title: Immunization with individual proteins of the Lrp/AsnC family induces protection against Brucella melitensis 16M challenges in mice.
abstract: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonoses worldwide. Subunit vaccines are promising for the prevention of human brucellosis. In our previous protective antigen screening studies, we identified a new protective antigen, BMEI0357, which belongs to the Lrp/asnC protein family, a conserved transcriptional regulator in bacteria that is absent in eukaryotes. In the present study, the Brucella genome annotation was screened and a total of six proteins were identified as members of the Lrp/AsnC family. Lrp/AsnC proteins have two domains that are conserved among the family members. However, sequence similarities between these proteins ranged from 9 to 50%, indicating high sequence heterogeneity. To test whether proteins of this family have similar characteristics, all six proteins were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant proteins were purified and their protective efficacy was evaluated in BALB/c mice challenged with Brucella melitensis 16M. The results show that all six Lrp/AsnC proteins could induce a protective immune response against Brucella melitensis 16M. Antibodies against the Lrp/AsnC proteins were detected in the immunized mice. However, levels of antibodies against these proteins were relatively variable in human brucellosis sera. Taken together, our results show that these six proteins of the Lrp/AsnC family in Brucella could induce protective immune responses in mice.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Institute of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University Changchun, China ; Experimental Animal Center, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China ; Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xinhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Institute of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University Changchun, China ; Experimental Animal Center, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mingjuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Institute of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University Changchun, China ; Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xinran
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yuehua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuangshuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiuxuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xinying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhoujia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Experimental Animal Center, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yefeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Institute of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zeliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Brucella melitensis; Lrp/AsnC transcription regulator; protective antigen