Bovine papular stomatitis virus as a vaccine vector for cattle

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Virology
• Vaccine Development
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Commercially available virus-vectored vaccines for cattle are currently lacking.
• Bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV), a prevalent parapoxvirus in cattle, has characteristics suitable for a viral vector.
• These characteristics include its capacity for foreign DNA insertion, induction of mild antiviral immunity, and persistence within cattle populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the potential of BPSV as a viral vector for developing vaccines in cattle.
• To construct recombinant BPSV expressing Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) glycoproteins.

Main Methods:

• Recombinant BPSV strains, BPSV^gD and BPSV^gD/gB, were engineered to express BoHV-1 glycoproteins gD and gB.
• BPSV serologically-positive calves were immunized with the recombinant BPSV constructs.
• Immunized calves were subsequently challenged with a high dose of BoHV-1.

Main Results:

• Immunization with BPSV^gD or BPSV^gD/gB successfully induced BoHV-1 neutralization antibodies in cattle.
• Three out of four immunized calves demonstrated protection against a high-dose BoHV-1 challenge administered 70 days post-immunization.
• The study demonstrated the efficacy of the recombinant BPSV in eliciting a protective immune response.

Conclusions:

• Bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV) is a suitable candidate for development as a viral vector in cattle vaccines.
• The use of BPSV as a vector offers a potential new strategy for controlling economically significant cattle diseases like BoHV-1.
• Further research into BPSV-based vaccines could lead to novel disease prevention methods for cattle.