title: An immunotherapeutic treatment against flea allergy dermatitis in cats by co-immunization of DNA and protein vaccines.
abstract: Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) is considered a harmful and persistent allergic disease in cats, dogs and humans. Effective and safe antigen-specific treatments are lacking. Previously we reported that the simultaneous co-immunization with a DNA vaccine and its cognate coded protein antigen could induce antigen-specific iTreg cells (inducible Treg cells); demonstrating its potential to protect animals from FAD in a murine model. Its clinical efficacy however, remains to be demonstrated. In this report, we clinically tested this protocol to treat established FAD in cats following flea infestations. We present data showing a profound therapeutic improvement of dermatitis in these FAD cats following two co-immunizations, not only in relieving clinical symptoms, but also the amelioration of the allergic responses, including antigen-induced wheal formation, elevated T cell proliferation, infiltration of lymphocytes and migration of mast cells to the sites. This study demonstrates that a co-immunization approach as described can be used to treat flea-induced allergic disease in animals, thus implicating its potential for a practical clinical application.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Agro-Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Fengxia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Yanxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Gan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Hsien-Jue
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D002415:Cats; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019444:Vaccines, DNA