A Recombinant Trivalent Fusion Protein F1–LcrV–HSP70(II) Augments Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses and Imparts Full Protection against Yersinia pestis

ABSTRACTPlague is one of the most dangerous diseases and is caused byYersinia pestis. Effective vaccine development requires understanding of immune protective mechanisms against the bacterium in humans. In this study, the humoral and memory cellular immune responses in plague patients (n= 65) recovered fromY. pestisinfection during the past 16 years were investigated using a protein microarray and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay (ELISpot). The seroprevalence to the F1 antigen in all recovered patients is 78.5%. In patients infected more than a decade ago, the antibody-positive rate still remains 69.5%. There is no difference in the antibody presence between gender, age, and infected years, but it seems to be associated with the F1 antibody titers during infection (r= 0.821;P< 0.05). Except F1 antibody, the antibodies against LcrV and YopD were detected in most of the patients, suggesting they could be the potential diagnostic markers for detecting the infection of F1-negative strains. Regarding cellular immunity, the cell number producing gamma interferon (IFN-γ), stimulated by F1 and LcrV, respectively,in vitroto the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 7 plague patients and 4 negative controls, showed no significant difference, indicating F1 and LcrV are not dominant T cell antigens against plague for a longer time in humans. Our findings have direct implications for the future design and development of effective vaccines againstY. pestisinfection and the development of new target-based diagnostics.

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Yersinia pestis Antigen F1 but Not LcrV Induced Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses in Humans Immunized with Live Plague Vaccine—Comparison of Immunoinformatic and Immunological Approaches

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines8040698 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 698

Author(s):

Valentina A. Feodorova ◽

Anna M. Lyapina ◽

Maria A. Khizhnyakova ◽

Sergey S. Zaitsev ◽

Yury V. Saltykov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

B Cell ◽

Yersinia Pestis ◽

In Silico ◽

Rational Design ◽

Limited Information ◽

B Cell Epitopes ◽

Cellular Immune Responses ◽

Cellular Immune ◽

Plague Vaccine

The recent progress in immunoinformatics provided the basis for an accelerated development of target-specific peptide vaccines as an alternative to the traditional vaccine concept. However, there is still limited information on whether the in silico predicted immunoreactive epitopes correspond to those obtained from the actual experiments. Here, humoral and cellular immune responses to two major Yersinia pestis protective antigens, F1 and LcrV, were studied in human donors immunized with the live plague vaccine (LPV) based on the attenuated Y. pestis strain EV line NIIEG. The F1 antigen provided modest specific cellular (mixed T helper 1 (Th1)/Th2 type) and humoral immune responses in vaccinees irrespective of the amount of annual vaccinations and duration of the post-vaccination period. The probing of the F1 overlapping peptide library with the F1-positive sera revealed the presence of seven linear B cell epitopes, which were all also predicted by in silico assay. The immunoinformatics study evaluated their antigenicity, toxicity, and allergenic properties. The epitope TSQDGNNH was mostly recognized by the sera from recently vaccinated donors rather than antibodies from those immunized decades ago, suggesting the usefulness of this peptide for differentiation between recent and long-term vaccinations. The in silico analysis predicted nine linear LcrV-specific B-cell epitopes; however, weak antibody and cellular immune responses prevented their experimental evaluation, indicating that LcrV is a poor marker of successful vaccination. No specific Th17 immune response to either F1 or LcrV was detected, and there were no detectable serum levels of F1-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) in vaccinees. Overall, the general approach validated in the LPV model could be valuable for the rational design of vaccines against other neglected and novel emerging infections with high pandemic potency.

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