A 52 Kilodalton Protein Vaccine Candidate for Francisella tularensis
Abstract
For identifying Francisella tularensis vaccine candidates, mice were first vaccinated with Brucella abortus O-polysaccharide (OPS) vaccine. These animals were then given 10 LD(sub 50S) of F. tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS). Sixty percent (60%) of the vaccinated mice survived the multiple lethal dose while all the unvaccinated control mice perished. Sera were collected from these surviving mice and used to probe supernatant and cell lysates of live F. tularensis LVS cultures. Several Francisella tularensis components were identified by this noted antiserum. Mouse serum from mice vaccinated with killed F. tularensis did not identify these components. Of these identified proteins, enzyme digestions and chemical oxidation suggest post-translational modifications for some of the proteins (e.g. a 52 kilodalton (kDa) glycoprotein, a 45 kDa lipoprotein and a 19 kDa nucleoprotein). In low concentrations, the 52 kDa component caused nitrous oxide induction in tissue cultures and in high concentrations it caused cell death. Vaccination with this protein gave mice partial protection (20% survival) from 250 LD(sub 50) of tularemia given intranasally while the addition of other components may have acted synergistically to give enhanced protection (i.e. 100% survival).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA433381
Entities
People
- B. J. Berger
- C. A. Sikora
- John W. Cherwonogrodsky