Immunogenicity of a recombinant Sendai virus expressing the capsid precursor polypeptide of foot-and-mouth disease virus

•We generated a recombinant Sendai virus (expressing capsid precursor polypeptide of Foot-and-mouth disease virus by using reverse genetics.•The insertion and expression of P1 gene did not affect the propagation of rSeV-P1.•Vaccinated mice stimulated high level of specific humoral and cell-mediated immune responses against FMDV.•Vaccinated mice could inhibit the replication of FMDV in the sera after FMDV challenge.

In this study, SeV was used as a vector to express capsid precursor polypeptide (P1) of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) by using reverse genetics. The rescue recombinant SeV (rSeV-P1) can efficiently propagate and express P1 protein by Western blot and IFA analysis. To evaluate the immunogenicity of rSeV-P1, BALB/c mice were divided into several groups and immunized intramuscularly with various doses of rSeV-P1, rSeV-eGFP, PBS and commercial FMD vaccine, respectively, and then challenged with an intraperitoneal injection of 1 × 106 TCID50 of virulent serotype O FMDV O/ES/2001 strain 4 weeks after booster immunization. Mice vaccinated with rSeV-P1 acquired FMDV-specific ELISA antibodies, neutralizing antibodies as well as cellular immune response. Meantime, mice immunized with rSeV-P1 (dose-dependent) had the ability to inhibit the replication of FMDV in the sera after FMDV challenge. Our results indicated that the recombinant SeV-P1 virus could be utilized as an alternative strategy to develop a new generation of safety and efficacious vaccine against FMDV infection.

Graphical abstractMice vaccinated with rSeV-P1 acquired FMDV-specific ELISA antibodies and neutralizing antibodiesDownload full-size image