体内电穿孔对载体表达效率和人类免疫缺陷病毒1型DNA疫苗免疫反应效果的研究

本文旨在分析体内电穿孔（EP）技术对DNA载体pDRVIl．0表达效率和人类免疫缺陷病毒1型（HIV-1）DNA疫苗免疫反应的辅助效果,为其在DNA疫苗中的应用提供参考数据。通过构建携带荧光素酶基因的pDRVll．0-Fluc质粒,利用活体成像技术分析EP接种对荧光素酶蛋白的组织分布、表达水平和持续时间的影响;同时,构建携带我国HIV-1CRF07-BC流行毒株env基因的DNA疫苗pDRVll．0-HIV,利用酶联免疫斑点法（ELISPOT）、酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）和中和抗体法对EP辅助免疫反应的特点进行分析。结果显示,EP接种后,pDRVll．0-Fluc质粒未改变组织分布特点,但其体内表达效率显著提高,载体的饱和接种量降低。同时,EP技术提高了pDRVll．0-HIV疫苗免疫小鼠后诱导的γ干扰素（IFN-7）分泌型T细胞反应和Env特异性结合抗体效价。结果提示,EP技术可在DNA疫苗应用方面发挥作用。     

IL-15基因佐剂对HIV-1B亚型gp160DNA及腺病毒载体疫苗的免疫效果的影响

本研究构建了IL15质粒以评估其对表达HIV-1gp160的DNA和腺病毒5型载体疫苗的免疫效果的影响。我们构建表达IL15的质粒pVR-IL15,将pVR-IL15联合pVR-HIVgp160初免Ad5-HIVgp160加强方式免疫BALB/c小鼠,用IFN-γELISPOT和ELISA等方法比较疫苗单独免疫组小鼠与疫苗加IL15佐剂组小鼠诱导的细胞免疫和体液免疫反应的强度。结果显示疫苗加IL15佐剂组小鼠诱导的细胞免疫反应和体液免疫反应比疫苗单独免疫组小鼠相均有显著增强。构建的IL15基因佐剂可以增强HIV DNA疫苗初免和腺病毒疫苗加强免疫策略的免疫效果。     

ELISPOT方法检测SIVmac239感染猴特异性细胞免疫水平

目的为了完善现有的SIV／恒河猴模型,掌握恒河猴被SIV感染后体内细胞免疫应答状态,为评价HIV疫苗提供方法和数据上的参考,我们测定了SIV感染猴体内病毒特异性的细胞免疫水平。方法实验前选出4只无SIV、sTLV、SRV／D和B病毒感染的恒河猴,用SIVmac239病毒液静脉感染实验猴,使用RT-PCR、流氏细胞术和ELISPOT等方法,监测SIVmac239病毒在恒河猴体内复制情况、感染猴的外周免疫损伤情况和细胞免疫情况,持续测定一年。结果实验结果显示IFN-γ ELISPOT方法能有效的评估实验猴的细胞免疫情况,IFN—YELISPOT结果和CD4＋T细胞数无相关性,与血浆病毒载量稍有相关。结论本实验明确了SIVmac239感染中国恒河猴体内CTL的基本趋势和范围,了解了外周血病毒载量、外周免疫损伤与细胞免疫状况之间的联系,完善了SIV／SAIDS模型评价指标,为使用此模型评价抗病毒药物或疫苗提供了基础条件。     

鼠巨细胞病毒 IE-1核酸疫苗和灭活疫苗联合免疫抗病毒感染的研究

巨细胞病毒（Cytomegalovirus,CMV）在人群中感染普遍,对婴幼儿及免疫低下人群中造成严重疾病,目前还没有针对该病毒的商品化疫苗。本研究以BALB/c小鼠为动物模型,探讨鼠巨细胞病毒（Murine cytomega-lovirus,MCMV）IE-1 DNA疫苗和MCMV灭活疫苗联合免疫抗MCMV感染的免疫保护效果。将编码IE-1基因的DNA疫苗（pIE-1）通过肌肉注射辅以电穿孔的方式对小鼠进行初免,再用全病毒灭活疫苗单独或者辅以MF59佐剂进行加强免疫,分别通过ELISA和ELISPOT方法检测到联合免疫策略在免疫组小鼠体内诱导了MC-MV特异性的抗体应答和CTL应答;免疫两周后用3＆#215;LD50致死剂量MCMV感染小鼠,疫苗对小鼠的免疫保护通过检测小鼠存活率、重要器官中的病毒滴度及体重丢失率来评价。结果显示,与单独免疫DNA疫苗或灭活疫苗相比,IE-1 DNA疫苗联合灭活疫苗组能同时在小鼠体内诱导体液免疫和细胞免疫应答,并提供小鼠完全保护;而且MF59辅以灭活疫苗免疫小鼠能增强疫苗的免疫效果。     

HIV-1 C/B'亚型多价重组MVA病毒疫苗

目的：检测人类免疫缺陷病毒1型（HIV-1） C/B'亚型与痘苗病毒安卡拉株（MVA）的多价重组疫苗的免疫原性,此疫苗中包含HIV-1 C/B'CRF 株的五个基因,分别是env、gag、pol、nef、tat。方法：设105 pfu/mL 、106 pfu/mL、107 pfu/mL ADMVA三个剂量组,用ELISPOT方法检测细胞免疫反应。同时,以Gag蛋白作为包被抗原,使用间接ELISA的方法检测体液免疫反应。结果：免疫后的小鼠对插入基因env、gag、pol和nef所表达蛋白均产生了特异性细胞免疫应答,且免疫效果与免疫剂量呈正相关。ELISA结果表明, MVA重组疫苗免疫诱导产生了特异性体液免疫,抗HIV-1Gag的抗体滴度与免疫次数和免疫剂量都存在正相关性。结论：多价MVA重组疫苗能有效地诱导小鼠产生特异地细胞免疫和体液免疫反应。     

HIV-1复制型DNA疫苗与非复制型重组痘苗病毒疫苗在小鼠体内细胞免疫效果的研究

目的:用HIV-1复制型DNA疫苗和非复制型重组痘苗病毒疫苗(rNTV-C)进行单独免疫和联合免疫的研究(2种疫苗分别包含HIV-1 B’/C亚型的gp160、gag-pol、rev-tat-nef等6种基因),以了解这2种新型HIV疫苗单独免疫及联合免疫的效果,并为临床免疫方案的制定提供实验依据。方法:将HIV-1 DNA疫苗和rNTV-C疫苗免疫BALB/c小鼠,设计rNTV-C单独免疫组、DNA单独免疫组,以及DNA初免、rNTV-C加强的联合免疫组,并设计不同免疫途径和不同剂量的各种组合。用IFN-γELISPOT检测各组的细胞免疫效果,用统计学方法分析比较各组细胞免疫效果的差异。结果:DNA疫苗和rNTV-C疫苗单独免疫时,二者都能诱发针对各抗原的特异性免疫反应;联合免疫能够诱发比DNA或rNTV-C单独免疫都强的特异性细胞免疫反应。统计分析显示,2种疫苗采用肌肉注射途径的免疫效果显著高于皮内注射,1μg和5μg DNA疫苗的免疫效果差异不显著,而1×108 PFU的rNTV-C比2×107PFU的免疫效果要强。结论:联合免疫策略能够显著增强HIV-1疫苗各抗原的免疫原性,通过对2种HIV-1疫苗单独免疫及二者联合免疫的细胞免疫反应的分析比较,确定了较好的免疫方案,为疫苗临床前免疫效果评价和临床方案的制定提供了实验依据。     

