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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Does the immune stimulant Amplimune® modulate humoral and cytokine responses to commercial bovine respiratory disease vaccines in cattle?

A. L. Alexander https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1238-6783 A B * , E. K. Doyle https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5255-2187 A , A. B. Ingham https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8006-9443 C , I. G. Colditz https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9497-5148 B , N. M. Andronicos https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5881-2296 A , B. C. Hine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5037-4703 B and T. J. Mahony https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4573-7906 D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

B CSIRO Agriculture and Food, F.D. McMaster Laboratory, New England Highway, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

C CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia.

D Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia.

* Correspondence to: aalexa25@une.edu.au

Handling Editor: Andrew Fisher

Animal Production Science 64, AN23235 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN23235
Submitted: 30 June 2023  Accepted: 30 January 2024  Published: 23 February 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Feedlot entry can be a period of stress for cattle due to transportation, altered diets and other influences. Stress can suppress host defence mechanisms. Innate immune stimulants, such as mycobacterial cell-wall fractions, attract attention for the primary objective of enhancing non-specific immune resistance of cattle against microbial diseases during periods of stress-induced susceptibility. These stimulants are also recognised for their capacity to modify responses of the adaptive immune system to vaccines.

Aims

This study aims to evaluate the potential for mycobacterial cell-wall fractions in Amplimune® to modify adaptive immune responses to the commercial vaccines Rhinogard® (modified live bovine alphaherpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1)) and Bovilis MH + IBR® (inactivated Mannheimia haemolytica and BoHV-1) in yearling cattle during simulated feedlot induction.

Methods

Fifty-four mixed-sex Angus yearling cattle were transported for 6 h on Day −1 and on Day 0. The cattle were assigned to the following six treatment groups (n = 9/group): Rhinogard plus 2 mL Amplimune, Rhinogard plus 5 mL Amplimune, Bovilis MH + IBR plus 2 mL Amplimune, Bovilis MH + IBR plus 5 mL Amplimune, Rhinogard plus 5 mL saline, and Bovilis MH + IBR plus 5 mL saline. Blood and nasal secretions were sampled at various time points following treatment and antigen-specific antibody (immunoglobulin G) responses to components of the vaccines were assessed. Interferon-γ production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to BoHV-1, Concanavalin A or media only were assessed.

Key results

No adverse clinical reactions were observed to administration of Amplimune and vaccines. A systemic antibody response to vaccination was observed for the Bovilis MH + IBR vaccine. Vaccine-specific antibody and cytokine responses were not modified by Amplimune.

Conclusions

Amplimune can be administered at the same time as Rhinogard or Bovilis MH + IBR vaccines, without undesirable effects on specific immune responses to vaccination.

Implications

The primary interest in using Amplimune is to potentiate non-specific immune defences as an alternative to antibiotics for the prevention and/or treatment of microbial diseases such as bovine respiratory disease in production animals. In view of its adjuvant-like activities, administration of Amplimune might also confer beneficial or detrimental effects on antigen-specific responses of the adaptive immune system to contemporaneous vaccination.

Keywords: Amplimune, cattle, enhanced immunity, inactivated vaccine, innate immune stimulant, modified live vaccine, mycobacterial cell wall fractions, respiratory disease.

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