title: Recombinant viral-like particles of parvovirus B19 as antigen carriers of anthrax protective antigen.
abstract: Viral-like particles (VLPs) of parvovirus B19 were employed as an antigen carrier to present antigenic determinants of Bacillus anthracis. The small-loop peptide and the full-length domain 4 of protective antigen (PA) were chosen as immunogens for presentation on the VLP-capsid surface and subsequent immunization of BALB/c mice. The recombinant VLPs induced anti-PA IgG titers of up to 2.5 x 10(4). Neutralization assays showed that the recombinant VLPs elicited neutralizing anti-PA antibody titers of up to 1:400 and showed potential for the prevention of lethal toxin-induced mortality of mouse-macrophage cells (RAW264.7). In postimmune sera, no anti-PA titers were detected against synthetic small-loop peptide. Recombinant VLPs demonstrated the capacity to retain the immunogenicity of the displayed microbial PA-epitopes and elicited robust levels of anti-PA antibody titers. These findings suggest that the recombinant VLPs of parvovirus B19 have potential as an additional tool in the development of sub-unit vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Yoji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amexis
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kajigaya
authors.forename: Stephan H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Leppla
authors.forename: Neal S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000881:Anthrax / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022122:Anthrax Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D000939:Epitopes; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D008264:Macrophages / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018411:Spodoptera; D014611:Vaccination; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D022122:Anthrax Vaccines; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014765:Viral Vaccines