Antibodies derived from an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) adhesin tip MEFA (multiepitope fusion antigen) against adherence of nine ETEC adhesins: CFA/I, CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6, CS21 and EtpA.
Diarrhea continues to be a leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years in developing countries. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading bacterial cause of children's diarrhea and travelers' diarrhea. ETEC bacteria initiate diarrheal disease by attaching to host receptors at epithelial cells and colonizing in small intestine. Therefore, preventing ETEC attachment has been considered the first line of defense against ETEC diarrhea. However, developing vaccines effectively against ETEC bacterial attachment encounters challenge because ETEC strains produce over 23 immunologically heterogeneous adhesins. In this study, we applied MEFA (multiepitope fusion antigen) approach to integrate epitopes from adhesin tips or adhesive subunits of CFA/I, CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6, CS21 and EtpA adhesins and to construct an adhesin tip MEFA peptide. We then examined immunogenicity of this tip MEFA in mouse immunization, and assessed potential application of this tip MEFA for ETEC vaccine development. Data showed that mice intraperitoneally immunized with this adhesin tip MEFA developed IgG antibody responses to all nine ETEC adhesins. Moreover, ETEC and E. coli bacteria expressing these nine adhesins, after incubation with serum of the immunized mice, exhibited significant reduction in attachment to Caco-2 cells. These results indicated that anti-adhesin antibodies induced by this adhesin tip MEFA blocked adherence of the most important ETEC adhesins, suggesting this multivalent tip MEFA may be useful for developing a broadly protective anti-adhesin vaccine against ETEC diarrhea.
['Nandre|Rahul M|RM|', 'Ruan|Xiaosai|X|', 'Duan|Qiangde|Q|', 'Sack|David A|DA|', 'Zhang|Weiping|W|']
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial D000818:Animals D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial D001422:Bacterial Adhesion D018938:Caco-2 Cells D003967:Diarrhea D054307:Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli D000939:Epitopes D004927:Escherichia coli Infections D022361:Escherichia coli Vaccines D005260:Female D006801:Humans D000071497:Immunogenicity, Vaccine D051379:Mice D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins
Adhesin tip MEFA (multiepitope fusion antigen) Diarrhea Vaccine ETEC (enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli)