• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2002

Mice immunized with equine herpesvirus type-1(EHV-1) L-particles skewed a significant increase (p<7.75) in serum antibody titers. Upon a booster dose four weeks lateral antibody titers increased significantly. Interestingly, immunization via intravenous or intramuscular route induced significantly higher (p<0.75) antibody titers. However, mice iummunized with UV-treated L-particles, visions or immunization via intranasal route induced lower antibody titers. Upon challenge inoculation with wildtype EHV-1, our data showed there was a poor correlation between antibody titers and protection against virus replication. Therefore, the role of cell-mediated immunity Inwards protection was investigated. As predicted, the strongest cell-mediated immunity, as measured by delayed-hypersensitivity test, was detected in mice immunized with live virus particles. The magnitude of cell-mediated immune response correlated with the efficacy of L-particles as immunizing agent. The highest efficacy, as indicated in mice immunized via intranasal routed was highly correlated with cell-mediated immunity. A similar phenomenon was also demonstrated in mice immunized intranasally with UV-treated L-particles. However, the degree of protection was reduced when mice immunized intravenously or intramuscularly with UV-treated L-particles. In conclusion, protection conferred in these animals was highly implicated by immune cells and the least by antibodies. The route of immunization and the nature of the antigen also contributed to the efficacy of L-particles as immunizing agent. In contrast to that of herpes simplex virus type 1, our data showed EHV-1 non-infectious L-particles are highly suitable for immunization of the host against EHV-1 disease.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.543-547
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• 2019

Toxoplasma gondii can infect humans worldwide, causing serious diseases in pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals. T. gondii rhoptry protein 13 (ROP13) is known as one of the key proteins involved in host cell invasion. In this study, we generated virus-like particles (VLPs) vaccine expressing T. gondii rhoptry ROP13 and investigated VLPs vaccine efficacy in mice. Mice immunized with ROP13 VLPs vaccine elicited significantly higher levels of T. gondii-specific IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgA antibody responses following boost immunization and challenge infection, whereas antibody inductions were insignificant upon prime immunization. Differing immunization routes resulted in differing antibody induction, as intranasal immunization (IN) induced greater antibody responses than intramuscular immunization (IM) after boost and challenge infection. IN immunization induced significantly higher levels of IgG and IgA antibody responses from feces, antibody-secreting cells (ASCs), $CD4^+$ T, $CD8^+$ T cells and germinal center B cell responses in the spleen compared to IM immunization. Compared to IM immunization, IN immunization resulted in significantly reduced cyst counts in the brain as well as lesser body weight loss, which contributed to better protection. All of the mice immunized through either route survived, whereas all na?ve control mice perished. These results indicate that the ROP13 VLPs vaccine could be a potential vaccine candidate against T. gondii infection.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.183-192
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• 2002

Cells infected With equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) Produced both infectious and non-infectious Virus-related particles. Compared to the whole virion, non-infectious particles termed L-particles were deter-mined to lack 150 kDa protein, commonly known as nucleocapsid protein. The potential of L-particles to induce immune responses was studied in mice and foals. Intranasal immunization with L-particles or whole virions induced poor IgG antibody responses in mice. Interestingly, despite the poor antibody response, the conferred immunity protected the host from challenge infections. This was indicated by a significant reduction in virus titers in line with recovery towards normal body weight. Subsequently, the test on the usefulness of L-particles as immunizing agents was extended to foals. Immunization of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) foals resulted in similar results. As determined by a complement-fixing-antibody test (CFT), foals seroconverted when they were immunized either with inactivated L-particles or whole virions via intramuscular (i.m.) injections. The presence of the antibody correlated with the degree of protection. Beyond day 1 post challenge infection (p.i.), there was no virus shedding in the nasal mucus of foals immunized with whole EHV-1 virions. Virus shedding was observed in foals Immunized with L-particles but limited to days 6 to 8 p.i. only. In contrast, extended vim shedding was observed in non-immunized foals and it was well beyond day 14 p.i. Viremia was not detected for more than four days except in non-immunized foals. Immunization in mice via intranasal (i.n.) conferred good protection. However, compared to the i.n. route, a greater degree of protection was obtained in foals following immunization via i.m. route. Despite variation in the degree of protection due to different routes of immunization in the two animal species, our results have established significant evidence that immunization with L-particles confers protection in the natural host. It is suggested that non-infectious L-particles should be used as immunizing agents for vaccination of horses against EHV-1 infection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.865-872
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• 2000

