Safety and immunogenicity of a live-attenuated auxotrophic candidate vaccine against the intracellular pathogenRhodococcus equi

Rhodococcus equicauses serious pneumonia in neonatal foals and is an opportunistic pathogen of people with compromised cellular immunity. No effective vaccine againstR. equidisease in foals is available. We tested the safety and immunogenicity of a live, fully attenuated riboflavin auxotrophic candi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Vaccine 2008-02, Vol.26 (7), p.998
Main Authors: Lopez, AM, Townsend, HGG, Allen, AL, Hondalus, MK
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Bacteria
Biosynthesis
Horses
Immunization
Immunogenicity
Infections
Medical research
Pneumonia
Vaccines
Vitamin B
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Summary:Rhodococcus equicauses serious pneumonia in neonatal foals and is an opportunistic pathogen of people with compromised cellular immunity. No effective vaccine againstR. equidisease in foals is available. We tested the safety and immunogenicity of a live, fully attenuated riboflavin auxotrophic candidate vaccine strain ofR. equi(R. equirib-). We demonstrated thatR. equirib- is immunogenic and capable of inducing IFN-γ responses in immunocompetent BALB/c mice, yet it is safe even in an immunocompromised SCID mouse infection model. Moreover, it protects immunocompetent mice against virulentR. equichallenge. In foals,R. equirib- was likewise safe and stimulated serumR. equi-specific immune responses. A preliminary immunization strategy did not afford protection against virulentR. equichallenge and therefore, optimization of the vaccine formulation and or vaccination protocol will be necessary.
ISSN:0264-410X
1873-2518
DOI:10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.10.069