PRRSv neutralizing antibodies provide in vivo cross-protection to PRRSv1 and PRRSv2 challenge

Virus Res. 2018 Feb 3. pii: S0168-1702(17)30933-4. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2018.01.015. [Epub ahead of print]

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus neutralizing antibodies provide in vivo cross-protection to PRRSV1 and PRRSV2 viral challenge.

Robinson SR1, Rahe MC1, Gray DK1, Martins KV1, Murtaugh MP2.

Author information

1

Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.

2

Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA. Electronic address: murta001@umn.edu.

Abstract

Vaccine control and prevention of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), the most important disease of swine, is difficult to achieve. However, the discovery of broadly neutralizing antibody activity against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) under typical field conditions opens the door to new immunologic approaches for robust protection. We show here that passive administration of purified immunoglobulins with neutralizing antibodies reduced PRRSV2 infection by up to 96%, and PRRSV1 infection by up to 87%, whereas immune immunoglobulins lacking neutralizing activity had no effect on viral infection. Hence, immune competence of passive immunoglobulin transfer was associated specifically with antibody neutralizing activity. Current models of PRRSV infection implicate a minor envelope glycoprotein (GP) complex including GP2, GP3, and GP4, as critical to permissive cell infection. However, conserved peptides comprising the putative cell attachment structure did not attenuate neutralization or viral infection. The results show that immunological approaches aimed at induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies may substantially enhance immune protection against PRRSV. The findings further show that naturally occurring viral isolates are able to induce protective humoral immunity against unrelated PRRSV challenge, thus removing a major conceptual barrier to vaccine development.

KEYWORDS: 

Cross-protection; Neutralizing antibodies; Neutralizing epitope; PRRSV; Passive transfer; Swine

PMID:

 

29408442

 

DOI:

 

10.1016/j.virusres.2018.01.015