NR AUSY
AU Nitschke,C.; Flechsig,E.; Dittmer,U.; Klein,M.A.
TI Cellular and humoral immune response against PrP in mice
QU TSE-Forum, 6. Kongress - Nationale TSE-Forschungsplattform, Greifswald 26.6.-28.6.2006, Poster: Therapie THE-04
PT Konferenz-Poster
AB The prion protein (PrPc) plays a pivotal role in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). Recent studies have shown that strategies aimed to elicit antibodies against PrP should be considered as a promising therapeutic approach for prion diseases. In this study active immunisation strategies against PrPc were described, humoral and cellular immune responses as well as the influence of the onset of the prion disease were analyzed. We investigated a new immunisation strategy against PrPc with two DNA vaccine vectors (pCG-PrP and pCG-PrP-P30). The pCG-PrP vector system contains murine PrP sequence, whereas the pCG-PrP-P30 vector also contains an immune stimulatory peptide of the tetanus toxin, which has been shown to break tolerance against self proteins. Results indicate that this improved vaccine evokes a sustained antibody response in Prnpo/o mice, but only low antibody titers were found in wild-type mice. DNA immunisation induced activation and proliferation of PrP-specific T cells in Prnpo/o-mice which was even stronger after immunisation with pCG-PrP-P30 than after pCG-PrP treatment. Furthermore we combined DNA and protein immunisation in an attempt to break tolerance against PrP. The results obtained were similar then those after DNA vaccination alone. Inoculation of the immunised wild-type mice with mouse-adapted scrapie prions showed that these animals were not protected against prion disease. All mice in the vaccinated and control groups succumbed to scrapie with similar incubation times, levels of PrPsc and typical histopathological changes in the brain.
AD Cindy Nitschke (cindy.nitschke@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de), Eckhard Flechsig, Michael A. Klein, Institute of Virology and Immunobiology, University of Wuerzburg; Ulf Dittmer, Institute of Virology, University of Essen
SP englisch
PO Deutschland
EA Photo des in Greifswald gezeigten Posters, dessen gegenüber dem Tagungsband stark veränderter Titel auf Wunsch der Autorin Cindy Nitschke zitiert werden sollte, oben, unten
OR Tagungsband