• Vaccine Name: Y. pestis YscF Protein Vaccine
• Target Pathogen: Yersinia pestis
• Target Disease: Plague
• Vaccine Ontology ID: VO_0004157
• Type: Subunit vaccine
• Status: Research
• YscF from Y. pestis CO92 gene engineering:
  • Type: Recombinant protein preparation
  • Description:
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Adjuvant:
  • Adjuvant name:
  • VO adjuvant ID: VO_0001238
  • Description: Ribi adjuvant system (RAS) R-730 monophosphoryl lipid-A (Corixa, Hamilton, MT) (Swietnicki et al., 2005)
• Immunization Route: Subcutaneous Injection

Mouse Response

• Host Strain: Swiss
• Vaccination Protocol: Groups of 10 female, 8- to 10-week-old outbred (Hsd:ND4) Swiss Webster mice were inoculated with purified, recombinant YscF protein. To improve immunogenicity, each protein antigen was adsorbed with Ribi adjuvant system (RAS) R-730 monophosphoryl lipid-A (Corixa, Hamilton, MT). Two hundred microliters of each antigen–adjuvant mixture containing 20 μg of recombinant protein was administered at a single subcutaneous (s.c.) site on the backs of the animals. After 30 days, the animals were boosted with an identical dose at the same injection site. The F1–V vaccine candidate was included in the experiment to serve as a positive control (Swietnicki et al., 2005).
• Challenge Protocol: Each of the vaccinated and control animals designated to receive s.c. challenges was administered 130 50% lethal doses (LD50) of wild type Y. pestis CO92 30 days after the booster dose. The s.c. LD50 for adult mice challenged with CO92 is 1.9 CFU. The mice were observed daily for 28 days, at which time the survivors were killed (Swietnicki et al., 2005).
• Efficacy: Immunization with recombinant YscF protein confers significant protection against challenge with live wild type Yersinia pestis CO92 strain. Six out of ten YscF vaccinated mice survived a lethal challenge with Y. pestis while 100% of the mice that were inoculated with R-730 adjuvant alone succumbed to infection (Swietnicki et al., 2005).