1
|
Jiménez-Cabello L, Utrilla-Trigo S, Calvo-Pinilla E, Lorenzo G, Illescas-Amo M, Benavides J, Moreno S, Marín-López A, Nogales A, Ortego J. Co-expression of VP2, NS1 and NS2-Nt proteins by an MVA viral vector induces complete protection against bluetongue virus. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1440407. [PMID: 39072326 PMCID: PMC11272488 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1440407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Bluetongue (BT), caused by bluetongue virus (BTV), is an important arthropod-borne livestock disease listed by the World Organization for Animal Health. Live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines have permitted to control BT but they do not simultaneously protect against the myriad of BTV serotypes. Recently, we identified the highly conserved BTV nonstructural protein NS1 and the N-terminal region of NS2 as antigens capable of conferring multiserotype protection against BTV. Methods Here, we designed Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) viral vectors that expressed BTV-4 proteins VP2 or VP7 along with NS1 and NS2-Nt as well as MVAs that expressed proteins VP2, VP7 or NS1 and NS2-Nt. Results Immunization of IFNAR(-/-) mice with two doses of MVA-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt protected mice from BTV-4M infection by the induction of an antigen-specific T cell immune response. Despite rMVA expressing VP7 alone were not protective in the IFNAR(-/-) mouse model, inclusion of VP7 in the vaccine formulation amplified the cell-mediated response induced by NS1 and NS2-Nt. Expression of VP2 elicited protective non-cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) in immunized animals and improved the protection observed in the MVA-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt immunized mice when these three BTV antigens were co-expressed. Moreover, vaccines candidates co-expressing VP2 or VP7 along with NS1 and NS2-Nt provided multiserotype protection. We assessed protective efficacy of both vaccine candidates in sheep against virulent challenge with BTV-4M. Discussion Immunization with MVA-VP7-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt partially dumped viral replication and clinical disease whereas administration of MVA-VP2-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt promoted a complete protection, preventing viraemia and the pathology produced by BTV infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luis Jiménez-Cabello
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Utrilla-Trigo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva Calvo-Pinilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Lorenzo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Illescas-Amo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Julio Benavides
- Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, León, Spain
| | - Sandra Moreno
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Marín-López
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Aitor Nogales
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Ortego
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Utrilla-Trigo S, Jiménez-Cabello L, Marín-López A, Illescas-Amo M, Andrés G, Calvo-Pinilla E, Lorenzo G, van Rijn PA, Ortego J, Nogales A. Engineering recombinant replication-competent bluetongue viruses expressing reporter genes for in vitro and non-invasive in vivo studies. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0249323. [PMID: 38353566 PMCID: PMC10923215 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02493-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the causative agent of the important livestock disease bluetongue (BT), which is transmitted via Culicoides bites. BT causes severe economic losses associated with its considerable impact on health and trade of animals. By reverse genetics, we have designed and rescued reporter-expressing recombinant (r)BTV expressing NanoLuc luciferase (NLuc) or Venus fluorescent protein. To generate these viruses, we custom synthesized a modified viral segment 5 encoding NS1 protein with the reporter genes located downstream and linked by the Porcine teschovirus-1 (PTV-1) 2A autoproteolytic cleavage site. Therefore, fluorescent signal or luciferase activity is only detected after virus replication and expression of non-structural proteins. Fluorescence or luminescence signals were detected in cells infected with rBTV/Venus or rBTV/NLuc, respectively. Moreover, the marking of NS2 protein confirmed that reporter genes were only expressed in BTV-infected cells. Growth kinetics of rBTV/NLuc and rBTV/Venus in Vero cells showed replication rates similar to those of wild-type and rBTV. Infectivity studies of these recombinant viruses in IFNAR(-/-) mice showed a higher lethal dose for rBTV/NLuc and rBTV/Venus than for rBTV indicating that viruses expressing the reporter genes are attenuated in vivo. Interestingly, luciferase activity was detected in the plasma of viraemic mice infected with rBTV/NLuc. Furthermore, luciferase activity quantitatively correlated with RNAemia levels of infected mice throughout the infection. In addition, we have investigated the in vivo replication and dissemination of BTV in IFNAR (-/-) mice using BTV/NLuc and non-invasive in vivo imaging systems.IMPORTANCEThe use of replication-competent viruses that encode a traceable fluorescent or luciferase reporter protein has significantly contributed to the in vitro and in vivo study of viral infections and the development of novel therapeutic approaches. In this work, we have generated rBTV that express fluorescent or luminescence proteins to track BTV infection both in vitro and in vivo. Despite the availability of vaccines, BTV and other related orbivirus are still associated with a significant impact on animal health and have important economic consequences worldwide. Our studies may contribute to the advance in orbivirus research and pave the way for the rapid development of new treatments, including vaccines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Utrilla-Trigo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Jiménez-Cabello
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Marín-López
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Miguel Illescas-Amo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Germán Andrés
