title: A vaccine formulated with a combination of TLR-2 and TLR-9 adjuvants and the recombinant major outer membrane protein elicits a robust immune response and significant protection against a Chlamydia muridarum challenge.
abstract: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen in the World and there is a need for a vaccine. To enhance the immunogenicity of a vaccine formulated with the Chlamydia muridarum (Cm) mouse pneumonitis recombinant major outer membrane protein (MOMP), we used combinations of Pam2CSK4 + CpG-1826 and Montanide ISA 720 VG + CpG-1826 as adjuvants. Neisseria gonorrhoeae recombinant porin B (Ng-PorB) was used as the antigen control with the same adjuvants. Female BALB/c mice were immunized twice in the nares (i.n.) or in the colon (cl.) and were boosted twice by the intramuscular plus subcutaneous (i.m. + s.c.) routes. Based on the IgG2a/IgG1 ratio in sera, mice immunized with MOMP + Pam2CSK4 + CpG-1826 showed a strong Th2 response while animals vaccinated with MOMP + Montanide ISA 720 VG + CpG-1826 had a Th1 response. Both groups of mice also developed robust Cm-specific T cell proliferation and high levels of IFN-γ. Four weeks after the last immunization, the mice were challenged i.n. with 10(4) inclusion-forming units (IFU) of Cm. Using changes in body weight and number of IFU recovered from the lungs at 10 days post-challenge mice immunized i.n. + i.m./s.c. with MOMP + Pam2CSK4 + CpG-1826 were better protected than other groups. In conclusion, MOMP adjuvanted with Pam2CSK4 + CpG-1826, elicits strong humoral and cellular immune responses and induces significant protection against Chlamydia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical Sciences I, Room D440, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4800, USA.
authors.forename: Chunmei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical Sciences I, Room D440, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4800, USA.
authors.forename: Sukumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical Sciences I, Room D440, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4800, USA.
authors.forename: Delia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tifrea
authors.affiliation: Translational Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4800, USA.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical Sciences I, Room D440, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4800, USA. Electronic address: Imdelama@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de la Maza
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D023502:Chlamydia muridarum / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors
keywords: Chlamydia muridarum; CpG-1826; Montanide ISA 720 VG; Pam(2)CSK(4); Toll-like receptors; Vaccine