A recombinant subunit vaccine based on the insertion of 27 amino acids from Omp31 to the N-terminus of BLS induced a similar degree of protection against B. ovis than Rev.1 vaccination.
The development of an effective subunit vaccine against brucellosis is a research area of intense interest. The enzyme lumazine synthase from Brucella spp. (BLS) is highly immunogenic, presumably due to its decameric arrangement and remarkable stability. In this work we decided to develop a chimera with the scaffold protein BLS decorated with 10 copies of a known protective epitope derived from an outer membrane protein of 31kDa (Omp31) from Brucella spp. Vaccination of BALB/c mice with the chimera as a recombinant protein (rBLSOmp31) provided the best protection level against Brucella ovis, which was higher than the given by the co-delivery of both recombinant proteins (rBLS + rOmp31) and similar than the control vaccine Brucella melitensis strain Rev.1. Moreover rBLSOmp31 induced protection against Brucella melitensis but to a lesser degree than Rev.1. The chimera induced a strong humoral response against the inserted peptide. It also induced peptide- and BLS-specific T helper 1 and cytotoxic T responses. In conclusion, our results indicate that BLSOmp31 could be a useful candidate for the development of subunit vaccines against brucellosis since it elicits humoral, T helper and cytotoxic immune responses and protection against smooth and rough species of Brucella.
Cassataro
Juliana
J
Laboratorio de Inmunogenética, Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires UBA, Córdoba 2351, Buenos Aires, Argentina. jucassat@ffyb.uba.ar
Pasquevich
Karina A
KA
Estein
Silvia M
SM
Laplagne
Diego A
DA
Velikovsky
Carlos A
CA
de la Barrera
Silvia
S
Bowden
Raúl
R
Fossati
Carlos A
CA
Giambartolomei
Guillermo H
GH
Goldbaum
Fernando A
FA
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002002:Brucella / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002004:Brucella Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D042061:Brucella ovis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000235:genetics
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002004:Brucella Vaccine; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C101108:Omp31 protein, Brucella melitensis; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic