Assessment of the Safety Profile of Chimeric Marker Vaccine against Classical Swine Fever: Reversion to Virulence Study.

Chimeric marker vaccine candidates, vGPE-/PAPeV Erns and vGPE-/PhoPeV Erns, have been generated and their efficacy and capability to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals were confirmed in previous studies. The safety profile of the two chimeric marker vaccine candidates, particularly in the potential reversion to virulence, was evaluated. Each virus was administered to pigs with a dose equivalent to the vaccination dose, and pooled tonsil homogenates were subsequently inoculated into further pigs. Chimeric virus vGPE-/PAPeV Erns displayed the most substantial attenuation, achieving this within only two passages, whereas vGPE-/PhoPeV Erns was detectable until the third passage and disappeared entirely by the fourth passage. The vGPE- strain, assessed alongside, consistently exhibited stable virus recovery across each passage without any signs of increased virulence in pigs. In vitro assays revealed that the type I interferon-inducing capacity of vGPE-/PAPeV Erns was significantly higher than that of vGPE-/PhoPeV Erns and vGPE-. In conclusion, the safety profile of the two chimeric marker vaccine candidates was affirmed. Further research is essential to ensure the stability of their attenuation and safety in diverse pig populations.

Development of a dual immunochromatographic test strip to detect E2 and Erns antibodies against classical swine fever.

Background: It is essential to consider a practical antibody test to successfully implement marker vaccines and validate vaccination efficacy against classical swine fever virus (CSFV). The test should include a serological antibody assay, combined with a tool for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). The immunochromatographic test strip (ICS) has been exclusively designed for detecting CSFV E2 antibodies while lacking in detecting Erns antibodies, which can be employed and satisfy DIVA strategy. This study developed a novel ICS for detecting CSFV E2/Erns dual-antibody. The effectiveness of ICS in evaluating the DIVA capability of two novel chimeric pestivirus vaccine candidates was assessed. Methods: Recombinant E2 or Erns protein was transiently expressed in the plant benthamiana using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. ICS was subsequently assembled, and goat anti-rabbit IgG and recombinant CSFV E2 or Erns protein were plated onto the nitrocellulose membrane as control and test lines, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of ICS were evaluated using sera with different neutralizing antibody titers or positive for antibodies against CSFV and other pestiviruses. The coincidence rates for detecting E2 and Erns antibodies between ICS and commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were also computed. ICS performance for DIVA capability was evaluated using sera from pigs vaccinated with conventional vaccine or chimeric vaccine candidates. Results: E2 and Erns proteins were successfully expressed in N. benthamiana-produced recombinant proteins. ICS demonstrated high sensitivity in identifying CSFV E2 and Erns antibodies, even at the low neutralizing antibody titers. No cross-reactivity with antibodies from other pestiviruses was confirmed using ICS. There were high agreement rates of 93.0 and 96.5% between ICS and two commercial ELISA kits for E2 antibody testing. ICS also achieved strong coincidence rates of 92.9 and 89.3% with two ELISA kits for Erns antibody detection. ICS confirmed the absence of CSFV Erns-specific antibodies in sera from pigs vaccinated with chimeric vaccine candidates. Conclusion: E2 and Erns proteins derived from the plant showed great potential and can be used to engineer a CSFV E2/Erns dual-antibody ICS. The ICS was also highly sensitive and specific for detecting CSFV E2 and Erns antibodies. Significantly, ICS can fulfill the DIVA concept by incorporating chimeric vaccine candidates.

Establishment of a superinfection exclusion method for pestivirus titration using a recombinant reporter pestiviruses.

Pestiviruses are classified into two biotypes based on their cytopathogenicity. As the majority of pestivirus field isolates are noncytopathogenic, their titration requires alternative methods rather than direct observation of cytopathogenic effects, such as immunostaining using specific antibodies or interference with cytopathogenic strains. However, these methods require microscopic observation to assess virus growth, which is time- and labor-intensive, especially when handling several samples. In this study, we developed a novel luciferase-based pestivirus titration method using the superinfection exclusion phenomenon with recombinant reporter pestiviruses that possessed an 11-amino-acid subunit derived from NanoLuc luciferase (HiBiT). In this method, swine kidney cells were inoculated with classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and superinfected with the reporter CSFV vGPE-/HiBiT 5 days postinoculation. Virus titer was determined based on virus growth measured in luminescence using the culture fluid 3 days after superinfection; the resultant virus titer was comparable to that obtained by immunoperoxidase staining. Furthermore, this method has proven to be applicable for the titration of border disease virus (BDV) by superinfection with both the homologous reporter BDV and heterologous reporter CSFV, suggesting that this novel virus titration method is a simple technique for automated virus detection based on the luciferase system.

Generation and Efficacy of Two Chimeric Viruses Derived from GPE- Vaccine Strain as Classical Swine Fever Vaccine Candidates.

