HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by BAGHIAN, A. Articles by KOUSOULAS, K. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by BAGHIAN, A. Articles by KOUSOULAS, K. G. Agricola Articles by BAGHIAN, A. Articles by KOUSOULAS, K. G.

Protective immunity against lethal HSV-1 challenge in mice by nucleic acid-based immunisation with herpes simplex virus type-1 genes specifying glycoproteins gB and gD

ABOLGHASEM BAGHIAN, VLADIMIR N. CHOULJENKO, OSWALD D'AUVERGNE^*, MARK J. NEWMAN^,, SALMAN BAGHIAN and KONSTANTIN G. KOUSOULAS

Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, *Department of Biological Sciences, Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA 70813 and Vaxcel, Norcross, GA, USA

Corresponding author: Dr A. Baghian. Present address: Epimmune, San Diego, CA, USA.

Received 11 June 2001; revised version received 3 Oct. 2001; accepted 30 Oct. 2001.

Abstract

DNA-based vaccines were employed to assess protective immunity against herpes simplex virus in experimental infections of hairless (strain SKH1) and BALB/c mice. Mice were vaccinated with plasmids containing the herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B (gB) or D (gD) genes under the human cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter control. Vaccines were injected intramuscularly (i.m.) or intraperitoneally (i.p.) as purified DNA alone or as formulations supplemented with different non-ionic block copolymers. Antibody responses were assessed by immunofluorescence and radio-immunoprecipitation assays. Mice inoculated with either gB or gD plasmid, alone or with non-ionic block copolymers CRL 1029 and CRL 1190, produced high levels of antibodies specific for gB or gD. Three weeks after the last vaccination, mice were challenged with a clinical HSV-1 isolate (ABGK-1) by inoculation of a shaved and subsequently scarified area between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae. Mice immunised with either gD or gB plasmid alone or mixed with copolymers were protected against lethal HSV-1 challenge when immunisation was performed via the i.m. route. Immunisations given via the i.p. route induced humoral responses in some mice and protected the animals against lethal HSV-1 challenge only when the formulations contained copolymers. The BALB/c mouse model was shown to be as good a model as the hairless mouse model.