Determination of Vaccine Immunogenicity Using Bovine Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells

Summary

The methodology describes the generation of bovine monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs) and their application for the in vitro evaluation of antigenic candidates during the development of potential veterinary vaccines in cattle.

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells (APCs) within the immune system. They patrol the organism looking for pathogens and play a unique role within the immune system by linking the innate and adaptive immune responses. These cells can phagocytize and then present captured antigens to effector immune cells, triggering a diverse range of immune responses. This paper demonstrates a standardized method for the in vitro generation of bovine monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs) isolated from cattle peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and their application in evaluating vaccine immunogenicity.

Magnetic-based cell sorting was used to isolate CD14⁺ monocytes from PBMCs, and the supplementation of complete culture medium with interleukin (IL)-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was used to induce the differentiation of CD14⁺ monocytes into naive MoDCs. The generation of immature MoDCs was confirmed by detecting the expression of major histocompatibility complex II (MHC II), CD86, and CD40 cell surface markers. A commercially available rabies vaccine was used to pulse the immature MoDCs, which were subsequently co-cultured with naive lymphocytes.

The flow cytometry analysis of the antigen-pulsed MoDCs and lymphocyte co-culture revealed the stimulation of T lymphocyte proliferation through the expression of Ki-67, CD25, CD4, and CD8 markers. The analysis of the mRNA expression of IFN-γ and Ki-67, using quantitative PCR, showed that the MoDCs could induce the antigen-specific priming of lymphocytes in this in vitro co-culture system. Furthermore, IFN-γ secretion assessed using ELISA showed a significantly higher titer (**p < 0.01) in the rabies vaccine-pulsed MoDC-lymphocyte co-culture than in the non-antigen-pulsed MoDC-lymphocyte co-culture. These results show the validity of this in vitro MoDC assay to measure vaccine immunogenicity, meaning this assay can be used to identify potential vaccine candidates for cattle before proceeding with in vivo trials, as well as in vaccine immunogenicity assessments of commercial vaccines.

Introduction

Veterinary vaccination represents a crucial aspect of animal husbandry and health, as it contributes to improving food security and animal welfare by conferring protection against diseases that affect the livestock sector globally¹. An effective in vitro method to assess the immunogenicity of possible vaccine candidates would help accelerating the process of vaccine development and production. It is, therefore, necessary to expand the field of immune assays with innovative methodologies based on in vitro studies, as this would help to unveil the complexity of the immune processes related to immunization and pathogen infec....

Protocol

Blood collection is performed by a certified veterinarian service in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety(AGES) and in compliance with the accepted animal welfare standards³². The study received ethical approval from the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture. The experimental design for MoDCs generation and its subsequent application is illustrated in Figure 1.

