Foot‐and‐mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes a widely extended contagious disease of livestock. We have previously reported that a synthetic dendrimeric peptide, termed B₂T(mal), consisting of two copies of a B‐cell epitope [VP1(140–158)] linked through maleimide groups to a T‐cell epitope [3A(21–35)] of FMDV, elicits potent B‐ and T‐cell‐specific responses and confers solid protection in pigs to type O FMDV challenge. Longer duration of the protective response and the possibility of inducing protection after a single dose are important requirements for an efficient FMD vaccine. Herein, we show that administration of two doses of B₂T(mal) elicited high levels of specific total IgGs and neutralizing antibodies that lasted 4–5 months after the peptide boost. Additionally, concomitant levels of IFN‐γ‐producing specific T cells were observed. Immunization with two doses of B₂T(mal) conferred a long‐lasting reduced susceptibility to FMDV infection, up to 136 days (19/20 weeks) post‐boost. Remarkably, a similar duration of the protective response was achieved by a single dose of B₂T(mal). The effect on the B₂T(mal) vaccine of RNA transcripts derived from non‐coding regions in the FMDV genome, known to enhance the immune response and protection induced by a conventional inactivated vaccine, was also analysed. The contribution of our results to the development of FMD dendrimeric vaccines is discussed.

中文翻译：

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二价B细胞表位树状大分子肽可以赋予猪针对口蹄疫的持久免疫力。

口蹄疫病毒（FMDV）导致广泛传播的牲畜传染病。我们以前曾报道过，一种合成的树状肽，称为B ₂ T（mal），由通过马来酰亚胺基团连接至T细胞表位[3A（21）的B细胞表位[VP1（140–158）]的两个副本组成。 ––35）] FMDV引起强力的B细胞和T细胞特异性反应，并为O型FMDV激发猪提供坚固的保护。对于有效的口蹄疫疫苗，更长的保护性反应持续时间和单剂后诱导保护的可能性是重要的要求。在此，我们表明两次服用B ₂T（mal）引起高水平的特异性总IgG和中和抗体，在肽增强后持续4–5个月。此外，还观察到了同时产生IFN-γ的特异性T细胞的水平。在加强免疫后长达136天（19/20周）内，用两剂B ₂ T（mal）进行的免疫接种使FMDV感染的持久性降低。值得注意的是，单剂量的B ₂ T（mal）达到了相似的保护反应持续时间。对B _2的影响还分析了来自FMDV基因组非编码区的RNA转录本的T（mal）疫苗，已知该疫苗可增强常规灭活疫苗诱导的免疫应答和保护作用。讨论了我们的结果对口蹄疫树状大分子疫苗发展的贡献。