Helocobacter phylori is the major cause of gastritis, peptic ulcer, and a principal risk factor for gastric cancer. As the firs step towards a vaccine against H. pylori infection, Hy.pylori urease was expressed and purified as a recombinant apoenzyme (rUrease) in E. coli. In order to develop an effective immunization protocol using rUrease, the host immune responses were evaluated after the oral immunization of mice with rUrease preparations plus cholera toxin relative to various conditions, such as the physical nature of the antigen, the frequency of the booster immunization, the dose of the antigen, and the route of administration. The protective efficacy was assessed using a quantitative culture following an H. pylori SS1 challenge. It was demonstrated that rUrease, due to its particulated nature, was more superior than the UreB subunit as a vaccine antigen. The oral immunization of rUrease elicited significant systemic and secretory antibody responses, and activated predominantly Th2-type cellular responses. The bacterial colonization was significantly reduced (~100-fold) in those mice immunized with three or four weekly oran doses of rUrease plus cholera toxin (p<0.05), when compared to the non-immunized/challenged controls. The protection correlated well with the elicited secretory IgA level against rUrease, and these secretory antibody responses were highly dependent on the frequency of the booster immunization, yet unaffected by the dose of the antigen (25-200$\mu\textrm{g}$). These results demonstrate the remarkable potential of rUrease as a vaccine antigen, thereby strengthening the possibility of developing an H. pylori vaccine for humans.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.322-325
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• 1994

To optimize the immunological efficacy of CFC-101, an outer-membrane protein vaccine purified from relatively less pathogenic 4 different Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, we investigated to establish its dose, administration route, interval and frequency of vaccination in mice. As expected, the 4 CFC-101 producing strains were less pathogenic than the challenging organism, P. aeruginosa GN11189. CFC-101 completely protected the death caused by P. aeruginosa at above 0.05 mg/kg vaccinized by 3 times with 7-day intervals. At the optimally effective dose of 0.2 mg/kg of CFC-101, at least 3 immunizations were necessary for complete protection against P. aeruginosa-induced death. If immunized 3 times, the immunization interval could be shortened up to 2 days to acquire the best protection against P. aeruginosa. CFC-101 was effective either by intraperitoneal, subcutaneous or intramuscular but not by oral administration. The present results show that the newly developed Pseudomonas vaccine, CFC-101, is highly effective for the protection from death caused by pseudomonal infections.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.591-599
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• 2008

A murine model immunized by systemic and mucosal delivery of plasmid DNA vaccine expressing glycoprotein B (pCIgB) of pseudorabies virus (PrV) was used to evaluate both the nature of the induced immunity and protection against a virulent virus. With regard to systemic delivery, the intramuscular (i.m.) immunization with pCIgB induced strong PrV-specific IgG responses in serum but was inefficient in generating a mucosal IgA response. Mucosal delivery through intranasal (i.n.) immunization of pCIgB induced both systemic and mucosal immunity at the distal mucosal site. However, the levels of systemic immunity induced by i.n. immunization were less than those induced by i.m. immunization. Moreover, i.n. genetic transfer of pCIgB appeared to induce Th2-biased immunity compared with systemic delivery, as judged by the ratio of PrV-specific IgG isotypes and Th1- and Th2-type cytokines produced by stimulated T cells. Moreover, the immunity induced by i.n. immunization did not provide effective protection against i.n. challenge of a virulent PrV strain, whereas i.m. immunization produced resistance to viral infection. Therefore, although i.n. immunization was a useful route for inducing mucosal immunity at the virus entry site, i.n. immunization did not provide effective protection against the lethal infection of PrV.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 2006

