Abstract
All Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains whose DNA sequences have been determined possess filamentous phage DNA sequences. To ascertain if phage encoded proteins could form the basis of a gonococcal vaccine, rabbits were orally infected with S. enterica Typhimurium strain χ3987 harboring phagemid NgoΦ6 fm. The elicited sera contained large quantities of anti-phage IgG and IgA antibodies that bound to the surface of N. gonorrhoeae cells, as shown by indirect fluorescent analysis and flow cytometry. The elicited sera was able to bind to several phage proteins. The sera also had bactericidal activity. These data demonstrate that N. gonorrhoeae filamentous phage can induce antibodies with anti-gonococcal activity and that phage proteins may be a candidate for vaccine development.
Highlights
Tapchaisri and Sirisinha[4] showed that most male patients with acute gonorrhea develop anti-GC antibody within 2 wks of infection
Our discovery that N. gonorrhoeae filamentous phage can replicate and be stably maintained in different Gram-negative bacteria[27] suggested that this could allow for a novel way of delivering phage particles, using live non-pathogenic bacteria as the delivery vehicle
Typhimurium was transformed with pBS::Φ 6 and the resulting ampicillin resistant colonies tested for the presence of pBS::Φ 6 and production of progeny phagemid particles
Summary
Tapchaisri and Sirisinha[4] showed that most male patients with acute gonorrhea develop anti-GC antibody within 2 wks of infection. Because the filamentous phage replication cycle is conserved among most of these phage in other species[29], this suggests that the assembly and structural proteins should be present on the surface of GC This makes them potential targets for specific antibodies. Live bacterial vaccine vectors such as attenuated human intestinal bacteria like Salmonella, Shigella or Listeria have been studied for mucosal immunization for the prevention of different infectious diseases[30,31,32] These microorganisms, when delivered through the oral route, can cross the lumen of the gut and be taken up by macrophages and dendritic cells at local sites, which results in the stimulation of humoral as well as cell-mediated and mucosal immune responses. We evaluate the effectiveness of phage NgoΦ 6 as a potential immunogen delivered by the S. enterica χ 3987 Typhimurium strain to induce anti-gonococcal antibodies To our knowledge, this is the first application of using “wild type” filamentous phage where native phage proteins serve as the immunizing antigen
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