Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of a Recombinant Pichinde Viral-Vectored Vaccine Expressing Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Antigen in Pigs

Authors

Sushmita Kumari, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jayeshbhai Chaudhari, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Qinfeng Huang, University of Minnesota
Phillip Gauger, Iowa State University
Marcelo Nunes De Almeida, Iowa State University
Yuying Liang, University of Minnesota
Hinh Ly, University of Minnesota
Hiep Vu, University of Nebraska-lincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Jayeshbhai Chaudhari https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1864-562X

Phillip Gauger https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2540-8769

Marcelo Nunes De Almeida https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3638-7721

Yuying Liang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6002-6868

Hinh Ly https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8271-2033

Hiep L. X. Vu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8084-4358

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2022

Citation

Kumari, S.; Chaudhari, J.; Huang, Q.; Gauger, P.; De Almeida, M.N.; Liang, Y.; Ly, H.; Vu, H.L.X. Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of a Recombinant Pichinde Viral-Vectored Vaccine Expressing Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Antigen in Pigs. Vaccines 2022, 10, 1400. https://doi.org/10.3390/ vaccines10091400

Comments

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license

Abstract

Influenza A virus of swine (IAV-S) is an economically important swine pathogen. The IAV-S hemagglutinin (HA) surface protein is the main target for vaccine development. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using the recombinant tri-segmented Pichinde virus (rPICV) as a viral vector to deliver HA antigen to protect pigs against IAV-S challenge. Four groups of weaned pigs (T01–T04) were included in the study. T01 was injected with PBS to serve as a non-vaccinated control. T02 was inoculated with rPICV expressing green fluorescence protein (rPICV-GFP). T03 was vaccinated with rPICV expressing the HA antigen of the IAV-S H3N2 strain (rPICV-H3). T04 was vaccinated with the recombinant HA protein antigen of the same H3N2 strain. Pigs were vaccinated twice at day 0 and day 21 and challenged at day 43 by intra-tracheal inoculation with the homologous H3N2 IAV-S strain. After vaccination, all pigs in T03 and T04 groups were seroconverted and exhibited high titers of plasma neutralizing antibodies. After challenge, high levels of IAV-S RNA were detected in the nasal swabs and bronchioalveolar lavage fluid of pigs in T01 and T02 but not in the T03 and T04 groups. Similarly, lung lesions were observed in T01 and T02, but not in the T03 and T04 groups. No significant difference in terms of protection was observed between the T03 and T04 group. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the rPICV-H3 vectored vaccine elicited protective immunity against IAV-S challenge. This study shows that rPICV is a promising viral vector for the development of vaccines against IAV-S.