Newcastle Disease Virus as a Viral Vector Platform for Poultry Vaccines: A Review

Viral vector vaccines are excellent in stimulating a strong immune response to the vaccine antigen. The discovery of reverse genetics has given us an empirical foundation for the use of the Newcastle disease virus (paramyxovirus), as a vaccine vector. It has the potential to be a promising virus vector due to its ability to replicate in the respiratory system, modular nature of transcription, capacity to induce local and systematic immune responses, lower probability of recombination in host cells, high degree of stability to the foreign gene, high titer growth in cell lines, the natural pathogen of poultry, and a proven track record of safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity. Here, we elaborate on the biology of the Newcastle disease virus, important steps in plasmid construct for in vitro transcription, rescue of recombinant NDVs, pre-clinical assessment of NDV vectored poultry vaccines, main bottlenecks, and future prospects. By eliminating the primary barrier such as interference of maternally derived antibodies (MDAs), NDV vectored marketable vaccines can reduce vaccinal stress on birds while also relieving economic burden on poultry producers. Furthermore, innovative NDVs can be employed as marker or DIVA vaccines in disease eradication campaigns.