Development and characterization of recombinant ASFV CD2v protein nanoparticle-induced monoclonal antibody

Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) is becoming a serious threat to the swine industry worldwide. CD2v is a key pathogenic factor of ASFV and the protective antigen with low immunogenicity, whereas viral protein-based nanoparticles have advantages of precise assembly and high immunogenicity. In this study, the CD2v protein fused with Norovirus (NoV) P particle assembled into nanoparticle for improved immunogenicity. Then, CD2v protein nanoparticle and monomer CD2v protein were expressed in HEK293F cells. The former induced higher levels of antibodies, and thus highly potent monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were generated and characterized. The highest antibody titration of mAb 10A3 reached 1:2048000, and mAb 2E9 had the highest inhibition percent of 84% when competed with ASFV positive serum. Meanwhile, all mAbs reacted specifically with the denatured CD2v protein, and the linear epitope with the location of amino acids 28th to 51st of CD2v extracellular domain sequence was identified. In summary, this study produced a highly immunogenic CD2v protein and generated high-titer mAbs, the precise location of linear epitope on the CD2v was further determined. These findings may provide a powerful help for etiology and serological detection of ASFV.