牛结核γ干扰素ELISPOT检测方法的建立

本研究旨在建立一种牛结核γ干扰素ELISPOT检测方法,并评价该方法用于牛结核病检测的价值。通过筛选与天然牛γ干扰素特异性结合的单克隆抗体分别作为包被抗体和检测抗体,并探索不同的实验条件确定最佳包被抗体浓度、最佳细胞数量和最佳检测抗体浓度等,建立牛γ干扰素ELISPOT检测方法。采集30头奶牛尾静脉血并分离外周血单个核细胞,以结核菌素作为刺激原,使用建立的ELISPOT检测方法进行牛结核病检测,并与BOVIGAMTM ELISA试剂盒检测结果进行比较。筛选到两株与天然牛γ干扰素特异性结合的单抗2G5和5E11,确定ELISPOT检测方法的最佳实验条件为:包被抗体2G5浓度2.5μg/m L,每孔细胞数量2.5×105个,检测抗体Bio-5E11浓度1μg/mL。使用建立的ELISPOT检测方法与BOVIGAMTM ELISA试剂盒对30头奶牛进行同步检测,结果显示,以BOVIGAMTM ELISA试剂盒检测结果作为参考标准,14头BOVIGAMTM ELISA试剂盒检测阳性牛中,ELISPOT方法检出的阳性牛为11头,敏感性为78.6%(11/14);16头BOVIGAMTM ELISA试剂盒检测阴性牛中,ELISPOT方法检出的阴性牛为12头,特异性为75%(12/16)。应用结核菌素作为刺激原的牛结核γ干扰素ELISPOT检测方法可用于牛结核病辅助检测,具有潜在的临床应用价值。     

以减毒沙门氏菌为SARS-CoV N DNA口服疫苗载体的初步研究

目的:以减毒沙门氏菌为载体运送SARS-CoV N DNA疫苗至小鼠体内,研究其诱导的免疫应答情况,评价减毒鼠伤寒沙门氏菌作为口服疫苗的免疫效果。方法：将含SARS-CoV N基因的pcDNA-N质粒导入减毒鼠伤寒沙门氏菌CS022中,采用口服和滴鼻相结合的方法免疫BALB/c小鼠,以ELISA检测不同时间免疫小鼠血清中抗体及其亚型;以MTT法测定特异性淋巴细胞增殖反应;ELISPOT检测细胞因子;流式检测T细胞亚型。结果：pcDNA-N DNA疫苗口服免疫后2周就可以诱生特异性IgG抗体,且以IgG2a占优势;诱导了较高水平的淋巴细胞特异性增殖反应和IFN-γ,主要以Th1免疫为主。结论：减毒沙门氏菌可以有效运送pcDNA-N重组质粒并诱导产生特异体液和细胞免疫应答,为减毒细菌作为DNA疫苗运送载体的研究提供了参考依据,也为SARS疫苗研究开辟了新方法。     

乙型肝炎病毒核心抗原及Flt3配体双表达核酸疫苗的小鼠免疫应答研究

目的 构建乙型肝炎病毒核心抗原(HBcAg)和Flt3配体(FL)胞外段双表达核酸疫苗,并观察其免疫原性。方法 分别将HBcAg、FL基因克隆入pJW4303载体,获得双表达核酸疫苗,体外转染293T细胞检测目的基因的表达。分组免疫BABL／c小鼠,酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)检测小鼠血清抗-HBc IgG效价,酶联免疫斑点试验(ELISPOT)检测HBcAg特异性Th1／Th2型细胞因子的分泌水平。结果 所构建疫苗在体外均能表达HBcAg和FL,当基因位于内部核糖体切入位点(IRES)元件上游时表达水平明显较优。pJW4303／C／FL免疫组产生的抗-HBc IgG效价和Th1／Th2型细胞因子的分泌水平均显著优于pJW4303／C和pJW4303／FL／C组。结论 成功构建双表达核酸疫苗,基因位于上游时表达水平高于下游。FL基因的引入明显增强了HBcAg核酸疫苗的免疫原性。     

