Crystal structure of the malaria vaccine candidate apical membrane antigen 1

Apical membrane antigen 1 from Plasmodium is a leading malaria vaccine candidate. The protein is essential for host-cell invasion, but its molecular function is unknown. The crystal structure of the three domains comprising the ectoplasmic region of the antigen from P. vivax, solved at 1.8 angstrom resolution, shows that domains I and II belong to the PAN motif, which defines a superfamily of protein folds implicated in receptor binding. We also mapped the epitope of an invasion-inhibitory monoclonal antibody specific for the P. falciparum ortholog and modeled this to the structure. The location of the epitope and current knowledge on structure-function correlations for PAN domains together suggest a receptor-binding role during invasion in which domain II plays a critical part. These results are likely to aid vaccine and drug design.     

Histidine-rich protein as a model malaria vaccine

Ducklings were successfully immunized against Plasmodium lophurae with a purified and characterized histidine-rich protein as antigen. The use of adjuvant is not required for this protective effect, and immunity can be passively transferred with serum.     

猪丹毒丝菌灭活疫苗免疫佐剂的筛选

为筛选猪丹毒丝菌灭活疫苗免疫佐剂,将5种佐剂(聚合物佐剂、矿物油佐剂ISA 201 VG、蜂胶佐剂、弗氏佐剂、铝胶佐剂)分别与3株猪丹毒丝菌株(AEr21、AEr31和AEr32)制备成15种灭活疫苗,经物理性状检验、无菌检验、安全检验合格后分别免疫小鼠,应用ELISA方法检测小鼠血清中IgG抗体水平和细胞因子含量(IL-4、IL-10、TNF-β、IFN-γ、MCP-1)。通过腹腔注射和灌胃2种方式对免疫后小鼠进行攻毒,计算免疫保护率。结果显示,5种佐剂与3株猪丹毒丝菌株制备的灭活疫苗均可刺激小鼠产生良好的体液免疫和细胞免疫,矿物油佐剂ISA 201 VG疫苗免疫组诱导小鼠产生的IgG抗体水平和细胞因子含量最高,与铝胶佐剂、弗氏佐剂疫苗免疫组差异显著(P<0.05),与聚合物佐剂、蜂胶佐剂疫苗免疫组差异不显著(P>0.05);矿物油佐剂ISA 201 VG疫苗免疫组在攻毒后的免疫保护率最高,对腹腔注射和灌胃攻毒小鼠的免疫保护率分别为80%、80%、60%和100%、100%、80%。试验结果表明,矿物油佐剂ISA 201 VG可作为猪丹毒丝菌灭活疫苗制备的候选免疫佐剂。     

Oral Salmonella typhimurium vaccine expressing circumsporozoite protein protects against malaria

Immunization with radiation-attenuated malaria sporozoites induces potent cellular immune responses, but the target antigens are unknown and have not previously been elicited by subunit vaccines prepared from the circumsporozoite (CS) protein. A method is described here for inducing protective cell-mediated immunity to sporozoites by immunization with attenuated Salmonella typhimurium transformed with the Plasmodium berghei CS gene. These transformants constitutively express CS antigens and, when used to immunize mice orally, colonize the liver, induce antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity, and protect mice against sporozoite challenge in the absence of antisporozoite antibodies. These data indicate that the CS protein contains T cell epitopes capable of inducing protective cell-mediated immunity, and emphasize the importance of proper antigen presentation in generating this response. Analogous, orally administered vaccines against human malaria might be feasible.     

Rationale for development of a synthetic vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Protective immunity against malaria can be obtained by vaccination with irradiated sporozoites. The protective antigens known as circumsporozoite (CS) proteins, are polypeptides that cover the surface membrane of the parasite. The CS proteins contain species-specific immunodominant epitopes formed by tandem repeated sequences of amino acids. Here it is shown that the dominant epitope of Plasmodium falciparum is contained in the synthetic dodecapeptide Asn-Ala-Asn-Pro-Asn-Ala-Asn-Pro-Asn-Ala-Pro or (NANP)3. Monoclonal antibodies and most or all polyclonal human antibodies to the sporozoites react with (NANP)3, and polyclonal antibodies raised against the synthetic peptide (NANP)3 react with the surface of the parasite and neutralize its infectivity. Since (NANP)3 repeats are present in CS proteins of P. falciparum from many parts of the world, this epitope is a logical target for vaccine development.     

Antibody domain exchange is an immunological solution to carbohydrate cluster recognition

Human antibody 2G12 neutralizes a broad range of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates by binding an unusually dense cluster of carbohydrate moieties on the "silent" face of the gp120 envelope glycoprotein. Crystal structures of Fab 2G12 and its complexes with the disaccharide Manalpha1-2Man and with the oligosaccharide Man9GlcNAc2 revealed that two Fabs assemble into an interlocked VH domain-swapped dimer. Further biochemical, biophysical, and mutagenesis data strongly support a Fab-dimerized antibody as the prevalent form that recognizes gp120. The extraordinary configuration of this antibody provides an extended surface, with newly described binding sites, for multivalent interaction with a conserved cluster of oligomannose type sugars on the surface of gp120. The unique interdigitation of Fab domains within an antibody uncovers a previously unappreciated mechanism for high-affinity recognition of carbohydrate or other repeating epitopes on cell or microbial surfaces.     

