Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NANOMEDICINE
Volume 14, Issue -, Pages 6601-6613Publisher
DOVE MEDICAL PRESS LTD
DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S206210
Keywords
hepatitis B core protein; Neisserial surface protein A; virus-like particles; recombinant protein vaccine; Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81172890]
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention
- Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study [2015-351]
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Purpose: The primary goal of the present study was to explore and evaluate the highly conserved Neisserial surface protein A (NspA) molecule, fused with truncated HBV virus-like particles (VLPs), as a candidate vaccine against the virulent Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (NMB). Methods: NspA was inserted into the major immunodominant region of the truncated hepatitis B virus core protein (HBc; amino acids 1-144). The chimeric protein, HBc-N144-NspA, was expressed from a prokaryotic vector and generated HBc-like particles, as determined by transmission electron microscopy. Further, the chimeric protein and control proteins were used to immunize mice and the resulting immune responses evaluated by flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and analysis of serum bactericidal activity (SBA) titer. Results: Evaluation of the immunogenicity of the recombinant HBc-N144-NspA protein showed that it elicited the production of high levels of NspA-specific total IgG. The SBA titer of HBc-N144-NspA/F reached 1:16 2 weeks after the last immunization in BALB/c mice, when human serum complement was included in the vaccine Immunization of HBcN144-NspA, even without adjuvant, induced high levels of IL-4 and a high IgG1 to IgG2a ratio, confirming induction of an intense Th2 immune response. Levels of IL-17A increased rapidly in mice after the first immunization with HBc-N144-NspA, indicating the potential for this vaccine to induce a mucosal immune response. Meanwhile, the immunization of HBc-N144-NspA without adjuvant induced only mild inflammatory infiltration into the mouse muscle tissue. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that modification using HBc renders NspA a candidate vaccine, which can trigger protective immunity against NMB.
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