Abstract
Pigeon circovirus (PiCV) is the most recurrent virus diagnosed in pigeons and is among the major causative agents of young pigeon disease syndrome (YPDS). Due to the lack of an established laboratory protocol for PiCV cultivation, development of prophylaxis is hampered. Alternatively, virus-like particles (VLPs), which closely resemble native viruses but lack the viral genetic material, can be generated using a wide range of expression systems and are shown to have strong immunogenicity. Therefore, the use of VLPs provides a promising prospect for vaccine development. In this study, transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells, a mammalian expression system, were used to express the PiCV capsid protein (Cap), which is a major component of PiCV and believed to contain antibody epitopes, to obtain self-assembled VLPs. The VLPs were observed to have a spherical morphology with diameters ranging from 12 to 26 nm. Subcutaneous immunization of pigeons with 100 µg PiCV rCap-VLPs supplemented with water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) adjuvant induced specific antibodies against PiCV. Observations of the cytokine expression and T-cell proliferation levels in spleen samples showed significantly higher T-cell proliferation and IFN- γ expression in pigeons immunized with VLPs compared to the controls (p < 0.05). Experimentally infected pigeons that were vaccinated with VLPs also showed no detectable viral titer. The results of the current study demonstrated the potential use of PiCV rCap-VLPs as an effective vaccine candidate against PiCV.
Highlights
The pigeon circovirus (PiCV) is among the major causative agents of a multifactorial disease known as the young pigeon disease syndrome (YPDS) [1]
To further confirm the efficacy of PiCV Recombinant Capsid Protein (rCap)-virus-like particles (VLPs) as potential vaccines, spleen helped maintain the integrity of lymphocytes in the spleen
These results confirmed the effectiveness of immunization with PiCV rCap-VLPs in regulating the copies of PiCV
Summary
The pigeon circovirus (PiCV) is among the major causative agents of a multifactorial disease known as the young pigeon disease syndrome (YPDS) [1]. The PiCV genome is characterized by two major open reading frames (ORFs), ORF C1 and ORF V1. ORF C1 encodes a 30 kDa protein that is responsible for the assembly of the viral capsid [2]. ORF V1 encodes a nonstructural protein, the replicationassociated protein (Rep) [3]. A canonical nonanucleotide motif (NANTATTAC) at the peak of a stem-loop located between the 50 -ends of the two main ORFs (C1 and V1), which is considered to be a requirement for the initiation of the viral genome replication, is present [4]
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