Adenovirus-vectored type Asia1 foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) capsid proteins as a vehicle to display a conserved, neutralising epitope of type O FMDV.

The objective of this study was to explore the immunogenicity of an adenovirus construction expressing a type O foot and mouth disease virus neutralising epitope (8E8) in the context of heterologous capsid proteins. Adenoviruses expressing four chimeric type Asia1 FMDV capsid proteins were constructed by inserting the type O FMDV 8E8 epitope into the G-H loop from the type Asia1 VP1 at amino acid residues 139/140, 150/151, 134/140 or at both 139/140 and 150/151. These recombinant proteins were recognised by antibodies against the type O 8E8 epitope and type Asia1 FMDV. When inoculated in mice, all of the recombinant chimeric capsid proteins for each single epitope insertion induced the production of anti-type O FMDV neutralising antibodies. The recombinant chimeric capsid proteins with a foreign insertion at position 139/140 or 150/151 induced high levels of anti-type Asia1 FMDV neutralising antibodies as the recombinant type Asia1 capsid proteins without any foreign epitope, suggesting that the foreign insertion did not affect the immunogenicity of the type Asia1 FMDV capsid proteins. This study suggests that a foreign epitope displayed on the surface of the FMDV capsid proteins could induce an epitope-specific response. Therefore, the adenovirus-vectored FMDV capsid proteins could be used as a vehicle for the development of an epitope-based vaccine.