奶牛乳房炎重要候选疫苗蛋白的抗原表位分析及三联重组表位疫苗的氨基酸序列设计

为设计奶牛乳房炎三联重组表位多肽疫苗,选取奶牛乳房炎3种主要感染菌的候选疫苗蛋白:金黄色葡萄球菌的Ebps与ClfA,大肠埃希菌的OmpA与OmpC,链球菌的SIP与PGK,通过ABCpred和BepiPred方案,预测获得每种蛋白各有2个优势B细胞表位;利用神经网络与量化矩阵法预测蛋白的CTL表位。结果显示,SIP蛋白无CTL表位,其余蛋白均存在1个CTL细胞表位;采用MHC-Ⅱ类分子结合肽在线程序预测蛋白的Th表位,结果发现每种蛋白各有1个Th细胞表位。使用DNASTAR软件分析6个蛋白的二级结构,结果发现,预测获得的B/T细胞表位大多处于蛋白易于产生表位的暴露表面、无规则卷曲与转角等位置。再通过Protean程序重组拼接获得的B/T细胞抗原表位,最终设计获得抗原性较好的三联表位疫苗氨基酸序列。为新型奶牛乳房炎三联表位疫苗的研制奠定基础。     

Sporozoite vaccine induces genetically restricted T cell elimination of malaria from hepatocytes

The target of the CD8+ T cell-dependent immunity that protects mice immunized with irradiation-attenuated malaria sporozoites has not been established. Immune BALB/c mice were shown to develop malaria-specific, CD8+ T cell-dependent inflammatory infiltrates in their livers after challenge with Plasmodium berghei sporozoites. Spleen cells from immune BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice eliminated hepatocytes infected with the liver stage of P. berghei in vitro. The activity against infected hepatocytes is not inhibited by antibodies to interferon-gamma and is not present in culture supernatants. It is genetically restricted, an indication that malaria antigens on the hepatocyte surface are recognized by immune T effector cells. Subunit vaccine development will require identification of the antigens recognized by these T cells and a method of immunization that induces such immunity.     

Efficacy of murine malaria sporozoite vaccines: implications for human vaccine development

As part of a study of potential vaccines against malaria, the protective efficacy of sporozoite subunit vaccines was determined by using the Plasmodium berghei murine malaria model. Mice were immunized with recombinant DNA-produced or synthetic peptide-carrier subunit vaccines derived from the repetitive epitopes of the Plasmodium berghei circumsporozoite gene, or with radiation-attenuated sporozoites. Immunization with subunit vaccines elicited humoral responses that were equivalent to or greater than those elicited by irradiated sporozoites, yet the protection against sporozoite challenge induced by either of the subunit vaccines was far less than that achieved by immunization with attenuated sporozoites. Passive and adoptive transfer studies demonstrated that subunit vaccines elicited predominantly antibody-mediated protection that was easily overcome whereas irradiated sporozoites induced potent cell-mediated immunity that protected against high challenge doses of sporozoites. These studies indicate that new strategies designed to induce cellular immunity will be required for efficacious sporozoite vaccines.     

Cloned gene of Rickettsia rickettsii surface antigen: candidate vaccine for Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Two major protective antigens of Rickettsia rickettsii have been previously described. In this study, we cloned the gene encoding one of these antigens into Escherichia coli and tested the effectiveness of the recombinant-made product as a vaccine for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. A clone bank of R strain R. rickettsii DNA was made in E. coli K-12 by using the plasmid vector pBR322. Transformants were screened for their ability to make rickettsial antigens by reactivity with rabbit antibodies to R. rickettsii. One of the transformants, EM24(pGAM21), made a product reactive with two monoclonal antibodies that recognize a 155-kilodalton protein of R. rickettsii. One of the monoclonal antibodies was a member of a class of antibodies that react to heat-sensitive epitopes and protect mice injected with a potentially lethal dose of viable R. rickettsii. The cloned product contained this protective heat-sensitive epitope. In order to obtain enhanced expression, the gene was subcloned downstream of the lactose promoter on the plasmid vector pUC8. A sonic lysate of E. coli harboring the pUC8 subclone was used successfully as a vaccine to protect mice injected with a lethal dose of the viable R. rickettsii.     

