DNA priming and killed virus boosting vaccination strategy can augment the immune response to pseudorabies virus

The immune efficacy of DNA vaccines containing three plasmids encoding gB, gC, and gD glycoproteins (Mix DNA) of Pseudorabies virus (PRV) or the plasmid for gC only (gC DNA), killed virus (KV) vaccine or combination of gC DNA, Mix DNA and KV vaccines was evaluated in mice using primeboost strategy. The mice vaccinated twice with Mix DNA, and once with KV generated higher levels of gCspecific and virus neutralization (VN) antibodies and a stronger cellular immune response than the mice vaccinated three times with the Mix DNA vaccine only. The highest level of VN antibodies were detected in mice vaccinated twice with KV vaccines alone or with combination of DNA and KV vaccines. The challenge of vaccinated mice with the lethal dose of PRV showed that the complete protection against PRV was achieved in the group of mice immunized with the DNA and KV vaccines combined. The results suggested that DNA priming followed by KV vaccine boosting could enhance the antibody response and cellular immunity against PRV infection in mice.     

登革2型病毒43株NS1基因重组质粒DNA的免疫原性及保护作用研究

目的 研究以pcDNA3.1为载体的登革2型病毒43株（D2－43）NS1基因重组DNA的免疫原性及对登革病毒感染所致小鼠神经毒的免疫保护作用。方法 将纯化的pcDNA-NS1重组质粒DNA采用肌肉多点注射途径免疫3周龄BALB／c小鼠，剂量为每只100μg/次，检测了免疫鼠血清抗体滴度及特异性细胞毒作用。并以D2－43病毒脑内攻击6周龄BALB/c小鼠产生的神经毒症状为实验模型，对pcDNA-NS1的免疫保护作用进行了初步探讨。结果 用间接ELISA测得pcDNA-NS1免疫后抗体滴度为1：800，在补体存在下，对D2－43病毒感染的BHK－21细胞特异性杀伤率可达到61．6％。由免疫的BALB／c小鼠脾制备的效应细胞在体外可特异性地杀伤D2－43感染的P－815细胞（H－2^d)。当效靶比（E／T）为20：1时，pcDNA-NS1质粒免疫后的特异性CTL杀伤百分率为22．6％。将100 LD50的D2－43病毒经脑内攻击BALB／c小鼠，结果表明免疫pcDNA-NS1组小鼠存活率最高（90．9％）；与免疫pcDNA3.1对照组比较，P值＜0．05。结论 pcDNA-NS1质粒免疫BALB／c小鼠不仅可诱导体液免疫，还可诱导特异性细胞免疫。初步结果还显示，用含NS1基因的重组质粒DNA免疫的小鼠能免受致死剂量登革病毒的攻击，为登革热新型疫苗的研究奠定了基础。     

A plasmid encoding parts of the dengue virus E and NS1 proteins induces an immune response in a mouse model

A DENV-2 plasmid named pEII*EIII/NS1*, containing sequences encoding portions of the envelope protein that are potentially involved in the induction of neutralizing antibodies and a portion of the NS1 sequence that is involved in protection, is reported in this work. The synthesized subunit protein was recognized by human sera from infected patients and had the predicted size. The immunogenicity of this construct was evaluated using a mouse model in a prime-boost vaccination approach. The priming was performed using the plasmid pEII*EIII/NS1*, followed by a boost with recombinant full-length GST–E and GST–NS1 fusion proteins. The mice showed specific antibody responses to the E and NS1 proteins, as detected by ELISA, compared to the response of animals vaccinated with the parental plasmid. Interestingly, some animals had neutralizing antibodies. These results show that EII*, EIII and NS1* sequences could be considered for the design of a recombinant subunit vaccine against dengue disease.     

