CFP۱۰: mFcγ۲ as a novel tuberculosis vaccine candidate increases immune response in mouse

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-۱۰ from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Fc-domain of  mouse IgG۲a 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-۱۰: Fcγ۲a and pPICZαA-CFP-۱۰: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-۱۲, IL-۴, IL-۱۷ and TGF-β) were evaluated. Results: The levels of IFN-γ and IL-۱۲ in mice that received recombinant proteins was higher than the control groups (BCG and PBS). Thus, both recombinant proteins (CFP-۱۰:Fcγ۲a and CFP-۱۰:His) could excite good response in Th۱-cells. The Fc-tagged protein had a stronger Th۱ response with low levels of IL-۴, as compared to CFP-۱۰:His. However, the highest level of Th۱ response was observed in groups that were vaccinated with BCG (prime) and then received recombinant protein CFP-۱۰: Fcγ۲a (booster). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that binding mice Fc-domain to CFP-۱۰ 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.

کلیدواژه ها:

CFP-۱۰ ، Fcγ۲a ، Immunogenicity ، Mycobacterium tuberculosis ، Subunit vaccine