Mannose modified targeted immersion vaccine delivery system improves protective immunity against Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus in mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi)

Vaccination is an effective method to prevent viral diseases. However, the biological barrier prevents the immersion vaccine from achieving the best effect without adding adjuvants and carriers. Researches on the targeted presentation technology of vaccines with nanocarriers are helpful to develop immersion vaccines for fish that can break through biological barriers and play an effective role in fish defense. In our study, functionally modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were used as carriers to construct a targeted immersion vaccine (SWCNTs-M−MCP) with mannose modified major capsid protein (MCP) to target antigen-presenting cells (APCs), against iridovirus diseases. After bath immunization, our results showed that SWCNTs-M−MCP induced the presentation process and uptake of APCs, triggering a powerful immune response. Moreover, the highest relative percent survival (RPS) was 81.3% in SWCNTs-M−MCP group, which was only 41.5% in SWCNTs-MCP group. Altogether, this study indicates that the SWCNTs-based targeted immersion vaccine induces strong immune response and provided an effective protection against iridovirus diseases.