Prevention of transplacental transmission of moderate-virulent classical swine fever virus after single or double vaccination with an E2 subunit vaccine

The use of a vaccine against classical swine fever virus (CSFV) during an outbreak of CSF should lead to a reduction in the horizontal or vertical transmission of CSFV. The reduction of vertical, i.e. transplacental, transmission of a moderate-virulent strain of CSFV from the sow to its offspring was studied in sows vaccinated once or twice with a CSFV E2 subunit vaccine. Two groups of nine sows were vaccinated with one PD95 dose of the E2 subunit vaccine, approximately four weeks before insemination. A third group of nine inseminated sows served as controls. One group of nine sows were vaccinated again at two weeks after insemination. At ten weeks after the primary vaccination, approximately six weeks after insemination, all 27 sows were challenged intranasally with 10(5) TCID50 of a moderate-virulent strain of CSFV, the Van Zoelen strain. The sows were euthanized at five weeks after challenge, and samples from the sows and fetuses were collected for detection of CSFV. All 27 sows were in gestation at the time of slaughter, CSFV was detected in the fetuses of all unvaccinated sows but it was not detected in any of the samples collected from fetuses of the double-vaccinated sows. Virus was however recovered from the fetuses of one out of nine sows vaccinated once. All the sows, except four double-vaccinated sows, developed CSFV Erns antibodies. Transplacental transmission of CSFV was reduced significantly (p <0.001) in all vaccinated sows. When the results from the experiment were extrapolated to a herd level, it could be concluded that, with 95% certainty, approximately 11% (single vaccination) or 0% (double vaccination), confidence intervals of 0.01-0.44 and 0.0-0.30 respectively, of the pregnant sows would still not be protected against vertical transmission of moderate-virulent CSFV. We conclude that vaccination with the CSFV E2 subunit vaccine can reduce the transmission of moderate-virulent strain of CSFV from the sow to its offspring significantly.     

Development of a classical swine fever subunit marker vaccine and companion diagnostic test

The development of a classical swine fever (CSF) subunit marker vaccine, based on viral envelope glycoprotein E2, and a companion diagnostic test, based on a second viral envelope glycoprotein E(RNS), will be described. Important properties of the vaccine, such as onset and duration of immunity, and prevention of horizontal and vertical transmission of virus were evaluated. A single dose of the vaccine protected pigs against clinical signs of CSF, following intranasal challenge with 100LD(50) of virulent classical swine fever virus (CSFV) at 2 weeks after vaccination. However, challenge virus transmission to unvaccinated sentinels was not always completely inhibited at this time point. From 3 weeks up to 6 months after vaccination, pigs were protected against clinical signs of CSF, and no longer transmitted challenge virus to unvaccinated sentinels. In contrast, unvaccinated control pigs died within 2 weeks after challenge. We also evaluated transmission of challenge virus in a setup enabling determination of the reproduction ratio (R value) of the virus. In such an experiment, transmission of challenge virus is determined in a fully vaccinated population at different time points after vaccination. Pigs challenged at 1 week after immunization died of CSF, whereas the vaccinated sentinels became infected, seroconverted for E(RNS) antibodies, but survived. At 2 weeks after vaccination, the challenged pigs seroconverted for E(RNS) antibodies, but none of the vaccinated sentinels did. Thus, at 1 week after vaccination, R1, and at 2 weeks, R=0, implying no control or control of an outbreak, respectively. Vertical transmission of CSFV to the immune-incompetent fetus may lead to the birth of highly viraemic, persistently infected piglets which are one of the major sources of virus spread. Protection against transplacental transmission of CSFV in vaccinated sows was, therefore, tested in once and twice vaccinated sows. Only one out of nine once-vaccinated sows transmitted challenge virus to the fetus, whereas none of the nine twice-vaccinated sows did. Finally, our data show that the E(RNS) test detects CSFV-specific antibodies in vaccinated or unvaccinated pigs as early as 14 days after infection with a virulent CSF strain. This indicates that the E2 vaccine and companion test fully comply with the marker vaccine concept. This concept implies the possibility of detecting infected animals within a vaccinated population.     

