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J Med Microbiol 57 (2008), 725-731; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.47736-0
© 2008 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 1473-5644

Clostridium difficile TxAC314 and SLP-36kDa enhance the immune response toward a co-administered antigen

Paola Brun1, Melania Scarpa1, Alessia Grillo1, Giorgio Palù1, Carlo Mengoli1, Alfonso Zecconi2, Patrizia Spigaglia3, Paola Mastrantonio3 and Ignazio Castagliuolo1

1 Department of Histology, Microbiology and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

2 Department of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

3 Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy

Correspondence
Ignazio Castagliuolo
ignazio.castagliuolo{at}unipd.it

Received 31 October 2007
Accepted 19 December 2007

This study evaluated the in vivo adjuvant activity of two peptides derived from Clostridium difficile: a fragment of the receptor-binding domain of toxin A (TxAC314) and a fragment of the 36 kDa surface-layer protein (SLP-36kDa) from strain C253. Their ability to affect the magnitude, distribution and polarization of the immune response against fibronectin-binding protein A (FnbpA), a protective vaccine antigen against Staphylococcus aureus, was evaluated using two different routes of immunization: intranasal and subcutaneous. It was shown that (i) the route of immunization affected the magnitude of the immune response; (ii) both peptides enhanced the production of circulating anti-FnbpA IgG and IgA; (iii) following mucosal immunization TxAC314 was more effective than SLP-36kDa at inducing antibody in the gastrointestinal tract; (iv) the adjuvant influenced the Th1/Th2 balance; and (v) TxAC314 was more effective than SLP-36kDa in inducing a cell-mediated response. These studies provide insight into the ability of different C. difficile-derived peptides to differentially affect and polarize the activity of the immune system and on their potential use as adjuvants in newly developed vaccines.

Abbreviations: CT, cholera toxin; DC, dendritic cell; FnbpA, fibronectin-binding protein A; IFN-{gamma}, gamma interferon; IL-2, interleukin-2; i.m., intramuscularly; i.n., intranasally; LT, heat-labile enterotoxin; s.c., subcutaneously; SLP, surface-layer protein; SLP-36kDa, fragment of the 36kDa SLP; TcdA, toxin A.




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I. R. Poxton
Proceedings from the 2nd International Clostridium difficile Symposium, Maribor, Slovenia, June 2007.
J. Med. Microbiol., June 1, 2008; 57(Pt 6): 683 - 794.
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