Abstract
Transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in semen and reproductive disease in pregnant swine might be reduced by vaccines that induce mucosal immunity in the reproductive tract. Cholera toxin (CT), when delivered orally, is a potent mucosal adjuvant and immunogen in swine. To determine if oral immunization additionally elicits immunity at distant mucosal surfaces, we examined antibody responses to CT-B subunit in the reproductive tract and oral cavity. Orally administered CT induced distant mucosal immunity, as measured by antibodies to CT-B subunit in saliva and vaginal secretions. Presentation of PRRSV nucleocapsid as a genetic fusion with CT resulted in local mucosal antibody production, but no response was observed in vaginal secretions. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using orally administered CT for the induction of immunity to reproductive pathogens in swine. However, effective induction of PRRSV-specific immune responses in the reproductive tract requires a better understanding of the mechanisms of antigenicity and adjuvanticity at distant mucosal sites.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 329-338 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Veterinary immunology and immunopathology |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 8 2004 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The plasmid pCT ΔA1 was kindly provided by Michael Russell, University of Alabama at Birmingham. The plasmid pMYC9 was provided by Kim Nasmyth, Institute for Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria. Research support was provided by the National Pork Producers Council grant no. 99-088 and National Institutes of Health grant no. K08AI01396, both awarded to DLF. KAH was supported by NIH grant no. 5 T32 DA-07097-22. We would like to thank Elaine Eggleston, Martha Fuentes, and Carlos Trincado for technical assistance with ELISA.
Keywords
- Cholera toxin
- PRRS
- Swine
