Emerging Technologies and Novel Approaches to Veterinary Viral Vaccine Development

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 25587

Special Issue Editors

The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking GU24 0NF, UK
Interests: porcine reproductive and respiratory viruses; classical swine fever viruses; henipaviruses; immunity; vaccines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, 28040 Madrid (INIA), Spain
Interests: PRRSV; herpesviruses; henipaviruses; flaviviruses; immunity; vaccines

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Effective veterinary vaccines are essential to the control and eradication of viral diseases that have impact on animal health and livestock production, which is linked to the economy, food production, and human health. The field of vaccinology is evolving quickly with the development and adoption of new technologies to develop safer and more efficacious immunization strategies. In addition to the quality of protection and stability of vaccines, the desired characteristics of novel vaccines include the suitability of differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA vaccines) along with an easy and inexpensive manufacture. Advances in viral and nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) vectors offer promising alternatives to traditional vaccine approaches. Additionally, technologies to study B cells and antibodies are emerging for livestock species that will allow for the selection and design of new immunogens as well as candidate products for passive immunization. This Special Issue will focus on emerging technologies and novel platforms and approaches that may contribute to the development of improved vaccines and immunization strategies against viral diseases in animals, including emerging and re-emerging viruses.

Dr. Simon Graham
Dr. Miriam Pedrera
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • viral vaccines
  • vaccine development
  • vaccine delivery systems
  • adjuvants
  • antigen design
  • passive immunization
  • adaptive immunity

