Abstract
BackgroundLegionella pneumophila (L.pneumophila), a Gram-negative small microorganism, causes hospital-acquired pneumonia especially in immunocompromised patients. Vaccination may be an effective method for preventing L.pneumophila infection. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a better vaccine against this disease. In this study, we developed a recombinant peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL)/type IV pilin (PilE)/lagellin (FlaA) DNA vaccine and evaluated its immunogenicity and efficacy to protect against L.pneumophila infection.ResultsAccording to the results, the expression of PAL, PilE, FlaA proteins and PAL/PilE/FlaA fusion protein in 293 cells was confirmed. Immunization with PAL/PilE/FlaA DNA vaccine resulted in highest IgG titer and strongest cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response. Furthermore, the histopathological changes in lung tissues of mice challenged with a lethal dose of L.pneumophila were alleviated by PAL/PilE/FlaA DNA vaccine immunization. The production of T-helper-1 (Th1) cytokines (IFNγ, TGF-α, and IL-12), and Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) were promoted in PAL/PilE/FlaA DNA vaccine group. Finally, immunization with PAL/PilE/FlaA vaccine raised the survival rate of mice to 100% after challenging with a lethal dose of L.pneumophila for 10 consecutive days.ConclusionsOur study suggests that the newly developed PAL/PilE/FlaA DNA vaccine stimulates strong humoral and cellular immune responses and may be a potential intervention on L.pneumophila infection.
Highlights
Legionella pneumophila (L.pneumophila), a Gram-negative small microorganism, causes hospitalacquired pneumonia especially in immunocompromised patients
In the pcDNA3.1 group, the immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer was undetectable. These results suggested that DNA vaccine pcPAL/ Type IV pilin (PilE)/FlaA induced a stronger humoral immune response in mice
In this study, we developed a recombinant peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL)/PilE/ FlaA DNA vaccine to protect against L.pneumophila infection in mice
Summary
Legionella pneumophila (L.pneumophila), a Gram-negative small microorganism, causes hospitalacquired pneumonia especially in immunocompromised patients. Vaccination may be an effective method for preventing L.pneumophila infection. We developed a recombinant peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL)/type IV pilin (PilE)/lagellin (FlaA) DNA vaccine and evaluated its immunogenicity and efficacy to protect against L.pneumophila infection. The sporadic, epidemic, or hospital infection of L.pneumophila can be fatal, especially in immunocompromised patients [3, 4]. Developing an effective, Early studies have found that animals artificially infected with L.pneumophila could generate a humoral or cell mediated immune response [6, 7]. L.pneumophila contains multiple virulence factors, such as peptidoglycanassociated lipoprotein (PAL), lagellin (FlaA), and type IV pilin (PilE).
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