Porcine adenovirus has been proposed as a potential vector for generating n
ovel and effective vaccines for pigs, As a prerequisite for the generation
of helper-dependent porcine adenovirus-3 (PAV-3) vectors, two El-complement
ing porcine cell lines expressing El proteins of human adenovirus-5 (HAV-5)
were made. These cell lines could be efficiently transfected with DNA and
allowed the rescue and propagation of a PAV-3 recombinant, PAV201, containi
ng a 0.597 kb E3 deletion and a 0.803 kb E1A deletion. Our data demonstrate
that E1A proteins of HAV-5 have the capacity to transform foetal porcine r
etina cells and complement for the El A proteins of PAV-3, The green fluore
scent protein (GFP) gene placed under the control of a cytomegalovirus imme
diate early promoter was inserted into the E1A region of the PAV201 genome.
Using these cell lines, a helper-dependent PAV-3 recombinant expressing GF
P, PAV202, was constructed and characterized. The wild-type PAV-3 and the r
ecombinant PAV202 expressing GFP were used to determine the ability of the
virus to enter and replicate in cells of human and animal origin under cell
culture conditions. Our results suggest that PAV-3 enters but does not rep
licate in dog, sheep, bovine and human cells.