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva Calvo-Pinilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Lorenzo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Piet A. van Rijn
- Department of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), Lelystad, the Netherlands
- Department of Biochemistry, Centre for Human Metabolomics, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Javier Ortego
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Aitor Nogales
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Jiménez-Cabello L, Utrilla-Trigo S, Lorenzo G, Ortego J, Calvo-Pinilla E. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus: Current Knowledge and Emerging Perspectives. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1339. [PMID: 37317313 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11051339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) of ruminants is a viral pathology that has significant welfare, social, and economic implications. The causative agent, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), belongs to the Orbivirus genus and leads to significant regional disease outbreaks among livestock and wildlife in North America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, causing significant morbidity and mortality. During the past decade, this viral disease has become a real threat for countries of the Mediterranean basin, with the recent occurrence of several important outbreaks in livestock. Moreover, the European Union registered the first cases of EHDV ever detected within its territory. Competent vectors involved in viral transmission, Culicoides midges, are expanding its distribution, conceivably due to global climate change. Therefore, livestock and wild ruminants around the globe are at risk for this serious disease. This review provides an overview of current knowledge about EHDV, including changes of distribution and virulence, an examination of different animal models of disease, and a discussion about potential treatments to control the disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luis Jiménez-Cabello
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Utrilla-Trigo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Lorenzo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Ortego
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva Calvo-Pinilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), Valdeolmos, 28130 Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Vaccination as a Strategy to Prevent Bluetongue Virus Vertical Transmission. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10111528. [PMID: 34832683 PMCID: PMC8622840 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10111528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) produces an economically important disease in ruminants of compulsory notification to the OIE. BTV is typically transmitted by the bite of Culicoides spp., however, some BTV strains can be transmitted vertically, and this is associated with fetus malformations and abortions. The viral factors associated with the virus potency to cross the placental barrier are not well defined. The potency of vertical transmission is retained and sometimes even increased in live attenuated BTV vaccine strains. Because BTV possesses a segmented genome, the possibility of reassortment of vaccination strains with wild-type virus could even favor the transmission of this phenotype. In the present review, we will describe the non-vector-based BTV infection routes and discuss the experimental vaccination strategies that offer advantages over this drawback of some live attenuated BTV vaccines.
Collapse
|
5
|
van Rijn PA, Maris-Veldhuis MA, Spedicato M, Savini G, van Gennip RGP. Pentavalent Disabled Infectious Single Animal (DISA)/DIVA Vaccine Provides Protection in Sheep and Cattle against Different Serotypes of Bluetongue Virus. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9101150. [PMID: 34696258 PMCID: PMC8537505 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9101150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue (BT) is a midge-borne OIE-notifiable disease of ruminants caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV). There are at least 29 BTV serotypes as determined by serum neutralization tests and genetic analyses of genome segment 2 encoding serotype immunodominant VP2 protein. Large parts of the world are endemic for multiple serotypes. The most effective control measure of BT is vaccination. Conventionally live-attenuated and inactivated BT vaccines are available but have their specific pros and cons and are not DIVA compatible. The prototype Disabled Infectious Single Animal (DISA)/DIVA vaccine based on knockout of NS3/NS3a protein of live-attenuated BTV, shortly named DISA8, fulfills all criteria for modern veterinary vaccines of sheep. Recently, DISA8 with an internal in-frame deletion of 72 amino acid codons in NS3/NS3a showed a similar ideal vaccine profile in cattle. Here, the DISA/DIVA vaccine platform was applied for other serotypes, and pentavalent DISA/DIVA vaccine for “European” serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 was studied in sheep and cattle. Protection was demonstrated for two serotypes, and neutralization Ab titers indicate protection against other included serotypes. The DISA/DIVA vaccine platform is flexible in use and generates monovalent and multivalent DISA vaccines to combat specific field situations with respect to Bluetongue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Piet A. van Rijn
- Department of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), 8200 RA Lelystad, The Netherlands; (M.A.M.-V.); (R.G.P.v.G.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Centre for Human Metabolomics, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +31-320-238-686
| | - Mieke A. Maris-Veldhuis
- Department of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), 8200 RA Lelystad, The Netherlands; (M.A.M.-V.); (R.G.P.v.G.)
| | - Massimo Spedicato
- Public Health Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale”, 64100 Teramo, Italy; (M.S.); (G.S.)
| | - Giovanni Savini
- Public Health Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale”, 64100 Teramo, Italy; (M.S.); (G.S.)
| | - René G. P. van Gennip
- Department of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), 8200 RA Lelystad, The Netherlands; (M.A.M.-V.); (R.G.P.v.G.)
| |
Collapse
|