The FlagT4G vaccine confers a strong and regulated innate immunity that correlates with early virological protection against Classical swine fever

Authors: BOHÓRQUEZ, JOSÉ - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA); WANG, MIAOMIAO - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA); DIAZ, IVAN - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA); ALBERCH, MONICA - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA); PEREZ-SIMO, MARTTA - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA); ROSELL, ROSA - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA); Gladue, Douglas; Borca, Manuel; LLILIANNE, GANGES - Institute De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA)

Submitted to: Viruses
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/30/2022
Publication Date: 9/2/2022
Citation: Bohórquez, J.A., Wang, M., Diaz, I., Alberch, M., Perez-Simo, M., Rosell, R., Gladue, D.P., Borca, M.V., Llilianne, G. 2022. The FlagT4G vaccine confers a strong and regulated innate immunity that correlates with early virological protection against classical swine fever. Viruses. 14(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091954.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091954

Interpretive Summary: Classical swine fever (CSFV) causes a devastating disease in swine, called Classical swine fever (CSF), control of the disease in endemic countries relies on vaccination, mostly using vaccines that do not allow for differentiation of vaccinated from infected animals (DIVA). FlagT4G vaccine is a novel candidate that confers robust immunity and shows DIVA capabilities. The present study assessed the immune response elicited by FlagT4G and its capacity to protect pigs at a short time after vaccination

Technical Abstract: A Classical Swine fever virus (CSFV) is one of the most relevant pathogens diseases in animal health. Control of the disease in endemic countries relies on vaccination, mostly using vaccines that do not allow for differentiation of vaccinated from infected animals (DIVA). FlagT4G vaccine is a novel candidate that confers robust immunity and shows DIVA capabilities. The present study assessed the immune response elicited by FlagT4G and its capacity to protect pigs at a short time after vaccination. Ten pigs where divided into two groups of five pigs each, one group was FlagT4G-vaccinated and the other served as infection control. At 5 days post vaccination (dpv), the pigs were challenged with a highly virulent CSFV strain. FlagT4G-vaccinated animals showed clinical and virological protection after challenge. Strong, but regulated, Interferon-a response was found in these pigs after vaccination, leading to protection, even in absence of antibody response. Unvaccinated pigs showed severe clinical signs and high viral replication, all of them being eu-thanized before the end of the trial. These animals showed exacerbated, uncontrolled, innate im-mune response after challenge. The results from the present study assert the fast and efficient protection by FlagT4G, a highly promising tool for CSFV control worldwide