Transcriptional effect of vaccination and challenge on porcine tonsil cells

To achieve a greater insight into the host response to vaccination with C-strain, custom porcine microarrays were designed and utilised to analyse the differences in gene expression in host tonsil cells between pigs that were vaccinated with C-strain or given a mock vaccination. These pigs were then subsequently challenged with a virulent strain of CSFV within the window before an adaptive immune response can be mounted. Tonsil cells were harvested for transcriptomic analysis at various time points within the pre-adaptive protection window and analysed to identify subsets of genes that may be integral to this early protection phenotype. In brief, 18 Large White/Landrace crossbreed pigs of 8 to 10 weeks of age were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Five days prior to challenge (day 0), the animals in group 1(n = 9) were vaccinated with 2 ml of C-strain vaccine into the brachiocephalous muscle (as recommended by the manufacturer [Riemser Arzneimittel AG]), and group 2 (n = 9) was intranasally inoculated with 1 ml of mock virus supernatant. On day 5, groups 1 and 2 were inoculated intranasally with 105 TCID50 of CSFV Brescia strain. On day 5 (Challenge Day 0), 8 (Challenge Day 3) and 10 (Challenge Day 5), three animals were euthanized from groups 1 and 2, and the tonsils were collected. Please note that Sample titles refer to days post challenge.