Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a recombinant lactococcus lactis vaccine against HSV-1 infection

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a major cause of viral encephalitis, genital mucosal infections, and neonatal infections. Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) has been proven to be an effective vehicle for delivering protein antigens and stimulating both mucosal and systemic immune responses. In this study, we constructed a recombinant L. lactis system expressing the protective antigen glycoprotein D (gD) of HSV-1.

To improve the stability and persistence of antigen stimulation of the local mucosa, we inserted the immunologic adjuvant interleukin (IL)-2 and the Fc fragment of IgG into the expression system, and a recombinant L. lactis named NZ3900-gD-IL-2-Fc was constructed. By utilizing this recombinant L. lactis strain to elicit an immune response and evaluate the protective effect in mice, the recombinant L. lactis vaccine induced a significant increase in specific neutralizing antibodies, IgG, IgA, interferon-γ, and IL-4 levels in the serum of mice. Furthermore, in comparison to the mice in the control group, the vaccine also enhanced the proliferation levels of lymphocytes in response to gD. Moreover, recombinant L. lactis expressing gD significantly boosted nonspecific immune reactions in mice through the activation of immune-related genes. Furthermore, following the HSV-1 challenge of the murine lung mucosa, mice inoculated with the experimental vaccine exhibited less lung damage than control mice.

Our study presents a novel method for constructing a recombinant vaccine using the food-grade, non-pathogenic, and non-commercial bacterium L. lactis. The findings indicate that this recombinant vaccine shows promise in preventing HSV-1 infection in mice.