应用ELISPOT方法筛选确定HIV-1B'/C亚型疫苗六种抗原的H-2d限制的T细胞表位

为了筛选和确定用于检测表达HIV-1 B’/C亚型病毒6种抗原(gp160、gag、polr、evt、at和nef)的艾滋病疫苗免疫小鼠后H-2d限制的特异性T细胞表位,本研究使用表达上述6种抗原的复制型DNA疫苗和非复制型重组痘苗病毒疫苗联合免疫BALB/c小鼠,通过矩阵设计将HIV-1 B(C)亚型6种相应抗原全序列肽库分别混合成肽池,使用肽池对免疫小鼠进行IFN-γELISPOT检测,根据检测结果确定肽库中特异反应的优势表位肽。结果显示:筛选到七条针对Gag的特异表位肽,其中有5条与文献报道相同,另2条为新表位肽;筛选到3条针对Pol蛋白特异表位肽,其中一条为新表位肽;筛选到2条针对gp160特异表位肽,其中一条为新表位肽;在Nef肽库中筛选到一条新的表位肽;从Tat肽库中筛选到3条表位肽,这三条肽在肽库中是连续的序列,都包含(或部分包含)网上公布的表位序列;在Rev肽库中没有筛选到能够产生阳性反应的特异性表位肽。本研究使用IFN-γELISPOT方法筛选和确定了可用于检测表达HIV-1 B’/C亚型病毒6种抗原(gp160、gag、pol、revt、at和nef)的艾滋病疫苗免疫小鼠后H-2d限制的特异性T细胞表位。     

Durable human memory T cells quantifiable by cultured enzyme-linked immunospot assays are induced by heterologous prime boost immunization and correlate with protection against malaria

Immunological memory is a required component of protective antimalarial responses raised by T cell-inducing vaccines. The magnitude of ex vivo IFN-gamma T cell responses is widely used to identify immunogenic vaccines although this response usually wanes and may disappear within weeks. However, protection in the field is likely to depend on durable central memory T cells that are not detected by this assay. To identify longer-lived memory T cells, PBMC from malaria-naive vaccinated volunteers who had received prime boost vaccinations with a combination of DNA and/or viral vectors encoding the multiepitope string-thrombospondin-related adhesion protein Ag were cultured in vitro with Ag for 10 days before the ELISPOT assay. Ex vivo T cell responses peaked at 7 days after the final immunization and declined substantially over 6 mo, but responses identified after T cell culture increased over the 6-mo period after the final immunization. Moreover, individual cultured ELISPOT responses at the day of challenge time point correlated significantly with degree of protection against malaria sporozoite challenge, whereas ex vivo responses did not, despite a correlation between the peak ex vivo response and magnitude of memory responses 6 mo later. This cultured assay identifies long-lasting protective T cell responses and therefore offers an attractive option for assessments of vaccine immunogenicity.     

HIV-1-specific T cell precursors with high proliferative capacity correlate with low viremia and high CD4 counts in untreated individuals

Evidences have recently suggested that the preservation of vaccine-induced memory rather than effector T cells is essential for better outcome and survival following pathogenic SIV challenge in macaques. However, an equivalent demonstration in humans is missing, and the immune correlates of HIV-1 control have been only partially characterized. We focused on the quantification of Ag-specific T cell precursors with high proliferative capacity (PHPC) using a peptide-based cultured IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay (PHPC assay), which has been shown to identify expandable memory T cells. To determine which responses correlate with viral suppression and positive immunologic outcome, PBMC from 32 chronically untreated HIV-1-infected individuals were evaluated in response to peptide pools, representing the complete HIV-1 Gag, Nef, and Rev proteins, by PHPC and IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay, which instead identifies effector T cells with low proliferative capacity. High magnitude of Gag-specific PHPC, but not ELISPOT, responses significantly correlated with low plasma viremia, due to responses directed toward p17 and p15 subunits. Only Gag p17-specific PHPC response significantly correlated with high CD4 counts. Analysis of 20 additional PBMC samples from an independent cohort of chronically untreated HIV-1-infected individuals confirmed the correlation between Gag p17-specific PHPC response and either plasma viremia (inverse correlation) or CD4 counts (direct correlation). Our results indicate that the PHPC assay is quantitatively and qualitatively different from the ELISPOT assay, supporting that different T cell populations are being evaluated. The PHPC assay might be an attractive option for individual patient management and for the design and testing of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines.     

