IMPROVED INFECTIOUS LARYNGOTRACHEITIS VIRUS VACCINES USING NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS VECTOR

Abstract

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of chickens for which safe and efficacious vaccines are not available currently. In the present study, we have generated three recombinant Newcastle disease viruses (rNDV's) expressing three major envelope glycoproteins gB, gC and gD of ILTV individually. A single oculonasal inoculation of chickens with rNDV's elicited detectable level of systemic antibodies specific to ILTV. Following challenge with virulent strain of ILTV, chickens immunized with the rNDV's displayed partial protection with reduced clinical signs and shorter duration of disease compared to the control group. Our data suggested that NDV vectored ILTV vaccines are useful against ILTV infection, but might require augmentation by a second dose or require modification of ILTV glycoproteins which allow them to incorporate into the mature rNDV virions for better induction of humoral and cell mediated immune responses.