Immune responses to a Staphylococcus aureus GapC/B chimera and its potential use as a component of a vaccine for S. aureus mastitis

Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2006 Jan 15;109(1-2):85-97. doi: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2005.07.024. Epub 2005 Sep 13.

Abstract

Bovine mastitis caused by strains of S. aureus is the most economically important disease affecting the dairy industry worldwide. Commercially available vaccines show various degrees of success and work in research laboratories with experimental vaccines suggests that in part, the failure of these vaccines lies in the limited antigenic repertoire contained in the vaccine formulations. Since it seems impractical to produce a vaccine containing antigens from all major S. aureus mastitis isolates, we took the approach of using two surface antigens GapB and GapC that appear to be conserved and constructed a GapC/B chimera as the basis for a vaccine. The humoral and cellular immune responses to GapC/B were compared to the responses to the individual proteins, alone or in combination. The GapC/B protein elicited strong humoral and cellular responses in mice as judged by the levels of total IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and number of IL-4- and IFN-gamma-secreting cells. These results suggest that this chimeric protein could be an attractive target for further vaccine efficacy studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / biosynthesis
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Cattle
  • DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / genetics
  • Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / immunology*
  • Immunization
  • Immunoglobulin G / biosynthesis
  • Interferon-gamma / biosynthesis
  • Interleukin-4 / biosynthesis
  • Mastitis, Bovine / immunology*
  • Mastitis, Bovine / microbiology
  • Mastitis, Bovine / prevention & control
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / immunology*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / immunology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / prevention & control
  • Staphylococcal Infections / veterinary*
  • Staphylococcal Vaccines / immunology*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Staphylococcus aureus / immunology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Staphylococcal Vaccines
  • Interleukin-4
  • Interferon-gamma
  • Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases