Immunization against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium perfringens</Emphasis> cells elicits protection against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium tetani</Emphasis>in mouse model: identification of cross-reactive proteins using proteomic methodologies

Background  

Clostridium tetani and Clostridium perfringens are among the medically important clostridial pathogens causing diseases in man and animals. Several homologous open reading frames (ORFs) have been identified in the genomes of the two pathogens by comparative genomic analysis. We tested a likelihood of extensive sharing of common epitopes between homologous proteins of these two medically important pathogens and the possibility of cross-protection using active immunization.