Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) causes chronic progressive granulomatous enteritis leading to diarrhoea, weight loss, and eventual death in ruminants. Commercially available vaccines provide only partial protection against MAP infection and can compromise the use of bovine tuberculosis diagnostic tests. Here, we report the development of a protein-particle-based vaccine containing MAP antigens Ag85A202–347-SOD1–72-Ag85B173–330-74F1–148+669–786 as a fusion (‘MAP fusion protein particle’). The fusion antigen displayed on protein particles was identified using mass spectrometry. Surface exposure and accessibility of the fusion antigen was confirmed by flow cytometry and ELISA. The MAP fusion protein particle vaccine induced strong antigen-specific T-cell immune responses in mice, as indicated by increased cytokine (IFN-γ and IL-17A) and costimulatory signals (CD40 and CD86) in these animals. Following MAP-challenge, a significant reduction in bacterial burden was observed in multiple organs of the mice vaccinated with the MAP fusion protein particle vaccine compared with the PBS group. The reduction in severity of MAP infection conferred by the MAP fusion protein particle vaccine was similar to that of Silirum and recombinant protein vaccines. Overall, the results provide evidence that MAP antigens can be engineered as a protein particulate vaccine capable of inducing immunity against MAP infection. This utility offers an attractive platform for production of low-cost particulate vaccines against other intracellular pathogens.
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Rights statement
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.
Language
English
Does this contain Māori information or data?
No
Publisher
Springer Nature
Journal title
Scientific Reports
ISSN
2045-2322
Citation
Gupta, S. K., Parlane, N.A., Luo, D., Rehm, B. H. A., Heiser, A., Buddle, B. M., & Wedlock, D. N. (2020). Self‑assembled particulate vaccine elicits strong immune responses and reduces Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in mice. Scientific Reports, 10, 22289. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-79407-7