Spying the neutralizing epitopes on E2 N-terminal by candidate epitope-vaccines against classical swine fever virus

Our previous study proved that the N-terminal (aa693-711) of glycoprotein E2 contained sequential neutralizing epitopes. In this study, four candidate epitope-vaccines (EVs) were separately prepared and evaluated. Among them, epitope-vaccine EV-BC1a (BC1a: aa693-699) induced high level of epitope-specific neutralizing antibodies and exhibited similar protective capability with that induced by Chinese vaccine strain (C-strain). These results confirmed CKEDYRY (aa693-699) as a principal sequential neutralizing epitope on E2 N-terminal. Moreover, these findings also indicate that epitope-vaccine is a potent candidate strategy for marker vaccine against classical swine fever virus (CSFV).