Immunogenicity of a vaccine formulated with the Chlamydia trachomatis serovar F, native major outer membrane protein in a nonhuman primate model

• Published in: Vaccine 2011-04, Vol.29 (18), p.3456-3464
• Main Authors: Cheng, Chunmei, Pal, Sukumar, Bettahi, Ilham, Oxford, Kristie L, Barry, Peter A, de la Maza, Luis M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adjuvants; Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial - analysis; Antibodies, Neutralizing - analysis; Applied microbiology; Bacterial Vaccines - immunology; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; cell-mediated immunity; Chlamydia Infections - immunology; Chlamydia Infections - prevention & control; Chlamydia trachomatis; Chlamydia trachomatis - immunology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; humans; immune response; Immunity, Cellular; Immunity, Humoral; Immunity, Mucosal; immunoglobulin A; immunoglobulin G; interferon-gamma; Interferon-gamma - analysis; Interferon-gamma - secretion; Macaca mulatta; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Models, Animal; monkeys; mononuclear leukocytes; mucosal immunity; Neutralization Tests; neutralizing antibodies; Nonhuman primates; outer membrane proteins; ovalbumin; Porins - immunology; saliva; serotypes; Systemic and mucosal immune responses; tears; tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - analysis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - secretion; Vaccination; Vaccine; vaccines; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects); Vagina - immunology
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.02.057

Abstract To determine the ability of a vaccine formulated with the genital Chlamydia trachomatis , serovar F, native major outer membrane protein (Ct-F-nMOMP), to induce systemic and mucosal immune responses, rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) were immunized three times by the intramuscular (i.m.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) routes using CpG-2395 and Montanide ISA 720 VG, as adjuvants. As controls, another group of M. mulatta was immunized with ovalbumin instead of Ct-F-nMOMP using the same formulation and routes. High levels of Chlamydia -specific IgG and IgA antibodies were detected in plasma, vaginal washes, tears, saliva, and stools from the Ct-F-nMOMP immunized animals. Also, high neutralizing antibody titers were detected in the plasma from these animals. Monkeys immunized with ovalbumin had no detectable Chlamydia -specific antibodies. Furthermore, as measured by a lymphoproliferative assay, significant Chlamydia -specific cell-mediated immune responses were detected in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the rhesus macaques vaccinated with Ct-F-nMOMP when compared with the animals immunized with ovalbumin. In addition, the levels of two Th1 cytokines, IFN-γ and TNF-α, were significantly higher in the animals immunized with Ct-F-nMOMP when compared with those from the monkeys immunized with ovalbumin. To our knowledge, this is the first time that mucosal and systemic immune responses have been investigated in a nonhuman primate model using a subunit vaccine from a human genital C. trachomatis serovar.