Galectins, beta-galactoside-binding lectins, are extensively distributed in
the animal kingdom and share some basic molecular properties. Galectin-3, a
member of this family, is generally associated with differentiation,
morphogenesis, and metastasis. In this study, galectin-3 was isolated from
ovine placental cotyledons round the middle of the gestation period by
lactose extraction followed by affinity chromatography on lactosyl-agarose,
and separated from galectin-1 by size exclusion chromatography on a
Superose 12 column. Under native conditions this lectin behaved as a
monomer with an apparent molecular weight of approximately 29,000 and an
isoelectric point of 9.0. The partial amino acid sequence of the peptides
obtained by tryptic digestion of this protein followed by HPLC separation
showed striking homology with other members of the galectin-3 subfamily.
Furthermore, ovine placental galectin-3 exhibited specific mitogenic
activity toward rat spleen mononuclear cells. Besides, this protein
strongly reacted with a rabbit antiserum raised against a chicken galectin.
Results obtained by Western blot analysis showed that its expression was
greatly decreased in term placenta with respect to the middle of the
gestation period, suggesting a regulated expression throughout development.
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The Cap protein of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) that serves as a major host-protective immunogen was used to develop recombinant vaccines for control of PCV2-associated diseases. Growing research data have demonstrated the high effectiveness of flagellin as an adjuvant for humoral and cellular immune responses. Here, a recombinant protein was designed by fusing a modified version of bacterial flagellin to PCV2 Cap protein and expressed in a baculovirus system. When administered without adjuvant to BALB/c mice, the flagellin-Cap fusion protein elicited stronger PCV2-specific IgG antibody response, higher neutralizing antibody levels, milder histopathological changes and lower viremia, as well as higher secretion of cytokines such as TNF-α and IFN-γ that conferred better protection against virus challenge than those in the recombinant Cap alone-inoculated mice. These results suggest that the recombinant Cap protein when fused to flagellin could elicit better humoral and cellular immune responses against PCV2 infection in a mouse model, thereby acting as an attractive candidate vaccine for control of the PCV2-associated diseases. 相似文献
