Stochastic humoral immunity to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen: identification of anti-peptide IgG correlating with seroconversion to Lethal Toxin neutralization.

ABSTRACT: A substantial fraction of individuals vaccinated against anthrax have low to immeasurable levels of serum Lethal Toxin (LeTx)-neutralizing activity. The only known correlate of protection against Bacillus anthracis in the currently licensed vaccine is magnitude of the IgG response to Protective Antigen (PA); however, some individuals producing high serum levels of anti-PA IgG fail to neutralize LeTx in vitro. This suggests that non-protective humoral responses to PA may be immunodominant in some individuals. Therefore, to better understand why anthrax vaccination elicits heterogeneous levels of protection, this study was designed to elucidate the relationship between anti-PA fine specificity and LeTx neutralization in response to PA vaccination. Inbred mice immunized with recombinant PA pr

SUBMITTER: Dumas EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3614092 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature