Transcriptomic profiling of dromedary camels immunised with a mers vaccine candidate
Type
ArticleAuthors
Hala, Sharif
Ribeca, Paolo

Aljami, Haya A.
Alsagaby, Suliman A.

Qasim, Ibrahim
Gilbert, Sarah C.
Alharbi, Naif Khalaf

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) DivisionBioscience Program
Date
2021-08-03Submitted Date
2021-05-11Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/668978
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infects dromedary camels and zoonotically infects humans, causing a respiratory disease with severe pneumonia and death. With no approved antiviral or vaccine interventions for MERS, vaccines are being developed for camels to prevent virus transmission into humans. We have previously developed a chimpanzee adenoviral vector-based vaccine for MERS-CoV (ChAdOx1 MERS) and reported its strong humoral immunogenicity in dromedary camels. Here, we looked back at total RNA isolated from whole blood of three immunised dromedaries pre and post-vaccination during the first day; and performed RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis in order to shed light on the molecular immune responses following a ChAdOx1 MERS vaccination. Our finding shows that a number of transcripts were differentially regulated as an effect of the vaccination, including genes that are involved in innate and adaptive immunity, such as type I and II interferon responses. The camel Bcl-3 and Bcl-6 transcripts were significantly upregulated, indicating a strong activation of Tfh cell, B cell, and NF-κB pathways. In conclusion, this study gives an overall view of the first changes in the immune transcriptome of dromedaries after vaccination; it supports the potency of ChAdOx1 MERS as a potential camel vaccine to block transmission and prevent new human cases and outbreaks.Citation
Hala, S., Ribeca, P., Aljami, H. A., Alsagaby, S. A., Qasim, I., Gilbert, S. C., & Alharbi, N. K. (2021). Transcriptomic Profiling of Dromedary Camels Immunised with a MERS Vaccine Candidate. Veterinary Sciences, 8(8), 156. doi:10.3390/vetsci8080156Sponsors
This study is funded by KAIMRC, project RC16/093 granted to Naif Khalaf Alharbi; and supported by Noor Diagnostics and Innovation at KAUST.Publisher
MDPI AGJournal
Veterinary SciencesAdditional Links
https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/8/8/156ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/vetsci8080156
Scopus Count
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