Subversion and piracy: DNA viruses and immune evasion

During the co-evolution of viruses with their vertebrate hosts, the DNA viruses have acquired an impressive array of immunomodulatory genes to combat host immune responses and their hosts have developed a sophisticated immune system to contain virus infections. In order to replicate, the viruses have evolved mechanisms to inhibit key host anti-virus responses that include apoptosis, interferon production, chemokine production, inflammatory cytokine production, and the activity of cytotoxic T-cells, natural killer cells and antibody. In addition, some of the viruses encode cytokine or chemokine homologues that recruit or expand cell numbers for infection or that subvert the host cellular response from a protective response to a benign one. The specificity of the viral immunomodulatory molecules reflects the life cycle and the pathogenesis of the viruses. Herpesviruses achieve latency in host cells by inducing cell survival and protecting infected cells from immune recognition. This involves interference with cell signal transduction pathways. Many of the viral immunomodulatory proteins are homologues of host proteins that appear to have been pirated from the host and reassorted in the virus genomes. Some of these have unique functions and indicate novel or important aspects of both viral pathogenesis and host immunity to viruses. The specific example of orf virus infection of sheep is described.     

非洲猪瘟病毒入胞过程相关蛋白及分子机制的研究进展

非洲猪瘟病毒(ASFV)是非洲猪瘟(ASF)的病原,可引发家猪和野猪急性、传染性出血死亡,目前尚无有效的疫苗和抗病毒药物。ASFV是囊膜病毒,其囊膜蛋白的结构和功能可能是影响病毒入侵和细胞嗜性的重要因素。病毒入胞是病毒感染细胞的第一步,通常是通过细胞表面特定的分子与病毒蛋白相结合吸附于宿主细胞表面,对ASFV入胞过程的病毒蛋白或宿主因子为靶点或可有效抑制ASFV的复制。本文从ASFV入胞过程中起重要作用的囊膜蛋白出发,对ASFV的入胞分子机制进行综述,为ASFV入胞深入研究以及治疗性药物和疫苗的研发提供参考。     

Interferon status and white blood cells during infection with African swine fever virus in vivo

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the causative agent of African swine fever that is the significant disease of domestic pigs, with high rates of mortality. ASFV is double-stranded DNA virus whose genes encode some proteins that are implicated in the suppression of host immune response. In this study, we have modeled in vivo infection of ASFV for determination of interferon (IFN) status in infected pigs. We measured the level of IFN-α, -β and -γ by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and showed that the level of IFN-α sharply decreased during infection. Unlike IFN-α, the level of IFN-β and -γ increased from the 2nd and 4th days post-infection, respectively. Also, we analyzed the population dynamics of peripheral white blood cells of infected pigs due to their important role in host immune system. We showed that the atypical lymphocytes appeared after short time of infection and this result is in accordance with our previous study done in vitro. At the last day of infection about 50% of the total white blood cells were destroyed, and the remaining cells were represented mainly by small-sized lymphocytes, reactive lymphocytes and lymphoblasts.     

利用酵母双杂交技术筛选和鉴定非洲猪瘟病毒E120R蛋白的互作宿主蛋白

【目的】 探讨非洲猪瘟病毒（African swine fever virus，ASFV）衣壳蛋白E120R在病毒感染中的作用，确定与E120R蛋白互作的宿主蛋白。【方法】 将ASFV分离株CADC_HN09株E120R基因合成并克隆于pGBKT7表达载体，获得pGBKT7-E120R诱饵质粒，同时构建E120R基因截短表达质粒pGBKT7-E120R-1（1－61位氨基酸）和pGBKT7-E120R-2（62－122位氨基酸）。经毒性和自激活性检测后，通过酵母双杂交技术对骨髓巨噬细胞（BMDMs） cDNA均一化酵母文库进行初步筛选，以获得与ASFV E120R蛋白互作的蛋白。通过NCBI数据库进行序列比对并经免疫共沉淀试验验证，确定互作的宿主蛋白。筛选的宿主蛋白经webgenstal在线分析网站初步进行GO功能和KEGG通路富集分析，以确定所筛选的宿主蛋白参与的生物过程与信号通路。【结果】 诱饵质粒pGBKT7-E120R-2无毒性和自激活性，可用于文库筛选。通过酵母双杂交系统从BMDMs cDNA均一化酵母文库中初步筛选到46个阳性克隆并进行回转验证，经NCBI数据库序列比对分析共获得29个宿主蛋白。免疫共沉淀试验结果显示，多聚胞嘧啶结合蛋白2（PCBP2）和干扰素刺激基因15（ISG15）均与E120R蛋白存在互作。GO功能富集分析表明，所筛选的宿主蛋白可参与代谢过程、生物调节、应激反应等生物过程；KEGG通路富集分析表明，这些宿主蛋白可参与抗原呈递、铁死亡和坏死性凋亡等多条信号通路。【结论】 ASFV E120R蛋白可与宿主免疫应答、细胞死亡等信号通路相关的多种宿主蛋白互作，为进一步研究ASFV E120R蛋白在病毒感染过程中的作用提供了重要理论依据。     

lncRNA在猪流产相关病毒感染中的作用研究进展

猪的繁殖力是决定其生产效率的重要因素,而病毒感染导致的猪流产问题严重影响猪的繁殖效率。了解猪流产相关病毒的致病机制有助于提高猪的繁殖效率,然而大量的研究主要集中在病毒与宿主的蛋白质或基因组DNA上,近年来,长链非编码RNA （long noncoding RNA,lncRNA）从新的视角揭示了病毒与宿主的相互作用,为研究二者之间的互作关系提供了新的途径。lncRNA是一组长度>200 nt的转录本,主要通过与DNA、RNA、染色质和蛋白质互作发挥功能,在某些发育阶段、组织和疾病状态中发生特异性表达,参与机体的多种调控。lncRNA是调控病毒与宿主相互作用的关键因子,在病毒感染宿主后lncRNA发生差异性表达,对应的靶基因富集到炎症和免疫相关的信号通路,参与机体的炎症、免疫和抗病毒反应。深入了解lncRNA在猪流产相关病毒与宿主之间的调控作用,对预防和治疗病毒感染导致的猪流产具有重要意义。作者对lncRNA及其与猪流产相关病毒的关系、宿主lncRNA与病毒的互作及调控通路展开了综述,并对其存在的问题及应用前景进行了展望,以期为猪的抗病育种、猪流产药物的开发和设计及流产类相关疾病的靶点治疗等提供理论依据。     

Cytokine mRNA expression and pathological findings in pigs inoculated with African swine fever virus (E-70) deleted on A238L

African swine fever virus (ASFV) induces a variety of immune responses and clinical forms in domestic pigs. As it is the only member of the Asfarviridae family, ASFV encodes many novel genes not encoded by other virus families. Among these genes, A238L may regulate the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines, controlled mainly by NFkappaB and NFAT pathways. In this study, we inoculated two groups of pigs, one with the ASFV highly virulent E-70 isolate, deleted on A238L gene, and the other group with the parental E-70 isolate. No significant differences were observed in the clinical signs or pathology between both groups. However, the TNF-alpha mRNA expression was strongly enhanced in the PBMC from pigs inoculated with the virus deleted in A238L, reinforcing the role of the A238L gene in the inhibition of the NFkappaB pathway of expression of cytokines. No up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines was observed in the PBMC of animals inoculated with the E-70 isolate, even though apoptosis and haemorrhages were evident and might be related to the presence of bystander monocyte-macrophages expressing these cytokines. Other studies using ASFV deleted in other genes inoculated in the natural hosts should be performed to gain further insight into the role of these genes in the pathogenesis of ASF.     

Myxoma virus in the European rabbit: interactions between the virus and its susceptible host

Myxoma virus (MV) is a poxvirus that evolved in Sylvilagus lagomorphs, and is the causative agent of myxomatosis in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). This virus is not a natural pathogen of O. cuniculus, yet is able to subvert the host rabbit immune system defenses and cause a highly lethal systemic infection. The interaction of MV proteins and the rabbit immune system has been an ideal model to help elucidate host/poxvirus interactions, and has led to a greater understanding of how other poxvirus pathogens are able to cause disease in their respective hosts. This review will examine how MV causes myxomatosis, by examining a selection of the identified immunomodulatory proteins that this virus expresses to subvert the immune and inflammatory pathways of infected rabbit hosts.     

非洲猪瘟病毒强免疫原性重组CD2v抗原的制备与初步应用

旨在获得非洲猪瘟病毒（ASFV）强免疫原性重组CD2v抗原,利用生物信息学软件进行CD2v抗原指数分析,将其细胞质内免疫显性区与类弹性蛋白多肽（ELP）在重组大肠杆菌中进行融合表达,对ELP-CD2v融合蛋白的相变循环（ITC）条件进行优化,在优化条件下进行融合蛋白纯化,利用烟草蚀纹病毒（TEV）蛋白酶活性包涵体切除ELP标签,通过免疫转印法对重组CD2v抗原进行鉴定,利用重组CD2v抗原建立ELISA抗体检测方法,与多抗原ELISA对ASFV抗体阳性和阴性血清进行平行检测。结果显示,ELP-CD2v融合蛋白获得正确、可溶性表达,ITC条件为28℃和1.5 mol·L^-1 NaCl,在0.2% Triton X-100存在下进行ITC,纯化的融合蛋白纯度为76.3%;TEV蛋白酶活性包涵体能有效切割ELP标签,再次ITC回收的重组CD2v抗原纯度为91.7%,能被ASFV抗体识别;根据多抗原ELISA检测结果选择血清样品,用重组CD2v抗原ELISA进行检测,结果显示,15份ASFV抗体阴性血清均为CD2v抗体检测阴性,15份ASFV抗体阳性血清均为CD2v抗体检测阳性。这些研究结果表明,ASFV的CD2v蛋白胞内区存在强免疫原性表位,其重组抗原有望用于CD2v的抗体检测。     

Preparation and Preliminary Application of Highly Immunogenic Recombinant CD2v Antigen of African Swine Fever Virus

To obtain the highly immunogenic recombinant CD2v antigen of African swine fever virus (ASFV), the amino acid sequence of CD2v was analyzed for antigenic index using bioinformatics software and the intracytoplasmic region with high antigenic index was expressed in E. coli as an elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) fusion protein. After optimization of the conditions for inverse transition cycling (ITC), ELP-CD2v fusion protein was purified by ITC in the presence of different concentrations of Triton X-100 and the ELP tag was cleaved with active inclusion bodies of tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease. The tag-free recombinant CD2v antigen was recovered by an additional round of ITC and identified by Western blotting. By using the recombinant CD2v antigen, an indirect ELISA was established and used to detect ASFV antibody-positive and antibody-negative sera in parallel with the multi-antigen ELISA. The results showed that ELP-CD2v fusion protein was expressed correctly in E. coli with an optimal transition temperature of 28 ℃ at 1.5 mol·L^-1 NaCl. After one cycle of ITC in the presence of 0.2% Triton X-100, ELP-CD2v fusion protein was purified to 76.3% purity. The ELP tag was cleaved efficiently with the TEV protease and removed after an additional round of ITC. The recovered recombinant CD2v protein had a purity of 91.7%, which was recognized by pig anti-ASFV serum. For 30 serum samples detected by ASFV multi-antigen ELISA, recombinant CD2v ELISA showed that all of 15 antibody-negative sera were CD2v antibody negative and all of 15 antibody-positive sera were CD2v antibody positive. These data suggest that the presence of immune dominant epitopes in the intracytoplasmic region of CD2v protein and the potential application of the recombinant CD2v antigen for ASFV antibody detection.     

Pathogenesis of African swine fever virus in Ornithodoros ticks

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the only known DNA arbovirus and the sole member of the family Asfarviridae. It causes a lethal, hemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs. ASFV is enzootic in sub-Saharan Africa and is maintained in a sylvatic cycle by infecting both wild members of the Suidae (e.g. warthogs) and the argasid tick Ornithodoros porcinus porcinus. The pathogenesis of ASFV in O. porcinus porcinus ticks is characterized by a low infectious dose, lifelong infection, efficient transmission to both pigs and ticks, and low mortality until after the first oviposition. ASFV pathogenesis in warthogs is characterized by an inapparent infection with transient, low viremic titers. Thus O. porcinus porcinus ticks probably constitute the most important natural vector of ASFV, although both the mammalian and tick hosts are probably required for the maintenance of ASFV in the sylvatic cycle. The mechanism of ASFV transmission from the sylvatic cycle to domestic pigs is probably through infected ticks feeding on pigs. In addition to O. porcinus porcinus, a number of North American, Central American and Caribbean species of Ornithodoros have been shown to be potential vectors of ASFV.     

Cellular processes essential for African swine fever virus to infect and replicate in primary macrophages

The macrophage (Mø) is an essential immune cell for innate immunity. Such cells are targeted by African swine fever virus (ASFV). The early phases of infection with ASFV have been previously characterized in non-leukocyte cells such as Vero cells. Here, we report on several additional key parameters that ASFV utilizes during the infection of primary Mø. Related to virus infection, we established that receptor-mediated endocytosis of the virus by Mø is not the exclusive means of entry to infect the host cells. Analysis of the ensuing processes identified divalent cation-dependent activities to be particularly important, relating to the virus requirement for microtubule assembly needed for endocytic and endosomal processing. Actin-dependent endocytosis and endocytic flux involving microtubule activity are also implicated, pointing to entry via phagocytosis. Subsequently, the virus avoids terminal degradation by circumventing mature lysosome activities, including autophagosome–lysosome delivery. Nevertheless, the replicative cycle is apparently dependent on certain lysosomal functions, i.e. activities sensitive to propylamine are essential for the virus, whereas vinblastine- and leupeptin-sensitive functions only partially influence viral replication. The present work has identified cellular processes essential for ASFV to infect and replicate in the macrophage. These findings will improve our understanding of the cellular pathways employed by viruses infecting immune scavenger cells.     

Correlation of cell surface marker expression with African swine fever virus infection

The expression of surface markers on African swine fever virus (ASFV) infected cells was evaluated to assess their involvement in infection. Previous findings indicated CD163 expression was correlated with ASFV susceptibility. However, in this study the expression of porcine CD163 on cell lines did not increase the infection rate of these cells indicating other factors are likely to be important in determining susceptibility to infection. On adherent porcine bone marrow (pBM) cells the expression of CD45 was strongly correlated with infection. CD163 and CD203a expression correlated at intermediate levels with infection, indicating cells expressing these markers could become infected but were not preferentially infected by the virus. Most of the cells expressing MHCII were infected, indicating that they may be preferentially infected although expression of MHCII was not essential for infection and a large percentage of the infected cells were MHCII negative. CD16 showed a marked decrease in expression following infection and significantly lower levels of infected cells were shown to express CD16. Altogether these results suggest CD163 may be involved in ASFV infection but it may not be essential; the results also highlight the importance of other cell markers which requiring further investigation.     

Comparison of a radioimmunoprecipitation assay to immunoblotting and ELISA for detection of antibody to African swine fever virus

A radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) has been developed for detection of antibody to African swine fever virus (ASFV) and compared with the immunoblot assay with regard to sensitivity and specificity. Two hundred seven field sera, obtained from pigs in Spain from different geographic areas between 1975 and 1986, that were positive by ASFV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were also analysed by immunoblot assay and RIPA. By serum dilution experiments, the RIPA appeared at least as sensitive as the ELISA and immunoblotting tests, although ELISA and RIPA detected antibodies to ASFV earlier in natural infection than did the immunoblot assay, as disclosed by animal inoculation studies. The most antigenic ASFV-induced proteins in natural infection detected by RIPA were the viral proteins p243, p172, p73, p25.5, p15, and p12 and the infection proteins p30 and p23.5. In the immunoblot assay, the proteins that were most reactive with the same sera were the viral protein p25.5 and the infection proteins p30, p25, and p21.5. Only 1 serum, from an animal infected with ASFV, was negative by immunoblot assay but showed a positive result by RIPA. A modification of conventional RIPA was performed using a dot transference of immunoprecipitated proteins to a nitrocellulose filter. This modification simplified the conventional RIPA procedures by eliminating the electrophoresis of immunoprecipitated proteins without affecting sensitivity and specificity. The ease of use, specificity, and the sensitivity comparable to that of the immunoblot assay make the RIPA a useful confirmatory assay for sera that yield conflicting results in other ASFV antibody assays.     

Immunomodulatory effect of plasmids co-expressing cytokines in classical swine fever virus subunit gp55/E2-DNA vaccination

The aim of this study was to determine the immunomodulatory effects of IL-12, IL-18 and CD154 (CD40 ligand, CD40L) in DNA-vaccination against the classical swine fever virus. Four recombinant plasmids were constructed including the CSFV coding region for the glycoprotein gp55/E2 alone or together with porcine IL-12, IL-18 or CD154 genes. Five groups of four pigs each were immunized intramuscularly (i.m.) three times with the respective constructs. The control group was inoculated with empty plasmid DNA. Eighteen days after the final immunization, the pigs were challenged with a lethal dose of CSFV strain Eystrup and monitored for a further 16 days. This study showed that co-delivery of IL-18 and CD154 induced an earlier appearance of serum antibodies, reduced B-cell deficiency after infection and protected pigs against a lethal CSFV infection. In contrast, co-delivery of IL-12 led to a reduced titer of neutralizing antibodies and protection against a lethal CSFV challenge in comparison to the other pigs and to pigs that were immunized with a gp55/E2 plasmid alone.     

Prokaryotic Expression and Polyclonal Antibody Preparation of African Swine Fever Virus Georgia 2007/1 Strain CD2v Protein

The study was aimed to express the EP402R gene of African swine fever virus (ASFV) Georgia 2007/1 strain via prokaryotic expression system,obtain the recombinant CD2v protein,and prepare polyclonal antibodies against the purified recombinant CD2v protein.After codon optimization,ASFV EP402R full-length gene was linked into pET-28a(+) expression vector to construct prokaryotic recombinant expression plasmid.After induction by 1 mmol/L IPTG at 16 ℃ for 12 h,the recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.The purified recombinant CD2v protein was used as immunogen to prepare mouse anti-CD2v polyclonal antibodies.The antibody titer was measured by indirect ELISA and the specificity was further analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and Western blotting.The results showed that ASFV EP402R gene was successfully cloned into pET-28a(+),and pET-28a-EP402R was obtained.The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3) for expression,the recombinant protein was expressed mainly in the form of inclusion bodies,with molecular mass at about 47 ku,while some of the recombinant protein could also exist in a soluble form.Western blotting results showed that the purified protein had good immunoreactivity.The indirect ELISA result showed that the polyclonal antibodies had a high titer of 1:512 000,IFA and Western blotting results indicated that it could specifically recognize recombinant CD2v protein.These results confirmed the recombinant CD2v protein expressed via prokaryotic system had good immunogenicity,and the prepared polyclonal antibodies had high titer and specificity.This research provided technical support for further study of ASFV EP402R biological function,as well as its gene-deletion based vaccine development.     

不同非洲猪瘟病毒株j5R基因及其编码蛋白的比较

根据非洲猪瘟病毒ＭａｌａｗｉＬＩＬ２０／１株ｊ５Ｒ阅读框Ｃ端抗原决定簇序列制备的合成肽能被不同毒株感染康复猪的免疫血清识别。多聚酶链反应研究表明,９个不同毒株的ｊ５Ｒ基因长度略有差异;蛋白转印杂交试验证明,这种基因长度的差异导致相应蛋白多肽的长度多样性。这些结果进一步证明,长度多样性是非洲猪瘟病毒基因及其编码蛋白较为普遍的特点。     

非洲猪瘟病毒p62蛋白单克隆抗体的制备及初步应用

为制备非洲猪瘟病毒（ASFV）p62蛋白的特异性单克隆抗体,并初步应用于感染组织样品中ASFV抗原的免疫组化（IHC）检测,本研究以杆状病毒表达的非洲猪瘟病毒重组p62蛋白免疫BALB/c小鼠,取其脾细胞与骨髓瘤细胞进行融合获得杂交瘤细胞。结果显示：基于纯化的p62蛋白建立的间接ELISA方法对杂交瘤细胞进行筛选和亚克隆,获得了18株可稳定分泌抗非洲猪瘟病毒p62蛋白单克隆抗体的杂交瘤细胞株。经IFA检测,制备的单克隆抗体均与非洲猪瘟病毒反应,且不与猪瘟病毒、猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒、猪伪狂犬病病毒、猪圆环病毒2型等猪源常见病毒反应,特异性良好。抗体识别蛋白的鉴定结果显示,3株MAbs识别p35蛋白,15株MAbs识别p15蛋白。14株MAbs重链亚类为IgG1型,4株MAbs重链亚类为IgG2a,轻链均为κ链。利用18株MAbs对ASFV感染猪的肺、扁桃体、淋巴结等组织进行IHC检测,结果显示5株MAbs均能够与感染ASFV的组织发生特异性的免疫反应。本研究获得的非洲猪瘟病毒p62蛋白单克隆抗体可为非洲猪瘟病毒免疫学检测方法的建立及p62蛋白的结构功能等基础研究提供重要的生物材料。     

非洲猪瘟病毒免疫逃逸分子机制研究进展

非洲猪瘟(African swine fever，ASF)是由非洲猪瘟病毒(African swine fever virus，ASFV)感染猪引起的一种急性、烈性、高度接触性传染病，至今没有研发出安全有效的疫苗，一旦暴发会造成重大经济损失。ASFV在和宿主长期作用过程中，通过抑制干扰素和炎症反应，调节凋亡、自噬及细胞免疫等多种途径逃逸机体免疫反应促进自身复制，但具体的机制仍不完全清楚。ASFV复杂的免疫逃逸机制可能是阻碍有效疫苗研发的关键因素之一。借助生物信息学技术对ASFV的基因组和蛋白质组深入分析，筛选病毒的免疫调控关键基因和保护性抗原表位，将在ASFV免疫逃逸分子机制的研究与疫苗研发中发挥重要作用。本文主要对ASFV感染引起的免疫应答反应及可能的免疫逃逸机制研究进行概述，以期为ASF疫苗研制及综合防控提供思路。     

Dynamics of African swine fever virus shedding and excretion in domestic pigs infected by intramuscular inoculation and contact transmission

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly virulent swine pathogen that has spread across Eastern Europe since 2007 and for which there is no effective vaccine or treatment available. The dynamics of shedding and excretion is not well known for this currently circulating ASFV strain. Therefore, susceptible pigs were exposed to pigs intramuscularly infected with the Georgia 2007/1 ASFV strain to measure those dynamics through within- and between-pen transmission scenarios. Blood, oral, nasal and rectal fluid samples were tested for the presence of ASFV by virus titration (VT) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Serum was tested for the presence of ASFV-specific antibodies. Both intramuscular inoculation and contact transmission resulted in development of acute disease in all pigs although the experiments indicated that the pathogenesis of the disease might be different, depending on the route of infection. Infectious ASFV was first isolated in blood among the inoculated pigs by day 3, and then chronologically among the direct and indirect contact pigs, by day 10 and 13, respectively. Close to the onset of clinical signs, higher ASFV titres were found in blood compared with nasal and rectal fluid samples among all pigs. No infectious ASFV was isolated in oral fluid samples although ASFV genome copies were detected. Only one animal developed antibodies starting after 12 days post-inoculation. The results provide quantitative data on shedding and excretion of the Georgia 2007/1 ASFV strain among domestic pigs and suggest a limited potential of this isolate to cause persistent infection.     

Comparison of two antigens for use in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect African swine fever antibody

Two African swine fever virus (ASFV) antigens were tested for use in an ELISA to detect antibody to ASFV. Antigens used were the cytoplasmic soluble fraction (CS-P) of infected cells grown in the presence of porcine serum and the semipurified viral structural protein VP73 (SVP73). Both antigens were tested by ELISA against 72 sera obtained during several ASF field episodes and from ASFV-inapparent carriers. Of the 72 sera, only 2.8% has positive results by ELISA against CS-P antigen; 60% of positive-reacting sera (to both antigens) had higher ELISA values when the CS-P antigen was used. Samples (with positive results) that reacted only to CS-P antigen had results confirmed by immunoblot analysis. Such sera reacted against ASFV-infection proteins IP25, IP25.5, and IP30, but not against IP73. In time-course experiments to detect appearance of ASFV-antibodies in infected miniature pigs, antibodies were detected by immunoblot analysis on postinoculation day (PID) 8. At that time, only the polypeptides IP25, IP25.5 IP30, and IP31 were recognized; IP73 and IP12 were first detected 3 and 4 days later, respectively. In the same experiments, ASFV antibodies were detected by ELISA, using CS-P or SVP73 antigens, on PID 7 and 9, respectively. These results could explain the percentage of sera not having positive results by ELISA using SVP73 antigen, if the sera were obtained from ASFV-infected pigs during the first days of infection before induction of antibody response against the IP73 protein. This feature makes the use of CS-P antigen advantageous in early serologic detection of ASFV-infected pigs.