A novel live attenuated vaccine candidate protects chickens against subtype B avian metapneumovirus

Avian metapneumovirus(aMPV) is a highly contagious pathogen that causes acute upper respiratory tract diseases in chickens and turkeys, resulting in serious economic losses. Subtype B aMPV has recently become the dominant epidemic strain in China. We developed an attenuated aMPV subtype B strain by serial passaging in Vero cells and evaluated its safety and efficacy as a vaccine candidate. The safety test showed that after the 30th passage, the LN16-A strain was fully attenuated, as clinical signs of infection and histological lesions were absent after inoculation.The LN16-A strain did not revert to a virulent strain after five serial passages in chickens. The genomic sequence of LN16-A differed from that of the parent wild-type LN16(wtLN16) strain and had nine amino acid mutations. In chickens, a single immunization with LN16-A induced robust humoral and cellular immune responses, including the abundant production of neutralizing antibodies, CD4^(+) T lymphocytes, and the Th1(IFN-γ) and Th2(IL-4 and IL-6)cytokines. We also confirmed that LN16-A provided 100% protection against subtype B aMPV and significantly reduced viral shedding and turbinate inflammation. Our findings suggest that the LN16-A strain is a promising live attenuated vaccine candidate that can prevent infection with subtype B aMPV.

THE IMPROVED RECONSTRUCTION METHOD FOR NONUNIFORM ATTENUATED SPECT DATA

In this article, we study reconstruction of nonuniform attenuated SPECT data and present analytic reconstruction formulae which are similar to Novikov＇s inversion formula. Furthermore, we extend Natterer＇s results.

H2 strain attenuated live hepatitis A vaccines:protective efficacy in a hepatitis A outbreak

AIM To investigate the protective efficacy ofH2 strain attenuated live hepatitis A vaccines（H2-strain vaccines）in hepatitis A（HA）outbreaks.METHODS With the permission of theirparents,5551 pre-school and grade 1-3 primaryschool children were inoculated with 1 dose(106.5TCID50)of H2-strain vaccines in anonrandomized,controlled trial conducted inFucheng County,Hebei Province in May 1997.Another 6485 children in the same grades andcompatible in gender and age were enrolled ascontrols.Epidemiological and serological surveywas conducted to evaluate the protectiveefficacy of the vaccines.ELISA was used todetect serum IgM anti-HAV.RESULTS HA outbreak started in early May1998,peaked in the middle of the same month,and lasted about 80 days.Overall 302 HA caseswere found,192（53.58%）were 5-9 years old.One vaccinee and 25 control cases were found tohave hepatitis A,which account for 0.28%（1/356）and 5.92%（25/422）of all vaccinees andcontrols in the 14 villages,respectively.The protective efficacy of vaccines was 95.27%（95% Cl:85.83%-104.72%）.In subjects testedfor anti-HAV IgM from 13 villages,1（0.40%）overt and 11（4.06%）asymptomatic HAV caseswere found in 271 vaccinees,but 21（6.69%）ofovert and asymptomatic ones were found in 314controls.CONCLUSION H2 strain vaccines were excellent in preventing overt hepatitis A, but not so effective in preventing asymptomatic hepatitis A virus infection. A booster dose might be needed to get permanent reliable immunity.

Immune Responses to the Attenuated Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae 168 Strain Vaccine by Intrapulmonic Immunization in Piglets

To investigate the immune responses to the attenuated Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae 168 strain vaccine, 8-15 d old piglets were immunized with M. hyopneurnoniae 168 strain vaccine by intrapulmonic route. And the specific IgG antibody in serum, lymphoproliferation, IFNT, and specific secretory IgA （SIgA） antibody in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were detected on 30 and 60 d post-immunization （DPI）, respectively. On 60 DPI, all the pigs except for those in health control group were challenged with a field M. hyopneumoniae strain JS. Necropsy was performed on 30 d post-challenge （DPC）. The results showed that IFN7 and specific SIgA were stimulated on surface of respiratory tract after immunization. And peripheral blood mononuclear cells could also be proliferated about 1.81 and 2.12 fold on 30 and 60 DPI when stimulated by M. hyopneumoniae protein in vitro. However, no serum IgG antibody against M. hyopneumoniae was detected during the whole immune phage. After challenge, vaccinated pigs were observed with only very slight histological lesion in individual lobes. None of vaccinated pigs showed any clinical signs. While the unvaccinated pigs from challenge control group showed varying degrees of clinical sign and severe macroscopical lesion of mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine （MPS）. The result suggested that the attenuated M. hyopneumoniae 168 strain vaccine inoculated by intrapulmonic route could activate the systemic cellular immunity, the local mucosal immunity and IFNγ secretion in respiratory tract to against M. hyopneumoniae infection in piglets.

Oral Immunization of Mice With Vaccine of Attenuated Salmonella typhimurium Expressing Helicobacter pylori Urease B Subunit

Objective To prepare the live recombinant vaccine of attenuated Salmonella typhimurium SL3261 expressing Helicobacterpylori （H. pylori） B subunit （UreB） and to determine whether it could be used as an oral vaccine against H. pylori infection. Methods Using genomic DNA of H. pylori Sydney strain （SS1） as template, the H. pylori UreB gene fragment was amplified by PCR and subcloned into the expression vector pTC01. The recombinant plasmid pTC01-UreB was then transferred into LBS000 to obtain modified forms, and further conversed into the attenuated Salmonella typhimurium SL3261 to obtain recombinant SL3261/pCT01-UreB as an oral immunization reagent, which was then used to orally immunize Balb/c mice twice at a three-week interval. Twelve weeks later, anti-UreB IgA antibodies in intestinal fluid and IgG antibodies in sera were determined by ELISA. The relating data in control groups （including body weight, gastric inflammation, etc.） were also collected. Results The sequencing analysis showed that the UreB gene fragment amplified by PCR was consistent with the sequence of the H. pylori UreB gene. The restriction enzyme digestion revealed that the correct pTC01-UreB was obtained. SDS-PAGE and Western blot showed that a 61KD protein was expressed in SL3261/pTC01-UreB, which could be recognized by anti-H, pylori UreB antiserum and was absent in the control containing only Salmonella typhimurium SL3261 strain. The multiple oral immunization with SL3261/pTC01-UreB could significantly induce H. pylori specific mucosal IgA response as well as serum IgG responses. IFN-T and IL-10 levels were significantly increased in SL3261/pTC01-UreB group, and no obvious side effect and change in gastric inflammation were observed. Conclusion The attenuated vaccine of Salmonella typhimurium expressing H. pylori UreB can be used as an oral vaccine against H. pylori infection.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ATTENUATED RADON TRANSFORM IN π-SCHEME SHORT-SCAN SPECT

In this work, the image reconstruction in π-scheme short-scan single-photon emission computed tomography （SPECT） with nonuniform attenuation is derived in its most general form when π-scheme short-scan SPECT entails data acquisition over disjoint angular intervals without conjugate views totaling to π radians. The reconstruction results are based on decomposition of Novikov＇s inversion operator into three parts bounded in the L2 sense. The first part involves the measured partial data; the second part is a skew-symmetric operator; the third part is a symmetric and compact contribution. It is showed firstly that the operators involved belong to L（L^2（B）. Furthermore numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method.

Induction of deletion mutation on ompR gene of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi isolates from asymptomatic typhoid carriers to evolve attenuated strains for vaccine development

Objective:To develop allenualed slrains of Salmonella enterica serorar Typhi(S.typhi) for the candidate vaccine by osmolar stress.Mothods:S.typhi SS3 and SS5 strains were isolated from asymptomatic typhoid carriers in Mamakkal,Tamil Nadu.India.Both strains were grown in LB(Luria Bertani) medium supplemented with various concentration of NaCl(0.1- 0.7M) respectively.The effecl of osmolar stress was determined at molecular level by PCR using MCR 06 and MCR07 primers corresponding to ompR with chromosomal DNA of S.typhi SS3 and SS5 strains.Attenuation by osmolar stress results in deletion mutation of the.S.typhi slrains was determined by agglutination assays,precipitation method.SDS PAGE analysis and by animal models.Results:The 799 bp amplified ompR gene product from wild type S.typhi SS3 and SS5 illustrate the presence of virulent gene.Interestingly,there was only a 282 bp amplified product from S.typhi SS3 and SS5 grown in the presence of 0.5.0.6 and 0.7 M NaCl.This illustrates the occurrence of deletion mutation in ompR gene al high concentration of NaCl.Furthermore,both the wildtype and mutant S.typhi outer membrane SDS-PAGF.profile reveals the differences in the expression of ompF.ompC and ompA proteins.In mice,wild type and mutant strains lethal dose(LD_(50)) were determined.The mice died within 72 h when both the wild type strains were injected intraperitoneally with 3 log CFU-mL^(-1).When the mice were injected with the mutants in same dosage,no clinical symptoms were observed;whereas the serum antibodv litre was elicited within two weeks indicated that the mutants have the ability to induce protective humoral immune response.These results suggest that S.typhi SS3 and SS5 may bo used as good candidate strains for the development of live attenuated vaccine against salmonellosis.Conclusions:This study demonstrates that the S.typhi strains were allenualed and could be good vaccine candidates in future.

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of DHBV DNA vaccines expressing envelope and capsid fusion proteins in ducks delivered by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium

Duck hepatitis B virus(DHBV) shares many basic characteristics with hepatitis B virus(HBV) and is an attractive model for vaccine development. In this study, DHBV DNA vaccines were designed to express envelope and capsid fusion proteins to enhance the breadth of immune response in ducks. Attenuated Salmonella typhimurium(SL7207) was used as a carrier and adjuvant to boost the magnitude of immune response. Based on this strategy, novel DNA vaccines(SL7207-p VAX1-LC and SL7207-p VAX1-SC) were generated. Growth kinetics, genetic stabilities and relative transcription levels of the L, S and C genes introduced by these vaccine strains were measured before inoculation to guarantee safety and efficacy. The relative transcript levels of the CD4 and CD8 T genes and the antibody levels(Ig Y) in ducks receiving the vaccines were higher than those in single gene delivered groups. Additionally, the copy number of covalently closed circular DNA in hepatocytes after DHBV challenge also provided evidence that our fusion vaccines could enhance the protective efficiency against DHBV infection in ducks.

Evaluating the efficacy of an attenuated Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus vaccine produced by multi-gene deletion in pathogenicity island SeseCisland_4

Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus(SEZ) is a pathogen associated with a wild range of animal species. Frequent outbreaks have occurred in recent years in pigs, horses, goats and dogs which is liable to infect humans. There is a lack of efficient vaccines against this disease and the occurrence of antibiotic resistance may render drug therapies ineffective. In this study, gene deletion mutant(ΔSEZ) in pathogenicity islands SeseCisland_4 was constructed. The mutant ΔSEZ had a 52-fold decrease in 50% lethal dose(LD_(50)) and had less capacity to adhere epithelial cells. Importantly, immunization of mice with attenuated vaccine ΔSEZ at the dose of 10~2 colony-forming units(CFU) mL^(–1) elicited a significant humoral antibody response, with an antibody titer of 1:12 800. Therefore, 10~2 CFU mL^(–1) might be used as the appropriate immune dose for the attenuated vaccine ΔSEZ, which provided mice with efficient protection against virulent SEZ. In addition, the hyperimmune sera against 10~2 CFU m L–1 attenuated vaccine ΔSEZ could confer significant protection against virulent SEZ infection in the passive immunization experiment and exhibited efficient bactericidal activity in the whole blood assay. Meanwhile, no viable bacteria was detected in blood when mice were immunized with ΔSEZ at the dose of 10~2 CFU mL^(–1) via hypodermic injection. Thereafter, the mutant ΔSEZ at the dose of 10~2 CFU mL^(–1) could confer significant protection in mice and had less negative effects on host, which could be an effective attenuated vaccine candidate for the prevention of SEZ.

Numerical studies of surface and bulk modes in attenuated total reflection spectra

The dispersion relations of normal modes in the layered constructions are studied. In the frequency region with negative permittivity, we investigate the normal modes near the air-metal and the air-matematerial interfaces and compare them. An extra bulk mode appearing in a pass band of two media is found near the air-matematerial interface, which is different from the air-metal case. Moreover, the bulk mode will be further proved by the attenuated total reflection （ATR） technique, in which the coupling between the incident electromagnetic waves and the normal modes is studied. For p-polarized incident waves, the ATR spectra based on the Otto and the Kretschmann configurations are obtained numerically, where the dips present the excitations of the surface and bulk modes. Furthermore, we also discuss the influences of the middle layer thickness, the incident angle and the damping term on the reflection in detail. It is found that the coupling frequencies and the maximum strength are strongly dependent on the above media parameters.

