Characterization of rationally attenuated Francisella tularensis vaccine strains that harbor deletions in the guaA and guaB genes.

ABSTRACT: Francisella tularensis, the etiologic agent of tularemia, can cause severe and fatal infection after inhalation of as few as 10 -- 100CFU. F. tularensis is a potential bioterrorism agent and, therefore, a priority for countermeasure development. Vaccination with the live vaccine strain (LVS), developed from a Type B strain, confers partial protection against aerosal exposure to the more virulent Type A strains and provides proof of principle that a live attenuated vaccine strain may be efficacious. However LVS suffers from several notable drawbacks that have prevented its licensure and widespread use. To address the specific deficiencies that render LVS a sub-optimal tularemia vaccine, we engineered F. tularensis LVS strains with targeted deletions in the guaA or guaB genes that encode cri

SUBMITTER: Santiago AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2716139 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature