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Bystander Help within a Polyepitope DNA Vaccine Improves Immune Responses to Influenza Antigens
Author(s) -
Baird M.,
Wilson R.,
Young L.,
Williman J.,
Young S.,
Wilson M.,
Slobbe L.,
Lockhart E.,
Buchan G.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.0300-9475.2004.01487.x
Subject(s) - epitope , dna vaccination , virology , antigen , biology , ovalbumin , immune system , recombinant dna , gene gun , immunology , gene , immunization , genetics
A polyepitope DNA vaccine has the potential to generate protective immune responses to a range of antigens in a single construct. We investigated whether it was possible to obtain responses to individual epitopes from different antigens, directly linked in a string, and whether the response to a given epitope was enhanced by adjacent epitopes within the construct. A polyepitope plasmid was created, which included three Th epitopes (influenza haemagglutinin, moth cytochrome c and ovalbumin), a Tc epitope (ovalbumin) and two B cell epitopes (haemagglutinin and ovalbumin). Mice were immunized with DNA by using a gene gun. Responses to the polyepitope DNA vaccine were compared with those to DNA vaccine comprising only the haemagglutinin Th and B epitopes (HAT h B) or with responses to the recombinant protein. These experiments showed that the polyepitope DNA vaccine induced greater antigen‐specific responses to HAT h B peptide than the HAT h B DNA vaccine. Antigen‐specific in vivo cytotoxic responses following polyepitope DNA vaccination were also clearly demonstrable. We conclude that a ‘naked DNA’ polyepitope vaccine generates specific responses to constituent epitopes and that adjacent irrelevant epitopes may enhance these responses.