Efficacy and stability of a subunit vaccine based on glycoprotein E2 of classical swine fever virus

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and stability of an E2 subunit vaccine against classical swine fever virus (CSFV). The vaccine, which contains E2 produced in insect cells by a baculovirus expression vector is a potential marker vaccine, as it allows discrimination between infected and vaccinated pigs. Several vaccination-challenge experiments were performed to determine the dose that protects 95% of the vaccinated pigs (PD95), and to determine the stability and efficacy of the vaccine several months after production. A single vaccination with a vaccine dose of 32 microg E2 - the estimated PD95 - in a water-oil-water adjuvant prevented clinical signs and mortality due to a CSFV challenge-inoculation three weeks after vaccination. Moreover, virus transmission to susceptible sentinel pigs was prevented in nearly all groups of pigs vaccinated with this dose. The vaccine was stable for at least 18 months, and retained its full potency. These findings indicate that the E2 marker vaccine merits further evaluation for suitability for use in a control program during an outbreak of CSF.     

Protection of gruntlings against classical swine fever virus-infection after oral vaccination of sows with C-strain vaccine

The objective of this study was to investigate the maternal protection of gruntlings derived from wild sows vaccinated orally against classical swine fever (CSF) using C-strain vaccine. Three vaccinated sows and one unvaccinated control sow were included. Challenge infection of the progeny was carried out either intranasally or by contact at the beginning of the third month of life (61-65 days post-natum). Whereas, two of three litters had maternal antibodies, the progeny of one vaccinated sow was seronegative at challenge. The progeny of the control sow, which was challenged by contact infection, developed moderate clinical signs except for one animal which became ill and died. Two gruntlings derived from the vaccinated sows also died of CSF, although one of them had a relatively high maternal antibody titre (128 ND(50)). The transient infection and partial virus shedding observed in a small number of gruntlings with maternal antibodies and the fact that one animal with maternal antibodies became ill and died confirm the incomplete maternal protection at this age. The reason for this incomplete protection is discussed. As none of the surviving gruntlings could be shown to carry CSFV or viral RNA at the end of the experiment (36 or 70 d.p.i.), it may be concluded that these animals do not represent a potential CSFV reservoir.     

Proportions and phenotypic expression of peripheral blood leucocytes in pigs vaccinated with an attenuated C strain and a subunit E2 vaccine against classical swine fever

The influence of an attenuated classical swine fever virus C strain vaccine and a subunit E2 vaccine against classical swine fever on the peripheral blood leucocyte proportion and phenotypic expression in 12-week-old pigs was studied. The C strain was amplified in minipig kidney cell culture and final product contained 10(4 +/- 0.15) TCID50/ml, while the subunit vaccine contained 32 microg per dose of gp E2. Haematological findings showed that the vaccines did not cause leucopenia or lymphocytopenia and the number of neutrophils and eosinophils during the observation period was within physiological range. The results of the proportion of CD4a+, CD5a+, CD8a+, wCD21+, CD45RA+, CD45RC+ , non-T non-B, SWC3a+ and CD11b+ cells were gained by single-colour flow cytometry. At the end of the trial a significantly increase of percentage of CD4+, CD5a+, CD8+, wCD21+ cells has been found in pigs that received the subunit vaccine and the percentage of CD4+, CD5a+, CD8+, CD45RA+ and CD45RC+ cells was higher in pigs that received the attenuated vaccine. Twenty-eight days after vaccination the percentage of CD4+, CD45RA+ and CD45RC+ was significantly higher in pigs vaccinated with the C strain than in pigs vaccinated with the subunit vaccine. In contrary, the percentage of the wCD21- cells was higher in pigs that received the subunit vaccine. Statistically higher values of SWC3a+ and lower values of CD11b+ cells was observed in pigs that received the attenuated vaccine than in pigs vaccinated with the subunit vaccine. Taken altogether, our results showed that the subunit vaccine produced a better stimulation of B cells and CD11b+ monocytes/macrophages /granulocytes/NK cells, whereas the attenuated vaccine induced a higher response of Th cells, naive/memory cells and macrophages/neutrophils. Thus, both vaccines were able to influence the porcine immune system, by activating different subsets of the immune effector/accessory cells.     