Investigation of bone reconstruction using an attenuated immunogenicity xenogenic composite scaffold fabricated by 3D printing

Bone is known to have a natural function to heal itself.However,if the bone damage is beyond a critical degree,intervention such as bone grafting may be imperative.In this work,the fabrication of a novel bone scaffold composed of natural bone components and polycaprolactone(PCL)using 3D printing is put forward.α1,3-galactosyltransferase deficient pigs were used as the donor source of a xenograft.Decellularized porcine bone(DCB)with attenuated immunogenicity was used as the natural component of the scaffold with the aim to promote bone regeneration.The 3D printed DCB-PCL scaffolds combined essential advantages such as uniformity of the interconnected macropores and high porosity and enhanced compressive strength.The biological properties of the DCB-PCL scaffolds were evaluated by studying cell adhesion,viability,alkaline phosphatase activity and osteogenic gene expression of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.The in vitro results demonstrated that the DCB-PCL scaffolds exhibit an enhanced performance in promoting bone differentiation,which is correlated to the DCB content.Furthermore,critical-sized cranial rat defects were used to assess the effect of DCB-PCL scaffolds on bone regeneration in vivo.The results confirm that in comparison with PCL scaffolds,the DCB-PCL scaffolds can significantly improve new bone formation in cranial defects.Thus,the proposed 3D printed DCB-PCL scaffolds emerge as a promising regeneration alternative in the clinical treatment of large bone defects.

Inhibitory Effect of Live-Attenuated Listeria Monocytogenes-based Vaccines Expressing MIA Gene on Malignant Melanoma

Listeria monocytogenes(LM),a Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium,can be used as an effective exogenous antigen expression vector in tumor-target therapy.But for successful clinical application,it is necessary to construct attenuated LM stain that is safe yet retains the potency of LM based on the full virulent pathogen.In this study,attenuated LM and recombinants of LM expressing melanoma inhibitory activity(MIA) were constructed successfully.The median lethal dose(LD 50) and invasion efficiency of attenuated LM strains were detected.The recombinants were utilized for immunotherapy of animal model of B16F10 melanoma.The level of MIA mRNA expression in tumor tissue was detected by using real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR) with specific sequence,meanwhile the anti-tumor immune response was assayed by flow cytometric analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot(ELISPOT) assay.The results showed the toxicity and invasiveness of attenuated LM were decreased as compared with LM,and attenuated LM expressing MIA,especially the double-genes attenuated LM recombinant,could significantly induce anti-tumor immune response and inhibit tumor growth.This study implicates attenuated LM may be a safer and more effective vector for immunotherapy of melanoma.

Effect of Attenuated Highly Pathogenic Pig Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome(HP-PRRS) TJM-F92 Strain Vaccine on Immune Antibody Levels against Classical Swine Fever(CSF) and Foot-and-Mouth Disease(FMD)

Effects of attenuated highly pathogenic pig reproductive and respiratory syndrome（HP-PRRS）TJM-F92 strain vaccine on immune antibody level against classical swine fever（CSF）and foot-and-mouth disease（FMD）were studied from October 8 to November 12 in 2014,in order to optimize vaccination program of CSF,HP-PRRS and FMD and to provide scientific guidance for animal disease control and prevention work.The results showed that attenuated HP-PRRS（TJMF92 strain）vaccine had no significant effect on immune antibody level of hog cholera lapinized virus（HCLV,ST passage cell vaccine）attenuated vaccine and FMD-O inactivated vaccines（OZK/93 strain）,and single or combined use of three vaccines received good immunization effects.

Attenuated plasmodium sporozoite expressing MAGE-A3 induces antigen-specific CD8+ T cell response against lung cancer in mice

Objective: Cancer vaccines that rely on tumor antigen-specific CD8^+ T cell responses, are promising anti-cancer adjuvant immunotherapies. This study investigated whether genetically attenuated Plasmodium sporozoite(GAS) could be used as a novel vector to induce antigen-specific CD8^+ T cell responses against lung cancer.Methods: We constructed GAS/MAGE-A3, a recombinant GAS engineered to express the lung cancer-specific antigen, melanomaassociated antigen 3(MAGE-A3), and assessed its therapeutic effects against lung cancer.Results: Robust parasite-specific CD8αlow CD11ahigh and CD49dhigh CD11ahigh CD4^+ T cell responses as well as a MAGE-A3-specific CD8^+ T cell response were induced in GAS/MAGE-A3-immunized mice. Adoptive transfer of GAS/MAGE-A3-induced CD8^+ T cells from HLA-A2 transgenic mice into lung cancer-bearing nude mice inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival.Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that GAS/MAGE-A3 induces a strong MAGE-A3-specific CD8^+ T cell response against lung cancer in vivo, and indicate that GAS is a novel and efficacious antigen delivery vector for antitumor immunotherapy.

