Expression and immunogenicity of the major house dust mite allergen Der p 1 following DNA immunization

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 21; no. 11; pp. 1195 - 1204
• Main Authors: Wolfowicz, Claudia Betina, HuangFu, TaoQi, Chua, Kaw Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 07.03.2003; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Allergens - biosynthesis; Allergens - genetics; Allergens - immunology; Allergic diseases; Allergies; Amino acids; Animals; Antigens, Dermatophagoides - biosynthesis; Antigens, Dermatophagoides - genetics; Antigens, Dermatophagoides - immunology; Arthropod Proteins; Biological and medical sciences; Cloning; Colleges & universities; Cysteine Endopeptidases; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Der p 1; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus; DNA; DNA vaccine; Electroporation; Enzymes; Female; Genes; Genes, Reporter; Genes, Synthetic; Green Fluorescent Proteins; House dust; Immunization; Immunogenicity; Immunoglobulin G - biosynthesis; Immunoglobulin G - immunology; Immunopathology; Injections, Intramuscular; Laboratory animals; Luminescent Proteins - genetics; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mites; Mites - immunology; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Naked DNA; Peptide Fragments - genetics; Peptides; Plasmids; Plasmids - genetics; Plasmids - immunology; Protein Precursors - genetics; Protein Precursors - immunology; Protein Sorting Signals - genetics; Proteins; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - biosynthesis; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - immunology; Respiratory and ent allergic diseases; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - prevention & control; Sequence Deletion; Vaccination; Vaccines; Vaccines, DNA - administration & dosage; Vaccines, DNA - immunology; DNA vaccine; Der p 1; Naked DNA; Allergy; Immunopathology; Respiratory disease; Acaridida; Genetic vaccine; Asthma; Atopy; Acariformes; Arachnida; Acari; Immunogenicity; Arthropoda; DNA; Obstructive pulmonary disease; Invertebrata; Allergen
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/S0264-410X(02)00485-1

The mite protein Der p 1 is a major trigger of allergy and atopic asthma world-wide, and thus, a good vaccine candidate for allergy prevention. Since it is a cysteine protease, the catalytic effects of Der p 1 vaccination may be unpredictable. One approach to reduce this risk is to vaccinate with DNA encoding enzymatically inactive forms of Der p 1. Here we show that Der p 1 DNA without its native pre–pro sequences potently induced Der p 1-specific antibodies, as long as its pre-sequence was substituted by another leader sequence. Without any pre–pro sequence, the same DNA fragment was well expressed but failed to induce significant level of anti-Der p 1 antibodies, without further boosting by protein.