CFP10: mFcγ2 as a novel tuberculosis vaccine candidate increases immune response in mouse

• Main Authors: Ali Asghar Baghani, Saman Soleimanpour, Hadi Farsiani, Arman Mosavat, Masoud Yousefi, Zahra Meshkat, Seyed Abdolrahim Rezaee, Saeid Amel Jamehdar, Mohammad Reza Akbari Eydgahi, Hamid Sadeghian, Kiarash Ghazvini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2017-02-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
• Subjects: CFP-10; Fcγ2a; Immunogenicity; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Subunit vaccine
• Online Access: http://ijbms.mums.ac.ir/article_8231_564b4fba2fca6fd9f17d6ec263b8b059.pdf

Objective(s): Despite treatment with antibiotics and vaccination with BCG, tuberculosis (TB) is still considered as one of the most important public health problems in the world. Therefore, designing and producing a more effective vaccine against TB seems urgently. In this study, immunogenicity of a fusion protein which consisting or comprising CFP-10 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Fc-domain of  mouse IgG2a was evaluated as a novel subunit vaccine candidate against TB. Materials and Methods: The genetic constructs were cloned in pPICZαA expression vector and recombinant vectors (pPICZαA-CFP-10: Fcγ2a and pPICZαA-CFP-10:His) were transformed into Pichia pastoris. To evaluate the expression of recombinant proteins, SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting were used. The immunogenicity of recombinant proteins, with and without BCG were assessed in BALB/c mice and specific cytokines against recombinant proteins (IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-4, IL-17 and TGF-β) were evaluated. Results: The levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in mice that received recombinant proteins was higher than the control groups (BCG and PBS). Thus, both recombinant proteins (CFP-10:Fcγ2a and CFP-10:His) could excite good response in Th1-cells. The Fc-tagged protein had a stronger Th1 response with low levels of IL-4, as compared to CFP-10:His. However, the highest level of Th1 response was observed in groups that were vaccinated with BCG (prime) and then received recombinant protein CFP-10: Fcγ2a (booster). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that binding mice Fc-domain to CFP-10 protein can increase the immunogenicity of the subunit vaccine. Further studies, might be able to design and produce a new generation of subunit vaccines based on the Fc-fused immunogen.