Induction of an Immune Response to Transmissible Gastroenteritis Coronavirus Using Vectors with Enteric Tropism

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) causes high mortality in neonatal pigs 1. TGEV has four structural proteins: the spike (S), the nucleoprotein (N), the membrane protein (M), and the small membrane (SM) protein. Protein S is the major inducer of TGEV neutralizing antibodies. Four antigenic sites (A, B, C, and D) have been defined in S protein2, 3, 4. These sites have been located in the amino-end half of S protein. The precise amino acids contributing to the formation of these sites were described 5. Site A is antigenically dominant and has been divided into three antigenic subsites: Aa, Ab, and Ac. Sites A and D, and in minor extent site B, have been involved in the neutralization of TGEV. Glycosylation dependent (sites A and B) and independent (sites D and C) antigenic determinants have been defined.