人乳头瘤病毒(HPV)58型DNA疫苗免疫原性的初步分析

为了检测HPV 58型不同L1基因的DNA疫苗的免疫原性,以pcDNA3.1为载体分别构建含HFV 58型不同L1基因的DNA疫苗,命名为L1h、L1h△c、L1S、L1SM和L1wt.用免疫印迹法检测各DNA疫苗的体外表达情况;各重组质粒与pcDNA3.1-h58L2和pcDNA3.1-GFP共转染293FT细胞,检测其形成假病毒的能力;并将各DNA疫苗肌肉注射免疫小鼠,利用假病毒中和实验检测中和抗体水平,用ELISPOT检测细胞免疫情况.结果显示,本实验成功构建了五种DNA疫苗,L1h△c的体外表达量最高,L1S和L1SM的表达量次之,L1wt没有表达;重组质粒L1S能够形成假病毒,而其他四种重组质粒均不能形成假病毒.L1S和L1h均可在小鼠体内诱导中和抗体,但L1S诱导的中和抗体的平均滴度为1:6 400,明显高于L1h诱导的中和抗体水平(平均滴度为1:48),而其他疫苗在小鼠体内未产生中和抗体.对五种疫苗均未检测出特异性的细胞免疫反应.结果提示,体外能够组装成假病毒的DNA疫苗在免疫动物后可诱导高滴度的中和抗体,为今后DNA疫苗的筛选提供参考.     

Preliminary study on a potential panel for quality assurance of ELISPOT

The ELISPOT assay is increasingly used for assessing cellular immune responses in clinical trials of HIV-1 or cancer vaccines. However, to date, data from clinical trials do not consistently show that immune responses are correlated with clinical endpoints. This is due in part to the lack of assay standardization and validation across laboratories and therefore, a quality control panel is required to establish competency and comparability amongst different laboratories. In this study peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy individuals were screened and frozen in liquid nitrogen. The recovery and viability of the PBMCs and the frequencies of interferon (IFN)-γ-secreting cells after CEF peptide pool stimulation were detected after various intervals in seven different laboratories. The recovery and viability did not differ significantly after different intervals. Although the frequencies of IFN (interferon)-γ-secreting cells among thawed PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) fluctuated after CEF peptide pool stimulation at different intervals, they were not significantly decreased compared with those among fresh PBMCs. However, the viabilities, recoveries and frequencies of IFN-γ-secreting cells differed significantly among the seven laboratories. Our results indicate that cryopreserved PBMCs could be used as a quality control panel for ELISPOT. However, the procedures for ELISPOT need to be standardized amongst different laboratories.     

Recognition of escape variants in ELISPOT does not always predict CD8+ T-cell recognition of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected cells expressing the same variant sequences

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)'s tremendous sequence variability is a major obstacle for the development of cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte-based vaccines, especially since much of this variability is selected for by CD8⁺ T cells. We investigated to what extent reactivity to escape variant peptides in standard enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays predicts the recognition of cells infected with corresponding escape variant viruses. Most of the variant peptides tested were recognized in standard ELISPOT and intracellular cytokine stain (ICS) assays. Functional avidity of epitope-specific T cells for some of the variants was, however, markedly reduced. These mutations which reduced avidity also abrogated recognition by epitope-specific CD8⁺ T cells in a viral suppression assay. Our results indicate that “cross-reactive” CD8⁺ T-cell responses identified in ELISPOT and ICS assays using a single high concentration of variant peptide often fail to predict the recognition of cells infected with variant viruses.     

HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses to HXB2 Gag and Nef peptide pools in Chinese HIV/AIDS patients

HXB2 is primarily used as a template strain in developing HIV vaccines in Europe and the US. However,it is not yet known whether the strain can induce strong HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses in Chinese HIV/AIDS patients. In the present study,two groups of subjects were investigated:9 AIDS patients and 7 long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs). HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses were examined in all patients through the ELISPOT assay. CD4+ T cell counts,CD8+ T cell counts,viral load and HIV subtype of each patien...     

