School of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities, Tongliao, 028000, China.
School of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China.
Microb Pathog. 2020 Feb;139:103905. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2019.103905. Epub 2019 Nov 29.
Pigeon circovirus (PiCV) is able to infect racing and meat pigeons of all ages and is a key factor that triggers young pigeon disease syndrome (YPDS). PiCV vaccine research has been impeded because PiCV cannot be grown or propagated in cell cultures. Virus-like particles (VLPs), which can be generated by a wide range of expression systems, have been shown to have outstanding immunogenicity and constitute promising vaccines against a wide range of pathogens. Cap protein, which contains neutralizing antibody epitopes, is the only capsid protein of PiCV. In this study, the baculovirus expression system was utilized to express the PiCV Cap protein, which was self-assembled into VLPs with a spherical morphology and diameters of 15-18 nm. Specific antibodies against the Cap protein were induced after BALB/c mice immunized intramuscularly (i.m.) with VLPs combined with adjuvant. Based on these findings, PiCV VLPs may be a promising candidate vaccine against PiCV.
鸽圆环病毒（PiCV）能够感染各种年龄的赛鸽和肉鸽，是引发幼鸽疾病综合征（YPDS）的关键因素。由于 PiCV 不能在细胞培养物中生长或繁殖，因此 PiCV 疫苗的研究受到了阻碍。病毒样颗粒（VLPs）可以通过多种表达系统产生，已被证明具有出色的免疫原性，是针对多种病原体的有前途的疫苗。衣壳蛋白是 PiCV 唯一的衣壳蛋白，含有中和抗体表位。在这项研究中，利用杆状病毒表达系统表达了 PiCV 的 Cap 蛋白，该蛋白可自组装成具有 15-18nm 直径的球形 VLPs。将 VLPs 与佐剂结合免疫肌肉注射（i.m.）BALB/c 小鼠后，可诱导针对 Cap 蛋白的特异性抗体。基于这些发现，PiCV VLPs 可能是一种有前途的 PiCV 候选疫苗。
