Prime and boost immunization with influenza and adenovirus encoding the Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 2 (SAG2) induces strong protective immunity

Vaccine. 2010 Feb 25. [Epub ahead of print]

Prime and boost immunization with influenza and adenovirus encoding the Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 2 (SAG2) induces strong protective immunity

Machado AV, Caetano BC, Barbosa RP, Salgado AP, Rabelo RH, Garcia CC, Bruna-Romero O, Escriou N, Gazzinelli RT.

Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-910, MG, Brazil; Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, MG, Brazil.

In this work, we explored an original vaccination protocol using recombinant influenza and adenovirus. We constructed recombinant influenza viruses harboring dicistronic NA segments containing the surface antigen 2 (SAG2) from Toxoplasma gondii under control of the duplicated 3' promoter. Recombinant influenza viruses were able to drive the expression of the foreign SAG2 sequence in cell culture and to replicate efficiently both in cell culture and in lungs of infected mice. In addition, mice primed with recombinant influenza virus and boosted with a recombinant adenovirus encoding SAG2 elicited both humoral and cellular immune responses specific for SAG2. Moreover, when immunized animals were challenged with the cystogenic P-Br strain of T. gondii, they displayed up to 85% of reduction in parasite burden. These results demonstrate the potential use of recombinant influenza vectors harboring the dicistronic segments in the development of vaccines against infectious diseases. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PMID: 20189485 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]