title: In Vitro Trypanocidal Activity of Antibodies to Bacterially Expressed Trypanosoma brucei Tubulin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are only four drugs for treating African trypanosomiasis, a devastating disease in sub-Saharan Africa. With slow discovery of better drugs, vaccination is viewed as the best method of control. We previously showed that antibodies to native Trypanosoma brucei brucei tubulin inhibit the growth of trypanosomes in culture. Here, we aimed to determine the effect of antibodies to bacterially expressed trypanosome tubulin on T. brucei brucei growth.
  
  
  METHODS
  T. brucei brucei alpha and beta tubulin genes were individually expressed in Escherichia coli under the tryptophan promoter. Monoclonal tubulin antibodies reacted specifically with the expressed tubulins with no cross-reaction with the opposite tubulin. Rabbits were immunized with 450µg each of the concentrated recombinant tubulin, and production of antibodies assessed by ELISA and Western blotting. The effect of polyclonal antibodies on trypanosome growth was determined by culturing bloodstream T. brucei brucei in up to 25% of antisera.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low antisera dilutions (25%) from the immunized rabbits inhibited trypanosome growth. The most cytotoxic antisera were from one rabbit immunized with a mixture of both alpha and beta tubulins. However, the result was not reproduced in other rabbits and there was no apparent effect on growth at higher antisera dilutions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Antibodies to bacterially expressed trypanosome tubulin are not effective at killing cultured bloodstream trypanosomes.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda ; College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Dp
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kateete
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alezuyo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nanteza
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Asiimwe
authors.forename: Gw
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lubega
keywords: Alpha tubulin; Beta tubulin; Gene cloning; Protein expression; Trypanosoma brucei