Abstract
Recently, we reported that a DNA vaccine, composed of three copies of a self B cell epitope of amyloid-Β (AΒ 42) and the foreign T-cell epitope, Pan DR epitope (PADRE), generated strong anti-AΒ immune responses in wild-type and amyloid precursor protein transgenic animals. Although DNA vaccines have several advantages over peptide-protein vaccines, they induce lower immune responses in large animals and humans compared with those in mice. The focus of this study was to further enhance anti-AΒ 11 immune responses by developing an improved DNA vaccination protocol of the prime-boost regimen, in which the priming step would use DNA and the boosting step would use recombinant protein. Accordingly, we generated DNA and recombinant protein-based epitope vaccines and showed that priming with DNA followed by boosting with a homologous recombinant protein vaccine significantly increases the anti-AΒ antibody responses and do not change the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) profile of humoral immune responses. Furthermore, the antibodies generated by this prime-boost regimen were long-lasting and possessed a higher avidity for binding with an AΒ 42 peptide. Thus, we showed that a heterologous prime-boost regimen could be an effective protocol for developing a potent Alzheimer's disease (AD) vaccine.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 261-271 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Gene Therapy |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- DNA vaccine
- Prime-boost regimen
- Β-amyloid
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics