The ABCs (Antibody, B cells, and Carbohydrate epitopes) of cholera immunity: considerations for an improved vaccine.
Cholera, a diarrheal disease, is known for explosive epidemics that can quickly kill thousands. Endemic cholera is a seasonal torment that also has a significant mortality. Not all nations with extensive rural communities can achieve the required infrastructure or behavioral changes to prevent epidemic or endemic cholera. For some communities, a single-dose cholera vaccine that protects those at risk is the most efficacious means to reduce morbidity and mortality. It is clear that our understanding of what a protective cholera immune response is has not progressed at the rate our understanding of the pathogenesis and molecular biology of cholera infection has. This review addresses V. cholerae lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-based immunogens because LPS is the only immunogen proven to induce protective antibody in humans. We discuss the role of anti-LPS antibodies in protection from cholera, the importance and the potential role of B cell subsets in protection that is based on their anatomical location and the intrinsic antigen-receptor specificity of various subsets is introduced.
Provenzano
Daniele
D
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas-Brownsville, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA.
Kovác
Pavol
P
Wade
William F
WF
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D002771:Cholera / Q000276:immunology*; D022121:Cholera Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology*; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D022121:Cholera Vaccines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides