Vaccination With 14-3-3 Protein Reduces Parasite Burden.(Brief Article)

2001 MAY 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Mice immunized with the free or fusion 14-3-3 protein of Schistosoma mansoni are partially protected from schistosomiasis, say researchers working in Israel.

"We have previously reported on the cloning of the 14-3-3 protein of Schistosoma mansoni," said D. Schechtman and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science. "Here, we evaluate the potential use of this protein as a vaccine candidate against infection by S. mansoni."

The researchers vaccinated mice with S. mansoni 14-3-3 either as a free protein or as a fusion protein to S. japonica glutathione-S-transferase (SjGST) or MBP.

"Sera from mice infected with S. mansoni recognized both SjGST and 14-3-3, indicating that antibodies against these two proteins are induced in the course of the natural infection," said Schechtman et al.

Although mice immunized with either 14-3-3, GST, or a fusion of the two, reacted with cercaria lysate at the cellular level, immune response was strongest in mice immunized with 14-3-3-GST fusion, the researchers found.

The fusion vaccine also conferred a 23%-32% complement-mediated cytotoxicity, compared to 10%-11% cytotoxicity from either GST alone or normal mouse serum ("The 14-3-3 protein as a ...