Comparative Immune Efficacy of Native Inactivated and Attenuated Vaccines for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus over 2 Consecutive Years

The primary objective of this study was to evaluation the immune efficacy of native inactivated vaccine against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. The experimental design included 60 gilts and 9 boars equal distribution in two farms free of antibody for PRRSV at the beginning of the experiment for two consecutive months. These gilts and boars were randomly assigned to three treatment groups equally designated as groupsⅠ～Ⅲ. GroupⅠwas inoculated intramuscularly with RespPRRSV/Repro vaccine. Group Ⅱ was inoculated intramuscularly with native multivalent inactivated vaccine. Group Ⅲ was sham-inoculated intramuscularly with saline as control. Gilts and boars were inoculated again at six months intervals during the consecutive 2 years. The neonatal piglets of three groups were inoculated the same vaccine as their parents one week before weaning (piglets were 25 days). Then antibody anti-PRRSV was detected in sera obtained from gilts, boars and piglets. Biological tissue samples were collected from the recently deceased or sacrificed pigs which presented with similar PRRS symptoms. Virus isolation and viral RNA using RT-nPCR were carried through in collected tissue samples, sera and semen. Productive performances of pigs were also evaluated in this project. The results showed all the indexes in groupⅡwere very similar to that of groupⅠexcept the virus isolation and viral RNA detection. Control group had more virus isolates and viral RNA detection than inoculated groups. The rate of piglets surviving, born dead and postnatal deaths and fattening differed significantly (P<(0.05)) between experiment groups and control. This was implied that pigs inoculated with native inactivated vaccine had the similarity immune efficacy to that of pigs inoculated attenuated vaccine. This is the first large-scale to evaluation the immune efficacy of native multivalent inactivated vaccine against PRRSV in field trial. Inoculating native inactivated multivalent vaccine is also an effective measure to prevent PRRS in Shanghai pig farms and this can reduce the risk of vaccine virus shedding because of inoculating the attenuated vaccine.

Current status of the genetic susceptibility in attenuated adenomatous polyposis

Adenomatous polyposis(AP)is classified according to cumulative adenoma number in classical AP(CAP)and attenuated AP(AAP).Genetic susceptibility is the major risk factor in CAP due to mutations in the known high predisposition genes APC and MUTYH.However,the contribution of genetic susceptibility to AAP is lower and less understood.New predisposition genes have been recently proposed,and some of them have been validated,but their scarcity hinders accurate risk estimations and prevalence calculations.AAP is a heterogeneous condition in terms of severity,clinical features and heritability.Therefore,clinicians do not have strong discriminating criteria for the recommendation of the genetic study of known predisposition genes,and the detection rate is low.Elucidation and knowledge of new AAP high predisposition genes are of great importance to offer accurate genetic counseling to the patient and family members.This review aims to update the genetic knowledge of AAP,and to expound the difficulties involved in the genetic analysis of a highly heterogeneous condition such as AAP.

HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE 16 L1 PROTEIN CAN BE EXPRESSED IN LIVE ATTENUATED SHIGELLA FLEXNERI 5A STRAIN SH42

Objective Attenuated strains of Shigella are attractive live vaccine candidates for eliciting mucosal immune responses which is a suitable carrier for the prophylactic human papillomaviruses (HPV) vaccine development, To examine the potential of a live Shigella based prophylactic HPV vaccine, HPV16L1should be expressed in attenuated shigella strain. Methods A Shigella large invasive plasmid (icsA/virG) based prokaryotic expression plasmid pHS3199 was constructed. HPV16L1 gene was inserted into plasmid pHS3199 to form pHS3199-HPV16 L1 construct, and pHS3199-hpv16L1 was electroporated into a live attenuated shigella strain sh42. The expression of HPV16L1 protein was demonstrated by Western blotting with monoclonal antibody to HPV16L1, The genetic stability of recombinant strain sh42-HPV16 L1 was monitored by consecutive passage culture. Invasive ability of sh42-HPV16L1 was evaluated by Hela cell infection assay. Results HPV16 L1 protein can be expressed in recombinant strain sh42-HPV16 L1, and the protein stably expressed over 140 generations. The invasive ability of sh42-HPV16L1 was diminished dramatically compared to its parent strain, but not abolished completely. Conclusion HPV16L1 protein was constitutively expressed in the attenuated strain of shigella flexneri sh42, and maintained partial invasive ability. Our strategy may represent a promising vaccine candidate against genital HPV16 infection.

