Skip to main content

HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1515415
This article is part of the Research Topic Herpesviruses: Pathogenesis and Host Interactions View all articles

Recombinant Marek's disease virus expressing VP1 and VP2 proteins provides robust immune protection against chicken infectious anemia virus

Provisionally accepted
Chengfei Ge Chengfei Ge Hangqiong Lu Hangqiong Lu *Jinze Han Jinze Han *Guorong Sun Guorong Sun Shihao Li Shihao Li *Xingge Lan Xingge Lan *Yongzhen Liu Yongzhen Liu Mengmeng Yu Mengmeng Yu *Xinyun Hu Xinyun Hu *Mingxue Hu Mingxue Hu *Xiaole Qi Xiaole Qi Hongyu Cui Hongyu Cui Yulu Duan Yulu Duan *Suyan Wang Suyan Wang *Yuntong Chen Yuntong Chen *Xiaomei Wang Xiaomei Wang Yanping Zhang Yanping Zhang *Yulong Gao Yulong Gao *Changjun Liu Changjun Liu *
  • Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Chicken infectious anemia (CIA) is a highly contagious disease caused by the Chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV), and it poses a serious threat to the poultry industry.However, effective control measures and strategies have not been identified. In this study, a recombinant Marek's disease virus (rMDV) expressing the VP1 and VP2 proteins of CIAV was successfully constructed using CRISPR/Cas9, and a commercial Marek's disease virus (MDV) vaccine strain was used as the vector. VP1 and VP2 expression by rMDV was confirmed by immunofluorescence assay and western blot analysis, which revealed robust in vitro expression. Further analysis showed that the VP1 and VP2 genes integrated into the MDV genome did not alter the growth kinetics of the virus and remained stable even after 20 passages, indicating the genetic stability of the recombinant virus. In animal studies, vaccination of one-day-old specificpathogen-free chickens with rMDV induced high levels of CIAV-specific antibodies (1×10 5 ) and neutralizing antibodies (1:2 5 ) and a potent cellular immune response. Moreover, rMDV vaccination conferred an 85% protective index against challenge with a highly virulent strain of CIAV, significantly reducing the occurrence of anemia and thymic atrophy caused by CIAV infection and dramatically suppressing CIAV replication in the thymus. Collectively, these results highlight the potential of rMDV as a vaccine candidate for preventing and controlling CIAV infection, thus offering a new avenue for mitigating the impact of CIA on the poultry industry.

    Keywords: Chicken infectious anemia virus1, Marek's disease virus2, CRISPR/Cas93, VP14, VP25, Vaccine6

    Received: 22 Oct 2024; Accepted: 14 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ge, Lu, Han, Sun, Li, Lan, Liu, Yu, Hu, Hu, Qi, Cui, Duan, Wang, Chen, Wang, Zhang, Gao and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Hangqiong Lu, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Jinze Han, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Shihao Li, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Xingge Lan, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Mengmeng Yu, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Xinyun Hu, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Mingxue Hu, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Yulu Duan, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Suyan Wang, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Yuntong Chen, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Yanping Zhang, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Yulong Gao, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
    Changjun Liu, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.