This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gowen, B. B.
Right arrow Articles by Sidwell, R. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gowen, B. B.
Right arrow Articles by Sidwell, R. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2006, p. 2023-2029, Vol. 50, No. 6
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01473-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Recombinant Eimeria Protozoan Protein Elicits Resistance to Acute Phlebovirus Infection in Mice but Not Hamsters

Brian B. Gowen,1* Donald F. Smee,1 Min-Hui Wong,1 John W. Judge,2 Kie-Hoon Jung,1 Kevin W. Bailey,1 Anne M. Pace,1 Barnett Rosenberg,2 and Robert W. Sidwell1

Institute for Antiviral Research, Utah State University, Logan, Utah,1 Barros Research Institute, Holt, Michigan2

Received 15 November 2005/ Returned for modification 24 January 2006/ Accepted 7 March 2006

A protein antigen from an Eimeria protozoan has recently been reported to induce antitumor activity in mice. This activity most likely results from the strong induction of interkeukin-12 (IL-12) and gamma interferon (IFN-{gamma}), which are also essential factors in the establishment of protective immunity against viral infection. We evaluated recombinant Eimeria antigen (rEA) as a potential immunotherapeutic agent in mouse and hamster models of acute phleboviral disease. Punta Toro virus (PTV) was highly sensitive to a single dose of nanogram quantities of rEA in the mouse infection model. Intraperitoneal treatment with rEA also reduced virus load and liver damage associated with PTV infection. IL-12 was elicited following exposure of uninfected mice to quantities of rEA of 10 ng or greater, and the levels peaked at between 3 and 8 h postexposure. IFN-{gamma} release was induced more slowly and required less rEA (1 ng) to produce a significant rise in systemic levels. The induction of IL-12 and IFN-{gamma} involved in the coordination of innate and adaptive immune responses to microbial pathogens required myeloid differentiation factor 88, a signaling adaptor shared by most members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family. Despite encouraging results in the murine system, rEA failed to protect hamsters challenged with PTV. Our findings suggest that hamsters may lack functional TLR11, which has recently been shown to recognize a profilin-like protein homologous to rEA from the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Further investigation into the immunostimulatory capacity of rEA in other mammalian systems is necessary.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute for Antiviral Research, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322. Phone: (435) 797-3112. Fax: (435) 797-3959. E-mail: bgowen{at}cc.usu.edu.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2006, p. 2023-2029, Vol. 50, No. 6
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01473-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rader, J. S., Aylsworth, C. F., Juckett, D. A., Mutch, D. G., Powell, M. A., Lippmann, L., Dimitrov, N. V. (2008). Phase I Study and Preliminary Pharmacology of the Novel Innate Immune Modulator rBBX-01 in Gynecologic Cancers. Clin. Cancer Res. 14: 3089-3097 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gowen, B. B., Wong, M.-H., Jung, K.-H., Sanders, A. B., Mendenhall, M., Bailey, K. W., Furuta, Y., Sidwell, R. W. (2007). In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of T-705 against Arenavirus and Bunyavirus Infections. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 51: 3168-3176 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gowen, B. B., Wong, M.-H., Jung, K.-H., Sanders, A. B., Mitchell, W. M., Alexopoulou, L., Flavell, R. A., Sidwell, R. W. (2007). TLR3 Is Essential for the Induction of Protective Immunity against Punta Toro Virus Infection by the Double-Stranded RNA (dsRNA), Poly(I:C12U), but not Poly(I:C): Differential Recognition of Synthetic dsRNA Molecules. J. Immunol. 178: 5200-5208 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»