A previous study proved that vGPE- mainly maintains the properties of classical swine fever (CSF) virus, which is comparable to the GPE- vaccine seed and is a potentially valuable backbone for developing a CSF marker vaccine. Chimeric viruses were constructed based on an infectious cDNA clone derived from the live attenuated GPE- vaccine strain as novel CSF vaccine candidates that potentially meet the concept of differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) by substituting the glycoprotein Erns of the GPE- vaccine strain with the corresponding region of non-CSF pestiviruses, either pronghorn antelope pestivirus (PAPeV) or Phocoena pestivirus (PhoPeV). High viral growth and genetic stability after serial passages of the chimeric viruses, namely vGPE-/PAPeV Erns and vGPE-/PhoPeV Erns, were confirmed in vitro. In vivo investigation revealed that two chimeric viruses had comparable immunogenicity and safety profiles to the vGPE- vaccine strain. Vaccination at a dose of 104.0 TCID50 with either vGPE-/PAPeV Erns or vGPE-/PhoPeV Erns conferred complete protection for pigs against the CSF virus challenge in the early stage of immunization. In conclusion, the characteristics of vGPE-/PAPeV Erns and vGPE-/PhoPeV Erns affirmed their properties, as the vGPE- vaccine strain, positioning them as ideal candidates for future development of a CSF marker vaccine.

Genetic, Antigenic, and Pathobiological Characterization of H9 and H6 Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated in Vietnam from 2014 to 2018.

The H9 and H6 subtypes of low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) cause substantial economic losses in poultry worldwide, including Vietnam. Herein, we characterized Vietnamese H9 and H6 LPAIVs to facilitate the control of avian influenza. The space-time representative viruses of each subtype were selected based on active surveillance from 2014 to 2018 in Vietnam. Phylogenetic analysis using hemagglutinin genes revealed that 54 H9 and 48 H6 Vietnamese LPAIVs were classified into the sublineages Y280/BJ94 and Group II, respectively. Gene constellation analysis indicated that 6 and 19 genotypes of the H9 and H6 subtypes, respectively, belonged to the representative viruses. The Vietnamese viruses are genetically related to the previous isolates and those in neighboring countries, indicating their circulation in poultry after being introduced into Vietnam. The antigenicity of these subtypes was different from that of viruses isolated from wild birds. Antigenicity was more conserved in the H9 viruses than in the H6 viruses. Furthermore, a representative H9 LPAIV exhibited systemic replication in chickens, which was enhanced by coinfection with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli O2. Although H9 and H6 were classified as LPAIVs, their characterization indicated that their silent spread might significantly affect the poultry industry.

Antiviral Effects of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Phosphate against Classical Swine Fever Virus: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation.

The inhibitory effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid phosphate (5-ALA), an important amino acid for energy production in the host, against viral infections were previously reported. Here, the antiviral effects of 5-ALA against classical swine fever virus (CSFV) belonging to the genus Pestivirus in the Flaviviridae family and its possible mechanisms were investigated. CSFV replication was suppressed in swine cells supplemented with 5-ALA or its metabolite, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX). The infectivity titer of CSFV was decreased after mixing with PPIX extracellularly. In addition, the activities of the replication cycle were decreased in the presence of PPIX based on the CSFV replicon assay. These results showed that PPIX exerted antiviral effects by inactivating virus particles and inhibiting the replication cycle. To evaluate the in vivo efficacy of 5-ALA, pigs were supplemented daily with 5-ALA for 1 week before virus inoculation and then inoculated with a virulent CSFV strain at the 107.0 50% tissue culture infectious dose. The clinical scores of the supplemented group were significantly lower than those of the nonsupplemented group, whereas the virus growth was not. Taken together, 5-ALA showed antiviral effects against CSFV in vitro, and PPIX played a key role by inactivating virus particles extracellularly and inhibiting the replication cycle intracellularly.

Characteristics of Classical Swine Fever Virus Variants Derived from Live Attenuated GPE- Vaccine Seed.

The GPE- strain is a live attenuated vaccine for classical swine fever (CSF) developed in Japan. In the context of increasing attention for the differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) concept, the achievement of CSF eradication with the GPE- proposes it as a preferable backbone for a recombinant CSF marker vaccine. While its infectious cDNA clone, vGPE-, is well characterized, 10 amino acid substitutions were recognized in the genome, compared to the original GPE- vaccine seed. To clarify the GPE- seed availability, this study aimed to generate and characterize a clone possessing the identical amino acid sequence to the GPE- seed. The attempt resulted in the loss of the infectious GPE- seed clone production due to the impaired replication by an amino acid substitution in the viral polymerase NS5B. Accordingly, replication-competent GPE- seed variant clones were produced. Although they were mostly restricted to propagate in the tonsils of pigs, similarly to vGPE-, their type I interferon-inducing capacity was significantly lower than that of vGPE-. Taken together, vGPE- mainly retains ideal properties for the CSF vaccine, compared with the seed variants, and is probably useful in the development of a CSF marker vaccine.