• Vaccine Name: C. pneumoniae LcrE protein vaccine
• Target Pathogen: Chlamydophila pneumoniae
• Target Disease: Pneumonia
• Vaccine Ontology ID: VO_0011435
• Type: Subunit vaccine
• Status: Research
• Antigen: C. pneumoniae LcrE
• LcrE gene engineering:
  • Type: Recombinant protein preparation
  • Description: A 1218-kb DNA fragment containing the lcrE gene (GenBank ID 15618244, Locus tag CPn0324) was amplified by PCR, using C. pneumoniae (CWL029 ATCC) DNA as template. The PCR was performed in a GeneAmp II (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) thermocycler with Advantage GC cDNA polymerase (Clontech, Mountain View, CA, USA), and the amplification conditions were set as recommended by the manufacturer. The amplicon was digested with NdeI and BamHI and inserted into p6HisF-11d (icl) pET vector by digesting it with the same enzymes and replacing the icl gene (Faludi et al., 2009).
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Adjuvant:
  • Adjuvant name:
  • VO adjuvant ID: VO_0000884
  • Description: Either Freund's or Alum adjuvants
• Adjuvant:
  • Adjuvant name:
  • VO adjuvant ID: VO_0000133
• Immunization Route: Subcutaneous injection

Mouse Response

• Host Strain: BALB/c
• Vaccination Protocol: The mice in groups of 25 were immunized subcutaneously into the tail base with the purified LcrE protein diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at a dose of 20 μg mixed with 25 μl Alum (Aluminum hydroxide Gel, Sigma) or 75 μl Freund's adjuvants (Chemicon International, Temecula, CA, USA; 1st inoculation with complete and 2nd and 3rd inoculations with incomplete Freund's adjuvant) in 0.15-ml volume 3 times at 3-week intervals (Faludi et al., 2009).
• Challenge Protocol: Two weeks after the last immunization, the immunized and non-immunized mice (absolute naive animals) were challenged with 4×10^5 inclusion forming unit (IFU) C. pneumoniae (CWL029, ATCC) in 25 μl PBS intranasally under pentobarbital sodium anesthesia (Faludi et al., 2009).
• Efficacy: The immunogenicity and protective effect of recombinant LcrE protein combined either with Freund's or Alum adjuvant were investigated in mice. The immunization with both protocols resulted in a significant reduction of the number of viable C. pneumoniae in the lungs after challenge. Results confirm that LcrE induces protective immunity in mice (Faludi et al., 2009).
• Host Ifng (Interferon gamma) response
  • Description: The presence of LcrE-specific IFN-gamma-producing cells in LcrE+Alum-immunized mice indicates Th1 type response. IFN-gamma responses were measured in spleen cells collected 2 weeks after last immunization and were significantly higher than mock-immunized mice (Faludi et al., 2009).
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Host IgA response
  • Description: LcrE-specific IgA level was higher in both the sera and the lungs after using Freund's adjuvant than non-immunized mice at the time of the challenge (Faludi et al., 2009).
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.