Characterization of the humoral immune response of experimentally infected and vaccinated pigs to swine influenza viral proteins

The value of serologic tests for diagnosis of swine influenza virus (SIV) infection has been diminished by the emergence of new subtypes and by antigenic drift within subtype. The intensive use of vaccination also has complicated interpretation of serology results. Serologic assays are needed that can detect infection regardless of subtype or antigenic variation and that can differentiate antibody induced by infection from that induced by vaccination. In this study, the antibody responses to specific viral proteins in pigs infected by or vaccinated for SIV were characterized by Western immunoblot. Both IgM and IgG against hemagglutinin, nucleoprotein, NS1 and NS2 were detected in experimentally infected pigs by 7 days post inoculation (DPI). IgG against these proteins was still detectable at the end of the study (28 DPI). In contrast, IgG against neuraminidase and M1 was not detected until 14 DPI and no IgM against these proteins was detected. In vaccinated pigs, no antibody against NS1 was detected while antibody responses to other proteins were identical to those in exposed pigs. In conclusion, nucleoprotein may be a suitable antigen for use in a subtype-unrestricted serologic assay. NS1 protein may be suitable for a serologic assay that differentiates between infected and vaccinated pigs.