Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
New safer cat herpesvirus vaccine tested for respiratory and eye
By Tang, Aoxing et al.·Published in Virology journal·2023·Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pathogenicity and immunogenicity of gI/gE/TK-gene-deleted Felid herpesvirus 1 variants in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats was vaccinated with modified versions of the Felid herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) to see if they could better protect against upper respiratory infections and eye problems caused by the virus. The new vaccines were safe and led to fewer symptoms, less virus in their noses, and better immune responses compared to traditional vaccines. After being vaccinated, the cats showed significantly lower signs of illness when exposed to the virus. This suggests that these new vaccines could be more effective in preventing FHV-1 infections in cats.
People also search for: cat herpesvirus vaccine · cat upper respiratory infection treatment · FHV-1 symptoms in cats
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Felid herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) is a major pathogenic agent of upper respiratory tract infections and eye damage in felines worldwide. Current FHV-1 vaccines offer limited protection of short duration, and therefore, do not reduce the development of clinical signs or the latency of FHV-1. METHODS: To address these shortcomings, we constructed FHV ∆gIgE-eGFP, FHV ∆TK mCherry, and FHV ∆gIgE/TK eGFP-mCherry deletion mutants (ΔgI/gE, ΔTK, and ΔgIgE/TK, respectively) using the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISP-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system (CRISPR/Cas9), which showed safety and immunogenicity in vitro. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the deletion mutants administered with intranasal (IN) and IN + subcutaneous (SC) vaccination protocols. Cats in the vaccination group were vaccinated twice at a 4-week interval, and all cats were challenged with infection 3 weeks after the last vaccination. The cats were assessed for clinical signs, nasal shedding, and virus-neutralizing antibodies (VN), and with postmortem histological testing. RESULTS: Vaccination with the gI/gE-deleted and gI/gE/TK-deleted mutants was safe and resulted in significantly lower clinical disease scores, fewer pathological changes, and less nasal virus shedding after infection. All three mutants induced virus-neutralizing antibodies after immunization. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study demonstrates the advantages of FHV-1 deletion mutants in preventing FHV-1 infection in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37143065/