A novel immunogenic spore coat-associated protein in Bacillus anthracis: Characterization via proteomics approaches and a vector-based vaccine system

• Published in: Protein expression and purification 2008-01, Vol.57 (1), p.72-80
• Main Authors: Liu, Yu-Tsueng, Lin, Shwu-Bin, Huang, Cheng-Po, Huang, Chun-Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration, Intranasal; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Anthrax - prevention & control; Anthrax Vaccines - immunology; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Bacillus anthracis; Bacillus anthracis - immunology; Bacterial Proteins - chemistry; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - immunology; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - genetics; Escherichia coli - radiation effects; Genetic Vectors; Immunogenic; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Molecular Sequence Data; Proteomics; Proteomics - methods; Recombinant Proteins - chemistry; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Recombinant Proteins - isolation & purification; Recombinant Proteins - metabolism; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Spore coat; Spores, Bacterial - immunology; Ultraviolet Rays; Vaccine; Vector
• ISSN: 1046-5928; 1096-0279
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2007.08.016

New generation anthrax vaccines have been actively explored with the aim of enhancing efficacies and decreasing undesirable side effects that could be caused by licensed vaccines. Targeting novel antigens and/or eliminating the requirements for multiple needle injections and adjuvants are major objectives in the development of new anthrax vaccines. Using proteomics approaches, we identified a spore coat-associated protein (SCAP) in Bacillus anthracis. An Escherichia coli vector-based vaccine system was used to determine the immunogenicity of SCAP. Mice generated detectable SCAP antibodies three weeks after intranasal immunization with an intact particle of ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated E. coli vector overproducing SCAP. The production of SCAP antibodies was detected via western blotting and SCAP-spotted antigen-arrays. The adjuvant effect of a UV-irradiated E. coli vector eliminates the necessity of boosting and the use of other immunomodulators which will foster the screening and manufacturing of new generation anthrax vaccines. More importantly, the immunogenic SCAP may potentially be a new candidate for the development of anthrax vaccines.