Oral administration of recombinant Bacillus subtilis expressing a multi-epitope protein induces strong immune responses against Salmonella Enteritidis

The S. Enteritidis causes serious economic losses to the poultry industry every year. Vaccines that induce a mucosal immune response may be successful against an S. Enteritidis infection because mucosa plays an important role in preventing S. Enteritidis from entering the body. In order to develop novel and potent oral vaccines based on Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) to control the spread of S. Enteritidis in the poultry industry, we constructed a B. subtilis that can secrete a multi-epitope protein (OmpC-FliC-SopF-SseB-IL-18). Oral immunization of chickens was performed, and serum antibodies, mucosal antibodies, specific cellular immunity and serum cytokines were detected. Immunizing chicks with S. Enteritidis was evaluated. The results showed high levels of specific IgG in addition to high levels of specific secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in chickens who received oral administrations of recombinant B. subtilis. Additionally, recombinant B. subtilis may significantly increase the levels of IL-2 and T cell-mediated immunity. Recombinant B. subtilis effectively protected chickens against S. Enteritidis and reduced pathological damage to the spleen and jejunum. Our study’s outcomes indicate that the expression of the multi-epitope protein OmpC-FliC-SopF-SseB-IL-18 by B. subtilis could generate a mucosal vaccine candidate for animals to defend against S. Enteritidis in the future.