Identification and evaluation of novel antigens PykA, CPE1060 and Mbp as G-type Clostridium perfringens subunit vaccines.

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a multifactorial intestinal disease in broilers caused by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) and poses a substantial economic threat to the global poultry industry. There is an urgent need for effective control methods. Vaccination is an effective method for controlling NE infections. Screening and identification of new protective antigen candidates are of significant importance. In this study, three new C. perfringens candidate antigens， pyruvate kinase (PykA), hypothetical protein CPE1060 (CPE1060), and maltose ABC transporter substrate-binding protein (Mbp), which were identified based on immunoproteomics in the previous study, were evaluated for antigenicity, immunogenicity, and induced immune protection efficiency. The results showed that all three candidate antigens possessed good immunogenicity and antigenicity, could induce high levels of humoral and cellular immune responses, and could significantly reduce intestinal damage caused by Clostridium perfringens infections in chickens. Among them, the protective effects of CPE1060 and Mbp proteins as subunit vaccines were superior to those of PykA proteins. This study may provide new insights into the prevention and control of NE.