PHOTO: PIRBRIGHT INSTITUTE
HEAL ▶▶▶TH
effective. Birds produced antibody responses as early as 6 days after vaccination and they shed significantly less flu vi- rus when challenged with a natural flu strain, indicating that the birds would be less likely to spread infection. High levels of protective antibodies were produced even when birds were given a reduced dose.
Using insect cells instead of chicken eggs This vaccine will also be easier and less costly to manufac- ture. The tagged flu virus HA protein can be produced in a laboratory culture of insect cells rather than eggs to grow live
vaccine viruses. “Therefore, no animals or derivatives from animals – the serum – will be required for the production of these next generation vaccines,” says Iqbal, whose team is currently investigating the vaccine’s potential for commercial production and use in the field. “By targeting HA to chicken immune cells, we have generated a powerful addition to the armoury of poultry vaccines. Our improved vaccine could help prevent the spread of avian flu among vaccinated birds which is essential for protecting poultry welfare, increasing food production and reducing the risk of avian influenza spreading to humans,” said Iqbal.
Poultry World’s nine questions for Professor Iqbal
How many years have you and the team been working on this vaccine? “We have been working on developing different vaccine platforms to prevent avian influenza viruses for the last 17 years. Our work has in- cluded the development of herpesvirus of turkey and duck enteritis vi- rus-based live bird flu vaccines which provide life-long immunity to ei- ther bird flu and Marek’s disease, or bird flu and duck enteritis. This recent and significant development is a targeted antigen delivery vac- cine (TADV) whereby a flu protein (haemagglutinin) is targeted to the receptors on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) which produce an im- mune response. Such TADV have demonstrated stronger immune responses in chickens with good potential for commercialisation.”
As the lead researcher, what has been the most exciting mo- ment of progress or breakthrough in the development of this new vaccine? “The most exciting observation was that our targeted antigen delivery vaccine (TADV) – that contained only a recombinant protein (not whole virus) – induced faster, stronger and more long-lasting immuni- ty in chickens compared to the available traditional inactivated avian influenza vaccines.”
What is the key difference or highlight of this vaccine? • Faster and stronger induction of immunity. • Complete protection from clinical diseases. • Significantly reduced shedding of virus, thus potentially reduced on- ward transmission, breaking the endemic cycle of the disease.
• Ability to produce broadly cross-reactive antibodies which could protect against multiple flu strains.
“The key feature of the vaccine is that one dose of vaccine contains only a small amount (0.02 mg) of haemagglutinin (HA) protein of H9N2 influenza virus tagged with an antibody that specifically recognises chicken immune cells, known as antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Such targeting of the HA to chicken APCs enhances the capture and processing of the protein, preventing any unspecific uptake of the HA by non-relevant cells. This not only enhances the immune response
30 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 10, 2021
Professor Munir Iqbal, head of the Avian Influenza Virus group at the
but also provides the advantage of ‘dose sparing’, meaning that a small- er amount of vaccine is required to induce stronger and long-lasting antigen-specific immunity, which is more cost-effective.”
Tell us more about the vaccine production process and why it is more cost effective? “The tagged HA used in the vaccine is produced in an insect cell culture system which can be propagated at room temperature (22-28°C) in the bioreactors or even in a shaking flasks incubator and does not require carbon dioxide or other expensive additives like those required for mam- malian cell culture systems. Unlike the traditional inactivated virus vac- cine, this vaccine does not use embryonated eggs or high containment facilities which further reduces the manufacturing cost.”
In practice, what other benefits will poultry producers gain from using this vaccine? “There are numerous benefits, which include:
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