Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus: Immune Escape and Application of Reverse Genetics in Attenuated Live Vaccine Development

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), an RNA virus widely prevalent in pigs, results in significant economic losses worldwide. PRRSV can escape from the host immune response in several processes. Vaccines, including modified live vaccines and inactivated vaccines, are the best available countermeasures against PRRSV infection. However, challenges still exist as the vaccines are not able to induce broad protection. The reason lies in several facts, mainly the variability of PRRSV and the complexity of the interaction between PRRSV and host immune responses, and overcoming these obstacles will require more exploration. Many novel strategies have been proposed to construct more effective vaccines against this evolving and smart virus. In this review, we will describe the mechanisms of how PRRSV induces weak and delayed immune responses, the current vaccines of PRRSV, and the strategies to develop modified live vaccines using reverse genetics systems.