SwiVirScan profiles viral antibody histories in 127 adult breeding pigs

A peer-reviewed animal study found that a high-throughput screening platform detected antibody responses associated with numerous swine-associated viruses in 127 adult breeding pigs. Researchers at Huazhong Agricultural University developed SwiVirScan, which screens 36,416 short protein fragments from 140 viruses in parallel to examine the animals’ histories of viral exposure.

The team initially screened 140 field serum samples from adult breeding pigs. Of these, 127 met the study’s sequencing-depth requirement and were included in the analysis. Every analyzed sample reacted to peptides assigned to multiple viruses. The detected antibody signals included influenza A virus and hepatitis E virus, both of which have documented relevance to infections in pigs and humans.

Antibody recognition indicates exposure history, but it does not establish that the pigs had active infections when their samples were collected. Nor did the study demonstrate transmission to people. The researchers also examined pairs of viral antibody signals that occurred together more often than expected. An association between porcine bufavirus and porcine circovirus 3 remained after the team adjusted for multiple comparisons and checked for potentially cross-reactive peptides.

That association does not establish a biological mechanism, direct interaction between the viruses, or a causal relationship. Follow-up studies are needed to determine why the two antibody signals are associated, according to the research team. Pan Tao, the corresponding author, said that examining many antibody responses together can reveal patterns that merit investigation with virus-specific tests. The authors said SwiVirScan may help researchers prioritize viral targets for focused surveillance and further study in broader pig populations, although the reported results were limited to the analyzed samples from adult breeding pigs.

Subject of Research: High-throughput profiling of viral antibody responses in adult breeding pigs

Article Title: New platform reveals broad viral exposure histories in pigs

Article References: New platform reveals broad viral exposure histories in pigs. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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DOI: Not provided

Keywords: SwiVirScan, swine viruses, antibody profiling, adult breeding pigs, porcine bufavirus, porcine circovirus 3, viral exposure, high-throughput screening, animal study, platform, reveals, broad