Immunogenicity of a subunit vaccine against Bacillus anthracis

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 25; no. 16; pp. 3111 - 3114
• Main Authors: Chichester, Jessica A, Musiychuk, Konstantin, de la Rosa, Patricia, Horsey, April, Stevenson, Natalie, Ugulava, Natalia, Rabindran, Shailaja, Palmer, Gene A, Mett, Vadim, Yusibov, Vidadi
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 20-04-2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Anthrax; Anthrax - immunology; Anthrax - pathology; Anthrax - prevention & control; Anthrax Vaccines - administration & dosage; Anthrax Vaccines - chemistry; Anthrax Vaccines - genetics; Anthrax Vaccines - immunology; Applied microbiology; Bacillus anthracis; Bacillus anthracis - immunology; Bacterial Toxins - biosynthesis; Bacterial Toxins - genetics; Bacterial Toxins - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Clostridium thermocellum; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Immunization; Mice; Microbiology; Nicotiana - genetics; Nicotiana - metabolism; Nicotiana benthamiana; Plant expression; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Subunit vaccine; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects); Vaccines, Subunit - immunology; Vaccines, Synthetic - administration & dosage; Vaccines, Synthetic - chemistry; Vaccines, Synthetic - immunology; Plant expression; Anthrax; Subunit vaccine; Infection; Bacillus anthracis; Bacillales; Immunogenicity; Bacteriosis; Bacteria; Vaccine; Bacillaceae; Subunit
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.01.068

Abstract The current approved vaccine against anthrax is based on protective antigen (PA) of Bacillus anthracis , requires six injections over an 18-month period and has a known history of side effects. Therefore, there is significant effort towards developing an improved vaccine against B. anthracis . Here we separately engineered and expressed domain 4 of PA (PAD4) and domain 1 of lethal factor (LFD1) as fusions to lichenase (LicKM), a thermostable enzyme from Clostridium thermocellum , and transiently expressed these fusions in Nicotiana benthamiana . Plant-produced antigens were combined and immunogenicity was evaluated in mice. All animals that received the experimental vaccine developed high antibody titers that were predominantly IgG1 and were able to neutralize the effects of LeTx in vitro.