T cell-inducing heterologous vaccine against elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus

We developed a heterologous, recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara prime and adjuvanted protein boost vaccine, containing the regulatory protein EE2 and the major capsid protein. The vaccine design focussed on targeting Th1 and cytotoxic T cell responses, which are crucial to herpesvirus immunity. In a proof-of-concept trial, safety and immunogenicity were tested in adult elephants. We used a modified interferon-? release (IFNG) point-of-care vaccine-specific whole blood assay to determine T cell responses by RT-qPCR first, established to overcome quality-reducing sample transport times to the laboratory. Subsequently, RNA sequencing was utilised to understand transcriptomic changes induced by the vaccine. Overall design: Blood samples before and after vaccination were taken for RNASeq. Samples were tested both unstimulated and Ag stimulated.