Flagellin-PAc fusion protein is a high-efficacy anti-caries mucosal vaccine.
We previously demonstrated that an anti-caries DNA vaccine intranasally administered with recombinant flagellin protein as a mucosal adjuvant enhanced salivary IgA response and conferred better protection against caries. However, the relatively weak immunogenicity of DNA vaccines and the necessity for a large quantity of antigens remain significant challenges. Here, we fused the flagellin derived from E. coli (KF) and target antigen PAc containing the A-P fragment of PAc from S. mutans (rPAc) to produce a single recombinant protein (KF-rPAc). The abilities of KF-rPAc to induce rPAc-specific mucosal and systemic responses and protective efficiency against caries following intranasal immunization were compared with those of rPAc alone or a mixture of rPAc and KF (KF + rPAc) in rats. Results showed that KF-rPAc promoted significantly higher rPAc-specific antibodies in serum as well as in saliva than did an equivalent dose of rPAc alone or a mixture of KF + rPAc. Intranasal immunization of 8.5 µg KF-rPAc could achieve 64.2% reduction of dental caries in rats. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that flagellin and PAc fusion strategy is promising for anti-caries vaccine development, and KF-rPAc could be used as an anti-caries mucosal vaccine.
Mucosal Immunity Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China.
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Sun
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Shi
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Zhou
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Chen
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Zhang
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Yang
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He
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Zhong
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Li
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Cao
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Xiao
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Yu
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Fan
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Yan
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005408:Flagellin / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000276:immunology; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D022541:Streptococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000276:immunology*; D051198:Toll-Like Receptor 5 / Q000276:immunology
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D022541:Streptococcal Vaccines; D051198:Toll-Like Receptor 5; D005408:Flagellin