title: Comparison of the nine polymorphic membrane proteins of Chlamydia trachomatis for their ability to induce protective immune responses in mice against a C. muridarum challenge.
abstract: To test vaccines, formulated with novel antigens, to protect mice against Chlamydia infections.
  
  
  
  To determine the ability of polymorphic membrane proteins (Pmps) to induce cross-species protective immune responses, recombinant fragments from all nine C. trachomatis serovar E Pmps were used to vaccinate BALB/c mice utilizing CpG-1826 and Montanide ISA 720 as adjuvants. C. muridarum recombinant MOMP and PBS, formulated with the same adjuvants, were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. Mice were challenged intranasally with 104inclusion-forming units (IFU) of C. muridarum. Animals were weighed daily and at 10days post-challenge, they were euthanized, their lungs harvested, weighed and the number of chlamydial IFU counted.
  
  
  
  Following vaccination the nine Pmps elicited immune responses. Based on body weight changes, or number of IFU recovered from lungs, mice vaccinated with Pmp C, G or H were the best protected. For example, over the 10-day period, the negative control group vaccinated with PBS lost significantly more body weight than mice immunized with PmpC or G (P<0.05). C. muridarum MOMP vaccinated mice were better protected against body weight losses than any group immunized with Pmps. Also, the median number of IFU recovered from the lungs of mice vaccinated with PmpC (72×106) or PmpH (61×106) was significantly less than from mice immunized with PBS (620×106; P<0.05). As determined by the number of IFU, all Pmps elicited less protection than C. muridarum MOMP (0.078×106IFU; P<0.05).
  
  
  
  This is the first time PmpC has been shown to elicit cross-species protection against a respiratory challenge. Additional work with Pmps C, G and H is recommended to determine their ability to protect animal models against genital and ocular challenges.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sukumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.affiliation: Institut für Funktionelle Genomforschung der Mikroorganismen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favaroni
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Delia F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Tifrea
authors.affiliation: Institut für Funktionelle Genomforschung der Mikroorganismen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Hanisch
authors.affiliation: Institut für Funktionelle Genomforschung der Mikroorganismen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Sören E T
authors.initials: SET
authors.lastname: Luczak
authors.affiliation: Institut für Funktionelle Genomforschung der Mikroorganismen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hegemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. Electronic address: lmdelama@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de la Maza
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D023502:Chlamydia muridarum / Q000276:immunology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000276:immunology*; D056738:Cross Protection; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic
keywords: C. muridarum; C. trachomatis; PmpC; Polymorphic membrane proteins (Pmps); Vaccine