2. Academic Validation
  3. Surface expression of PEDV nucleocapsid protein facilitates NK cell-mediated ADCC via anti-N nonneutralizing antibody

Surface expression of PEDV nucleocapsid protein facilitates NK cell-mediated ADCC via anti-N nonneutralizing antibody

  • Vet Microbiol. 2025 Jun:305:110518. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2025.110518.
Xiang Liu 1,  Meng Zhang 1,  Yi Luo 1,  Shijie Yan 1,  Haoran Xu 1,  Yao Yao 1,  Farong Xu 2,  Pinghuang Liu 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
  • 2 Beijing Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, No.19 Xiangrui Street, Biomedical Base, Daxing District, Beijing 102600, China.
  • 3 National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: liupinghuang@cau.edu.cn.
PMID: 40233683 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2025.110518
Abstract

The nucleocapsid (N) protein is the most abundant viral protein during porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) Infection and exhibits strong immunogenicity, prompting the host immune system to produce large quantities of antibodies against it. However, N-specific antibodies are non-neutralizing, as the N protein is typically located inside viral particles. Understanding the roles of N-specific antibodies during PEDV Infection is crucial for developing more effective vaccines. In this study, we demonstrated that a significant amount of PEDV-N protein is expressed on the surface of living cells during PEDV Infection or transient N expression. Mechanistically, the PEDV-N protein may reach the cell surface via the exosome secretion pathway. Furthermore, anti-N antibodies can bind to the surface N protein and induce antibody-dependent natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), directly killing PEDV-infected cells. Although anti-N antibodies lack neutralizing effects against PEDV Infection, they can target the N protein present on the surface of PEDV-infected cells to induce NK cell-mediated ADCC, thus protecting the host from viral Infection. Our results indicate that the N protein holds significant potential as a candidate for designing vaccines against porcine enteric viruses.

Keywords

ADCC; Cell surface; Coronavirus; NK cell; Nucleocapsid protein; PEDV.

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