Scientific Reports (Nov 2023)

UV-C irradiation as an effective tool for sterilization of porcine chimeric VP1-PCV2bCap recombinant vaccine

  • Alena Vrablikova,
  • Martina Fojtikova,
  • Renata Hezova,
  • Pavlina Simeckova,
  • Veronika Brezani,
  • Nicol Strakova,
  • Martin Fraiberk,
  • Jan Kotoucek,
  • Josef Masek,
  • Ivan Psikal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46791-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Ultraviolet irradiation is an effective method of virus and bacteria inactivation. The dose of UV-C light necessary for baculovirus inactivation by measurement of fluorescent GFP protein produced by baculovirus expression system after the irradiation of baculovirus culture in doses ranging from 3.5 to 42 J/m2 was determined. At a dose of 36.8 J/m2, only 0.5% of GFP-expressing cells were detected by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The stability of purified VP1-PCV2bCap protein produced by baculovirus expression system was analyzed after the irradiation at doses ranging from 3.5 to 19.3 J/m2. Up to the dose of 11 J/m2, no significant effect of UV-C light on the stability of VP1-PCV2bCap was detected. We observed a dose-dependent increase in VP1-PCV2bCap-specific immune response in BALB/c mice immunized by recombinant protein sterilized by irradiation in dose 11 J/m2 with no significant difference between vaccines sterilized by UV-C light and filtration. A substantial difference in the production of VP1-PCV2bCap specific IgG was observed in piglets immunized with VP1-PCV2bCap sterilized by UV-C in comparison with protein sterilized by filtration in combination with the inactivation of baculovirus by binary ethylenimine. UV-C irradiation represents an effective method for vaccine sterilization, where commonly used methods of sterilization are not possible.