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Abstract
The present study demonstrates the protective potential of novel baculovirus recombinants,
which express the glycoproteins gB, gC, or gD of Pseudorabies virus (PRV; Alphaherpesvirus
of swine) and additionally contain the glycoprotein G of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus
(VSV-G) in the virion (Bac-G-PRV). To evaluate the protective capacity, mixtures of
equal amounts of the PRV gB-, gC-, and gD-expressing baculoviruses were used for immunization.
Three intramuscular immunizations with that Bac-G-PRV mixture could protect mice against
a lethal PRV challenge infection. To achieve complete protection high titers of Bac-G-PRV
and three immunizations were necessary. This immunization with Bac-G-PRV resulted
in the induction of high titers of PRV-specific serum antibodies of the IgG2a subclass
and of interferon (IFN)-gamma, indicating a Th1-type immune response. Moreover, splenocytes
of immunized mice exhibited natural killer cell activity accompanied by the production
of IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma. Collectively, the presented data demonstrate for the first
time that co-expression of VSV-G in baculovirus recombinant vaccines can improve the
induction of a protective immune response against foreign antigens.