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 23612 KiB  
Article
A Recombinant Turkey Herpesvirus Expressing the F Protein of Newcastle Disease Virus Genotype XII Generated by NHEJ-CRISPR/Cas9 and Cre-LoxP Systems Confers Protection against Genotype XII Challenge in Chickens
by Katherine Calderón, Aldo Rojas-Neyra, Brigith Carbajal-Lévano, Luis Luján-Valenzuela, Julio Ticona, Gisela Isasi-Rivas, Angela Montalvan, Manuel Criollo-Orozco, Edison Huaccachi-Gonzáles, Luis Tataje-Lavanda, Karla Lucia F. Alvarez, Manolo Fernández-Sánchez, Manolo Fernández-Díaz, Na Tang, Yongxiu Yao and Venugopal Nair
Viruses 2022, 14(4), 793; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v14040793 - 11 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3842
Abstract
In this study, we developed a new recombinant virus rHVT-F using a Turkey herpesvirus (HVT) vector, expressing the fusion (F) protein of the genotype XII Newcastle disease virus (NDV) circulating in Peru. We evaluated the viral shedding and efficacy against the NDV genotype [...] Read more.
In this study, we developed a new recombinant virus rHVT-F using a Turkey herpesvirus (HVT) vector, expressing the fusion (F) protein of the genotype XII Newcastle disease virus (NDV) circulating in Peru. We evaluated the viral shedding and efficacy against the NDV genotype XII challenge in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens. The F protein expression cassette was inserted in the unique long (UL) UL45–UL46 intergenic locus of the HVT genome by utilizing a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas9 gene-editing technology via a non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair pathway. The rHVT-F virus, which expressed the F protein stably in vitro and in vivo, showed similar growth kinetics to the wild-type HVT (wtHVT) virus. The F protein expression of the rHVT-F virus was detected by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), Western blotting, and a flow cytometry assay. The presence of an NDV-specific IgY antibody was detected in serum samples by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in SPF chickens vaccinated with the rHVT-F virus. In the challenge experiment, the rHVT-F vaccine fully protects a high, and significantly reduced, virus shedding in oral at 5 days post-challenge (dpc). In conclusion, this new rHVT-F vaccine candidate is capable of fully protecting SPF chickens against the genotype XII challenge. Full article
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13 pages, 3638 KiB  
Article
Immunogenicity and Antigenicity of Rabbit Hepatitis E Virus-Like Particles Produced by Recombinant Baculoviruses
by Huimin Bai, Michiyo Kataoka, Yasushi Ami, Yuriko Suzaki, Naokazu Takeda, Masamichi Muramatsu and Tian-Cheng Li
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1573; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v13081573 - 09 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2113
Abstract
Rabbit hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a novel HEV belonging to genotype 3 (HEV-3) in the Orthohepevirus A species of the genus Hepevirus, family Hepeviridae. Rabbit HEV was originally isolated from rabbits and found to cause zoonotic infection. Although rabbit HEV [...] Read more.
Rabbit hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a novel HEV belonging to genotype 3 (HEV-3) in the Orthohepevirus A species of the genus Hepevirus, family Hepeviridae. Rabbit HEV was originally isolated from rabbits and found to cause zoonotic infection. Although rabbit HEV can be successfully grown in culture with several cell lines, including the human carcinoma cell line PLC/PRF/5, it is difficult to obtain the large amounts of viral antigen required for diagnosis and vaccine development. In this study, we expressed N-terminal 13 and 111 aa-truncated rabbit HEV ORF2 proteins using recombinant baculoviruses and obtained two types of virus-like particles (VLPs), RnVLPs and RsVLPs with ~35 and 24 nm diameter, respectively. Anti-rabbit HEV IgG antibodies were induced in high titer by immunizing rabbits with RnVLPs or RsVLPs. The antibody secretion in the serum persisted more than three years. RsVLPs showed stronger antigenic cross-reactivity against HEV-1, HEV-3 and HEV-4 than rat HEV. Moreover, anti-RsVLPs antibodies neutralized not only the cognate virus but also HEV-1, HEV-3 and HEV-4 ex vivo, indicating that rabbit HEV had the same serotype as human HEVs. In contrast, the antibody did not block rat HEV infection, demonstrating that rat HEV belonged to a different serotype. Animal experiments indicated that immunization with either RnVLPs or RsVLPs completely protected the rabbits from challenge by rabbit HEV, suggesting that the VLPs are candidates for rabbit HEV vaccine development. Full article
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19 pages, 4959 KiB  
Article
Recombinant Pseudorabies Virus with TK/gE Gene Deletion and Flt3L Co-Expression Enhances the Innate and Adaptive Immune Response via Activating Dendritic Cells
by Lun Yao, Qiao Hu, Siqi Chen, Tong Zhou, Xuexiang Yu, Hailong Ma, Ahmed. H. Ghonaim, Hao Wu, Qi Sun, Shengxian Fan and Qigai He
Viruses 2021, 13(4), 691; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v13040691 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2677
Abstract
Owing to viral evolution and recombination, emerging pseudorabies virus (PRV) strains have caused unprecedented outbreaks in swine farms even when the pigs were previously vaccinated, which might indicate that traditional vaccines were unable to provide effective protection. The development of safe and efficacious [...] Read more.
Owing to viral evolution and recombination, emerging pseudorabies virus (PRV) strains have caused unprecedented outbreaks in swine farms even when the pigs were previously vaccinated, which might indicate that traditional vaccines were unable to provide effective protection. The development of safe and efficacious vaccines presents prospects to minimize the clinical signs and eventually eradicate the infection. In this study, we used an emerging PRV strain, HNX, as the parental strain to construct a recombinant PRV with TK/gE gene deletion and Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3L) expression, named HNX-TK/gE-Flt3L. HNX-TK/gE-Flt3L enhanced the maturation of bone marrow derived dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro. Significantly more activated DCs were detected in HNX-TK/gE-Flt3L-immunized mice compared with those immunized with HNX-TK/gE. Subsequently, a remarkable increase of neutralizing antibodies, gB-specific IgG antibodies, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) was observed in mice vaccinated with HNX-TK/gE-Flt3L. In addition, a lower mortality and less histopathological damage were observed in HNX-TK/gE-Flt3L vaccinated mice with upon PRV lethal challenge infection. Taken together, our results revealed the potential of Flt3L as an ideal adjuvant that can activate DCs and enhance protective immune responses and support the further evaluation of HNX-TK/gE-Flt3L as a promising PRV vaccine candidate. Full article
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Review

