College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Microb Pathog. 2012 Nov-Dec;53(5-6):183-8. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2012.07.007. Epub 2012 Jul 31.
Aeromonas hydrophila (Ah) exists widely in the aquatic environment and infects a variety of animals. Extracellular protease (EPR) is an important protective antigen that induces a specific antibody response to resist Ah infection. In this study, two genes encoding extracellular protease epr2 and epr3 were linked within the expression vector pET32a to construct a recombinant pET-epr2-3 plasmid. The immunogenicity of the fusion protein epr2-3 was investigated as a subunit vaccine in ICR mice. The recombinant epr2-3 protein induced the production of high antibody titers. The survival rate against homogenous Ah J-1 challenge was significantly higher in the epr2-3 vaccinated group (≥80%) compared with the inactivated Ah vaccinated group and the challenge control group (P < 0.01), thus indicating that the recombinant epr2-3 protein provided significant protection against Ah infection. Therefore, the recombinant epr2-3 is a promising candidate for development as a vaccine against Ah infections.
嗜水气单胞菌（Ah）广泛存在于水生环境中，并感染多种动物。细胞外蛋白酶（EPR）是一种重要的保护性抗原，可诱导特异性抗体反应，抵抗 Ah 感染。在本研究中，将编码细胞外蛋白酶 epr2 和 epr3 的两个基因连接在表达载体 pET32a 内，构建重组 pET-epr2-3 质粒。将融合蛋白 epr2-3 作为亚单位疫苗在 ICR 小鼠中进行免疫原性研究。重组 epr2-3 蛋白诱导产生高抗体滴度。与灭活的 Ah 疫苗组和攻毒对照组相比，epr2-3 疫苗组的同源 Ah J-1 攻毒后的存活率（≥80%）显著更高（P<0.01），这表明重组 epr2-3 蛋白对 Ah 感染提供了显著的保护作用。因此，重组 epr2-3 是开发 Ah 感染疫苗的有前途的候选物。
