title: Identification of a new immunogenic candidate conferring protection against Brucella melitensis infection in mice.
abstract: Identification of bacterial proteins that contribute to the replication and survival of the engulfed bacteria within phagolysosome is critical in the pathogenesis of intracellular bacteria. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones that prevent unwanted protein aggregation and protect the bacteria against cell stress. In order to study the potential of HspA for development of a Brucella subunit vaccine, immunogenicity and protective efficacy of recombinant HspA (rHspA) from Brucella melitensis was evaluated in BALB/c mice. The hspA gene was cloned in pDEST42 and the resulting recombinant protein was used as subunit vaccine. rHspA elicited mixed TH1/TH2 immune responses with higher titers of specific IgG1 than IgG2a. In lymphocyte transformation assay, splenocytes of immunized mice exhibited a strong recall proliferative response with high amounts of IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-10 and IL-6 and very low levels of IL-5 and IL-4 production. The protective effect of rHspA was evaluated by administering rHspA to mice that resulted in a significant reduction in bacterial load and high degree of protection against B. melitensis challenge compared to control mice (p<0.001). These results suggest that rHspA may be a useful candidate for the development of subunit vaccine against brucellosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: Nanobiotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran; Immunology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: zarnani@avicenna.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Amir-Hassan
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zarnani
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghoodjani
authors.affiliation: Institute for biophysics, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rezania
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Salari
authors.affiliation: Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: Mahjed@avicenna.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jeddi-Tehrani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002004:Brucella Vaccine / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000276:immunology*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007114:Immunization / Q000379:methods; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002004:Brucella Vaccine; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C113725:HspA protein, bacteria; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: Brucella melitensis; Heat shock protein; Recombinant protein; Vaccine