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Immunization of healthy adults with a single recombinant pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) variant stimulates broadly cross-reactive antibodies to heterologous PspA molecules
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Immunization of healthy adults with a single recombinant pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) variant stimulates broadly cross-reactive antibodies to heterologous PspA molecules

Gary S. Nabors, Patricia A. Braun, Diane J. Herrmann, Martha L. Heise, Derek J. Pyle, Stefan Gravenstein, Margot Schilling, Laura M. Ferguson, Susan K. Hollingshead, David E. Briles, …
Vaccine, Vol.18(17), pp.1743-1754
2000
DOI: 10.1016/S0264-410X(99)00530-7
PMID: 10699322

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Abstract

Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) is a highly variable protein found on all strains of pneumococci. To be successful, a PspA-based vaccine for S. pneumoniae must induce antibodies that are broadly cross-reactive. To address whether cross-reactive antibodies could be induced in man, we evaluated serum from adults immunized with recombinant clade 2 PspA from strain Rx1. Immunization with 5–125 μg rPspA lead to a significant increase in circulating anti-PspA antibodies, as well as antibodies reactive to heterologous rPspA molecules. Increased binding of post-immune sera to 37 pneumococcal strains expressing a variety of PspA and capsule types was observed, versus pre-immune sera. The extent of cross-clade reactivity of human anti-rPspA followed roughly the amount of sequence homology to the non-clade 2 antigens. It is hypothesized that priming of humans by natural exposure to S. pneumoniae contributes to the breadth of the cross-reactivity of antibody to PspA.
Pneumococcus PspA Streptococcus

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