Comparison of antibody values in sera of pigs vaccinated with a subunit or an attenuated vaccine against classical swine fever

Ten pigs, aged 85 days, were vaccinated with a subunit vaccine containing 32 g of classical swine fever virus glycoprotein E2 (gp E2) (group 1), and a further 10 pigs were vaccinated with a C strain vaccine (10^4±0.15 TCID₅₀/ml), produced by amplification in minipig kidney (MPK) cell culture (group 2). Nine non-vaccinated pigs served as a control group (group 3). Serum samples were collected before (day 0) and at 4, 10, 21 and 28 days after vaccination and were analysed by two commercially available enzyme immunoassays and by a neutralizing peroxidase-linked assay (NPLA). At the same times, peripheral blood was taken for determining the total leukocyte count and the body temperature was taken daily. Antibodies were not detected in serum samples collected before vaccination (day 0), and no side-effects that could be connected with vaccination were observed during the trial. Ten days after vaccination 6/10 pigs vaccinated with the subunit vaccine were seropositive. On days 21 and 28, the ratios of serologically positive to vaccinated pigs were 9/10 and 10/10, respectively. Four of the ten pigs that were vaccinated with the C strain vaccine were positive on day 21 and 9/10 on day 28. However, the results of the NPLA showed that only 4/10 pigs had an antibody titre >1:32 at the end of the trial in both the vaccinated groups, even though the subunit vaccine initiated an earlier and higher level of neutralizing antibodies than the vaccine produced from the C strain. Challenge was performed 28 days after vaccination on four randomly selected pigs from both vaccinated groups. The pigs survived the challenge without showing any clinical signs of classical swine fever (CSF), while two nonvaccinated control pigs died on the 10th and 12th days after infection.     

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.     

腺病毒/甲病毒复制子嵌合载体猪瘟疫苗rAdV-SFV-E2最早提供完全攻毒保护时间的研究

本实验室前期构建了腺病毒/甲病毒复制子嵌合载体猪瘟疫苗rAdV-SFV-E2,其免疫效力与商品化猪瘟C株疫苗相同,并具有鉴别检测特性.为进一步确定该嵌合载体猪瘟疫苗最早提供完全攻毒保护的时间,本研究将rAdV-SFV-E2免疫健康仔猪(n=5),免疫后于不同时间点采用猪瘟病毒(CSFV)强毒石门株进行攻毒,并检测其抗体应答、临床症状、病毒血症、病理学及组织病理学变化等.结果显示,rAdV-SFV-E2免疫后1周和2周,分别能对致死性CSFV强毒的攻击提供部分保护(3/5存活)和不完全保护(全部存活,但出现了短暂的发热和低水平的病毒血症);免疫后3周和4周,能够完全抵抗致死性CSFV强毒的攻击,表现为无病毒血症,无临床症状,无病理变化和组织病理学变化.该研究进一步证实rAdV-SFV-E2能够作为一种新型猪瘟标记疫苗,在猪瘟的紧急防控中能够起到一定的作用.     

A promising multiple-epitope recombinant vaccine against classical swine fever virus

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious and often fatal disease of swine. It is caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV), one of the members of the genus Pestivirus of the Flaviviridae family. The development of a safe and effective vaccine against the CSF is critical to pandemic control, this article shows a tandem-repeat multiple-epitope recombinant vaccine can protect pigs from CSFV challenge. That was composed as following: two copies each of glycoprotein E2 residues 693–707, 241–276 and 770–781, and two copies amino acid residues 1446–1460 of the non-structural protein NS2-3. In the challenge test, all of the swine vaccinated with Chinese vaccine strain (C-strain) were fully protected from a challenge with CSFV. However, after three successive vaccinations with the multiple-epitope recombinant vaccine, three out of five pigs were protected from challenge with CSFV (in terms of both clinical signs and viremia). These results demonstrate that multiple-epitope recombinant vaccine which carrying the major CSFV epitopes can induce a high level of epitope-specific antibodies and exhibit a protective capability that parallels induced by C-strain to a certain extent.     

Simultaneous vaccination of piglets against foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever

Six-week-old piglets, born of unvaccinated sows, were vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) with a trivalent, inactivated vaccine containing an adjuvant or vaccinated against classical swine fever (CSF) with a live attenuated vaccine or against both diseases simultaneously at two different sites. The antibody response to the FMD vaccine was not significantly influenced by the simultaneous vaccination against CSF. FMD vaccine administered simultaneously with the CSF vaccine produced a significantly higher antibody response to CSF than occurred with CSF vaccination only.     

基于哺乳动物细胞表达系统的猪瘟基因工程E2亚单位疫苗动物免疫效果评价

猪瘟E2基因工程亚单位疫苗能诱导机体产生抗CSFV中和抗体,被认为是最具应用前景的新型猪瘟疫苗。本研究利用稳定表达重组CSFV E2蛋白的细胞系HEK-293T-E2,制备E2亚单位疫苗并在动物体内检测其免疫原性。结果显示,制备的E2亚单位疫苗能成功诱导试验兔和仔猪产生抗CSFV抗体,相比对照组,试验动物能够抵抗猪瘟标准强毒石门株的攻击,并且没有产生体温升高及其他不良反应,证实了该疫苗的有效性和安全性。本研究为新型猪瘟亚单位疫苗的研发提供了重要线索。     

The influence of maternal immunity on the efficacy of a classical swine fever vaccine against classical swine fever virus,genogroup 2.2, infection

In Thailand, where vaccination is routinely employed, there has been an increased incidence of chronic classical swine fever (CSF) outbreaks during the past decade. The major causative virus has been identified to be the moderate virulence, classical swine fever virus (CSFV) of the genogroup 2.2. An investigation was made into the efficacy of a CSF vaccine against this genogroup 2.2 challenge. Five-week-old pigs, grouped by their level of passive antibody titer were immunized with lapinized Chinese-strain CSF vaccine and challenged with CSFV genogroup 2.2, 13 days after vaccination. The group containing passive titers of lower than 64 at the time of immunization, had significantly higher number of CSFV-specific IFN-gamma secreting cells and was completely protected against the challenge. Interestingly, both cellular and antibody responses were inhibited in the pigs with the higher passive titer. Furthermore, following challenge, CSFV could be isolated from 50% of the pigs in this group. It was demonstrated that the CSF vaccine could induce complete protection in pigs, provided that the maternal derived titer at the time of vaccination was lower than 64. The result implied that an increase in CSFV outbreaks might be due to the inappropriate timing of vaccination as well as the nature of the CSFV genogroup 2.2.     

Development of maternal antibodies after oral vaccination of young female wild boar against classical swine fever

An experimental study was performed to investigate the development of maternal antibodies after oral immunisation of young female wild boar against classical swine fever (CSF) using C-strain vaccine. Our results demonstrated that maternal antibodies do not persist in the offspring for more than 3 months. Based on the neutralising serum antibody titres, we assume that piglets of wild sows vaccinated orally twice or immunised once a long time before conception have protective antibodies for approximately 2 months. Furthermore, it seems that the level and the duration of maternal antibodies in the offspring are depend on the age of the female animals at the moment of vaccination as demonstrated in our experiment. The recent vaccination procedure consists of three double vaccinations in spring, summer and autumn. Especially vaccinations in summer and autumn could be crucial for transfer of high maternal antibody titres to the offspring.     

Factors critical for successful vaccination against classical swine fever in endemic areas

Classical swine fever (CSF) or hog cholera, caused by the classical swine fever virus (CSFV), is one of the most important viral diseases that cause serious economic loss to the swine industry worldwide. During the past 5 years, several techniques for measuring porcine cell-mediated immunity (CMI) were applied, in conjunction with other conventional techniques, to study factors that influence the induction of CSFV-specific immunity. Information, obtained from a series of experiments, demonstrated cell-mediated immune responses in providing protective immunity against CSF infection. Although it has been confirmed that commercially available modified live CSF vaccines are able to induce complete protection in vaccinated pigs, several factors including maternal immunity, the age of primary vaccination, vaccination protocol and complications caused by other pathogens, can greatly affect the effectiveness of CSF vaccines in the field.     