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13 pages, 734 KiB  
Review
Exosome-Based Vaccines: Pros and Cons in the World of Animal Health
by Sergio Montaner-Tarbes, Lorenzo Fraile, María Montoya and Hernando Del Portillo
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1499; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v13081499 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5112
Abstract
Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance and new and more complex diseases that affect livestock animal health and food security, the control of epidemics has become a top priority worldwide. Vaccination represents the most important and cost-effective measure to control infectious diseases [...] Read more.
Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance and new and more complex diseases that affect livestock animal health and food security, the control of epidemics has become a top priority worldwide. Vaccination represents the most important and cost-effective measure to control infectious diseases in animal health, but it represents only 23% of the total global animal health market, highlighting the need to develop new vaccines. A recent strategy in animal health vaccination is the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs), lipid bilayer nanovesicles produced by almost all living cells, including both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. EVs have been evaluated as a prominent source of viral antigens to elicit specific immune responses and to develop new vaccination platforms as viruses and EVs share biogenesis pathways. Preliminary trials with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection (LCMV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and Marek’s disease virus (MDV) have demonstrated that EVs have a role in the activation of cellular and antibody immune responses. Moreover, in parasitic diseases such as Eimeria (chickens) and Plasmodium yoelii (mice) protection has been achieved. Research into EVs is therefore opening an opportunity for new strategies to overcome old problems affecting food security, animal health, and emerging diseases. Here, we review different conventional approaches for vaccine design and compare them with examples of EV-based vaccines that have already been tested in relation to animal health. Full article
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16 pages, 849 KiB  
Review
Latest Advances of Virology Research Using CRISPR/Cas9-Based Gene-Editing Technology and Its Application to Vaccine Development
by Man Teng, Yongxiu Yao, Venugopal Nair and Jun Luo
Viruses 2021, 13(5), 779; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v13050779 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7624
Abstract
In recent years, the CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-editing techniques have been well developed and applied widely in several aspects of research in the biological sciences, in many species, including humans, animals, plants, and even in viruses. Modification of the viral genome is crucial for revealing [...] Read more.
In recent years, the CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-editing techniques have been well developed and applied widely in several aspects of research in the biological sciences, in many species, including humans, animals, plants, and even in viruses. Modification of the viral genome is crucial for revealing gene function, virus pathogenesis, gene therapy, genetic engineering, and vaccine development. Herein, we have provided a brief review of the different technologies for the modification of the viral genomes. Particularly, we have focused on the recently developed CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-editing system, detailing its origin, functional principles, and touching on its latest achievements in virology research and applications in vaccine development, especially in large DNA viruses of humans and animals. Future prospects of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-editing technology in virology research, including the potential shortcomings, are also discussed. Full article
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21 pages, 376 KiB  
Review
Research Progress and Challenges in Vaccine Development against Classical Swine Fever Virus
by Qiang Wei, Yunchao Liu and Gaiping Zhang
Viruses 2021, 13(3), 445; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/v13030445 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3071
Abstract
Classical swine fever (CSF), caused by CSF virus (CSFV), is one of the most devastating viral epizootic diseases of swine in many countries. To control the disease, highly efficacious and safe live attenuated vaccines have been used for decades. However, the main drawback [...] Read more.
Classical swine fever (CSF), caused by CSF virus (CSFV), is one of the most devastating viral epizootic diseases of swine in many countries. To control the disease, highly efficacious and safe live attenuated vaccines have been used for decades. However, the main drawback of these conventional vaccines is the lack of differentiability of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA concept). Advances in biotechnology and our detailed knowledge of multiple basic science disciplines have facilitated the development of effective and safer DIVA vaccines to control CSF. To date, two types of DIVA vaccines have been developed commercially, including the subunit vaccines based on CSFV envelope glycoprotein E2 and chimeric pestivirus vaccines based on infectious cDNA clones of CSFV or bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). Although inoculation of these vaccines successfully induces solid immunity against CSFV, none of them could ideally meet all demands regarding to safety, efficacy, DIVA potential, and marketability. Due to the limitations of the available choices, researchers are still striving towards the development of more advanced DIVA vaccines against CSF. This review summarizes the present status of candidate CSFV vaccines that have been developed. The strategies and approaches revealed here may also be helpful for the development of new-generation vaccines against other diseases. Full article
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