Journal
NPJ VACCINES
Volume 3, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
SPRINGERNATURE
DOI: 10.1038/s41541-018-0066-4
Keywords
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Categories
Funding
- Australian Research Council
- Queensland Government (Department of Transport and Main Roads)
- Queensland Government (Moreton Bay Rail Project Team)
- Queensland Government (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection)
- Moreton Bay Regional Council
- Friends of Koala (Lismore)
- Koala Action Inc.
- Endeavour Veterinary Ecology
- Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital
- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
- City of Gold Coast
- Redland City Council
- Australian Research Council Linkage Grant [LP150100046]
- Australian Research Council [LP150100046] Funding Source: Australian Research Council
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Koala retrovirus (KoRV) infects the majority of Australia's koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and has been linked to several life-threatening diseases such as lymphoma and leukemia, as well as Chlamydia and thus poses a threat to the continued survival of this species. While quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical, leaving vaccination as the only realistic option. In this study, we examined the effect of a recombinant envelope protein-based anti-KoRV vaccine in two groups of South Australian koalas: KoRV infected or KoRV free. We report a successful vaccination response in the koalas with no vaccine-associated side effects. The vaccine induced a significant humoral immune response as well as the production of neutralizing antibodies in both groups of koalas. We also identified B-cell epitopes that were differentially recognized in KoRV-infected versus KoRV-free koalas following vaccination. Importantly, we also showed that vaccination had a therapeutic effect on koalas infected exogenously with KoRV by reducing their circulating viral load. Together, this study highlights the possibility of successfully developing a vaccine against KoRV infection in koalas.
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