A Novel RT-LAMP Assay for Rapid and Simple Detection of Classical Swine Fever Virus

A simple and rapid assay for the detection of Classical swine fever virus(CSFV)was established using reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification(RT-LAMP).This study describes the amplification of the genomic RNA of CSFV under isothermal conditions(63℃)within one hour,using a set of six primers(two outer primers,two inner primers and two loop primers).This RT-LAMP assay showed 100-fold higher sensitivity than the standard RT-PCR method and identified eighteen additional positive cases that were negative when tested by RT-PCR.This RT-LAMP was able to detect all the 13 strains of CSFV but not the BVDV.PRRSV.SIV. PRV-PCV,thus showed a good specificity.Products amplified by RT-LAMP can be visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis and in addition,either as a white precipitate at the bottom of the tube after a pulse spin or as a color change when dyed with SYBR Green I which are visible to the naked eye.Because RT-LAMP is low-cost and produces rapid results,it has the potential to be an excellent tool for CSFV surveillance in the field,especially in developing countries.

An Indirect ELISA of Classical Swine Fever Virus Based on Quadruple Antigenic Epitope Peptide Expressed in E.coli

In this study,a synthesized quadruple antigenic epitope gene region of the classical swine fever virus (CSFV)E2 glycoprotein was expressed in E.coli to a obtain target protein.This target protein was used as a coating antigen to establish an indirect ELISA for specifically detecting anti-CSFV antibodies in serum samples from pigs.The P/N cut-off value of this assay was 1.92 by receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)analysis based on 30 negative sera and 80 positive samples.The test gave 97.5%sensitivity and 96.7%specificity compared with the indirect hemagglutination(IHA)test.The inter-assay and intra-assay coefficients of variation (CVs)for 16 sera were both≤6.8%.No cross-reactivity between the coating antigen and anti-bovine viral diarrhoea virus(BVDV)antibodies was observed.

Genomic Sequence Determination of Classical Swine Fever Virus Persistent Infection Strain

Full genomic sequence of a newly isolated persistent infection strain of classical swine fever virus was firstly determined. It was demonstrated by sequence analyses that nucleotides homologies of this strain compared with virulent Shimen and vaccine HCLV were 89.7%and 87.7%, and homologies of amino acids were 94.8%and 93.3%, respectively. The sequencing results primarily suggest a tighter relationship between this persistent infection strain and virulent Shimen strain than vaccine HCLV strain.

Expression of Major Antigen Domains of E2 Gene of CSFV and Analysis of its Immunological Activity

E2 is an envelope glycoprotein of Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and contains sequential neutralizing epitopes to induce virus-neutralizing antibodies and mount protective immunity in the natural host. In this study, four antigen domains (ABCD) of the E2 gene was cloned from CSFV Shimen strain into the retroviral vector pBABE puro and expressed in eukaryotic cell (PK15) by an retroviral gene expression system, and the activity of recombinant E2 protein to induce immune responses was evaluated in rabbits. The results indicated that recombinant E2 protein can be recognized by fluorescence antibodies of CSFV and CSFV positive serum (Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China) using Western blot, indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and ELISA, Furthermore, anti-CSFV specific antibodies and lymphocyte proliferation were elicited and increased by recombinant protein after vaccination. In the challenge test, all of rabbits vaccinated with recombinant protein and Chinese vaccine strain (C-strain) were fully protected from a rabbit spleen virus challenge. These results indicated that a retroviral-based epitope-vaccine carrying the major antigen domains of E2 is able to induce high level of epitope-specific antibodies and exhibits similar protective capability with that induced by the C-strain, and encourages further work towards the development of a vaccine against CSFV infection.

Classical swine fever virus NS5A protein antagonizes innate immune response by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling

The NS5A non-structural protein of classical swine fever virus(CSFV)is a multifunctional protein involved in viral genomic replication,protein translation,assembly of infectious virus particles,and regulation of cellular signaling pathways.Previous report showed that NS5A inhibited nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)signaling induced by poly(I:C);however,the mechanism involved has not been elucidated.Here,we reported that NS5A directly interacted with NF-κB essential modulator(NEMO),a regulatory subunit of the IκB kinase(IKK)complex,to inhibit the NF-κB signaling pathway.Further investigations showed that the zinc finger domain of NEMO and the aa 126–250 segment of NS5A are essential for the interaction between NEMO and NS5A.Mechanistic analysis revealed that NS5A mediated the proteasomal degradation of NEMO.Ubiquitination assay showed that NS5A induced the K27-linked but not the K48-linked polyubiquitination of NEMO for proteasomal degradation.In addition,NS5A blocked the K63-linked polyubiquitination of NEMO,thus inhibiting IKK phosphorylation,IκBαdegradation,and NF-κB activation.These findings revealed a novel mechanism by which CSFV inhibits host innate immunity,which might guide the drug design against CSFV in the future.