“猪瘟和非洲猪瘟的综合防治措施”专栏(三) 影响猪瘟流行地区疫苗成功接种的关键因素

猪瘟(Classical Swine Fever,CFS)又称猪霍乱,由猪瘟病毒(CSFV)引起,是能给全球养猪业造成严重经济损失的最重要的病毒性疾病之一.在过去的5年中,多项用于测定猪细胞免疫(Cell-Mediated Immunity,CMI)的技术与其他常规技术一起,被用来研究可影响猪瘟病毒特异性免疫诱导的因素.从一系列试验获得的资料证明,细胞免疫应答可提供抗猪瘟感染的保护性免疫.尽管业已证实商用改良型猪瘟活疫苗能够诱导免疫猪产生完全的保护,但包括母源免疫、首次免疫年龄、免疫接种方案和其他病原体引起的并发症等多种因素,均会严重影响猪瘟疫苗在田闻的免疫效果.     

影响猪瘟流行地区疫苗成功接种的关键因素

猪瘟（Classical Swine Fever，CFS）又称猪霍乱，由猪瘟病毒（CSFV）引起，是能给全球养猪业造成严重经济损失的最重要的病毒性疾病之一。在过去的5年中，多项用于测定猪细胞免疫（Cell-Mediated Immunity，CMI）的技术与其他常规技术一起，被用来研究可影响猪瘟病毒特异性免疫诱导的因素。从一系列试验获得的资料证明，细胞免疫应答可提供抗猪瘟感染的保护性免疫。尽管业已证实商用改良型猪瘟活疫苗能够诱导免疫猪产生完全的保护，但包括母源免疫、首次免疫年龄、免疫接种方案和其他病原体引起的并发症等多种因素，均会严重影响猪瘟疫苗在田间的免疫效果。     

Safety and efficacy of a classical swine fever subunit vaccine in pregnant sows and their offspring

In the study three groups with five pregnant sows each were used. The animals were vaccinated twice, 2 weeks apart, in different stages of gestation, i.e. +/-4, +/-8 and +/-12 weeks after insemination and then 14 days later, respectively. From each group of sows three litters were randomly selected and vaccinated twice, 4 weeks apart, at 5 and 9, 7 and 11, and 9 and 13 weeks of life, respectively. Blood for serological investigations by virus neutralisation test and ELISA tests (for E(rns) antibodies and for E2 antibodies, separately) was taken before immunisation, at each vaccination and 2 weeks thereafter. Clinical observations shown that no local nor systemic reactions as well as no adverse effect on gestation occurred after vaccinations in any of the sows. Serological tests detected a low level of antibodies after the first vaccination and a typical booster effect after the second one. In piglets no adverse effect of the vaccination on the body weight gain was found. The presence of maternally derived antibodies (MDA) in non-vaccinated control piglets was observed up to the age of 5-13 weeks of life. The most evident immunological reaction was obtained in piglets vaccinated at the age of 5 or 7 weeks of life and revaccinated 4 weeks later. The CSFV-E2 subunit marker vaccine tested proved to be safe for pregnant sows and immunogenic for MDA positive piglets.     

新型猪瘟疫苗研究现状

猪瘟(classical swine fever,CSF)是由猪瘟病毒(classical swine fever virus,CSFV)引起的一种以急性出血和发热为主要特征的烈性传染病,死亡率极高,对养猪业危害极大,已被国际兽疫局(OIE)列为A类动物传染病.许多国家已经针对该病施行了控制和根除措施,但因为生猪及其产品贸易的全球化、养猪业的集约化和野猪群中CSFV的持久性等原因,CSF仍然对世界养猪业构成很大威胁.     

使用猪瘟疫苗及“猪三联苗”的关键技术

猪瘟疫苗及“猪三联苗”是在我国养猪生产中使用几率最多和数量最大的疫苗，但我们发现在不少地方使用这些疫苗后仍然免疫效果不好，甚至免疫失败，查其主要原因是对疫病和疫苗的特点及其性能认识不足甚至误识，再是使用技术失误，为保证免疫效果，现就其关键技术以问答形式做如下叙述，以供在生产实践中应用。