探讨BCG初次免疫结核杆菌DNA疫苗加强免疫方案的效应

目的:探讨BCG初次免疫(BCG-prime),结核杆菌共表达DNA疫苗加强免疫(DNA疫苗-boost)的策略对小鼠的免疫效果。方法:将BCG及结核杆菌重组DNA疫苗依次免疫小鼠,通过检测CTL和NK细胞的杀伤活性和特异性淋巴细胞增殖,以及小鼠血清抗体及细胞因子的水平,观测BCG-prime、共表达结核杆菌Ag85A/GM-CSFDNA疫苗boost策略对小鼠的免疫效果。结果:采用prime-boost免疫策略组的小鼠CTL的杀伤活性明显增强、特异性淋巴细胞明显增殖、IFN-γ的水平明显增高,NK细胞杀伤活性与对照组相比也有一定提高,但未超过BCG单独免疫效果。免疫小鼠血清特异性抗体的滴度超过单独DNA疫苗免疫组。结论:在采用BCG-prime-结核杆菌DNA疫苗boost免疫策略后,能增强对小鼠的免疫效应,尤其是Th1型细胞免疫反应增强明显,为进一步在动物体内进行保护性效应试验的研究提供了实验依据。     

Protection of rhesus macaques against lethal Plasmodium knowlesi malaria by a heterologous DNA priming and poxvirus boosting immunization regimen

We tested a cytokine-enhanced, multiantigen, DNA priming and poxvirus boosting vaccine regimen for prevention of malaria in the Plasmodium knowlesi-rhesus macaque model system. Animals were primed with a mixture of DNA plasmids encoding two preerythrocytic-stage proteins and two erythrocytic-stage proteins from P. knowlesi and combinations of the cytokines granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-4, and tumor necrosis factor alpha and were boosted with a mixture of four recombinant, attenuated vaccinia virus strains encoding the four P. knowlesi antigens. Two weeks after boosting, the geometric mean immunofluorescence titers in the immunized groups against sporozoites and infected erythrocytes ranged from 160 to 8,096 and from 1,810 to 5,120, respectively. The geometric mean anti-P. knowlesi circumsporozoite protein (PkCSP) titers ranged from 1,761 to 24,242. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the immunized monkeys produced gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in response to incubation with pooled peptides from the PkCSP at frequencies of 10 to 571 spot-forming cells/10(6) PBMC. Following challenge with 100 infectious P. knowlesi sporozoites, 2 of 11 immunized monkeys were sterilely protected, and 7 of the 9 infected monkeys resolved their parasitemias spontaneously. In contrast, all four controls became infected and required treatment for overwhelming parasitemia. Early protection was strongly associated with IFN-gamma responses against a pool of peptides from the preerythrocytic-stage antigen, PkCSP. These findings demonstrate that a multistage, multiantigen, DNA priming and poxvirus boosting vaccine regimen can protect nonhuman primates from an otherwise lethal malaria sporozoite challenge.     

Protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis challenge in mice by DNA vaccine Ag85A-ESAT-6-IL-21 priming and BCG boosting

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of most important chronic infectious diseases caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and remains a major global health problem. In the study, we developed the DNA vaccine encoding fusion protein of antigen 85 A and 6 kDa early secretory antigen target of M. tuberculosis as well as the cytokine IL-21 to investigate its immune protective efficacy against M. tuberculosis challenge in mice after the DNA vaccine priming and Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) boosting. Compared with the different control groups, the intranasal DNA vaccine priming twice and BCG boosting once markedly increased the cytotoxicities of natural killer cells and splenocytes and enhanced the interferon-γ level in the splenocyte supernatant as well as sIgA level in bronchoalveolar lavage in the vaccinated mice. Importantly, this heterologous prime-boost strategy significantly decreased the bacterial load in the mouse lungs in contrast to that of intranasal or subcutaneous BCG immunization alone. These findings provide further approaches for mucosal-targeted prime-boost vaccination to fight against TB.     

Enhanced cellular immune response against SIV Gag induced by immunization with DNA vaccines expressing assembly and release-defective SIV Gag proteins

Codon-optimized genes were synthesized for the SIVmac239 Gag, a mutant Gag with mutations in the major homology region, and a chimeric Gag containing a protein destruction signal at the N-terminus of Gag. The mutant and chimeric Gag were expressed at levels comparable to that observed for the wild-type Gag protein but their stability and release into the medium were found to be significantly reduced. Immunization of mice with DNA vectors encoding the mutant or chimeric Gag induced fourfold higher levels of anti-SIV Gag CD4 T cell responses than the DNA vector encoding the wild-type SIV Gag. Moreover, anti-SIV Gag CD8 T cell responses induced by DNA vectors encoding the mutant or chimeric Gag were found to be 5- to 10-fold higher than those induced by the DNA construct for the wild-type Gag. These results indicate that mutations disrupting assembly and/or stability of the SIV Gag protein effectively enhance its immunogenicity when expressed from DNA vaccines.     

Induction of broad-based immune response against HIV-1 subtype C gag DNA vaccine in mice

Prevention of HIV infection through an effective vaccine is need of the hour as per the AIDS pandemic scene, particularly in the developing world. Here we report the work done with gag gene construct pJWgagprotease49587 from HIV-1subtype C Indian strain. The construct pJWgagprotease49587 was tested positive for expression in COS-7 cells by p24 antigen capture ELISA, immunoblotting and by transmission electron microscopy that revealed virus like particle formation. Immunogenicity studies showed induction of good lymphoproliferative and cytotoxic (CTL) responses in Balb/c mice. The cytokine repertoire elicited showed a TH1 type of immune response. In an epitope mapping study, IFNgamma secretion by spleen cells from immunized mice was observed to seven peptides from different regions of gag. Recognition of multiple epitopes demonstrates elicitation of a broad based immune response against gag following immunization with the construct. In view of the high propensity of escape mutant induction during the course of HIV infection, it is encouraging to use immunogens eliciting viable immune responses to a broad spectrum of epitopes. Hence the construct pJWgagprotease49587 is a good candidate for immunogenecity testing in nonhuman primates as a probable vaccine candidate.     

A heterologous DNA priming-Mycobacterium bovis BCG boosting immunization strategy using mycobacterial Hsp70, Hsp65, and Apa antigens improves protection against tuberculosis in mice

Tuberculosis is responsible for >2 million deaths a year, and the number of new cases is rising worldwide. DNA vaccination combined with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) represents a potential strategy for prevention of this disease. Here, we used a heterologous prime-boost immunization approach using a combination of DNA plasmids and BCG in order to improve the efficacy of vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice. As model antigens, we selected the M. tuberculosis Apa (for alanine-proline-rich antigen) and the immunodominant Hsp65 and Hsp70 mycobacterial antigens combined with BCG. We demonstrated that animals injected with a combination of DNA vectors expressing these antigens, when boosted with BCG, showed increased specific antimycobacterial immune responses compared to animals vaccinated with BCG alone. More importantly, the protection achieved with this regimen was also significantly better than with BCG alone.     

Intestinal immune response to cholera toxin: dependence on route and dosage of antigen for priming and boosting.

The influence in immunization with cholera toxin of the route and antigen dose on intestinal antibody formation and protective immunity against experimental cholera was studied in mice. Administration by either the intravenous or oral route induced effective priming as well as boosting of mucosal immunity, with the effects on intestinal immunoglobulin A antitoxin synthesis and protective antitoxic immunity showing excellent concordance. A strong antigen dose dependence was found for both priming and boosting of the local immunity, irrespective of route. Very efficient high-dose priming did, however, partially decrease the dose dependence of the booster response and, conversely, a high booster dose partly overcame the relative inefficiency of low-dose priming. The results suggest that the amount of antigen reaching the immunocompetent cells in the gut rather than the route of administration per se determines the mucosal immunizing effect.     

滴鼻接种HPV16 L1-E7 DNA初始引发及HPV16 L1 VLP强化免疫可增强小鼠黏膜和细胞免疫

目的探讨HPV16 L1-E7 DNA疫苗初始引发及HPV16L1病毒样颗粒(VLP)强化接种小鼠诱发免疫反应的效应,为进一步用于HPV16相关恶性肿瘤的防治提供实验依据。方法以HPV16 L1-E7嵌合蛋白、HPV16 L1 VLP以及HPV16 L1-E7 DNA单独或联合滴鼻免疫雌性BALB/c小鼠,连续使用3周。免疫后采血及收集阴道分泌物,检测特异性抗体。在末次免疫2周后,取小鼠脾细胞,用HPV 16 L1-E7蛋白刺激,检测T细胞增殖反应及IFN-γ水平。结果HPV16 L1-E7嵌合蛋白滴鼻接种可诱导小鼠产生血清HPV16 L1特异性IgG,强化免疫后抗体水平明显增高(P<0.01);阴道局部产生HPV16 L1特异性IgA;在HPV16 L1-E7抗原刺激下,脾细胞上清液中IFN-γ水平升高。HPV16 L1-E7 DNA疫苗初始引发和HPV16 L1蛋白加强免疫可增高阴道分泌液中HPV16 L1特异性IgA水平,增高脾淋巴细胞中特异性T细胞产生IFN-γ的水平。结论嵌合病毒样颗粒HPV16 L1-E7和HPV16 L1-E7 DNA疫苗初始引发及HPV16 L1蛋白强化滴鼻接种适用于预防HPV原发性黏膜感染和治疗HPV16相关肿瘤。     

The humoral immune response of mice to intra-mammary immunization with ovalbumin.

Groups of lactating mice were immunized intra-mammarily on the second day of lactation with 20 micrograms, 150 micrograms or 400 micrograms of ovalbumin (OVA). This resulted in the appearance of IgG in serum, and IgA and IgG in milk. In serum, no IgA antibodies were detected 16 days after immunization in any of the groups. The serum response of IgG was variable and not related directly to the immunizing dose. Both IgA and IgG antibodies were absent in milk 5 days after immunization and IgG antibody level in milk increased significantly throughout lactation as measured 10 and 15 days after inoculation. No IgA antibodies appeared in the milk of the 20 micrograms and 150 micrograms group; however, responses appeared in milk with the highest dose (400 micrograms), but the number of responders for IgG increased in milk but not in blood. The results suggest that intra-mammary immunization can provoke a local IgA response in milk, and that serum is not a major source of IgG in that fluid. Moreover, the kinetics of the IgA and IgG responses differ.     

Circulating human antibodies against dengue NS1 protein: potential of recombinant D2V-NS1 proteins in diagnostic tests.

The dengue virus (DV) causes one of the most important arthropod-borne human viral diseases throughout the tropical and subtropical countries. However, the morbidity and mortality of DV infections could be reduced with an early hospitalization care and a rapid risk identification of developing the dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). The nonstructural glycoprotein 1 (NS1) has been pointed as a reagent for immune-assay diagnostic test optimization. To evaluate this potential, recombinant DV2-NS1 proteins (rNS1) were produced from Escherichia coli (NS1EC) and insect cells (NS1IC) expression. The tests were performed by analysis of a human serum panel reacted against different rNS1 forms. The results demonstrated high correspondence between the DV positive sera and the assay results using native or refolded forms of either NS1IC or NS1EC. Also, the IgG and IgM anti-rNS1 level profiles showed distinct distribution, depending on protein form and disease status. However, the IgM anti-rNS1 reactions did not show sensibility to detect the DV in primary infections. The data obtained from the paired serum samples reactivity comparison suggested a heterogeneous human immune response and absence of correspondence between the IgG and IgM profile levels. Moreover, a patient with negative reference test could be detected by specific IgG anti-rNS1 assays presented here. Therefore, these results sustain the usefulness of dengue nonstructural proteins, in particular the NS1, in diagnostic tests as a complementary reagent.     

Simultaneous priming with DNA encoding Sm-p80 and boosting with Sm-p80 protein confers protection against challenge infection with Schistosoma mansoni in mice

Prophylactic efficacy of Sm-p80 was tested in the mouse model using DNA priming and boosting with protein approach. However, the novelty of the approach utilized in this study is that both the DNA priming and protein boosting was performed on a single day and no further vaccine inoculations were given to mice; the animals were challenged 1 month after the initial vaccine administration. Using this approach, significant reduction in worm burden (33 to 57 %) and marked decrease in egg retention in tissues (34 to 66 %) was observed. Robust antibody titers and upregulation of cytokines (IL-1α/β, IL-12α, and IFN-γ) appears to correlate with the protection. This approach of administering vaccine on a single day could be greatly helpful in the field setting because it will eliminate the compliance issues that may arise with multiple boosters that may be required for optimal efficacy for some vaccines.     

Purified and highly aggregated chimeric protein DIIIC-2 induces a functional immune response in mice against dengue 2 virus

It was previously reported that DIIIC-2 (a fusion protein composed of domain III of the envelope protein and the capsid protein from dengue 2 virus), as an aggregate antigen from a partially purified preparation, induced a functional protective immune response against dengue 2 virus in the mouse encephalitis model. In the present work, a purification procedure was developed for DIIIC-2, and soluble and aggregated fractions of the purified protein were characterized and evaluated in mice. The purification process rendered a protein preparation of 91 % purity, and the remaining 9 % consisted of fragments and aggregates of the same recombinant protein. After the in vitro aggregation process, upon addition of oligodeoxynucleotides, 80 % of the protein formed aggregates, whereas 20 % remained as soluble protein. An immunological evaluation revealed the proper immunogenicity of the aggregated purified protein in terms of induction of antiviral and neutralizing antibodies, cell-mediated immunity and protection upon dengue 2 virus challenge in the mouse encephalitis model. Based on these results, we can assert that the purified protein DIIIC-2 is functional and could be used for further scalable steps and preclinical studies in non-human primates.     

DNA vaccines against dengue virus based on the ns1 gene: the influence of different signal sequences on the protein expression and its correlation to the immune response elicited in mice

We analyzed four DNA vaccines based on DENV-2 NS1: pcENS1, encoding the C-terminal from E protein plus the NS1 region; pcENS1ANC, similar to pcENS1 plus the N-terminal sequence from NS2a (ANC); pcTPANS1, coding the t-PA signal sequence fused to NS1; and pcTPANS1ANC, similar to pcTPANS1 plus the ANC sequence. The NS1 was detected in lysates and culture supernatants from pcTPANS1-, pcENS1- and pcENS1ANC-transfected cells and not in cells with pcTPANS1ANC. Only the pcENS1ANC leads the expression of NS1 in plasma membrane, confirming the importance of ANC sequence for targeting NS1 to cell surface. High levels of antibodies recognizing conformational epitopes of NS1 were induced in mice immunized with pcTPANS1 and pcENS1, while only few pcENS1ANC-inoculated animals presented detectable anti-NS1 IgG. Protection against DENV-2 was verified in pcTPANS1- and pcENS1-immunized mice, although the plasmid pcTPANS1 induced slight higher protective immunity. These plasmids seem to activate distinct patterns of the immune system.     

Restriction in the immune response to flagellar proteins in inbred mice.

Anti-idiotypic sera prepared in both AL/N mice and rabbits identify specificities common to the IgA MOPC 467 myeloma protein and day-7 affinity-absorbed antibodies to Salmonella milwaukee polymerized flagellin (S. mil-POL) raised in BALB/c and C57BL/Ka mice. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) of reduced and alkylated BALB/c anti-S. mil-POL gave a banding pattern of L and H-chains identical to MOPC 467. C57BL/Ka anti-S. mil-POL had a similar L-chain pattern but a different H-chain pattern. Both BALB/c and C57BL/Ka contain predominantly IgA. The IEF patterns in the two strains are consistent with a monoclonal response at day 7.     

登革病毒2型NS1蛋白DNA疫苗的构建及其免疫效果观察

目的　以登革病毒 2型 (denguevirus2 ,DV2 )非结构蛋白 (non structrulprotein 1,NS1)为靶基因 ,构建DV2 NS1的候选DNA疫苗 ;并探讨其在小鼠体内诱导特异性体液免疫和细胞免疫的作用。方法　将登革病毒 2型NS1 NS2a基因片段克隆至含AG强启动子的真核表达载体pCXN2上 ,构建成重组体pCXN2 NS1 NS2a。在体外将重组质粒转染Cos 7细胞 ,间接免疫荧光检测其在真核细胞中的表达。大量提取空质粒和重组质粒 ,进行动物免疫实验。结果　重组质粒可在真核细胞中有效地表达NS1蛋白。免疫接种小鼠后可诱发机体产生针对NS1蛋白的特异性体液免疫和细胞免疫。末次免疫前已有抗体产生 ,4周后达高峰。抗体依赖补体介导的溶细胞作用 (antibody dependentcomple ment mediatedcytolysis,ADCC)试验结果显示产生的抗体在体外具有特异的杀细胞作用。淋巴细胞增殖实验结果显示 ,实验组小鼠的淋巴细胞增殖能力与对照组比较差异有显著性。流式细胞计数仪(FACS)检测DNA免疫鼠CD4 + 、CD8+ T淋巴细胞变化情况 ,与注射空载体pCXN2的阴性鼠相比 ,CD4 + 、CD8+ 细胞水平有较大升高 (P <0 .0 1)。动物保护性实验结果显示 ,当用致死剂量登革病毒攻击免疫鼠时 ,有 6 6 .6 %的免疫鼠受到保护。结论　NS1 NS2a基因重组质粒免疫小鼠可以诱