In:
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Oxford University Press (OUP), Vol. 220, No. 4 ( 2019-07-19), p. 615-623
Abstract:
Coccidioides is the causative agent of San Joaquin Valley fever, a fungal disease prevalent in the semiarid regions of the Americas. Efforts to develop a fungal vaccine over the last 2 decades were unsuccessful. A candidate antigen, Antigen 2 (Ag2), is notoriously difficult to express in Escherichia coli, and this study sought to accumulate the antigen at high levels in maize. Transformed maize lines accumulated recombinant Ag2 at levels 〉 1 g/kg. Mice immunized with this antigen and challenged with live Coccidioides arthroconidia showed a reduction in the fungal load when Ag2 derived from either E. coli or maize was loaded into glucan chitin particles. A fusion of Ag2 to dendritic cell carrier peptide (DCpep) induced a T-helper type 17 response in the spleen when orally delivered, indicative of a protective immune response. The maize production platform and the glucan chitin particle adjuvant system show promise for development of a Coccidioides vaccine, but further testing is needed to fully assess the optimal method of administration.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0022-1899
,
1537-6613
DOI:
10.1093/infdis/jiz196
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1473843-0