Synthetic peptide vaccine targeting a cryptic neutralizing epitope in domain 2 of Bacillus anthracis protective antigen.

ABSTRACT: Current evidence suggests that protective antigen (PA)-based anthrax vaccines may elicit a narrow neutralizing antibody repertoire, and this may represent a vulnerability with PA-based vaccines. In an effort to identify neutralizing specificities which may complement those prevalent in PA antiserum, we evaluated whether sequences within the 2beta2-2beta3 loop of PA, which are apparent in the crystal structure of heptameric but not monomeric PA, might represent a target for an epitope-specific vaccine for anthrax and, further, whether antibodies to these sequences are induced in rabbits immunized with monomeric PA. We evaluated the immunogenicity in rabbits of a multiple antigenic peptide (MAP) displaying copies of amino acids (aa) 305 to 319 of this region. Overall, four out of six rabbits

SUBMITTER: Oscherwitz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2715696 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature