DNA immunization encoding the secreted nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) of hepatitis C virus and enhancing the Th1 type immune response

To induce a sustained and specific cellular immune response to hepatitis C virus (HCV), DNA immunization of mice was performed using plasmids containing the HCV nonstructural gene 3 (HCV/NS3). Plasmids were constructed such that the NS3 gene was expressed in a secreted form, a nonsecreted form or as a membrane-bound antigen. The plasmid encoding the secreted antigen induced the strongest humoral and cellular immunity and favoured the T-helper type 1 (Th1) pathway as shown by cytokine profiles and switching of antibody subclasses. Our study indicates that DNA immunization with a secreted form of HCV/NS3 is an effective means of inducing primary Th1 immune responses in the murine model.     

Intradermal immunization of rats with plasmid DNA encoding Schistosoma mansoni 28 kDa glutathione S-transferase

Direct administration of plasmid DNA encoding an antigen represents an attractive approach to vaccination against infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries where easy-to-handle and cost-effective vaccines are needed. We have investigated the potential of DNA immunization to induce a specific antibody response against Schistosoma mansoni , using plasmid-DNA encoding the protective antigen, S. mansoni 28 kDa glutathione S-transferase (Sm28GST). Since S. mansoni parasite penetrates into its host through the skin, this tissue was chosen for plasmid DNA delivery. Following plasmid DNA administration into the skin of rats, the parasite antigen was detected in skin cells by immunohistochemistry. Three administrations of 200 μg plasmid at 14 day intervals led to the induction of a long-lasting specific IgG antibody response in the sera of immunized rats, with a predominance of IgG2a and IgG2b subclasses. Sera of immunized animals were able to mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in vitro , leading to the specific killing of parasite larvae. A parasite challenge performed on plasmid DNA-immunized animals induced a strong and rapid boosting effect on the specific IgG antibody response. These results demonstrate the potential of genetic immunization via the skin with plasmid DNA encoding Sm28GST for inducing immune responses with protective patterns against an S. mansoni infection .     

Construction of a Eukaryotic Plasmid Encoding Bacillus anthracis Protective Antigen,a Candidate for DNA Vaccine

Background: DNA immunization with plasmid DNA encoding bacterial, viral, parasitic and tumor antigens has been reported to trigger protective immunity. Objective: To evaluate the use of a DNA immunization strategy for protection against anthrax, a plasmid was constructed. Methods: The partialsequence of protective antigen of Bacillus anthracis, amino acids 175-764, as a potent immunogenic target was selected. The DNA encoding this segment was utilized in the construction of pcDNA3.1+PA plasmid. After intramuscular injection of rats with pcDNA3.1+PA plasmid, the expression of PA was assessed by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry at RNA and protein levels, respectively. We also evaluated the presence of anti-PA antibodies in sera of immunized mice with pcDNA3.1+PA construct using immunoblotting. Results: The integrity of pcDNA3.1+PA construct was confirmed with restriction analysis and sequencing. The expression of PA was detected at RNA and protein levels. The presence of anti-PA antibodies in immunized mice with pcDNA3.1+PA construct was also confirmed. Conclusion: Our results indicate that pcDNA3.1+PA eukaryotic expressing vector could express PA antigen, induce antibody response and may be used as a candidate for DNA vaccine against anthrax.     

Induction of a cellular and humoral immune response against preprocalcitonin by genetic i: a potential new treatment for medullary thyroid carcinoma

Currently, no effective therapy exists for patients suffering from progressive medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), a calcitonin (CT)-secreting C cell tumor. As CT, which arises from the precursor protein preprocalcitonin (PPCT), is expressed by almost all MTC cases, these molecules may represent target antigens for immunotherapy against MTC. In our study we investigated whether DNA immunization is able to induce cellular and humoral immune responses against human PPCT (hPPCT) in mice. Antigen-encoding expression plasmids were delivered intradermally by gene gun. One group of mice received DNA encoding hPPCT only. Two groups were coinjected with mouse cytokine genes. We observed in lymphocyte proliferative assays substantial proliferation against hPPCT in mice coinjected with the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene, in contrast to mice vaccinated with hPPCT expression plasmid only. In addition, codelivery of the GM-CSF gene augmented the frequency of anti-hPPCT antibody seroconversions in sera of immunized animals, as shown by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These results illustrate that cellular and humoral immune responses against hPPCT can be generated by DNA immunization and increased by coinjection of the GM-CSF gene. Our findings may have implications for the use of DNA immunization as a potential novel immunotherapeutic treatment for patients suffering from progressive MTC.     

DNA疫苗诱导小鼠特异性细胞免疫及抗乙型肝炎病毒皮下移植瘤的研究

目的观察乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)DNA疫苗(pCR3 1-S)诱导Balb/c小鼠(H-2d)的特异性细胞免疫应答及其对稳定表达HBsAg的小鼠肥大细胞瘤P815细胞(P815 HBV-S)(H-2d)成瘤性的影响.方法肌肉注射DNA疫苗,背部皮下接种P815-HBV S细胞,观察成瘤情况,4h 51Cr释放法检测小鼠脾细胞细胞毒T细胞(CTL)杀伤活性.结果DNA疫苗可以降低成瘤率,抑制肿瘤生长,延长小鼠平均存活期,提高小鼠存活率.CTL细胞杀伤活性明显增加(P＜0.001).结论DNA疫苗可以诱导细胞免疫应答,对体内HBV感染可能具有预防及治疗作用.     

Comparison of antibody and protective immune responses against Trypanosoma cruzi infection elicited by immunization with a parasite antigen delivered as naked DNA or recombinant protein

Immunization with naked DNA represents an attractive strategy for development of vaccines against a variety of infections including those caused by protozoan parasites. Recently, we have described that immunization with a plasmid containing the trans-sialidase (TS) gene induced protective immunity against Trypanosoma cruzi infection in BALB/c mice. The present study was aimed at examining and comparing the effectiveness of immunization using either plasmid or recombinant delivered antigens in a mouse strain highly susceptible to infection (A/Sn). Two plasmids were generated containing the coding region for the catalytic domain of TS. TS gene was inserted into pcDNA3 vector with or without the coding region for TS signal peptide. These two plasmids were found to be equally immunogenic at inducing antibodies to TS or inhibition of T. cruzi infection. A third plasmid, in which the TS gene was inserted into the vector VR1012, was as immunogenic as the two others. Immunization with a TS recombinant protein in alum generated a significantly higher antibody response as measured by ELISA or inhibition of TS enzymatic activity. Most relevant, this immunization reduced the mortality due to acute infection.     

In vivo transfection and/or cross-priming of dendritic cells following DNA and adenoviral immunizations for immunotherapy of cancer--changes in peripheral mononuclear subsets and intracellular IL-4 and IFN-gamma lymphokine profile.

In order to provoke an immune response, a tumor vaccine should not only maximize antigen-specific signals, but should also provide the necessary "co-stimulatory" environment. One approach is to genetically manipulate tumor cells to either secrete lymphokines (GM-CSF, IL-12, IL-15) or express membrane bound molecules (CD80, CD86). Furthermore, patient dendritic cells can be loaded with tumor-associated antigens or peptides derived from them and used for immunotherapy. Genetic modification of dendritic cells can also lead to presentation of tumor-associated antigens. Transfection of dendritic cells with DNA encoding for such antigens can be done in vitro, but transfection efficiency has been uniformly low. Alternatively, dendritic cells can also be modulated directly in vivo either by "naked" DNA immunization or by injecting replication-deficient viral vectors that carry the tumor specific DNA. Naked DNA immunization offers several potential advantages over viral mediated transduction. Among these are the inexpensive production and the inherent safety of plasmid vectors, as well as the lack of immune responses against the carrier. The use of viral vectors enhances the immunogenicity of the vaccine due to the adjuvant properties of some of the viral products. Recent studies have suggested that the best strategy for achieving an intense immune response may be priming with naked DNA followed by boosting with a viral vector. We have successfully completed a phase I and phase II clinical trials on immunotherapy of prostate cancer using naked DNA and adenoviral immunizations against the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and phase I clinical trial on colorectal cancer using naked DNA immunization against the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The vaccination was tolerated well and no side effects have been observed so far. The therapy has proven to be effective in a number of patients treated solely by immunizations. The success of the treatment clearly depends on the stage of the disease proving to be most efficient in patients with minimal disease or no metastases. A panel of changes in the phenotype of peripheral blood lymphocytes and the expression of intra-T-cell lymphokines seems to correlate with clinical improvement.     

