A Pool of Bacterium-like Particles Displaying African Swine Fever Virus Antigens Induces Both Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses in Pigs
Jingshan Huang,
Hongxia Wu,
Tianqi Gao,
Huanjie Zhai,
Assad Moon,
Xin Song,
Shuwen Li,
Zhanhao Lu,
Jing Lan,
Dailang Zhong,
Xinyu Zhang,
Hua-Ji Qiu,
Yongfeng Li,
Yuan Sun
Affiliations
Jingshan Huang
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Hongxia Wu
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Tianqi Gao
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Huanjie Zhai
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Assad Moon
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Xin Song
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Shuwen Li
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Zhanhao Lu
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Jing Lan
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Dailang Zhong
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Xinyu Zhang
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Hua-Ji Qiu
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Yongfeng Li
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Yuan Sun
State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, National African Swine Fever Para-Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, China
Background/Objectives: African swine fever (ASF), caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), poses a significant threat to the global swine industry. This underscores the urgent need for safe and effective ASF vaccines. Methods: Here, we constructed five bacterium-like particles (BLPs) that each display one of the five ASFV antigens (F317L, H171R, D117L, B602L, and p54) based on the Gram-positive enhancer matrix-protein anchor (GEM-PA) system. GEM is a bacterial particle that contains only peptidoglycan, while PA is composed of three lysin motifs (Lysm) derived from the C-terminus of the AcmA protein, capable of non-covalently binding to GEM. By fusing the ASFV antigens with PA, the ASFV antigens can be firmly attached to the surface of GEM. Subsequently, the piglets were immunized via intramuscular injection with a mixture of BLPs-F317L, BLPs-H171R, BLPs-D117L, BLPs-B602L, and BLPs-p54. Results: The results showed that the piglets developed detectable serum IgG antibodies 2 weeks after the first immunization, and these high antibody levels were maintained 4 weeks after the booster immunization. Moreover, these piglets produced more IFN-γ-producing lymphocytes than the control piglets. Conclusions: The data indicate that the generated BLPs mixture can stimulate both humoral and cellular immune responses in piglets, these five ASFV proteins are promising antigens, and the BLPs generated represent candidate ASF vaccines.
