Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: African swine fever (ASF), caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), is an acute, febrile, highly contagious, and lethal disease that poses a severe threat to the global pig farming industry. Currently, no globally recognized, safe, and effective commercial ASF vaccine has been developed, making vaccination a crucial strategy for outbreak control. The ASFV structural proteins p72, p30, and p54 are key targets for vaccine development. In this study, we developed a novel baculovirus vector-based system for surface display of a recombinant protein comprising epitopes from p72, p30, and p54. Upon infection, the recombinant protein was expressed and anchored on the plasma membrane of Sf-9 cells. Purified virus analysis revealed that the Bac-recombinant protein enhanced gene delivery and transgene expression in mammalian cells compared to the Bac-Wild Type (Bac-WT). In a murine model, the Bac-recombinant protein induced significantly higher IFN-γ and IL-4 levels than Bac-p30 and the negative control. However, further evaluation in swine models is required to confirm its protective potential against ASFV. Furthermore, it also elicited a robust antibody response, generating high-titer Bac-recombinant protein-specific antibodies. Therefore, these findings suggest that the ASFV Bac-recombinant protein is a promising candidate for a vector-based vaccine.
Source: Microorganisms
Authors: Wenkai Zhang, Xing Yang, Xingyu Chen, Jiaxin Jin, Yuanyuan Zhang, Lele Gong, Shuai Zhang, Xuyang Zhao, Yongkun Du, Yanan Wu, Aijun Sun, Guoqing Zhuang
Institution: Henan Agricultural University
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
Funder: Henan Agricultural University
Award: G8905210915
OpenAlex ID: W4415657188