Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Safety and immune response of new gene-deleted cat herpesvirus vaccine
By Yang, Mengfang et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2023·College of Veterinary Medicine, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Safety and immunogenicity of a TK/ gI/gE gene-deleted feline herpesvirus-1 mutant constructed via CRISPR/Cas9 in feline.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that a new vaccine for cats, designed to protect against feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), showed promising results. This vaccine, created using advanced genetic techniques, was found to be safer and more effective than traditional vaccines. Cats that received this new vaccine produced strong immune responses and showed fewer signs of illness when exposed to the virus compared to those vaccinated with the standard vaccine or those that were unvaccinated. This new vaccine could reduce the risk of complications associated with current vaccines and may be a better option for protecting cats from respiratory diseases caused by FHV-1.
People also search for: cat herpesvirus vaccine · feline upper respiratory disease treatment · safe vaccines for cats
Abstract
Feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) is the aetiological agent of feline viral rhinotracheitis, which accounts for approximately 50 % of all viral upper respiratory diseases in cats. Commercially available modified live vaccines containing FHV-1 are generally safe and effective, but these FHV-1 vaccines retain full virulence genes and can establish latency and reactivate to cause infectious rhinotracheitis in vaccine recipients, raising safety concerns. To address this shortcoming, we constructed a novel TK/gI/gE -gene-deleted recombinant FHV-1 (WH2020-ΔTK/gI/gE) through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination. The growth kinetics of WH2020-ΔTK/gI/gE were slightly delayed compared to those of the parent strain WH2020. Recombinant FHV-1 had severely impaired pathogenicity in cats. Felines immunized with WH2020-ΔTK/gI/gE produced high levels of gB-specific antibodies, neutralizing antibodies and IFN-β. Additionally, WH2020-ΔTK/gI/gE provided greater protection against challenge with FHV-1 field strain WH2020 than did the commercial modified live vaccine. After challenge, the cats vaccinated with WH2020-ΔTK/gI/gE showed significantly fewer clinical signs, pathological changes, viral shedding, and viral loads in the lung and trigeminal ganglia than those vaccinated with the commercial vaccine or unvaccinated. Our results suggest that WH2020-ΔTK/gI/gE is a promising candidate as a safer and more efficacious live FHV-1 vaccine, with a decreased risk of vaccine-related complications, and could inform the design of other herpesvirus vaccines.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37003192/