title: Protection against systemic fatal pneumococcal infection by maternal intranasal immunization with pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA).
abstract: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading causative pathogen responsible for various types of bacterial infectious diseases in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protection conferred against fatal pneumococcal infections during infancy by maternal intranasal immunization with pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA). Four-week-old female BALB/c mice were immunized with PspA mixed with, or without, cholera toxin B (CTB) intranasally twice a week for 3 weeks. After the final immunization, they were mated with male mice to obtain offspring. Offspring at 10 days old were intraperitoneally inoculated with a pneumococcus strain, TIGR4, serotype 4. After the infections their survival periods were monitored. Anti-PspA-specific IgG antibody was induced in sera and breast milk at birth and maintained for 14 days during nursing periods in the PspA-immunized mother mice. At birth, offspring delivered from PspA-immunized mother mice had levels of anti-PspA-specific IgG antibody in sera same to those in their mothers on the day of birth. The survival times to death of offspring delivered from PspA-immunized mother mice after systemic fatal pneumococcal infections were significantly extended compared to those of controls. These findings suggest that maternal intranasal immunization with PspA could be an attractive procedure to employ against pneumococcal infections in early childhood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama, 641-8509, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katsurahara
authors.forename: Muneki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hotomi
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.forename: Dewan S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Billal
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; C051592:pneumococcal surface protein A