CpG DNA enhances the immune responses elicited by the DNA vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease virus in guinea pigs

CpG DNA is DNA sequence that has immune stimulatory effects. Several lines of investigation over the past few years indicate that CpG DNA plays an important role in the induction of immune responses to DNA vaccines. In this study, CpG DNA-containing synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG-ODN) was cloned into the eukaryotic expression plasmid encoding a fusion protein containing b- galactosidase from E. coli and immunogenic epitopes of foot- and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) type O, and the immune responses induced by the plasmid were assayed. The results showed that guinea pigs immunized with the recombinant plasmid containing CpG-ODN generated a higher level of FMDV-neutralizing antibody and a stronger T cell proliferative response and protection against viral challenge than those receiving the plasmid containing no CpG-ODN. Our study demonstrated that it is an effective route to enhance the efficacy of DNA vaccines by inserting exogenous CpG DNA into the plasmids, and the DNA vaccine developed here is a promising candidate to prevent FMDV infection.