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Hepatitis B Surface Antigen S Gene is an Effective Carrier Molecule for Developing Gn RH DNA Immunocastration Vaccine in Mice
Author(s) -
Han YG,
Ye WJ,
Liu GQ,
Jiang XP,
Ijaz N,
Zhao JY,
Tesema B
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12692
Subject(s) - immunogenicity , dna vaccination , antigen , recombinant dna , antibody , plasmid , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , virology , gene , immunization , immunology , chemistry , andrology , medicine , biochemistry
Contents Relatively molecular mass of Gn RH antigens is small and hence needs to couple to a large carrier molecule to enhance its immunogenicity. This study investigated whether hepatitis B surface antigen S ( HB sAg‐S) gene can be used as an effective carrier molecule for developing Gn RH DNA immunocastration vaccine. Two copies of human Gn RH gene were fused with HB sAg‐S gene for constructing a recombinant plasmid pVAX ‐ HB sAg‐S‐2Gn RH that coded for 27 kD a target fusion protein. Ten male mice were divided into two equal groups, treatment and control. The vaccine (50 μg/mice) prepared in saline solution was injected into male mice at weeks 0, 1, 2, 4 and 7 of the experiment. Vaccine's efficacy was evaluated in terms of Gn RH ‐specific IgG antibody response, plasma testosterone levels, testicular weight and extent of the testicular tissue damage. The specific anti‐Gn RH antibody titre in vaccinated animals was significantly higher than in controls in only 4th week of immunization (p < 0.05). In addition, vaccinated animals showed lower testicular weight than those of the controls (p < 0.05). Spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules in vaccinated animals was suppressed. In conclusion, in this study, the engineered plasmid to be used as a Gn RH DNA vaccine induced antibody response and suppressed spermatogenesis in mice. This suggests that HB sAg‐S gene can be an effective carrier molecule for developing Gn RH DNA immunocastration vaccine when relatively molecular mass of the aimed antigens is small.