Key result
Deletion of the MGF110-5L-6L gene from the ASFV-G genome did not affect virulence in swine, but its deletion from the vaccine candidate ASFV-G-ΔI177L drastically reduced protective efficacy.
Why the study?
Current live-attenuated African swine fever vaccines make it difficult to differentiate vaccinated from infected animals, necessitating a serological DIVA marker.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
While MGF110-5L-6L can serve as a DIVA marker, its deletion from the ASFV-G-ΔI177L vaccine candidate significantly reduces vaccine efficacy.
May enable DIVA testing for ASF vaccines; leaves open field validation before practice change.
Currently, there are no African swine fever (ASF) commercial vaccines that can be used to prevent or control the spread of ASF. The only effective experimental vaccines against ASF are live-attenuated vaccines. However, these experimental vaccines, which rely on a deletion of a specific gene of the current circulating strain of ASF, make it hard to tell the difference between a vaccinated and an infected animal. In our search for a serological marker, we identified that the virus protein encoded by the MGF110-5L-6L gene induced an immune response, making a virus lacking this gene a vaccine candidate that allows the differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). Here, we show that deletion of MGF110-5L-6L does not affect virulence or virus replication. However, when the deletion of MGF110-5L-6L was added to vaccine candidate ASFV-G-ΔI177L, a reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine occurred.
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Ramírez-Medina et al. (2022) studied African Swine Fever (n=20). ASFV-G-ΔMGF110-5L-6L and ASFV-G-ΔI177L/ΔMGF110-5L-6L vs. Parental ASFV-G was evaluated on Survival following infection. Deletion of the MGF110-5L-6L gene from the ASFV-G genome did not affect virulence in swine, but its deletion from the vaccine candidate ASFV-G-ΔI177L drastically reduced protective efficacy.
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