1. Production of naive MoDC.......

Discussion

This study demonstrates a standardized in vitro method for generating and phenotyping bovine MoDCs and their subsequent use in measuring the vaccine immunogenicity of a commercial vaccine (e.g., RV). Bovine MoDCs can be used as a tool for screening potential vaccine antigens against cattle diseases and predicting their potential clinical impact based on immune responses before proceeding toward in vivo animal trials. The MoDCs generated were identified based on their morphological, phenotypic, and funct.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
ACK Lysing Buffer	Gibco, Thermo Fisher	A1049201	Ammonium-Chloride-Potassium buffer for lysis of residual RBCs in harvested PBMC Fraction
BD Vacutainer Heparin Tubes	Becton, Dickinson (BD) and Company	366480	10 mL, additive sodium heparin 158 USP units, glass tube, 16 x 100 mm size
Bovine Dendritic Cell Growth Kit	Bio-Rad, UK	PBP015KZZ	Cytokine cocktail composed of recombinant bovine IL-4 and GM-CSF
Bovine IFN-γ ELISA Kit	Bio-Rad	MCA5638KZZ	Kit use for measuring IFN-γ expression in culture supernatant
CD14 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA2678F	Mouse anti-bovine CD14 monoclonal antibody, clone CC-G33, isotype IgG1
CD25 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA2430PE	Mouse anti bovine CD25 monoclonal antibody, clone IL-A11, isotype IgG1
CD4 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA1653A647	Mouse anti bovine CD4 monoclonal antibody, clone CC8, isotype IgG2a
CD40 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA2431F	Mouse anti-bovine CD40 monoclonal antibody, clone IL-A156, isotype IgG1
CD8 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA837F	Mouse anti bovine CD8 monoclonal antibody, clone CC63, isotype IgG2a
CD86 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA2437PE	Mouse anti-bovine CD86 monoclonal antibody, clone IL-A190, isotype IgG1
CFX96 Touch Real-Time PCR Detection System	Bio-Rad	-	Thermal cycler PCR machine
Corning Centrifuge Tube	Falcon Corning	352096 & 352070	15 mL and 50 mL, high-clarity poypropylene conical bottom, graduated, sterial, seal screw cap, falcon tube
Cytofix/Cytoperm Plus	BD Bio Sciences	555028	Fixation/permeabilization kit with BD golgiPlug, use for flow cytometer cell staining
Ethanol	Sigma Aldrich	1009832500	Absolute for analysis EMSURE ACS,ISO, Reag. Ph Eur
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)	Gibco, Thermo Fisher	10500064	Qualified, heat inactivated
Ficoll Plaque PLUS	GE Health care Life Sciences, USA	341691	Lymphocyte-isolation medium
FlowClean Cleaning Agent	Beckman Coulter, Life Sciences	A64669	500 mL
FlowJo	FlowJo, Becton, Dickinson (BD) and Company, LLC, USA	-	Flow cytometer Histogram software
FlowTubes/ FACS  (Fluorescence-activated single-cell sorting) Tube	Falcon Corning	352235	5 mL, sterial, round bottom polystyrene test tube with cell strainer snap cap, use in flow cytometry analysis
Fluoresceinisothiocynat-Dextran	Sigma Aldrich, Germany	60842-46-8	FITC-dextran MW
Gallios Flow Cytometer	Beckman Coulter	-	Flow cytometer machine
Hard-Shell 96-Well PCR Plates	Bio-Rad	HSP9601	96 well, low profile, thin wall, skirted, white/clear
Human CD14 MicroBeads	Miltenyi Bioteck, Germany	130-050-201	2 mL microbeads conjugated to monoclonal anti-human CD14 antibody isotype IgG2a, used for selection of bovine monocytes from PBMCs
Kaluza	Beckman Coulter, Germany	-	Flow cytometer multicolor data analysis software
MACS Column	Miltenyi Bioteck, Germany	130-042-401	Magnetic activated cell sorting or immune magentic cell separation colum for separation of various CD14 cell population based on cell surface antigens
MHC Class II DQ DR Polymorphic Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA2228F	Mouse anti-sheep MHC Class II DQ DR Polymorphic:FITC, clone 49.1, isotype IgG2a, cross reactive with bovine
Microcentrifuge Tube	Sigma Aldrich	HS4325	1.5 mL, conical bottom, graduated, sterial tube
Microsoft Power Point	Microsoft	-	The graphical illustrations of experimental design
Mouse IgG1 Negative Control:FITC for CD14, CD40 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA928F	Isotype control CD14 and CD40 monoclonal antibody
Mouse IgG1 Negative Control:PE for CD86 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA928PE	Isotype control CD86 monoclonal antibody
Mouse IgG1 Negative Control:RPE for CD25 Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA928PE	Isotype control CD25 monoclonal antibody
Mouse IgG2a Negative Control:FITC for MHC Class II Antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA929F	Isotype control for MHC class II monoclonal antibody
Nobivac Rabies	MSD Animal Health, UK	-	1 µL/mL of cell cultured inactivated vaccine containing > 2 I.U./mL Rabies virus strain
Optical seals	Bi0-Rad	TCS0803	0.2 mL flat PCR tube 8-cap strips, optical, ultraclear, compatible for qPCR machine
Penicillin-Streptomycin	Gibco, Thermo Fisher	15140122	100 mL
Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS)	Gibco, Thermo Fisher	10010023	pH 7.4, 1x concentration
Prism - GraphPad 5 Software	Dotmatics	-	Statistical software
Purified Anti-human Ki-67 antibody	Biolegend, USA	350501	Monoclonal antibody, cross reactive with cow, clone ki-67
Purified Mouse IgG1 k Isotype Ctrl Antibody	Biolegend	400101	Isotype control for Ki-67 monoclonal antibody
READIDROP Propidium Iodide	BD Bio Sciences	1351101	Live/dead cell marker used for flow cytometry, amine reactive dye
Recombinant Human IL-2 Protein	R&D System, USA	202-IL-010/CF	Interleukin-2, 20 ng/ml
RNeasy Mini Kit	Qiagen	74106	Kit use for extraction of total RNA; RLT buffer = lysis buffer; RW1 buffer = stringent guanidine-containing washing buffer; RDD buffer = DNase buffer; RPE buffer = mild wash buffer; RNaseOUT = RNase inhibitor.
RPMI 1640 Medium	Sigma Aldrich	R8758	Cell culture media with L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate
SMART-servier medical art	Les Laboratories Servier	-	Licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license
SsoAdvanced Universal SYBR Green Supermix	Bio-Rad	172-5270	2x qPCR mix conatins dNTPs, Ss07d fusion polymerase, MgCl2, SYBR Green I supermix = supermix, ROX normalization dyes.
SuperScript III First-Strand Synthesis System	Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher	18080051	Kit for cDNA synthsis
Tissue Culture Test plate 24	TPP, Switzerland	92024	24 well plate, sterilized by radiation , growth enhanced treated, volume 3.18 mL
Trypan Blue Solution	Gibco, Thermo Fisher	15250061	0.4%, 100 mL, dye to assess cell viability
UltraPure DNase/RNase-Free Distilled Water	Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher	10977023	0.1 µm membrane filtered distilled water
VACUETTE Heparin Blood Collection Tubes	Thermo Fisher Scientific	15206067	VACUETTE Heparin Blood Collection Tubes have a green top and contain spray-dried lithium, sodium or ammonium heparin on the inner walls and are usedin clinical chemistry, immunology and serology. The anticoagulant heparin activates antithrombin, which blocks the clotting cascade and thus produces a whole blood/plasma sample.
Water	Sigma Aldrich	W3500-1L	Sterile-filtered, bioReagent suitable for cell culture