HVT vaccines.

Detection of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus by Real-Time PCR in Naturally and Experimentally Infected Chickens

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is an acute, highly contagious upper-respiratory infectious disease of chickens. In this study, a real-time PCR method was developed for fast and accurate detection and quantitation of ILTV DNA of chickens experimentally infected with ILTV strain LJS09 and naturally infected chickens. The detection lower limit of the assay was 10 copies of DNA. There were no cross reactions with the DNA and RNA of infectious bursal disease virus, chicken anemia virus, reticuloendotheliosis virus, avian reovirus, Newcastle disease virus, and Mareks disease virus. The real-time PCR was reproducible as the coefficients of variation of reproducibility of the intra-assay and the inter-assay were less than 2%. The real-time PCR was used to detect the levels of the ILTV DNA in the tissues of specific pathogen free (SPF) chickens infected with ILTV at different times post infection. ILTV DNA was detected by real-time PCR in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, larynx, tongue, thymus, glandular stomach, duodenum, pancreatic gland, small intestine, large intestine, cecum, cecal tonsil, bursa of Fabricius, and brain of chickens in the infection group and the contact-exposure group. The sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of the ILTV real-time PCR assay revealed its suitability for detection and quantitation of ILTV in the samples from clinically and experimentally ILTV infected chickens.

Avirulent Marek’s Disease Virus Type 1 Strain 814 Vectored Vaccine Expressing Avian Influenza (AI) Virus H5 Haemagglutinin Induced Better Protection Than Turkey Herpesvirus Vectored AI Vaccine

Background Herpesvirus of turkey (HVT) as a vector to express the haemagglutinin (HA) of avian influenza virus (AIV) H5 was developed and its protection against lethal Marek’s disease virus (MDV) and highly pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) challenges was evaluated previously. It is well-known that avirulemt MDV type 1 vaccines are more effective than HVT in prevention of lethal MDV infection. To further increase protective efficacy against HPAIV and lethal MDV, a recombinant MDV type 1 strain 814 was developed to express HA gene of HPAIV H5N1. Methodology/Principal Findings A recombinant MDV-1 strain 814 expressing HA gene of HPAIV H5N1 virus A/goose/Guangdong/3/96 at the US2 site (rMDV-HA) was developed under the control of a human CMV immediate-early promoter. The HA expression in the rMDV-HA was tested by immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses, and in vitro and in vivo growth properties of rMDV-HA were also analyzed. Furthermore, we evaluated and compared the protective immunity of rMDV-HA and previously constructed rHVT-HA against HPAIV and lethal MDV. Vaccination of chickens with rMDV-HA induced 80% protection against HPAIV, which was better than the protection rate by rHVT-HA (66.7%). In the animal study with MDV challenge, chickens immunized with rMDV-HA were completely protected against virulent MDV strain J-1 whereas rHVT-HA only induced 80% protection with the same challenge dose. Conclusions/Significance The rMDV-HA vaccine was more effective than rHVT-HA vaccine for protection against lethal MDV and HPAIV challenges. Therefore, avirulent MDV type 1 vaccine is a better vector than HVT for development of a recombinant live virus vaccine against virulent MDV and HPAIV in poultry.

Development of a rapid and specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification detection method that targets Marek's disease virus meq gene

A rapid, sensitive and specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method was developed and evaluated for the detection of Mareks disease virus (MDV) by amplification of conserved MDV meq gene sequences. LAMP is an innovative technique that allows the rapid detection of targeted nucleic acid sequences under isothermal conditions without the need for complex instrumentation. In this study, meq gene sequences were amplified successfully from different MDV strains by LAMP within 60min and no cross-reactivity was observed in a panel of related viruses that were associated with diseases of chickens. The detection limit of LAMP was 3.2 copies/million cells compared with 320 copies/million cells required for conventional PCR. Positive detection rates were assessed using either LAMP or PCR by examination of feather follicles that were collected from chickens infected experimentally with either strain J-1 (n=20) or strain Md5 (n=17), In addition to these samples, three isolates that were suspected to have been infected in the clinic were also tested. Results showed that the positive detection rate for LAMP was 95% (38/40), compared with 87.5% (35/40) and 90% (38/40) for strains J-1 and Md5 by PCR, respectively. These results indicated that the LAMP assay was more sensitive, rapid and specific than conventional PCR for the detection of MDV. This easy-to-perform technique will be useful for the detection of MDV and will aid in the establishment of disease control protocols.