Delivery of DNA vaccines to airway mucosa would be an ideal method for mucosal immunization. However, there have been few reports of a suitable gene delivery system. In this study we used a cationic emulsion to immunize mice via the intranasal route with pCMV-S coding for Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg). Complexing pCMV-S with a cationic emulsion dramatically enhanced HBsAg expression in both nasal tissue and lung, and was associated with increases in the levels of HBs-specific Abs in serum and mucosal fluids, of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in the spleen and cervical and iliac lymph nodes, and of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) against HBsAg. In contrast, very weak humoral and cellular immunities were observed following immunization with naked DNA. In support of these observations, a higher proliferative response of spleenocytes was detected in the group immunized with the emulsion/pCMV-S complex than in the group immunized with naked pCMV-S. These findings may facilitate development of an emulsion-mediated gene vaccination technique for use against intracellular pathogens that invade mucosal surfaces.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.423-428
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• 1997

Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic gram-negative human pathogen, which affects people with underlying liver diseases or a suppressed immune system, often leading to primary septicemia with a mortality rate of higher than 60%. In an effort to develop an oral vaccine against V. vulnificus infection, we prepared a whole cell killed vaccine of V. vulnificus on a large scale and compared the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the vaccine administered in three formulation forms in rabbits. Since V. vulnificus O-antigen serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 account for more than 95% of clinical isolates, we prepared cell lysates from these six serotype strains and mixed in equal amounts for a vaccine. The vaccine was administered to rabbits intramuscularly (i.m.), orally as granules or as enteric-coated granules. In rabbits, all three formulation forms elicited a high level of serum IgG antibody reactive not only to the six strains but also to other O-antigen serotypes 6, 8 and 9, indicating cross-reactivities among the strains. Immunotherapeutic efficacy of the antisera was also evaluated by a passive immunization assay, which revealed that the orally immunized antisera as well as the i.m. immunized antisera was protective against a subsequent lethal challenge of V. vulnificus. These data demonstrate that oral immunization with a V. vulnificus whole cell lysate vaccine induced a systemic immune response and suggest the feasibility of development of this vaccine preparation as an oral vaccine.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1601-1614
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• 2021

To overcome the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination campaigns are the highest priority of majority of countries. Limited supply and worldwide disproportionate availability issues for the approved vaccines, together with concerns about rare side-effects have recently initiated the switch to heterologous vaccination, commonly known as mixing of vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in the general population. However, none of the vaccines is 100% efficacious or effective, with variants posing more challenges, resulting in breakthrough cases. This review summarizes the current knowledge of immune responses to variants of concern (VOC) and breakthrough infections. Furthermore, we discuss the scope of heterologous vaccination and future strategies to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, including fractionation of vaccine doses and alternative route of vaccination.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.110-117
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• 2003

Background: The usefulness of DNA vaccine at priming step of heterologous prime-boost vaccination led to DNA vaccine closer to practical reality. DNA vaccine priming followed by recombinant viral vector boosting via systemic route induces optimal systemic immunity but no mucosal immunity. Mucosal vaccination of the reversed protocol (recombinant viral vector priming-DNA vaccine boosting), however, can induce both maximal mucosal and systemic immunity. Here, we tried to address the reason why the mucosal protocol of prime-boost vaccination differs from that of systemic vaccination. Methods: To address the importance of primary immunity induced at priming step, mice were primed with different doses of DNA vaccine or coadministration of DNA vaccine plus mucosal adjuvant, and immunity including serum IgG and mucosal IgA was then determined following boosting with recombinant viral vector. Next, to assess influence of humoral pre-existing immunity on boosting $CD8^+$ T cell-mediated immunity, $CD8^+$ T cell-mediated immunity in B cell-deficient (${\mu}K/O$) mice immunized with prime-boost regimens was evaluated by CTL assay and $IFN-{\gamma}$-producing cells. Results: Immunity primed with recombinant viral vector was effectively boosted with DNA vaccine even 60 days later. In particular, animals primed by increasing doses of DNA vaccine or incorporating an adjuvant at priming step and boosted by recombinant viral vector elicited comparable responses to recombinant viral vector primed-DNA vaccine boosted group. Humoral pre-existing immunity was also unlikely to interfere the boosting effect of $CD8^+$ T cell-mediated immunity by recombinant viral vector. Conclusion: This report provides the important point that optimally primed responses should be considered in mucosal immunization of heterologous prime-boost regimens for inducing the effective boosting at both mucosal and systemic sites.