Kim Sae-Hae, Cho Byeol-Hee, Lee Kyung-Yeol, Jang Yong-Suk
Department of Molecular Biology and the Institute for Molecular Biology and Genetics, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.
Department of Bioactive Material Sciences and Research Center of Bioactive Materials, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.
Immune Netw. 2018 Jun 15;18(3):e21. doi: 10.4110/in.2018.18.e21. eCollection 2018 Jun.
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a contagious coronavirus infecting pigs that leads to significant economic losses in the swine industry. Given that PEDV infection occurs in gut epithelial cells mainly via the fecal-oral route, induction of PEDV-specific immune responses in the mucosal compartment is required for protective immunity against viral infection. However, an effective mucosal vaccine against the currently prevalent PEDV strain is not available. In this study, we demonstrated that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the spike (S) protein of PEDV represents a new vaccine candidate molecule to be applied via the mucosal route. We first established an expression system producing the partial NTD (NTD) of the PEDV S protein. Orally administered NTD protein specifically interacted with the apical area of M cells in the follicle-associated epithelium of Peyer's patch. Additionally, the NTD protein induced antigen-specific immune responses in both the systemic and mucosal immune compartments when administered orally. Collectively, we propose the NTD of the PEDV S protein to be a candidate mucosal vaccine molecule.
猪流行性腹泻病毒（PEDV）是一种感染猪的传染性冠状病毒，给养猪业造成重大经济损失。鉴于PEDV主要通过粪口途径在肠道上皮细胞中感染，因此需要在黏膜部位诱导针对PEDV的特异性免疫反应以获得针对病毒感染的保护性免疫。然而，目前尚无针对当前流行的PEDV毒株的有效黏膜疫苗。在本研究中，我们证明PEDV刺突（S）蛋白的N端结构域（NTD）是一种可通过黏膜途径应用的新型疫苗候选分子。我们首先建立了一个表达系统，用于生产PEDV S蛋白的部分NTD（NTD）。口服的NTD蛋白与派尔集合淋巴结滤泡相关上皮中M细胞的顶端区域特异性相互作用。此外，口服NTD蛋白时，它能在全身和黏膜免疫部位诱导抗原特异性免疫反应。总体而言，我们提出PEDV S蛋白的NTD作为候选黏膜疫苗分子。
