Immunogenicity of a fusion protein linking the beta subunit carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP) of human chorionic gonadotropin to the B subunit of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LTB)

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 14; no. 16; pp. 1560 - 1568
• Main Authors: Rock, Edwin P., Reich, Karl A., Lyu, Dennis M., Hovi, Marianne, Hardy, Jonathan, Schoolnik, Gary K., Stocker, Bruce A.D., Stevens, Vernon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.11.1996; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antineoplastic agents; Applied microbiology; Bacterial Toxins - chemistry; Bacterial Toxins - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Birth control; Chorionic Gonadotropin - immunology; Enterotoxins - chemistry; Enterotoxins - immunology; Escherichia coli - immunology; Escherichia coli Proteins; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic Engineering; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Immunotherapy; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C3H; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Other methods of contraception. Sterilization; Peptides - chemistry; Peptides - immunology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Protein Conformation; Rabbits; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - chemistry; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - immunology; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects); Antineoplastic agent; Escherichia coli; Rodentia; Antimetastatic agent; Vaccine; Malignant tumor; Metastasis; Glycoprotein hormone; Prevention; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Immunogenicity; Mouse; Immunotherapy; Enterotoxin; Bacteria; Chorionic gonadotrophin; Contraceptive; Fusion protein; Enterobacteriaceae
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/S0264-410X(96)00046-1

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is currently under investigation as an antigenic target in both anti-cancer and anti-fertility vaccines. Formulations studied to date show promise in clinical trials for both applications yet are expensive to produce and require frequent administration in order to maintain an effective antibody titer. We have engineered a fusion protein consisting of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin subunit B (LTB) genetically linked at its C terminus via a nine amino acid linker to the 37 amino acid carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP) of the hCG beta chain. This LTB-CTP fusion protein is stably expressed in bacteria and forms pentamers of full-length protein subunits. Purified LTB-CTP protein induces hCG-specific antibodies in mice without additional adjuvants.