Anti-prion activity generated by a novel vaccine formulation

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 429; no. 2; pp. 161 - 164
• Main Authors: Pilon, John, Loiacono, Christina, Okeson, Danelle, Lund, Sharon, Vercauteren, Kurt, Rhyan, Jack, Miller, Lowell
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 18-12-2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic - pharmacology; Animals; Antibody Formation - drug effects; Antibody Formation - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Chronic wasting disease (CWD); Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Disease Models, Animal; Epitopes - immunology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Immune Tolerance - drug effects; Immune Tolerance - immunology; Immunity, Innate - drug effects; Immunity, Innate - immunology; Immunotherapy - methods; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neurology; Prion; PrPSc Proteins - chemistry; PrPSc Proteins - immunology; Scrapie; Survival Rate; Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE); Treatment Outcome; Vaccine; Vaccines - chemical synthesis; Vaccines - immunology; Vaccines - pharmacology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Wasting Disease, Chronic - immunology; Wasting Disease, Chronic - physiopathology; Wasting Disease, Chronic - therapy; Chronic wasting disease (CWD); Prion; Vaccine; Scrapie; Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE); Prion disease; Nervous system diseases; Cerebral disorder; Infection; Vertebrata; Chronic; Mammalia; Animal; Central nervous system disease; Sheep; Degenerative disease; Artiodactyla; Spongiform encephalopathy; Ungulata
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2007.10.015

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of domestic and wild cervids in North America. To address possible prevention regimens for CWD, we have used a mouse model system and the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) mouse-adapted scrapie prion strain to screen efficacy of potential vaccine candidates. Three peptides derived from the primary amino acid sequence of the prion protein were conjugated to blue carrier protein (BCP) and formulated in an adjuvant containing
M. avium subsp.
avium. CL57/BL6 mice were vaccinated and boosted with 50
μg of the carrier protein–peptide conjugate formulation; all vaccines produced a humoral immune response as measured by ELISA. Disease challenge with the RML scrapie prion strain revealed anti-prion activity was generated by the vaccine formulations as measured by a delay in clinical disease onset and prolonged survivorship.