Neethling LSDV vaccine boosts early cellular immunity in cattle, increasing lymphocytes and IFN-γ expression

Controlling Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), a highly contagious viral disease in cattle, is critical for livestock health and economic stability. Vaccination is the cornerstone of prevention, but understanding the early immune responses induced by vaccines is essential for optimizing their efficacy and development. Current evaluation methods often focus on later antibody responses, leaving a gap in our knowledge regarding the initial cellular immune activation that underpins long-term protection. This study addresses this by evaluating early immune markers following vaccination.

Cattle were divided into two groups: a control group of 14 healthy, unvaccinated animals and an intervention group of 21 cattle. The intervention group received the Neethling LSDV vaccine administered subcutaneously. Hematological and biochemical profiles, cytokine gene expression (specifically Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)), and LSDV-specific antibody titers were measured in all animals at 14 days post-vaccination. Antibody titers were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Vaccinated cattle demonstrated significantly higher lymphocyte counts compared to unvaccinated controls (p < 0.05), indicating an early cellular immune response. Furthermore, IFN-γ gene expression was notably upregulated by 1.9-fold in vaccinated animals (p < 0.05), a key cytokine in antiviral immunity. While LSDV-specific antibody titers were significantly higher in vaccinated cattle, the ELISA sample-to-positive (S/P) values remained below the diagnostic cutoff value at 14 days post-vaccination, suggesting that full seroconversion may take longer. Elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase levels were also observed in vaccinated cattle (p < 0.05), which the authors suggest may reflect mild physiological stress associated with the early vaccine response.

Vaccinated cattle showed significantly higher lymphocyte counts and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels than unvaccinated controls (p < 0.05).