Development of a Recombinant Pichinde Virus-Vectored Vaccine against Turkey Arthritis Reovirus and Its Immunological Response Characterization in Vaccinated Animals
Pawan Kumar,
Tamer A. Sharafeldin,
Rahul Kumar,
Qinfeng Huang,
Yuying Liang,
Sagar M. Goyal,
Robert E. Porter,
Hinh Ly,
Sunil K. Mor
Affiliations
Pawan Kumar
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Tamer A. Sharafeldin
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Rahul Kumar
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Qinfeng Huang
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Yuying Liang
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Sagar M. Goyal
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Robert E. Porter
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Hinh Ly
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Sunil K. Mor
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Vaccination may be an effective way to reduce turkey arthritis reovirus (TARV)-induced lameness in turkey flocks. However, there are currently no commercial vaccines available against TARV infection. Here, we describe the use of reverse genetics technology to generate a recombinant Pichinde virus (PICV) that expresses the Sigma C and/or Sigma B proteins of TARV as antigens. Nine recombinant PICV-based TARV vaccines were developed carrying the wild-type S1 (Sigma C) and/or S3 (Sigma B) genes from three different TARV strains. In addition, three recombinant PICV-based TARV vaccines were produced carrying codon-optimized S1 and/or S3 genes of a TARV strain. The S1 and S3 genes and antigens were found to be expressed in virus-infected cells via reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) technique, respectively. Turkey poults inoculated with the recombinant PICV-based TARV vaccine expressing the bivalent TARV S1 and S3 antigens developed high anti-TARV antibody titers, indicating the immunogenicity (and safety) of this vaccine. Future in vivo challenge studies using a turkey reovirus infection model will determine the optimum dose and protective efficacy of this recombinant virus-vectored candidate vaccine.
