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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 72(4), 2005, pp. 458-464
Copyright © 2005 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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INDUCTION OF PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY AGAINST SCRUB TYPHUS WITH A 56-KILODALTON RECOMBINANT ANTIGEN FUSED WITH A 47-KILODALTON ANTIGEN OF ORIENTIA TSUTSUGAMUSHI KARP

YUEFEI YU, BOHAI WEN, BOGUI WEN, DONGSHENG NIU, MEILING CHEN, AND LING QIU
Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Allergy and Inflammation Research Institute, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, People’s Republic of China

A partial gene sequence encoding the 56-kD scrub typhus antigen (Sta56) was amplified from genomic DNA of the Orientia tsutsugamushi Karp strain by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR product was ligated with the 47-kD scrub typhus antigen (Sta47) gene in the pQE30/47 expression vector, and the resulting recombinant expression vector was designated pQE30/56-47. A fusion antigen (Sta56-47) was expressed in Escherichia coli cells transformed with pQE30/56-47 after induction with isopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside. The Sta56-47 antigen was recognized by both Sta47 and Sta56 immune sera and by immune serum to Sta56-47 in an immunoblot assay. This antigen was purified and used to immunize BALB/c mice. The animals immunized with Sta56-47 exhibited profound humoral and cellular immune responses, as well as increased resistance to O. tsutsugamushi Karp compared with mice immunized with Sta56 or Sta47. These results strongly suggest that Sta56-47 contains antigenic epitopes of the Sta56 and Sta47 antigens of O. tsutsugamushi Karp, and is a more suitable candidate for replacing whole-cell antigen of O. tsutsugamushi Karp to induce protective immunity against scrub typhus.

Received March 25, 2004. Accepted for publication October 21, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We thank Li Jun for providing the microdial thickness gauge measurements and the 50% lethal dose data analysis.

Financial support: This research was supported by a grant (no. 30271214) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Author’s addresses: Yuefei Yu and Bogui Wen, Allergy and Inflammation Research Institute, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515031, People’s Republic of China. Bohai Wen, Donsheng Niu, Meiling Chen, and Ling Qiu, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 20 Dong-Da-Jie Street, Fengtai, Beijing 100071, People’s Republic of China, E-mail: bohaiwen{at}sohu.com.

Reprint requests: Bohai Wen, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Dong-Da-Jie Street, Fengtai, Beijing 100071, People’s Republic of China, Tel: 86-1066948682, Fax: 86-1063813974.






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Copyright © 2005 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.