Development of an enhanced bovine viral diarrhea virus subunit vaccine based on E2 glycoprotein fused to a single chain antibody which targets to antigen-presenting cells PALABRAS CLAVE
Abstract Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an important cause of economic losses worldwide. E2 is an immunodominant protein and a promising candidate to develop subunit vaccines. To improve its immunogenicity, a truncated E2 (tE2) was fused to a single chain antibody named APCH, which targets to antigen-presenting cells. APCH-tE2 and tE2 proteins were expressed in the baculovirus system and their immunogenicity was firstly compared in guinea pigs. APCH-tE2 vaccine was the best one to evoke a humoral response, and for this reason, it was selected for a cattle vaccination experiment. All the bovines immunized with 1.5 g of APCH-tE2 developed high levels of neutralizing antibodies against BVDV up to a year post-immunization, demonstrating its significant potential as a subunit vaccine. This novel vaccine is undergoing scale-up and was transferred to the private sector. Nowadays, it is being evaluated for registration as the first Argentinean subunit vaccine for cattle. PALABRAS CLAVE Glucoproteína E2; Anticuerpo de cadena simple; Vacuna a subunidad; Baculovirus; Desarrollo de una vacuna de subunidad BVDV mejorada basada en la glucoproteína E2 fusionada a un anticuerpo de cadena simple que se dirige a células presentadoras de antígeno Resumen El virus de la diarrea viral bovina (BVDV) es causante de importantes pérdidas económicas a nivel mundial. La proteína E2 es la inmunodominante del virus y es la candidata para desarrollar vacunas de subunidad. Para mejorar su inmunogenicidad, una versió
