Disease outbreaks are a major impediment to aquaculture production and are forecasted to continue as the industry grows and the climate warms. Vaccines are integral for disease management in aquaculture but they can be expensive, vary in effectiveness, and come with adjuvant-induced adverse effects causing fish welfare issues and negative economic impacts. The goal of this interdisciplinary project is to develop a new generation of vaccines for sustainable aquaculture. Our project uses novel nanomaterials produced from renewable wood fiber as depots/adjuvants in vaccine formulations to modulate the immune response of Atlantic salmon in a biocompatible, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective manner.
Our interdisciplinary research team is elucidating the role of cellulose nanomaterials ( CNM ) as a vaccine depot and mobile immunostimulant, the extent of CNM migration in vivo , and the efficacy of CNM bound antigen as an immunostimulant for protection against two Atlantic salmon pathogens. To accomplish this, we have prepared and conducted in vitro characterizations of CNM shear-thinning hydrogels and CNM/antigen (vaccine) formulations by scanning electron microscopy and rheology of CNM variants (CNM) and in vivo migration using histopathology. Additionally, we assessed safety/toxicity and immunogenicity of CNM shear-thinning hydrogel formulations in vivo as a vaccine depot in Atlantic salmon by quantifying the antibody kinetics in vaccinated fish serum using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and gene expression. The next phase of our work will involve conducting in vivo studies to evaluate the efficacy of the CNM vaccine(s) in protecting against Vibrio anguillarum in Atlantic salmon by performing a pathogen challenge study.
Our results to date will be reported and discussed.