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Analyses of Vaccination Protocols for Leptospira interrogans Serovar Autumnalis in Hamsters

Leptospirosis, caused by Leptospira spp., is a zoonotic disease found worldwide. Killed whole cell leptospiral vaccines have been used as effective vaccines to elicit specific antibodies for protection. However, the involvement of cytokine responses after vaccination is not well characterized. Hamsters were immunized with killed L. interrogans serovar Autumnalis before challenge to study cytokine mRNA expression levels (interferon [IFN]-, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-, interleukin [IL]-10, and IL-4). Vaccinated groups showed 92–100% survival rates, whereas control hamsters died within 6–10 days. However, live organisms were detected in vaccinated groups, and mild to moderate pathology was observed early in infection. IFN- and TNF- mRNA expression levels correlated with the severity of infection and lung pathology, whereas IL-4 and IL-10 expression levels were significantly higher in vaccinated groups. In summary, commonly used vaccines changed the cytokine profiles and protected hamsters from death but failed to stimulate sterile immunity and were unable to prevent the occurrence of pathology.

Received May 12, 2008. Accepted for publication August 13, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank Dr. Miranda Lo, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Structural and Functional Microbial Genomics, Monash University, Australia, and Emeritus Professor James A. Will, Department of Pathobiology, SVM, and Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for kind help in editing the English in this manuscript.

Financial support: This project was supported by the Thailand Research Fund through the Royal Golden Jubilee PhD Program (Grant PHD/02/2/2543) to Amporn Srikram and R. Wongratanacheewin (Sermswan) and Melioidosis Research Center, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.

^* Address correspondence to Rasana W. Sermswan, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand 40002. E-mail: rasana{at}kku.ac.th

Authors’ addresses: Amporn Srikram, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Technology, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mitraparb Rd., Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand, E-mail: a_srikram{at}yahoo.com. Surasakdi Wongratanacheewin, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mitraparb Rd., Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand, Tel: 66-43-363188, Fax: 66-43-348385, E-mail: sura_wng{at}kku.ac.th. Anucha Puapairoj, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mitraparb Rd., Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand, Tel: 66-0894196077, E-mail: anupua{at}kku.ac.th. Vanaporn Wuthiekanun, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand, Tel: 662-2460832, Fax: 662-2467795, E-mail: lek{at}tropmedres.ac. Rasana W. Sermswan, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mitraparb Rd., Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand, Tel: 66-43-363265, Fax: 66-43-348386, E-mail: rasana{at}kku.ac.th.