Model using a peptide with carrier function for vaccination against different pathogens.

It has been shown that pre-immunization with a protein can inhibit the antibody response to a new B-cell sequence which is coupled to the protein (epitope-specific suppression). By utilizing a peptide with carrier function from the protein, rather than the entire protein, the antibody response to the new B-cell sequence is enhanced in protein-primed mice. The present results extend this observation by showing that mice which have been pre-immunized with a protein followed by a B-cell sequence linked to a carrier peptide from the protein produce an enhanced antibody response to a new B-cell sequence linked to the same carrier peptide sequence. This indicates that it would be possible to reuse a carrier peptide sequence coupled with newly defined protective B-cell epitopes in a given individual to achieve immunity against new pathogens.