Enhancement of DNA tumor vaccine efficacy by gene gun-mediated codelivery of threshold amounts of plasmid-encoded helper antigen

Nucleic acid-based vaccines are effective in infectious disease models but have yielded disappointing results in tumor models when tumor-associated self-antigens are used. Incorporation of helper epitopes from foreign antigens into tumor vaccines might enhance the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines without increasing toxicity. However, generation of fusion constructs encoding both tumor and helper antigens may be difficult, and resulting proteins have unpredictable physical and immunologic properties. Furthermore, simultaneous production of equal amounts of highly immunogenic helper and weakly immunogenic tumor antigens in situ could favor development of responses against the helper antigen rather than the antigen of interest. We assessed the ability of 2 helper antigens (beta-galactosidase or fragment C of tetanus toxin) encoded by one plasmid to augment responses to a self-antigen (lymphoma-associated T-cell receptor) encoded by a separate plasmid after codelivery into skin by gene gun. This approach allowed adjustment of the relative ratios of helper and tumor antigen plasmids to optimize helper effects. Incorporation of threshold (minimally immunogenic) amounts of helper antigen plasmid into a DNA vaccine regimen dramatically increased T cell-dependent protective immunity initiated by plasmid-encoded tumor-associated T-cell receptor antigen. This simple strategy can easily be incorporated into future vaccine trials in experimental animals and possibly in humans.     

Immune responses elicited by co-immunization of Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum MSP-1 using prime-boost immunization strategies

Carboxy-terminus of merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1(19) ) is the major protein on the surface of the plasmodial merozoite that acts as one of the most important blood-stage vaccine candidates. The present investigation was designed to evaluate the immune responses when either two recombinant antigens (rPvMSP-1(19) + rPfMSP-1(19)) or two plasmid constructs (pcDNA3.1 hygro-PvMSP-1(19) + pcDNA3.1 hygro-PfMSP-1(19)) were administered in combination at a single site in mice by using different immunization strategies (protein/protein, DNA/DNA and DNA/protein) at weeks 0, 5 and 8. All mice were monitored for the level of MSP-1(19) -specific antibody for up to 40 weeks. The inclusion of both recombinant antigens in a vaccine mixture could not inhibit induction of antibodies to the other antigen when the two recombinant antigens were combined in immunization formulation. Interestingly, antisera from immunized mice with either recombinant antigen failed to cross-react with heterologous antigen. Moreover, the results of this study showed that co-immunization with both antigens at a single site generated a substantial PvMSP-1(19) - and PfMSP-1(19) -specific antibody responses and also IFN-γ cytokine production (Th1 response) in DNA/protein prime-boost immunization strategies. The increased humoral response to PvMSP-1(19) and PfMSP-1(19) lasted nearly a year after immunization. Therefore, the results of this study are encouraging for the development of multi-species malaria vaccine based on MSP-1(19) antigen.     

DNA immunization with Onchocerca volvulus genes, Ov-tmy-1 and OvB20: serological and parasitological outcomes following intramuscular or GeneGun delivery in a mouse model of onchocerciasis

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the distinct immune responses invoked by epidermal and intramuscular DNA immunization could be harnessed to improve upon the levels of protection to Onchocerca volvulus infective larvae achieved previously by recombinant protein immunization. Intramuscular (IM) and epidermal (GeneGun) routes of DNA immunization generally drive T helper1 and Th2 dominant responses, respectively. This dichotomy was used in an attempt to further define the nature of host-protective immunity in a mouse model of onchocerciasis. Mice were immunized with DNA plasmids expressing the O. volvulus antigens, Ov-TMY-1 (tropomyosin) and OvB20 (a nematode specific gene product). While, IM and GeneGun immunization of mice with Ov-tmy-1 induced expected Th1/Th2-associated IgG isotype profiles, mice responded to OvB20 immunization with a Th2 dominant response, irrespective of the delivery route. Despite inducing potent serological responses, neither DNA construct promoted statistically significant levels of protection to L3 challenge infection. We conclude that DNA immunization has good potential for induction of humoral responses against nematode infections and that serological responses alone do not predict vaccination efficacy under the conditions used here to measure host resistance to parasite challenge.     

汉滩病毒核酸疫苗滴鼻免疫小鼠效果的实验

目的　观察汉滩病毒DNA疫苗滴鼻免疫诱导机体产生的免疫应答 ,探索汉滩病毒DNA疫苗新的免疫途径。方法　用重组质粒PcDNA3 1B -S1 3 经滴鼻接种BALB/c小鼠 ,采用ELISA、淋巴细胞转化试验及流式细胞仪等方法检测了其诱导的系统和粘膜免疫反应。结果　免疫小鼠血清IgG及粪便IgA明显增高 (P <0 0 1) ,且IgA增幅较大 ;实验组淋巴细胞增殖反应明显 ,刺激指数 (SI)显著增大 (P <0 0 5 ) ;免疫后CD+ 4 、CD+ 8T细胞均增加 (P <0 0 1) ,而CD+ 4 /CD+ 8T细胞比值无显著变化 (P >0 0 5 )。结论　汉滩病毒重组质粒滴鼻免疫能诱导机体产生了特异的系统免疫和较强的粘膜免疫 ,滴鼻的疫苗免疫途径有着潜在的应用价值。     

Comparative efficacy of the Schistosoma mansoni nucleic acid vaccine,Sm23, following microseeding or gene gun delivery

Sm23 is an integral membrane protein expressed widely in the human parasitic worm Schistosoma mansoni. Sm23 has already been shown to elicit protective immune responses following immunization with peptides or DNA constructs. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity and the protective efficacy of the Sm23 DNA vaccine using two different intradermal DNA delivery methods: microseeding and gene gun. Using both techniques, all mice immunized with the Sm23-pcDNA construct generated Sm23-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibody, while mice immunized with the control plasmid, pcDNA, did not. Antibody isotypes analysis revealed that microseeding elicited mainly IgG2a and IgG2b antibodies, with relatively low levels of IgG1 and IgG3. The relative IgG1/IgG2a ratio was 0.03, indicative of a Th1 type immune response. In contrast, gene gun immunization resulted in significantly higher levels of IgG1 and IgG3. The relative IgG1/IgG2a ratio in this case was 11, indicative of a Th2 type immune response. No significant difference in the levels of IgG2b was observed. Coimmunization with plasmid DNA encoding either interleukin (IL)-12 or IL-4 by microseeding did not affect the levels of IgG1, while the levels of IgG2a and IgG2b were reduced. On the other hand, the levels of IgG3 were significantly increased by IL-4, but unchanged by IL-12. Importantly, in all experiments, the Sm23-pcDNA vaccine provided statistically significant levels of protection against challenge infection. Microseeding immunizations resulted in higher levels of protection (31-34% protection) than gene gun immunization (18% protection). This suggests that the Th1 type immune response elicited by microseeding immunization was responsible for the higher protection levels. However, the protective effect of the vaccine was not affected by coadministering plasmids encoding either IL-12 or IL-4 using the microseeding technique.     

弓形虫抗原与霍乱毒素A2/B亚基复合基因在小鼠体内诱导的免疫反应

目的　观察弓形虫主要表面抗原SAG1、SAG2 与霍乱毒素A2 /B亚基复合基因真核质粒经肌肉免疫小鼠所诱导的免疫反应。方法　将SAG1基因、SAG2 基因及CTXA2 /B基因定向连接插入真核表达质粒pcDNA3.1,经酶切及测序,获得pcDNA3.1 SAG1 SAG2 及pcDNA3.1 SAG1 SAG2 CTXA2 /B的重组子;碱裂解法大量制备经肌肉注射免疫BALB/c鼠,每只鼠经后腿肌肉注射质粒10 0 μg ,每2周免疫1次,共3次,以PcDNA3.1空质粒注射组及PBS组为对照,分别于每次免疫前断尾取血和免疫后4周取小鼠脾脏测定T淋巴细胞增殖活性及NK细胞活性,ELISA法测定IgG抗体。结果　免疫组小鼠的IgG抗体水平明显提高,NK细胞杀伤活性和T细胞增殖活性也明显增强。免疫鼠抗攻击感染的时间延长。结论　含有霍乱毒素的复合基因免疫小鼠后体液免疫和细胞免疫水平均有提高。     

Excretion of hepatitis B surface antigen particles from mouse cells transformed with cloned viral DNA.

A plasmid containing two cloned hepatitis B virus genomes in a tandem head-to-tail arrangement has been introduced into mouse fibroblasts by using cotransformation with the cloned herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene. Several copies of the plasmid were integrated into high molecular weight cellular DNA. The original tandem structure of the hepatitis B virus DNA was conserved. Hepatitis B surface antigen was synthesized by all the 15 clones examined. The other viral antigens were not detected. The surface antigen was excreted into the cell culture medium as particles having the same characteristics as those found in human serum. It is estimated that 2-4 X 10(4) particles were produced per mouse cell per 24 hr in two clones. This value corresponds to approximately 2-4 X 10(6) surface antigen polypeptides per cell per 24 hr.     

弓形虫P30基因重组质粒的构建及其免疫效果

目的　通过构建含弓形虫P30不同表达形式 (膜型、分泌型及细胞内型 )的重组质粒 ,并将其用于免疫小鼠 ,测定抗体水平 ,以期初步筛选出一种对弓形虫感染具有良好保护作用的核酸疫苗。　方法　利用PCR技术和亚克隆技术分别构建弓形虫表膜型P30基因重组质粒 (含完整的P30编码序列 ,包括信号肽及疏水尾 )pcDNA3 P30Mb ,分泌型P30基因重组质粒 (含完整的P30编码序列 ,不包括疏水尾 )pcDNA3 P30Se以及细胞内型P30基因重组质粒 (含完整的P30编码序列 ,但不包括信号肽 )pcDNA3 P30In。将以上 3种重组质粒分别与脂质体混合后免疫小鼠 ,ELISA及免疫印迹测定小鼠血清中特异的IgG抗体。　结果　成功构建了弓形虫P30基因 3种表达形式的重组质粒 ,经双酶切鉴定及DNA序列测定 ,3种重组质粒中的插入片段确为P30的编码基因 ,且读码框架正确 ;抗体测定显示 :3个免疫组均能诱导小鼠产生特异的IgG抗体 ,但各组之间IgG出现的时间及强度有一定的差异。　结论　用编码弓形虫P30抗原的重组质粒进行核酸免疫 ,能诱导免疫小鼠产生特异性的IgG抗体 ;膜型及分泌型免疫小鼠的特异IgG抗体出现的时间早于细胞内型免疫鼠 ,但 4wk后 3组间差异无显著性。     

丙型肝炎病毒核心基因免疫诱生细胞免疫应答研究

目的 研究丙型肝炎病毒（ＨＣＶ）核心（Ｃ）基因免疫在诱生特异性细胞免疫应答中的作用。方法 将包含ＨＣＶ Ｃ基因片段的重组真核表达质粒ｐｃＣＮＡ ＨＣＶ Ｃ,在主宰其可以在小鼠骨髓瘤ＳＰ２／０（Ｈ－２^d）中表达之后,注射ＢＡＬＢ／ｃ小鼠股四头肌。ＥＬＩＳＡ法检测血清中抗体水平;^3Ｈ－ＴｄＲ掺入法测定免疫小鼠脾细胞特异性增殖能力;^51Ｃｒ释放法检测免疫小鼠细胞毒性Ｔ淋巴细胞（ＣＴＬｓ）体外杀伤功能。结     

日本血吸虫(中国大陆株)22.6kDa抗原编码基因的核酸疫苗研究

为探索日本血吸虫（中国大陆株）２２．６ｋＤａ 抗原（Ｓｊ２２．６）编码基因用作核酸疫苗的可行性,将ｐＣＭＶ／Ｓｊ２２．６基因重组质粒经肌肉注射免疫了一批ＢＡＬＢ／ｃ小鼠并进行攻击感染试验,结果表明此重组质粒能在小鼠体内持续存在、稳定表达并诱导小鼠产生特异性的抗Ｓｊ２２．６ 抗体,但未能诱导有效的保护力     

嗜肺军团菌mip/ctxB融合基因动物免疫试验的免疫保护性研究

目的初步评价mip基因DNA疫苗的免疫保护性。方法将20只6～8周龄、体重25g左右的BALB／c雌性小鼠。随机分为空白对照组、pcDNA3．1（＋）阴性对照组、pcDNA3．1-mip免疫组、pcDNA3．1-mip／ctxB免疫组4个组。每只小鼠股四头肌肌肉注射进行免疫接种，初次免疫2周后加强免疫1次，加强免疫2周后，小鼠腹腔注射嗜肺军团菌L1菌液进行攻击。攻击28d后，检测小鼠肺组织培养带菌量和肺组织病理形态学变化。结果pcDNA3．1-mip免疫组和pcDNA3．1-mip/ctxB免疫组肺组织培养带菌量少于空白对照组和阴性对照组（ANOVA，P〈0．05）。小鼠肺组织肉眼未见明显病理变化，在显微镜下观察肺组织病理切片，发现空白对照组与阴性对照组主要表现为渗出性病变，可见肺泡膈明显增宽，肺毛细血管扩张充血，明显的中性粒细胞浸润，肺泡腔内有渗出物；而应用DNA疫苗的两个免疫组无渗出性病变，pcDNA3．1-mip免疫组肺泡壁和肺间膈轻度增厚，pcDNA3．1-mip／ctxB免疫组肺泡壁和肺泡膈略微增厚。结论应用mip基因DNA疫苗能诱导小鼠在体内产生一定的免疫保护效应。     

Construction of exogenous multiple epitopes of helper T lymphocytes and DNA immunization of its chimeric plasmid with HBV pre-S2／S gene

AIM: To design and construct an exogenous multiple epitope of helper T lymphocytes (HTL), and to evaluate its effect on anti-HBs response through DNA immunization. METHODS: Artificial HTL epitope, PADRE and four other HTL epitopes from different proteins were linked together using splicing by overlap extension to generate exogenous multiple epitopes of HTL, MTE5. pcMTE5 and pcHB were generated by cloning MTE5 and fragments of HBV pre-S2/S gene into mammalian expression plasmid pcDNA3. Four chimeric plasmids were constructed by cloning MTE5 into the region of pre-S2 gene (Barn HI), 5‘ terminal of S gene (HincII, Xba I) and 3‘ terminal of S gene (Acc I) of pcHB respectively. BALB/c mice were used in DNA immunization of the recombinant plasmids. Anti-HBs was detected using Abbott IMx AUSAB test kits.RESULTS: The sequences of MTE5 and the 6 constructs ofrecombinant plasmids were confirmed to be correct by DNA sequencing. The anti-HBs response of the coinoculation of pcHB and pcMTE5 was much higher than that of the inoculation of pcHB only (136.7+69.1 mIU/mL vs 27.6+17.3 mIU/mL, P&lt;0.01, t =-6.56). Among the 4 chimeric plasmids, only the plasmid in which MTE5 was inserted into the pre-S2 region had good anti-HBs response (57.54&#177;7.68 mIU/mL), and had no significant difference compared with those of pcHB and the co-inoculation of pcHB and pcMTE5. CONCLUSION: Exogenous multiple epitopes of HTL had immune enhancement when they were co-inoculated with pre-S2/S gene or inoculated in the chimeric form at a proper site of pre-S2/S gene of HBV. It might suggest that it was possible to improve hepatitis B vaccine using exogenous multiple epitopes of HTL. The antibody responses were very low using DNA immunization in the study. Thus, the immune enhancement effect of exogenous multiple epitopes of HTL has to be confirmed and the effect on overcoming the drawback of the polymorphism of HLA II antigens should also be evaluated after these chimeric plasmids are expressed in mammalian cell lines.     

嗜肺军团菌flaA基因DNA疫苗的构建及其免疫保护性研究

目的构建flaA基因的DNA疫苗,观察其对嗜肺军团菌感染的免疫保护作用。方法用限制性核酸内切酶从重组质粒pET32a-flaA上切下flaA基因,亚克隆到真核表达载体pcDNA3.1(+),重组子经限制性酶切分析、PCR鉴定正确后,命名为pcDNA3.1-flaA。将18只BALB/c雌性小鼠随机分为3组,pcDNA3.1-flaA实验组肌肉接种pcDNA3.1-flaA质粒100μg,2w后加强免疫一次,2个对照组分别肌肉注射等体积的生理盐水和100μg空质粒,加强免疫后3w小鼠鼻腔滴注嗜肺军团菌Lp1菌液进行攻击感染,感染4w后,检查小鼠肺组织带菌量,观察肺组织病理形态学改变。结果成功构建了真核表达重组质粒pcDNA3.1-flaA,攻击感染实验表明,pcDNA3.1-flaA免疫组肺组织带菌量显著少于生理盐水对照组和空质粒对照组(P<0.05),且肺组织病理变化症状较pcDNA3.1对照组和生理盐水对照组的肺轻微。结论由flaA基因构建的嗜肺军团菌DNA疫苗能诱导小鼠产生保护性免疫。