Title
Quantifying the persistence of vaccine-related t cell epitopes in circulating swine influenza a strains from 2013–2017
Date Issued
01 May 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
research article
Author(s)
Tan S.
Gauger P.C.
Opriessnig T.
Bahl J.
Moise L.
De Groot A.S.
EpiVax Inc.
Publisher(s)
MDPI
Abstract
When swine flu vaccines and circulating influenza A virus (IAV) strains are poorly matched, vaccine-induced antibodies may not protect from infection. Highly conserved T cell epitopes may, however, have a disease-mitigating effect. The degree of T cell epitope conservation among circulating strains and vaccine strains can vary, which may also explain differences in vaccine efficacy. Here, we evaluate a previously developed conserved T cell epitope-based vaccine and determine the persistence of T cell epitope conservation over time. We used a pair-wise homology score to define the conservation between the vaccine’s swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) class I and II-restricted epitopes and T cell epitopes found in 1272 swine IAV strains sequenced between 2013 and 2017. Twenty-four of the 48 total T cell epitopes included in the epitope-based vaccine were highly conserved and found in >1000 circulating swine IAV strains over the 5-year period. In contrast, commercial swine IAV vaccines developed in 2013 exhibited a declining conservation with the circulating IAV strains over the same 5-year period. Conserved T cell epitope vaccines may be a useful adjunct for commercial swine flu vaccines and to improve protection against influenza when antibodies are not cross-reactive.
Volume
9
Issue
5
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Biología celular, Microbiología Medicina integral, Medicina complementaria
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85105965006
Source
Vaccines
ISSN of the container
2076393X
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus