Rodríguez Alianet, Gadan Koestan, Pérez Lincidio, Evensen Øystein, Estrada Mario Pablo, Carpio Yamila
Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), Havana, Cuba.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sea lice Research Centre, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.
Front Immunol. 2025 May 21;16:1570948. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1570948. eCollection 2025.
Sea lice are crustacean ectoparasites affecting Atlantic salmon production worldwide and impediments to industry growth. Chemical treatment has been the method of choice to control infestation with increasing resistance. Vaccination is an environmentally friendly alternative for sea lice control; however, obtaining high levels of lice reduction through active immunization has proven difficult. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of two sea lice vaccine prototypes under laboratory-controlled conditions.
Therein, fish were vaccinated with two chimeric antigens, TT-P0 or P0-my32, using oil-adjuvanted vaccine formulations and a prime-boost vaccination protocol. Fish were experimentally challenged with copepodids at 2, 5, and 11 months postprime vaccination.
TT-P0 vaccinated fish had a significantly lower lice number at all three challenges, 88, 90, and 20%, respectively, compared to controls. The P0-my32 vaccine gave high protection at early time points post-vaccination, with 91 and 75.4% reduction at 3 and 6 months, respectively, fading off at 12 months (4.2% reduction vs. control). The TT-P0 group had a significantly lower lice number than controls at the 11-month challenge. A higher degree of protection coincided with higher circulating antibody levels against homologous antigens. This proof of concept study encourage the use of vaccination as a tool to reduce the lice burden in salmon, and preclinical and clinical testing at a large scale is needed to document the level of protection attained under field conditions.
海虱是一种甲壳类体外寄生虫，影响着全球大西洋鲑鱼的养殖，也是该行业增长的障碍。化学处理一直是控制海虱感染的首选方法，但耐药性不断增加。疫苗接种是控制海虱的一种环境友好型替代方法；然而，通过主动免疫实现高水平的海虱减少已被证明是困难的。本研究旨在探索两种海虱疫苗原型在实验室控制条件下的效果。
在本研究中，使用油佐剂疫苗制剂和初免-加强免疫接种方案，用两种嵌合抗原TT-P0或P0-my32对鱼进行接种。在初免接种后2、5和11个月，用桡足幼体对鱼进行实验性攻毒。
与对照组相比，接种TT-P0的鱼在所有三次攻毒时的海虱数量均显著降低，分别为88%、90%和20%。P0-my32疫苗在接种后的早期时间点提供了高度保护，在3个月和6个月时分别减少了91%和75.4%，在12个月时效果减弱（与对照组相比减少了4.2%）。在11个月的攻毒时，TT-P0组的海虱数量显著低于对照组。更高程度的保护与针对同源抗原的更高循环抗体水平相一致。这项概念验证研究鼓励将疫苗接种作为减轻鲑鱼海虱负担的一种工具，并且需要进行大规模的临床前和临床试验，以记录在田间条件下获得的保护水平。
