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Zhao M, Zhai Y, Zai X, Mao Y, Hu E, Wei Z, Li Y, Li K, Liu Y, Xu J, Yu R, Chen W. Comparative evaluation of protective immunity against Francisella tularensis induced by subunit or adenovirus-vectored vaccines. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1195314. [PMID: 37305410 PMCID: PMC10248143 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1195314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Tularemia is a highly contagious disease caused by infection with Francisella tularensis (Ft), a pathogenic intracellular gram-negative bacterium that infects a wide range of animals and causes severe disease and death in people, making it a public health concern. Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent tularemia. However, there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Ft vaccines thus far due to safety concerns. Herein, three membrane proteins of Ft, Tul4, OmpA, and FopA, and a molecular chaperone, DnaK, were identified as potential protective antigens using a multifactor protective antigen platform. Moreover, the recombinant DnaK, FopA, and Tul4 protein vaccines elicited a high level of IgG antibodies but did not protect against challenge. In contrast, protective immunity was elicited by a replication-defective human type 5 adenovirus (Ad5) encoding the Tul4, OmpA, FopA, and DnaK proteins (Ad5-Tul4, Ad5-OmpA, Ad5-FopA, and Ad5-DnaK) after a single immunization, and all Ad5-based vaccines stimulated a Th1-biased immune response. Moreover, intramuscular and intranasal vaccination with Ad5-Tul4 using the prime-boost strategy effectively eliminated Ft lung, spleen and liver colonization and provided nearly 80% protection against intranasal challenge with the Ft live vaccine strain (LVS). Only intramuscular, not intranasal vaccination, with Ad5-Tul4 protected mice from intraperitoneal challenge. This study provides a comprehensive comparison of protective immunity against Ft provided by subunit or adenovirus-vectored vaccines and suggests that mucosal vaccination with Ad5-Tul4 may yield desirable protective efficacy against mucosal infection, while intramuscular vaccination offers greater overall protection against intraperitoneal tularemia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Rui Yu
- *Correspondence: Rui Yu, ; Wei Chen,
| | - Wei Chen
- *Correspondence: Rui Yu, ; Wei Chen,
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Ali A, Waris A, Khan MA, Asim M, Khan AU, Khan S, Zeb J. Recent advancement, immune responses, and mechanism of action of various vaccines against intracellular bacterial infections. Life Sci 2023; 314:121332. [PMID: 36584914 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2022.121332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Emerging and re-emerging bacterial infections are a serious threat to human and animal health. Extracellular bacteria are free-living, while facultative intracellular bacteria replicate inside eukaryotic host cells. Many serious human illnesses are now known to be caused by intracellular bacteria such as Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Rickettsia massiliae, Chlamydia species, Brucella abortus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes, which result in substantial morbidity and mortality. Pathogens like Mycobacterium, Brucella, MRSA, Shigella, Listeria, and Salmonella can infiltrate and persist in mammalian host cells, particularly macrophages, where they proliferate and establish a repository, resulting in chronic and recurrent infections. The current treatment for these bacteria involves the application of narrow-spectrum antibiotics. FDA-approved vaccines against obligate intracellular bacterial infections are lacking. The development of vaccines against intracellular pathogenic bacteria are more difficult because host defense against these bacteria requires the activation of the cell-mediated pathway of the immune system, such as CD8+ T and CD4+ T. However, different types of vaccines, including live, attenuated, subunit, killed whole cell, nano-based and DNA vaccines are currently in clinical trials. Substantial development has been made in various vaccine strategies against intracellular pathogenic bacteria. This review focuses on the mechanism of intracellular bacterial infection, host immune response, and recent advancements in vaccine development strategies against various obligate intracellular bacterial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmat Ali
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan
| | - Abdul Waris
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
| | - Muhammad Ajmal Khan
- Division of Life Sciences, Center for Cancer Research and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurosciences, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
| | - Muhammad Asim
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Atta Ullah Khan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China
| | - Sahrish Khan
- Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Jehan Zeb
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Miącz K, Śledź J, Karwacki MW. 'Unique does not mean impossible: infant presenting with complicated course of ulceroglandular tularemia.'. Oxf Med Case Reports 2021; 2021:omab086. [PMID: 34527259 PMCID: PMC8436267 DOI: 10.1093/omcr/omab086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Tularemia is a disease caused by Francisella tularensis—gram-negative coccobacillus. The ulceroglandular type characterized by skin ulcers and painful regional adenopathy is recognized as the most common. A 1-year-old patient was admitted with severe normocytic anemia, high fever and hepatosplenomegaly. A nonspecific lesion in the axillary region with a homogenous nodal reaction was found, combined with a history of a tick-bite in the pectoral muscle. Primary differentiation included leukemia, lymphoma, mononucleosis, borrelial lymphoma and simple abscess. All of the above were excluded. A further search for diagnosis focused on tick-borne diseases: TIBOLa or anaplasmosis. The ulceroglandular tularemia was eventually confirmed serologically. Besides the fact that tularemia is a rare diagnosis nowadays, it is still necessary to include this disease in the differentiation of a nonresolving tick-bite abscess with lymphadenopathy. Diagnostic vigilance is the key to effective treatment because other obvious symptoms such as severe anemia might delay the diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Miącz
- Medical University of Warsaw, "Spherocyte" Student's Scientific Association, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Clinical Transplantology and Pediatrics, 63 A Żwirki i Wigury Avenue, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jakub Śledź
- Medical University of Warsaw, "Spherocyte" Student's Scientific Association, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Clinical Transplantology and Pediatrics, 63 A Żwirki i Wigury Avenue, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marek W Karwacki
- Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Clinical Transplantology and Pediatrics, , 63 A Żwirki i Wigury Avenue, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
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Deletion Mutants of Francisella Phagosomal Transporters FptA and FptF Are Highly Attenuated for Virulence and Are Protective Against Lethal Intranasal Francisella LVS Challenge in a Murine Model of Respiratory Tularemia. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10070799. [PMID: 34202420 PMCID: PMC8308642 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10070799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Francisella tularensis (Ft) is a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacterium that is a Tier 1 Select Agent of concern for biodefense for which there is no licensed vaccine. A subfamily of 9 Francisella phagosomal transporter (fpt) genes belonging to the Major Facilitator Superfamily of transporters was identified as critical to pathogenesis and potential targets for attenuation and vaccine development. We evaluated the attenuation and protective capacity of LVS derivatives with deletions of the fptA and fptF genes in the C57BL/6J mouse model of respiratory tularemia. LVSΔfptA and LVSΔfptF were highly attenuated with LD50 values of >20 times that of LVS when administered intranasally and conferred 100% protection against lethal challenge. Immune responses to the fpt mutant strains in mouse lungs on day 6 post-infection were substantially modified compared to LVS and were associated with reduced organ burdens and reduced pathology. The immune responses to LVSΔfptA and LVSΔfptF were characterized by decreased levels of IL-10 and IL-1β in the BALF versus LVS, and increased numbers of B cells, αβ and γδ T cells, NK cells, and DCs versus LVS. These results support a fundamental requirement for FptA and FptF in the pathogenesis of Ft and the modulation of the host immune response.
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Dykman LA, Volokh OA, Kuznetsova EM, Nikiforov AK. Immunogenicity of Conjugates of Protective Antigen Complexes of Tularemia Microbe with Gold Nanoparticles. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1134/s1995078018040055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Balestra A, Bytyci H, Guillod C, Braghetti A, Elzi L. A case of ulceroglandular tularemia presenting with lymphadenopathy and an ulcer on a linear morphoea lesion surrounded by erysipelas. Int Med Case Rep J 2018; 11:313-318. [PMID: 30519119 PMCID: PMC6237246 DOI: 10.2147/imcrj.s178561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Tularemia is a zoonosis caused by the infection of Francisella tularensis (a gram-negative aerobic bacterium). Transmission to other animals or humans usually occurs through insect or tick bites, direct contact with a contaminated environment (mud or water), infected animals - mainly lagomorphs - or by ingesting undercooked meat or inhaling contaminated dust (hay or soil). This paper discusses the case of a 32-year-old man, who came to our Emergency Room presenting with persistent fever, inguinal lymphadenopathy, and an ulcer on his left lower limb on a linear morphoea lesion that had been there for some time. The lesion was surrounded by erysipelas. After hospitalization and tests, the patient was diagnosed with ulceroglandular tularemia. Antibiotic treatment with doxycycline resolved the clinical picture, but not the morphoea lesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Balestra
- Department of Internal Medicine, Regional Hospital of Bellinzona e Valli, 6500 Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland,
| | - Hekuran Bytyci
- Department of Internal Medicine, Regional Hospital of Bellinzona e Valli, 6500 Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland,
| | - Caroline Guillod
- Department of Dermatology, Regional Hospital of Bellinzona e Valli, 6500 Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland
| | - Antonio Braghetti
- Department of Radiology, Regional Hospital of Bellinzona e Valli, 6500 Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland
| | - Luigia Elzi
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Regional Hospital of Bellinzona e Valli, 6500 Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland
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Polat M, Karapınar T, Sırmatel F. Dermatological aspects of tularaemia: a study of 168 cases. Clin Exp Dermatol 2018; 43:770-774. [PMID: 29761532 DOI: 10.1111/ced.13548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tularaemia is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Francisella tularensis, an aerobic, uncapsulated, gram-negative coccobacillus. Several case reports have appeared on the dermatological manifestations of tularaemia, but relatively few longer-term studies are available. AIM To identify skin features of tularaemia that aid in its diagnosis. METHODS In total, 168 patients (68 male, 100 female) diagnosed with tularaemia were retrospectively examined. All dermatological data for these patients were evaluated. RESULTS Of the 168 patients, 149 (88.69%) had tularaemia of the oropharyngeal type, 12 (7.73%) had the ulceroglandular type, 5 (2.9%) had the oculoglandular type and 2 (0.59%) had the pulmonary type. Secondary skin manifestations were found in 26 patients (15.47%). Sweet syndrome (SS) was found in 11 patients (6.54%), most of whom presented with the oropharyngeal form, while erythema nodosum (EN) was found in 7 patients (4.16%), dermatitis in 2 (1.19%), urticaria in 2 (1.19%), acneiform eruptions in 1 (0.59%), vasculitis-like eruptions in 1 (0.59%) and SS + EN in 1 (0.59%). Patients with the oropharyngeal form had a statistically significant (P < 0.001) higher number of skin findings than patients with the other forms. CONCLUSIONS In clinical practice, tularaemia may present with various cutaneous manifestations, and dermatologists who work in endemic regions must be aware of the possibility of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Polat
- Department of Dermatology, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Faculty of Medicine, Bolu, Turkey
| | - T Karapınar
- Department of Dermatology, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Faculty of Medicine, Bolu, Turkey
| | - F Sırmatel
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Faculty of Medicine, Bolu, Turkey
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McCormick AA, Shakeel A, Yi C, Kaur H, Mansour AM, Bakshi CS. Intranasal administration of a two-dose adjuvanted multi-antigen TMV-subunit conjugate vaccine fully protects mice against Francisella tularensis LVS challenge. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194614. [PMID: 29684046 PMCID: PMC5912714 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Tularemia is a fatal human disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a Gram-negative encapsulated coccobacillus bacterium. Due to its low infectious dose, ease of aerosolized transmission, and lethal effects, the CDC lists F. tularensis as a Category A pathogen, the highest level for a potential biothreat agent. Previous vaccine studies have been conducted with live attenuated, inactivated, and subunit vaccines, which have achieved partial or full protection from F. tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) challenge, but no vaccine has been approved for human use. We demonstrate the improved efficacy of a multi-antigen subunit vaccine by using Tobacco Mosaic virus (TMV) as an antigen carrier for the F. tularensis SchuS4 proteins DnaK, OmpA, SucB and Tul4 (DOST). The magnitude and quality of immune responses were compared after mice were immunized by subcutaneous or intranasal routes of administration with a TMV-DOST mixture, with or without four different adjuvants. Immune responses varied in magnitude and isotype profile, by antigen, by route of administration, and by protection in an F. tularensis LVS challenge model of disease. Interestingly, our analysis demonstrates an overwhelming IgG2 response to SucB after intranasal dosing, as well as a robust cellular response, which may account for the improved two-dose survival imparted by the tetravalent vaccine, compared to a previous study that tested efficacy of TMV-DOT. Our study provides evidence that potent humoral, cellular and mucosal immunity can be achieved by optimal antigen combination, delivery, adjuvant and appropriate route of administration, to improve vaccine potency and provide protection from pathogen challenge.
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MESH Headings
- Adjuvants, Immunologic
- Administration, Intranasal
- Animals
- Antibodies, Bacterial/analysis
- Antibodies, Bacterial/metabolism
- Antigens, Bacterial/genetics
- Antigens, Bacterial/immunology
- Antigens, Bacterial/metabolism
- Bacterial Proteins/genetics
- Bacterial Proteins/immunology
- Bacterial Proteins/metabolism
- Bacterial Vaccines/immunology
- Disease Models, Animal
- Female
- Francisella tularensis/immunology
- Immunity, Cellular
- Immunoglobulin G/analysis
- Immunoglobulin G/immunology
- Immunoglobulin G/metabolism
- Immunoglobulin Isotypes/immunology
- Immunoglobulin Isotypes/metabolism
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Survival Rate
- Tobacco Mosaic Virus/genetics
- Tobacco Mosaic Virus/metabolism
- Tularemia/immunology
- Tularemia/microbiology
- Tularemia/prevention & control
- Vaccines, Conjugate/immunology
- Vaccines, Subunit/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aisha Shakeel
- Touro University California, College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, CA
| | - Chris Yi
- Touro University California, College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, CA
| | - Hardeep Kaur
- Touro University California, College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, CA
| | - Ahd M. Mansour
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
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Bar-On L, Cohen H, Elia U, Rotem S, Bercovich-Kinori A, Bar-Haim E, Chitlaru T, Cohen O. Protection of vaccinated mice against pneumonic tularemia is associated with an early memory sentinel-response in the lung. Vaccine 2017; 35:7001-7009. [PMID: 29102170 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.10.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2017] [Revised: 10/03/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Francisella tularensis is the intracellular bacterial pathogen causing the respiratory life-threatening disease tularemia. Development of tularemia vaccines has been hampered by an incomplete understanding of the correlates of immunity. Moreover, the importance of lung cellular immunity in vaccine-mediated protection against tularemia is a controversial matter. Live attenuated vaccine strains of F. tularensis such as LVS (Live Vaccine Strain), elicit an immune response protecting mice against subsequent challenge with the virulent SchuS4 strain, yet the protective immunity against pulmonary challenge is limited in its efficacy and longevity. We established a murine intra-nasal immunization model which distinguishes between animals fully protected, challenged at 4 weeks post double-vaccination (200 inhalation Lethal Dose 50%, LD50, of SchuS4), and those which do not survive the lethal SchuS4 infection, challenged at 8 weeks post double vaccination. Early in the recall immune response in the lung (before day 3), disease progression and bacterial dissemination differed considerably between protected and non-protected immunized mice. Pre-challenge analysis, revealed that protected mice, exhibited significantly higher numbers of lung Ft-specific memory T cells compared to non-protected mice. Quantitative PCR analysis established that a higher magnitude, lung T cells response was activated in the lungs of the protected mice already at 24 h post-challenge. The data imply that an early memory response within the lung is strongly associated with protection against the lethal SchuS4 bacteria presumably by restricting the dissemination of the bacteria to internal organs. Thus, future prophylactic strategies to countermeasure F. tularensis infection may require modulation of the immune response within the lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liat Bar-On
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel.
| | - Hila Cohen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Uri Elia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Shahar Rotem
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Adi Bercovich-Kinori
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Erez Bar-Haim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Theodor Chitlaru
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Ofer Cohen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel.
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10
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Krocova Z, Macela A, Kubelkova K. Innate Immune Recognition: Implications for the Interaction of Francisella tularensis with the Host Immune System. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017; 7:446. [PMID: 29085810 PMCID: PMC5650615 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2017.00446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The intracellular bacterial pathogen Francisella tularensis causes serious infectious disease in humans and animals. Moreover, F. tularensis, a highly infectious pathogen, poses a major concern for the public as a bacterium classified under Category A of bioterrorism agents. Unfortunately, research has so far failed to develop effective vaccines, due in part to the fact that the pathogenesis of intracellular bacteria is not fully understood and in part to gaps in our understanding of innate immune recognition processes leading to the induction of adaptive immune response. Recent evidence supports the concept that immune response to external stimuli in the form of bacteria is guided by the primary interaction of the bacterium with the host cell. Based on data from different Francisella models, we present here the basic paradigms of the emerging innate immune recognition concept. According to this concept, the type of cell and its receptor(s) that initially interact with the target constitute the first signaling window; the signals produced in the course of primary interaction of the target with a reacting cell act in a paracrine manner; and the innate immune recognition process as a whole consists in a series of signaling windows modulating adaptive immune response. Finally, the host, in the strict sense, is the interacting cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Krocova
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Biology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence, Hradec Kralove, Czechia
| | - Ales Macela
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Biology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence, Hradec Kralove, Czechia
| | - Klara Kubelkova
- Department of Molecular Pathology and Biology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence, Hradec Kralove, Czechia
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11
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Gaur R, Alam SI, Kamboj DV. Immunoproteomic Analysis of Antibody Response of Rabbit Host Against Heat-Killed Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain. Curr Microbiol 2017; 74:499-507. [PMID: 28233060 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-017-1217-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, has attained the status of one of the high priority agents that could be used in the act of bioterrorism. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine for this highly infectious intracellular pathogen. Being a listed 'Category A' agent of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines and therapeutics are immediately required against this pathogen. In this study, an immunoproteomic approach based on the techniques of 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and immunoblotting combined with mass spectrometry (MS) was used for elucidation of immunogenic components and putative vaccine candidates. Whole-cell soluble protein extract of F. tularensis LVS (Ft LVS) was separated by 2DE, and immunoblots were developed with sera raised in rabbit after immunization with heat-killed Ft LVS. A total of 28 immunoreactive proteins were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Rabbit immunoproteome of F. tularensis was compared with those previously reported using sera from human patients and in murine model. Out of 28 immunoreactive proteins identified in this study, 12 and 17 overlapping proteins were recognized by human and murine sera, respectively. Nine proteins were found immunogenic in all the three hosts, while eight new immunogenic proteins were found in this study. Identified immunoreactive proteins may find application in design and development of protein subunit vaccine for tularemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritu Gaur
- Biotechnology Division, Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, 474002, India
| | - Syed Imteyaz Alam
- Biotechnology Division, Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, 474002, India
| | - Dev Vrat Kamboj
- Biotechnology Division, Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, 474002, India.
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