Naturally acquired antibodies to sporozoites do not prevent malaria: vaccine development implications

The first human vaccines against the malaria parasite have been designed to elicit antibodies to the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum. However, it is not known whether any level of naturally acquired antibodies to the circumsporozoite protein can predict resistance to Plasmodium falciparum malaria. In this study, 83 adults in a malaria-endemic region of Kenya were tested for circumsporozoite antibodies and then treated for malaria. They were monitored for the development of new malaria infections for 98 days. Antibody levels, as determined by four assays in vitro, were indistinguishable between the 60 individuals who did and the 23 who did not develop parasitemia during follow-up, and there was no apparent relation between day of onset of parasitemia and level of antibodies to circumsporozoite protein. Unless immunization with sporozoite vaccines induces antibodies that are quantitatively or qualitatively superior to the circumsporozoite antibodies in these adults, it is unlikely that such antibodies will prevent infection in areas with as intense malaria transmission as western Kenya.     

Newcastle disease virus-based MERS-CoV candidate vaccine elicits high-level and lasting neutralizing antibodies in Bactrian camels

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus(MERS-Co V),a member of the Coronaviridae family,is the causative pathogen for MERS that is characterized by high fever,pneumonia,acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS),as well as extrapulmonary manifestations. Currently,there are no approved treatment regimens or vaccines for MERS. Here,we generated recombinant nonvirulent Newcastle disease virus(NDV) La Sota strain expressing MERS-Co V S protein(designated as r LaMERS-S),and evaluated its immunogenicity in mice and Bactrian camels. The results revealed that r La-MERS-S showed similar growth properties to those of La Sota in embryonated chicken eggs,while animal immunization studies showed that r La-MERS-S induced MERS-Co V neutralizing antibodies in mice and camels. Our findings suggest that recombinant r LaMERS-S may be a potential MERS-Co V veterinary vaccine candidate for camels and other animals affected by MERS.     

Effects of Echinacea purpurea extract on the immunological response to infectious bursal disease vaccine in broilers

Echinacea purpurea is among the most widely used herbal medicines throughout Europe and North America for the prevention or treatment of infectious diseases. However, there have been few reports on the effect of the herb in chickens. In order to investigate the immunomodulatory effect of Echinacea purpurea in fowls, 150 seven-day-old broilers were randomly divided into five groups (30 in each group). Birds in Groups A, B, and C were orally given Echinacea purpurea extract once a day at low (0.1 g, Group A), medium (0.5 g, Group B), and high (1 g, Group C) doses for seven days, while Group D and Group E, assigned as control Group I and control Group II, respectively, were given distilled water in the same amount as Groups A, B, and C. Broilers in Groups A, B, C, and D were normally immunized with infectious bursal disease (IBD) vaccine at 14-day-old, whereas Group E was neither treated with Echinacea purpurea extract nor vaccinated. Results indicated that antibody titers were higher (P<0.01) in the three Echinacea purpurea extract treated groups (Groups A, B, and C) compared with Group D on days 21, 28, 35, and 42 after treatment. The antibody titer raised more strikingly in groups treated with higher doses of Echinacea purpurea extract (0.5 g and 1 g) than lower dose (0.1 g). The IL-2 level in peripheral blood was significantly higher in Groups B and C compared with Group D (P<0.01 on day 21 and P<0.05 on days 28 and 35). No significant difference was observed between Group A and Group D. The TNF-α content in Group B was significantly higher than that of Group D (P<0.01 on day 21 and day 28, P<0.05 on day 35). Birds in Group C also showed a higher TNF-α content than Group D (P<0.05 at the three measuring dates). These results indicated that Echinacea purpurea extract significantly enhanced IL-2 and TNF-α production and antibody titers to the IBD vaccine. The Echinacea purpurea extract was also found to increase the feed conversion ratio.     

Neospora caninum immune mapped protein 1(NcIMP1) is a novel vaccine candidate against neosporosis

The Neospora caninum immune mapped protein 1(Nc IMP1) was identified as a membrane protein,and a previous study indicated that Nc IMP1 could be a promising vaccine candidate against neosporosis. In this study, the immune response and protection efficacy of Nc IMP1 were evaluated. The coding sequence of Nc IMP1 was inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pc DNA3.1(+), resulting in the recombination plasmid pc DNAIMP1, which was used for the intramuscular immunization of BALB/c mice. After immunization, the immune response was evaluated using a lymphoproliferative assay and cytokine and antibody measurements. Quantification of the cerebral parasite burden of mice challenged with 2106 N. caninum was performed 14 days after the last immunization. The results showed that the mice immunized with pc DNA-IMP1 developed a high level of specific antibody responses against recombinant Nc IMP1,with a mixed Ig G1/Ig G2 a response and a predominance of Ig G2 a production. The cellular immune response was associated with the production of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 cytokines. The experiment was terminated 30 days p.i.,and the cerebral parasite burden in each mouse was assessed by quantitative PCR. The parasite burden was significantly reduced in the pc DNA-IMP1-vaccinated mice. These data suggest that IMP1 is a promising vaccine candidate against neosporosis.