Production of pseudorabies virus recombinant glycoprotein B and its use in an agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test for detection of antibodies with sensitivity and specificity equal to the virus neutralization assay.

Pseudorabies virus (PrV) causes Aujeszky's disease (AD), which affects mainly swine, but also cattle, sheep, and wild animals, resulting in substantial economic losses due to animal mortality and lost productivity worldwide. To combat PrV, eradication programs using PrV strains lacking the gene encoding glycoprotein E (gE) are ongoing in several countries. These eradication programs have generated a currently unmet demand for affordable, easy-to-use, and sensitive tests that can detect PrV infection in pigs infected with either wild-type virus or vaccine strain (gE-deleted) virus. To meet this demand, we used the baculovirus-insect cell system to produce recombinant glycoprotein B (gB) as antigen for an immune assay. The high GC-content (70% average) of the gB gene from the Argentinian PrV CL15 strain necessitated the use of betaine as a PCR enhancer to amplify the extracellular domain. Recombinant gB was expressed at high levels and reacted strongly with sera from PrV infected pigs. We used the recombinant gB to develop an agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test for detection of PrV antibodies. Compared to the gold standard virus neutralization (VN) assay, the AGID sensitivity and specificity were 95% and 96.6% respectively. Thus, recombinant gB produced in the baculovirus-insect cell system is a viable source of antigen for the detection of PrV antibodies in AGID tests. Considering its relatively lower cost, simplicity of use and result interpretation, our AGID is a valuable alternative tool to the VN assay.

Expression and purification of Suid Herpesvirus-1 glycoprotein E in the baculovirus system and its use to diagnose Aujeszky's disease in infected pigs.

Suid Herpesvirus 1 (SHV-1) is the etiological agent of Aujeszky's disease (AD), which affects swine herds worldwide and causes substantial economic losses due to animal mortality and lost productivity. In order to eradicate SHV-1, vaccination programs using viruses lacking the gene encoding glycoprotein E (gE) are ongoing in several countries. These eradication programs have generated a currently unmet demand for affordable and sensitive tests that can detect SHV-1 infection, yet distinguish between infected and vaccinated pigs. To meet this demand, we used the baculovirus-insect cell system to produce immunologically authentic full-length recombinant gE protein for use in a serum ELISA assay. As previous efforts to clone the gE gene had failed due to its extremely high GC-content (75% average), we used betaine as a PCR enhancer to facilitate amplification of the entire gE gene from the Argentinian CL15 strain of SHV-1. The cloned gE gene was expressed at high levels in recombinant baculovirus-infected insect cells and reacted strongly with sera from SHV-1 infected pigs. We used the recombinant gE protein to develop a local indirect ELISA test with sensitivity and specificity comparable to currently available commercial tests. Thus, recombinant gE produced in baculovirus-infected insect cells is a viable source of antigen for the detection of SHV-1 in ELISA tests. We also provide evidence supporting a potential application of this recombinant form of gE as a SHV-1 subunit vaccine.

A differential ELISA based on recombinant immunodominant epitopes of the gE gene of SHV-1 in a baculovirus-insect cell system to discriminate between pigs infected naturally with pseudorabies and vaccinated pigs.

In the present study, the fragment corresponding to the immunodominant epitopes of the gE gene (gEpi) from the CL15 Argentinean strain of pseudorabies virus was expressed successfully in a baculovirus-insect cell system that contained the M6 gene of Bluetongue virus, which encodes the NS1 nonstructural protein. This protein has the ability to polymerize into highly immunogenic tubules inside infected cells that can be purified at large quantities by ultracentrifugation. Previously, the NS1 protein has been expressed by fusing it to sequences derived from viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1, hepatitis B virus, bovine leukemia virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus and influenza A virus. In the present study, a recombinant protein was obtained containing the gEpi fused to NS1 (NS1-gEpi) and used it as ELISA antigen for detection of anti-gE antibodies in order to discriminate between infected and vaccinated animals. This is the first report where gEpi was expressed in this particular baculovirus-insect cell system.