Expression of chicken Interleukin-2 by turkey herpesvirus increases the immune response against Marek's disease virus but fails to increase protection against virulent challenge.

Ian Tarpey (1)

1 Intervet UK Ltd

As Marek's disease virus continues to evolve towards greater virulence more efficacious vaccines will be required in the future. We expressed chicken interleukin-2 (IL-2) from a turkey herpesvirus (HVT) in an attempt to increase the efficacy of HVT as a vaccine against Marek's disease. The recombinant IL-2/HVT was safe for in ovo vaccination though it replicated less in the birds compared to the parent HVT strain. Expression of IL-2 increased the neutralizing antibody response against HVT but did not increase the protection against virulent Marek challenge.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Ian Tarpey. Expression of chicken Interleukin-2 by turkey herpesvirus increases the immune response against Marek's disease virus but fails to increase protection against virulent challenge.. Avian Pathology, 2007, 36 (01), pp.69-74. ⟨10.1080/03079450601113159⟩. ⟨hal-00540064⟩