Abstract
The balance of two types of T helper (Th) cells, Th1 and Th2 subsets, is important with respect to susceptibility or resistance to particular infections, or to autoimmune diseases and allergic diseases. To effectively induce Th1 immune responses in an antigen-specific manner, we constructed a mammalian expression plasmid (pOVA/IL-18) carrying a fusion gene in which the ovalbumin (OVA; a model antigen) cDNA was covalently linked to mature interleukin-18 (IL-18) cDNA. Intramuscular injection of C57BL/6 mice with the pOVA/IL-18 DNA efficiently increased the production of both OVA-specific IFN-γ and anti-OVA IgG2a isotype, compared with the injection with the pOVA DNA. In addition, the pOVA/IL-18 was more efficient than a simple mixture of pOVA and pIL-18 in inducing antigen-specific, Th1 immune responses and in inhibiting OVA-specific, IL-4 production. These studies indicate that vaccination with the OVA/IL-18 fusion DNA efficiently induces Th1 immune response in an antigen-specific manner.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 4107-4114 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Vaccine |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 30 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2001 Jul 20 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Drs M.E. Reff and D.S. Lim for providing valuable reagents, and Drs S.H. Choi and J.W. Lee for helpful discussion. We also wish to thank E.J. Kim for technical assistance. This work was supported by grants from the KOSEF (HRC 1998G0201) and from the GenoCheck Co., Ltd.
Keywords
- DNA vaccine
- Interleukin-18
- Ovalbumin
- T helper response
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- General Immunology and Microbiology
- General Veterinary
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases