Brucella spp. lumazine synthase : A novel adjuvant and antigen delivery system to effectively induced oral immunity

ROSAS, G., FRAGOSO, G., AINCIART, N., BERGER, P., TOLEDO, A., CRUZ, C., MENESES, G., ESQUIVEL, F., SANTANA, A., BOBES, R., GOLDBAUM, F. A., SCIUTTO, E.

MICROBES AND INFECTION

Año: 2006 vol. 8 p. 1277 - 1286

1286-4579

Brucella lumazine synthase (BLS) has been previously used with success as a delivery system for systemic immunization against murinecysticercosis. We herein determined the usefulness of BLS as a new antigen-delivery system and mucosal-adjuvant using KETc1, one of thepeptides of the anti-cysticercosis vaccine. A protection of up to 98% was induced when KETc1 was used as a chimera fused to BLS. Usedas adjuvant of KETc1, BLS also induced a high level of protection (79%), which did not significantly differ from that induced by the choleratoxin (74%). KETc1 and BLS administered separately also reduced the parasite load. KETc1 administered orally as a chimera, and to a lesserextent with BLS as adjuvant, elicited IgG and IgA specific antibodies, which were detectable both in fecal extracts and in sera, and increased Band CD4 activated cells. BLS-KETc1 also increased the levels of transcription of TNF-a, IL-2 and IFNg in Peyer’s patches, and in spleen, onlyincreased TNF-a was observed. Overall, these results showed that BLS can be used as both an antigen-carrier and as an adjuvant in the design ofnew oral subunit vaccines.