A live attenuated combination vaccine evokes effective immune-mediated protection against Edwardsiella tarda and Vibrio anguillarum.

Edwardsiella tarda and Vibrio anguillarum are the two main pathogenic bacteria that cause edwardsiellosis and vibriosis in various species of fish raised in aquaculture. In our previous study, the live attenuated vaccines E. tarda WED and V. anguillarum MVAV6203 showed robust relative protection when vaccinated zebrafish or turbot were challenged with virulent E. tarda or V. anguillarum, respectively. Additionally, vaccinated fish processed the two vaccines through different pathways of antigen processing and presentation. Here, the immune protection of a combination vaccination consisting of E. tarda WED and V. anguillarum MVAV6203 was initially evaluated in zebrafish. After challenge with E. tarda and V. anguillarum at 1 month post-vaccination, the vaccinated zebrafish exhibited the relative protective survival of 70% and 90%, respectively. The expression of genes related to antigen recognition, processing and presentation were measured in the liver and spleen of vaccinated zebrafish. Gene expression profiling showed that more than one Toll-like receptor signaling pathway was activated and that both MHC I and II pathways of antigen processing and presentation were evoked. Later, the immune protection of the combination vaccine was evaluated in turbot and it showed similarly effective immune-mediated protection. By ELISA analysis, we found that the specific antibody levels in vaccinated turbot increased compared to those of fish vaccinated by a single vaccine during 2 months post-vaccination. Meanwhile, the expression levels of MHC I and II in the liver, spleen and kidney of vaccinated turbot were both up-regulated, suggesting that the MHC I and II pathways of antigen processing and presentation are activated in vaccinated turbot, similar to vaccinated zebrafish. In summary, a combination vaccine of live attenuated E. tarda WED and V. anguillarum MVAV6203 is effective and could be used widely in the future.