Anti-angiogenesis Effect on Glioma of Attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium Vaccine Strain with flk-1 Gene

To investigate the anti-vasculature effects and the anti-glioma effects of attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine strain expressing VEGFR2 (flk-1) gene, plasmid pcDNA3.1-flk1 was constructed and electro-transfected into live attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strain SL7207. Mouse models of intracranial Gl261 glioblastoma were treated with an orally administered attenuated Salmonella typhimurium expressing flk-1 gene. The survival period was recorded and vessel density was observed by immunofluorescence. CTLs activity was measured by MTT assay. Our results showed that attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine strain expressing flk-1 gene could significantly inhibit glioblastoma growth, reduce vessel density, prolong the survival period and improve the survival rate in these mice. The flk-1 specific CTLs activity was increased obviously after the vaccination. Our study showed that attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine strain expressing flk-1 gene could break peripheral immune tolerance a in glioma gainst this self-antigen and kill endothelial cells by the orally administered vaccine and can be used for both prophylactic and therapeutic purposes.

Appearance of attenuated intestinal polyposis during chronic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use

Aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) may prevent sporadic colonic neoplasia and reduce the polyp burden in familial adenomatous polyposis. A 41-year-old pharmacologist with no family history of intestinal polyps or cancer chronically consumed daily aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for decades despite recurrent and multiple gastric ulcers. A cancerous polyp in the colon was endoscopically resected. Over the next 2 decades, almost 50 adenomatous polyps were removed from the rest of his colon and duodenum, typical of an attenuated form of adenomatous polyposis. Chronic and habitual use of aspirin or NSAIDS may have important significance in delaying the appearance of adenomas. The observations here emphasize the important implications for clinical risk assessment in screening programs designed to detect or prevent colon cancer.

Evaluatingα-galactosylceramide as an adjuvant for live attenuated infuenza vaccines in pigs

Natural killer T(NKT)cells activated with the glycolipid ligandα-galactosylceramide(α-GalCer)stimulate a wide variety of immune cells that enhance vaccine-mediated immune responses.Several studies have used this approach to adjuvant inactivated and subunit infuenza A virus(IAV)vaccines,including to enhance cross-protective infuenza immunity.However,less is known about whetherα-GalCer can enhance live attenuated infuenza virus(LAIV)vaccines,which usually induce superior heterologous and heterosubtypic immunity compared to non-replicating infuenza vaccines.The current study used the swine infuenza challenge model to assess whetherα-GalCer can enhance cross-protective immune responses elicited by a recombinant H3N2 LAIV vaccine(TX98ΔNS1)encoding a truncated NS1 protein.In one study,weaning pigs were administered the H3N2 TX98ΔNS1 LAIV vaccine with 0,10,50,and 100μg/kg doses ofα-GalCer,and subsequently challenged with a heterologous H3N2 virus.All treatment groups were protected from infection.However,the addition ofα-GalCer appeared to suppress nasal shedding of the LAIV vaccine.In another experiment,pigs vaccinated with the H3N2 LAIV,with or without 50μg/kg ofα-GalCer,were challenged with the heterosubtypic pandemic H1N1 virus.Pigs vaccinated with the LAIV alone generated cross-reactive humoral and cellular responses which blocked virus replication in the airways,and signifcantly decreased virus shedding.On the other hand,combining the vaccine withα-GalCer reduced cross-protective cellular and antibody responses,and resulted in higher virus titers in respiratory tissues.These fndings suggest that:(i)high doses ofα-GalCer impair the replication and nasal shedding of the LAIV vaccine;and(ii)α-GalCer might interfere with heterosubtypic cross-protective immune responses.This research raise concerns that should be considered before trying to use NKT cell agonists as a possible adjuvant approach for LAIV vaccines.