Immunogenicity evaluation of recombinant Lactobacillus casei W56 expressing bovine viral diarrhea virus E2 protein in conjunction with cholera toxin B subunit as an adjuvant

BACKGROUND: Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the main causes of infectious diseases in cattle and causes large financial losses to the cattle industry worldwide. In this study, Lactobacillus casei strain W56 (Lc W56) was used as antigen deliver carrier to construct a recombinant Lactobacillus vaccine pPG-E2-ctxB/Lc W56 constitutively expressing BVDV E2 protein fused with cholera toxin B subunit (ctxB) as an adjuvant, and its immunogenicity against BVDV infection in mice model by oral route was explored. RESULTS: Our results suggested that pPG-E2-ctxB/Lc W56 can effectively activate dendritic cells (DCs) in the Peyer’s patches, up-regulate the expression of Bcl-6, and promote T-follicular helper (Tfh) cells differentiation, as well as enhance B lymphocyte proliferation and promote them differentiate into specific IgA-secreting plasma cells, secreting anti-E2 mucosal sIgA antibody with BVDV-neutralizing activity. Moreover, significant levels (p < 0.01) of BVDV-neutralizing antigen-specific serum antibodies were induced in the pPG-E2-ctxB/LC W56 group post-vaccination. The recombinant Lactobacillus vaccine can induce cellular immune responses, and significant levels (p < 0.01) of Th1-associated cytokines (IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ), Th2-associated cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) and Th17-associated cytokine (IL-17) were determined in the serum of vaccinated mice. Significantly, the recombinant Lactobacillus vaccine provides immune protection against BVDV infection, which can be cleared effectively by the vaccine post-challenge in orally vaccinated animals. CONCLUSIONS: The genetically engineered Lactobacillus vaccine constructed in this study is immunogenic in mice and can induce mucosal, humoral, and cellular immune responses, providing effective anti-BVDV immune protection. It thus represents a promising strategy for vaccine development against BVDV.