Jeong Ji-Min, Kwon Mun-Gyeong, Park Chan-Il
Aquatic Disease Control Division, National Fishery Products Quality Management Service (NFQS), Busan 49111, Republic of Korea.
Department of Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Marine Science, Gyeongsang National University, Tongyeong 53064, Republic of Korea.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jun 11;15(12):1728. doi: 10.3390/ani15121728.
(VHSV) is a major pathogen in (olive flounder) aquaculture, necessitating effective vaccines and evaluation methods. This study assessed immune responses following intraperitoneal administration of an inactivated VHSV vaccine and identified surrogate markers of vaccine efficacy. Fish were sampled weekly over 8 weeks. Antigen-specific antibody titers were measured by ELISA, and the expression of seven immune-related genes (, , , , , , and ) was analyzed in the spleen, kidney, liver, and gill by qPCR. The vaccinated group showed 84% relative survival, while unvaccinated fish experienced 100% mortality. Antibody titers peaked at 4 weeks post-vaccination, aligning with elevated expression in the spleen and kidney. (kidney) and (spleen) expression strongly correlated with antibody titers (r = 0.854 and 0.796, respectively), whereas , , and showed moderate associations in specific tissues. These findings indicate that , and may serve as molecular indicators of humoral immune responses specifically following inactivated VHSV vaccination in olive flounder (). Combining gene expression profiling with antibody analysis offers a non-lethal, practical approach to evaluating vaccine efficacy in aquaculture.
病毒性出血性败血症病毒（VHSV）是牙鲆水产养殖中的主要病原体，因此需要有效的疫苗和评估方法。本研究评估了腹腔注射灭活VHSV疫苗后的免疫反应，并确定了疫苗效力的替代标志物。在8周内每周对鱼进行采样。通过ELISA测量抗原特异性抗体滴度，并通过qPCR分析脾脏、肾脏、肝脏和鳃中7个免疫相关基因（、、、、、和）的表达。接种疫苗的组相对存活率为84%，而未接种疫苗的鱼死亡率为100%。抗体滴度在接种疫苗后4周达到峰值，与脾脏和肾脏中表达升高一致。肾脏和脾脏的表达与抗体滴度密切相关（分别为r = 0.854和0.796），而、和在特定组织中显示出中等相关性。这些发现表明，和可能是牙鲆在接种灭活VHSV疫苗后体液免疫反应的分子指标。将基因表达谱分析与抗体分析相结合，为水产养殖中评估疫苗效力提供了一种非致死性的实用方法。
