Enhanced immune responses against Japanese encephalitis virus using recombinant adenoviruses coexpressing Japanese encephalitis virus envelope and porcine interleukin-6 proteins in mice

• A recombinant adenovirus expressing JEV envelope epitopes in combination with porcine interleukin-6 was constructed.
• The rAdE-IL-6 immunized mice group had the highest titers of anti-JEV antibody.
• Higher concentrations of interferon-gamma and interleukin-6 were detected in the rAdE-IL-6 group.
• rAdE-IL-6 induced a protective immune response against JEV challenge in mice.

Japanese encephalitis is a reproductive disorder caused by Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in swine. Previous studies have demonstrated that recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) may be a potential vaccine candidate because it can express JEV envelope epitopes and induce immune responses against JEV. Still, it will be necessary to develop an adjuvant that can enhance both humoral and cellular immune responses to the recombinant antigen delivered by non-replicating Ad5. In this study, we investigated the systemic immune responses of BALB/c mice immunized with recombinant adenovirus expressing JEV envelope epitopes in combination with porcine interleukin-6 (rAdE-IL-6).The rAdE-IL-6 immunized group had the highest titers of anti-JEV antibody as detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), as well as the highest levels of neutralizing antibody (1:75) as detected by a serum neutralization test. Similarly, higher concentrations of interferon-gamma (834.7 pg/ml) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (229.7 pg/ml) were detected in the rAdE-IL-6 group using an ELISA assay. These data indicate that immunized BALB/c induce a strong cellular response against rAdE-IL-6. Furthermore, after challenge with the virulent JEV SCYA201201 strain, the rAdE-IL-6 group generated an immune protective response 70% greater than that of the control group, indicating that rAdE-IL-6 induced a protective immune response against JEV challenge in mice. The results from this study demonstrated that IL-6 is a strong adjuvant that can enhance both humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. Furthermore, a recombinant adenovirus coexpressing JEV envelope epitopes and porcine IL-6 protein may be an effective vaccine in animals.