Oral Immunization against PEDV with Recombinant Lactobacillus casei Expressing Dendritic Cell-Targeting Peptide Fusing COE Protein of PEDV in Piglets

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a highly contagious disease in newborn piglets. In our previous study, a genetically engineered oral vaccine ( ) expressing a dendritic cell (DC)-targeting peptide fused with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) COE antigen was developed. This vaccine induced significant levels of anti-PEDV specific IgG and IgA antibody responses in mice, indicating a potential strategy against PEDV infection. In this study, was used for oral vaccination of newborn piglets against PEDV. We then assessed the immune responses and protection efficacy of . An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the recombinant vaccine elicits a specific systemic and mucosal immune response. The T-helper cells mediated by and PEDV infection display a Th1 phenotype. The histopathological results showed that promotes lymphocyte proliferation and effectively protects piglets against PEDV infection. The transforming growth factor-β level indicated that the recombinant vaccine plays a role in anti-inflammatory responses in mesenteric lymph nodes during PEDV infection. These results show that is a potential vaccine against PEDV infection.