The use of a rapid ELISPOT assay to analyze peptide-specific immune responses in carcinoma patients to peptide vs. recombinant poxvirus vaccines

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) assay for interferon γ production has been used to analyze specific T cell responses to a Flu 9-mer peptide, and a 9-mer peptide of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Assays were performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HLA-A2-positive patients with CEA-expressing carcinomas, both before and after vaccination with CEA-based vaccines, and from HLA-A2-positive healthy blood donors. The ELISPOT assay utilized aliquots of frozen PBMC, and assays were performed after 24 h in culture with peptide to rule out any artifacts due to long-term in vitro stimulation cycles. An internal standard was used for each assay to define reproducibility of the assay, and all samples from a given patient (pre- and post-vaccination, with both the Flu and CEA peptides) were analyzed simultaneously. The results indicated a trend towards healthy blood donors having higher levels of Flu-specific T cell precursors than do colon carcinoma patients, but these results were not statistically significant (P = 0.06). On the other hand, slightly higher CEA-specific T cell responses were observed in cancer patients with CEA-expressing carcinomas than in healthy blood donors. PBMC from two CEA-based vaccine clinical trials were analyzed for T cell responses to the same CEA peptide and to the Flu control peptide. The first trial consisted of three monthly vaccinations of CEA peptide (designated PPP) in adjuvant. The second trial consisted of cohorts receiving three monthly vaccinations of avipox-CEA recombinant (designated AAA) or cohorts receiving a primary vaccination with recombinant vaccinia-CEA followed by two monthly vaccinations with avipox-CEA (designated VAA). Few, if any, CEA-specific T cell responses were seen in the PPP vaccinations, while the majority of patients receiving the poxvirus CEA recombinants demonstrated increases in CEA-specific T cell responses and no increases in Flu-specific responses. CEA-specific IgG responses were also demonstrated in patients following recombinant CEA poxvirus vaccinations. Statistical analyses of the T cell responses to the same CEA peptide demonstrated a P value of 0.028 for the recombinant poxvirus vaccines, as compared with the peptide vaccine. There were no differences seen (P = 0.37) in Flu-specific responses after these two types of CEA vaccination. These results thus provide the first evidence that poxvirus recombinant-based vaccines are more potent in the initiation of tumor-antigen-specific T cell responses than vaccines employing peptide in adjuvant, when assays are conducted in an identical manner, and in defining responses to the same peptide. These results also demonstrate for the first time that an ELISPOT assay, performed over a 24-h period and without in vitro sensitization, can be successfully used to monitor immune responses to a tumor-associated antigen in cancer patients. Received: 12 June 2000 / Accepted: 13 July 2000     

Measurement of cytokine release at the single cell level using the ELISPOT assay

The enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay took its design concept from traditional ELISA techniques and evolved over the years from a method for detecting antibodies secreted from B cells to a method for detecting cytokines or other soluble mediators secreted from a variety of different cell types. The ELISPOT assay allows the quantitative measurement of frequency of cytokine secreting cells at the single cell level directly ex vivo without elaborate in vitro expansion or manipulation of cell populations. The function of cells can be inferred from the pattern of cytokines secreted by cells in response to diverse antigenic stimuli and thus the ELISPOT assay has become a powerful method for monitoring immune responses in health and disease. The ELISPOT assay like the ELISA assay is relatively easy to perform and it has the promise of robustness, reliability, and reproducibility of performance for use as a diagnostic tool. The history, applications, validation process, and future challenges of the ELISPOT assay are discussed in this chapter.     

热休克蛋白HSP70和gp96增强乙肝DNA疫苗的细胞和体液免疫应答

旨在以乙肝病毒 (HBV) 的主要结构蛋白-表面蛋白 (HBsAg) 和核心蛋白 (HBcAg) 作为抗原设计DNA疫苗,研究热休克蛋白HSP70和gp96作为新型免疫佐剂增强疫苗的细胞免疫和体液免疫水平。利用酶联免疫斑点实验、流式细胞内因子染色、3H-TdR实验、酶联免疫吸附实验技术分析,结果显示HSP70和gp96可使疫苗的细胞免疫水平提高1~6倍,提高体液免疫水平20％~60％。研究结果为设计以HSP70和gp96作为免疫佐剂的新型乙肝治疗性疫苗提供了依据。