title: Cloning of an early immunodominant filarial antigen: a member of the Brugia malayi myosin heavy chain gene family.
abstract: Partial protective immunity to filariasis can be achieved in animals by vaccination with irradiated infective larvae. A Brugia malayi cDNA expression library was screened with serum pools from vaccinated and infected jirds to select clones that expressed potentially protective recombinant antigens that were preferentially recognized by sera from vaccinated animals. Bmmyo-2, the largest of a group of related clones, was studied in detail. Jirds produced strong antibody responses to the protein product of Bmmyo-2, Bmmhc-B, as early as 1 month after vaccination with irradiated larvae. Antibody responses to Bmmhc-B in infected jirds were weaker than those of vaccinated jirds, and they developed somewhat later. Antibodies produced to Bmmhc-B were reactive with a 200 kDa native B. malayi antigen by immunoblot and with muscle bands in the body wall of microfilarial by indirect immunofluorescence. Sequence analysis of the 1454 bp cDNA insert of Bmmyo-2 showed that it codes for a portion of the rod region of a B. malayi myosin heavy chain isoform. The deduced amino acid sequence of Bmmyo-2 is 74.6% identical with that of the corresponding region of Caenorhabditis elegans myosin heavy chain B, but only 64.6% identical with a recently described B. malayi myosin heavy chain, Bmmhc-A.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Hoppe
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Weil
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D017178:Brugia malayi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005368:Filariasis / Q000276:immunology; D005796:Genes / Q000235:genetics*; D005849:Gerbillinae; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009218:Myosins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D009218:Myosins