Immune responses of cattle and mice to the G glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus.

A subunit vaccine for vesicular stomatitis was developed from a purified vesicular stomatitis virus preparation by selectively removing the immunogenic G glycoprotein of the virus with the dialyzable, nonionic detergent, beta-D-octylglucoside. Cattle immunized intramuscularly with a single dose of 112 micrograms of G glycoprotein preparation in complete Freund's adjuvant did not develop vesicular disease following challenge by intralingual inoculation of 400 times the infectious dose of the virus. Similarly, mice vaccinated subcutaneously with a single dose of 10 micrograms of G glycoprotein preparation, with or without complete Freund's adjuvant, were protected from lethal encephalitis caused by vesicular stomatitis virus. A subunit vaccine for vesicular stomatitis of cattle, horses, and swine avoids the hazards associated with attenuated and inactivated vaccines, such as vaccine breaks, reversion to virulence, or introduction of virus into potential wild reservoirs or arthropod hosts. Further, it is possible to distinguish serologically animals vaccinated with the subunit preparation from those that have had the clinical disease or that have been vaccinated with whole virus. This is an essential consideration both for epidemiological studies and for disease control or establishment of quarantine programs.