Evasion of humoral immune responses by a key mutational region of the S2 subunit in PEDV variants - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #immune evasion
- #PEDV
- #vaccine development
- PEDV variant strains have caused significant mortality in piglets since 2010, exhibiting enhanced virulence and immune evasion compared to classical strains.
- The 894-993 amino acid (aa) mutation region in the S2 subunit is identified as a key determinant of humoral immune evasion in PEDV variants.
- This mutation region also plays a critical role in determining the virulence of PEDV variants, as demonstrated in piglet challenge experiments.
- The 894-993 aa region influences membrane fusion characteristics, enabling variants to resist neutralizing sera through cell-to-cell transmission.
- Structural analyses show that mutations in this region alter the surface electrostatic potential, increase hydrophobicity, and enhance the rigidity of the S protein.
- The findings provide a theoretical foundation for new prevention and control strategies against PEDV variants.
- Commercial vaccines based on classical PEDV strains show limited efficacy against emerging variants, highlighting the need for updated vaccines.