Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate whether bovine herpesvirus-1 VP22 gene acts as a gene adjuvant for enhancing the immune responses of inhibin DNA vaccine in Kunming mice. In this study, the inhibin DNA vaccine pEGISI was constructed with two inhibin a (1 to 32) fragments that were inserted into the 112 to 113 amino acids and the C termination of Hepatitis B surface antigen. In addition, the VP22 gene was inserted into the N terminal of the recombinant fragment of pEGISI plasmid; this was renamed as the new plasmid pEGVISI. Fifty six mice were immunized with inhibin DNA vaccines pEGISI and pEGVISI, pEGFP-N1 and PBS for comparing the reproductive traits included follicular development and litter size. The results indicated that, the VP22 gene could be a useful gene adjuvant to enhance the immune response of the inhibin DNA vaccine in mice.

Key words: Inhibin, VP22, DNA vaccine, follicular development, litter size.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: FSH, Follicle-stimulating hormone; INH, inhibin; BHV-1, bovine herpesvirus-1; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; HBV, hepatitis B virus-1; HBsAg-S, hepatitis B surface antigen-s; RT-PCR, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; DAPI, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; PBS, phosphate buffered saline;ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FCS, fetal calf serum; OD, optical density.