Author/Authors :
Ghasemi, Amir Department of Pathobiology - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Salari, Mohammad Hossein Department of Pathobiology - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Zarnani, Amir Hassan , Pourmand, Mohammad Reza Department of Pathobiology - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Ahmadi, Hojat Department of Bacterial Vaccine and Antigen Production - Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran , Mirshafiey, Abbas Department of Pathobiology - School of Public Health - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Jeddi-Tehrani, Mahmood
Abstract :
Background and objectives: Brucella melitensis infection is still a major health problem for human and cattle in developing countries and the Middle East.
Materials and Methods: In this study, in order to screen immunogenic candidate antigens for the development of a Brucella subunit vaccine, a cytoplasmic protein (DnaK) and an outer membrane protein (Omp31) of B. melitensis were cloned, expressed in E.coli BL21 and then purified using Ni-NTA agarose. Immunized serum was prepared from a rabbit inoculated with attenuated B. melitensis.
Results and Conclusion: It was proved that immunized serum contains antibodies against recombinant Omp31 (rOmp31) and DnaK (rDnaK) by Western blot and ELISA assays. The results may suggest the importance of these proteins as subunit vaccines against B. melitensis as well as targets for immunotherapy.
Keywords :
Brucella , Cloning , Immune Reactivity , ELISA , Protein Expression , Purification
