Immunogenicity of a vaccine made from soluble Proteus antigens

Hemagglutinins with different specificity were determined in 270 subjects: of these, 101 were examined in the time course before and after immunization with Proteus vaccine prepared from soluble antigens. The preparation possessed pronounced immunological potency and stimulated the formation of antibodies to the vaccine strain, to heterologous Proteus strains and to the common antigens of Gram-negative bacteria. The combined scheme of the subcutaneous and local administration of the above-mentioned Proteus vaccine ensured an increase in the synthesis of IgM and IgA in patients with Proteus wound infection. Active immunization ensured an essential rise in the level of hemagglutinins to Re-glycolipid in donors and oncological patients not infected with Proteus, but did not ensure the statistically significant shifts in the antibody level to Re-glycolipids in patients with chronic Proteus infection.     

Identification of protective pneumococcal t(h)17 antigens from the soluble fraction of a killed whole cell vaccine

Mucosal or parenteral immunization with a killed unencapsulated pneumococcal whole cell antigen (WCA) with an adjuvant protects mice from colonization by a T(H)17 CD4+ cell-mediated mechanism. Using preparative SDS gels, we separated the soluble proteins that compose the WCA in order to identify fractions that were immunogenic and protective. We screened these fractions for their ability to stimulate IL-17A secretion from splenocytes obtained from mice immunized with WCA and adjuvant. We identified 12 proteins within the stimulatory fractions by mass spectrometry; these proteins were then cloned, recombinantly expressed and purified using an Escherichia coli expression system. The ability of these proteins to induce IL-17A secretion was then evaluated by stimulation of mouse splenocytes. Of the four most stimulatory proteins, three were protective in a mouse pneumococcal serotype 6B colonization model. This work thus describes a method for identifying immunogenic proteins from the soluble fraction of pneumococcus and shows that several of the proteins identified protect mice from colonization when used as mucosal vaccines. We propose that, by providing protection against pneumococcal colonization, one or more of these proteins may serve as components of a multivalent pneumococcal vaccine.