Preliminary Evaluation of a Candidate Multi-Epitope-Vaccine Against the Classical Swine Fever Virus

A multi-epitope-vaccine MEVABc consisting of two linear neutralizing determinants （BCI： aa693-716; A6： aa844-865） located on antigenic unit B/C and unit A of glycoprotein E2 was prepared to evaluate whether a combination strategy is effective in the design of peptide vaccines. After immunization, pig sera collected every one to two weeks were evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. C-straininduced anti-sera and hyper-immune sera cannot recognize overlapping peptides that cover the E2 N-terminus, while MEVAgC is able to elicit high levels of peptide-specific antibody response. When compared with previously studied peptide vaccines PV-BC1 and PV-A6, the same dose of either component in the MEMABc increases the BC1- or A6-specific antibodies （to 1/3-1/2 of the levels of the separate vaccines）. However, the synergy between the antibodies may make MEVAgc much more potent. Moreover, anti-C-strain immunity pre-existing in pigs does not disturb the sequent MEVABc vaccination. Thus, MEVABc can be administrated to pigs which already possess anti-classical swine fever virus immunity. MEVAgC is a promising candidate marker vaccine.

Characterization of the Antigenicity and Immunogenicity of the Escherichia Coli Produced RNase Domain of the Classical Swine Fever Virus Glycoprotein E^(rns)

Ems is a highly glycosylated envelope protein of classical swine fever virus （CSFV） with RNase ac- tivity. Ems can induce neutralizing antibodies and provide immune protection against CSFV infection. In this study, the RNase domain of the Ems was produced in Eschenchia coil. Its reactivity with CSFV-positive sera and its ability to induce antibodies and to provide protective immunity were then investigated. The serological tests showed that the prokaryotically expressed RNase domain of the Ems retained its antigenicity and in- duced high titers of humoral responses. However, only partial protection and a limited amount of neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated by an in vitro neutralization test and an immunization/challenge test. The re- sults suggest that other essential factors rather than simply enhancing the immunogenicity of Ems should be taken into consideration when Er＂s is enrolled as one of the components of a candidate vaccine.

Candidate Multi-Peptide-Vaccine Against Classical Swine Fever Virus Induces Strong Antibody Response with Predefined Specificity

Previous investigations demonstrated that the envelope glycoprotein E2 (gp55) of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is the most immunogenic protein. Interestingly, recombinant protein E2 that contains only one structural antigenic unit (unit B/C or A) could protect pigs from a lethal challenge of CSFV. Based on these findings, we designed and prepared five overlapping synthetic peptides that covered the sequence unit B/C (aa 693777) of Shimen E2 and conjugated individual peptides with bovine serum albumin (BSA). After the vaccination, the specificity of the rabbit sera was analyzed in the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). The results show that each of the five candidate peptide vaccines can successfully induce a high titer of specific antibodies in New Zealand White Rabbits (n=3). Subsequently, the five candidate peptide vaccines were applied in combination for immunization of pigs (n=10) and induced specific and strong humoral responses against all of the five designed peptides in pigs. Our studies indicate that the candidate multi peptide vaccine would prove an excellent marker vaccine against CSFV and provide a model for developing effective synthetic peptide vaccines to stop viral epidemics in humans and animals.

Early lethality of shRNA-transgenic pigs due to saturation of microRNA pathways

RNA interference （RNAi） is considered as a potential modality for clinical treatment and anti-virus animal breeding. Here, we investigate the feasibility of inhibiting classical swine fever virus （CSFV） replication by short hairpin RNA （shRNA） in vitro and in vivo. We generate four different shRNA-positive clonal cells and two types of shRNA-transgenic pigs. CSFV could be effectively inhibited in shRNA-positive clonal cells and tail tip fibroblasts of shRNA-transgenic pigs. Unexpectedly, an early lethality due to shRNA is observed in these shRNA-transgenic pigs. With further research on shRNA-positive clonal cells and transgenic pigs, we report a great induction of interferon （IFN）-responsive genes in shRNA-positive clonal cells, altered levels of endogenous microRNAs （miRNA）, and their processing enzymes in shRNA-positive cells. What is more, abnormal expressions of miRNAs and their processing enzymes are also observed in the livers of shRNA-transgenic pigs, indicating saturation of miRNNshRNA pathways induced by shRNA. In addition, we investigate the effects of shRNAs on the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer （SCNT） embryos. These results show that shRNA causes adverse effects in vitro and in vivo and shRNA- induced disruption of the endogenous miRNA pathway may lead to the early lethality of shRNA-transgenic pigs. We firstly report abnormalities of the miRNA pathway in shRNA-transgenic animals, which may explain the early lethality of shRNA-transgenic pigs and has important implications for shRNA-transgenic animal preparation.