Enhanced immune response to inactivated porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) vaccine by conjugation of chitosan oligosaccharides

This study aimed to investigate the effect of chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) conjugation on the immunogenicity of porcine circovirus type-2 (PCV2) vaccine. Two conjugates (PCV2-COS-1 and PCV2-COS-2) were designed by covalent conjugation of an inactivated PCV2 vaccine with COS, and administered to C57BL/6 mice three times at two-week intervals. The results indicate that, as compared to PCV2 alone group, the PCV2-COS conjugates remarkably enhanced both humoral and cellular immunity against PCV2 by promoting T lymphocyte proliferation and initiating a mixed Th1/Th2 response, including the elevated production of PCV-2 specific antibodies and up-regulated secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Noticeably, the immunization with PCV2-COS-1 conjugate displayed similar or even better immune-stimulating effects than that by PCV2/ISA206 (a commercialized adjuvant) and showed no infection or pathological signs at injection sites of the mice. Presumably, the covalent linkage of PCV2 vaccine to COS might be a viable strategy to increase the efficacy against PCV2-associated diseases.