Efficacy of chitosan oligosaccharide as aquatic adjuvant administrated with a formalin-inactivated Vibrio anguillarum vaccine

• COS can enhance immunoprotection of a formalin-inactivated V. anguillarum vaccine.
• COS significantly activate humoral immune response of turbot after vaccination.
• COS is benefit for inhibition against pathogens after vaccination.
• COS would be a potential adjuvant for aquatic vaccine design in the future.

Vaccine is one of the efficient candidates to prevent fish disease through activating host immune response in aquaculture. Actually, several vaccines are often administered with adjuvants to increase immunostimulation, especially for some water-based formalin-killed vaccines. However, side effects are inevitable after vaccination of some adjuvants. Therefore, exploration for effective and harmless aquatic adjuvants is urgently needed. In this study, immunoprotection of a formalin-inactivated Vibrio anguillarum vaccine applied with chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) was analyzed. High levels of protection were achieved in zebrafish and turbot vaccinated with inactivated vaccine and COS (RPS of 89.0 ± 4.5% and 80.0 ± 6.9%) compared with fish vaccinated with inactivated vaccine alone (RPS of 47.8 ± 6.6% and 64.7 ± 5.8%) at 4 week post vaccination. Moreover, high antibody reaction and cross-protection against Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio harveyi were observed of turbot vaccinated with inactivated vaccine and COS. In conclusion, COS can enhance immunoprotection of a formalin-inactivated V. anguillarum vaccine, significantly activate humoral immune response of host, and be benefit for inhibition against pathogens. Therefore, COS would be a potential adjuvant for aquatic vaccine design in the future.