Mehrdad Gholami1, Alireza Salimi Chirani2, Reza Falak3, Mona Moshiri4, Shabnam Razavi1,5, Gholamreza Irajian1,5. 1. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2. Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 3. Immunology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 4. Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 5. Microbial Biotechnology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections in immunocompromised individuals. The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant strains has made P. aeruginosa infections progressively difficult to treat. In this study we evaluated the effect of a chimeric protein containing a P. aeruginosa PilQ fragment and the PilA disulfide loop (PilA-DSL) on the humoral immune response in BALB/c mice. METHODS: A chimeric gene encoding an immunogenic region of PilQ and the PilA-DSL was synthesized. Following bacterial expression and purification, the protein was administered to mice and the humoral immune response analyzed. The resulting antibodies were analyzed using an opsonophagocytic killing assay. RESULTS: The anti-recombinant protein antibody titer was significantly greater in immunized mice than in controls. In addition, antibody titers were significantly increased after booster immunizations, and the immunizations induced opsonophagocytosis of P. aeruginosa PAO1. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that an anti-adhesion-based vaccination may be effective in preventing P. aeruginosa infections. Further studies are needed to evaluate the abilities of such bivalent proteins to induce strong immune responses.
BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections in immunocompromised individuals. The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant strains has made P. aeruginosa infections progressively difficult to treat. In this study we evaluated the effect of a chimeric protein containing a P. aeruginosa PilQ fragment and the PilA disulfide loop (PilA-DSL) on the humoral immune response in BALB/c mice. METHODS: A chimeric gene encoding an immunogenic region of PilQ and the PilA-DSL was synthesized. Following bacterial expression and purification, the protein was administered to mice and the humoral immune response analyzed. The resulting antibodies were analyzed using an opsonophagocytic killing assay. RESULTS: The anti-recombinant protein antibody titer was significantly greater in immunized mice than in controls. In addition, antibody titers were significantly increased after booster immunizations, and the immunizations induced opsonophagocytosis of P. aeruginosa PAO1. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that an anti-adhesion-based vaccination may be effective in preventing P. aeruginosa infections. Further studies are needed to evaluate the abilities of such bivalent proteins to induce strong immune responses.
Entities:
Keywords:
Chimeric protein; PilQ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Type IV pili; Vaccine
Authors: M Gholipourmalekabadi; M Bandehpour; M Mozafari; A Hashemi; H Ghanbarian; M Sameni; M Salimi; M Gholami; A Samadikuchaksaraei Journal: Burns Date: 2015-06-03 Impact factor: 2.744
Authors: Joseph Horzempa; Thomas K Held; Alan S Cross; Dana Furst; Mohammed Qutyan; Alice N Neely; Peter Castric Journal: Clin Vaccine Immunol Date: 2008-02-13