Anti-TLR5 monoclonal antibody, clone 3F2

Toll-like receptor 5 is a pattern-recognition receptor for bacterial flagellin. We previously reported that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of swine TLR5, C1205T, impairs recognition of Salmonella typhimurium (ST) flagellin and ethanol-killed Salmonella Choleraesuis (SC). In the present study, weaned, specific pathogen-free (SPF) Landrace piglets with CC, CT or TT genotypes were orally infected with ST (L-3569 strain) to determine the effect of this specific SNP on ST infection in vivo. Eighteen ST-infected piglets (six each with CC, CT, or TT) exhibited fever and diarrhea for 1 week after infection. TT piglets had the longest duration of fever. TT piglets had the greatest mean diarrhea score during the experimental period, followed by CT and CC piglets. Fecal ST shedding was greater in CT and TT pigs than CC pigs from 2 days after infection. Serum haptoglobin concentration increased in ST-infected piglets and to greater extents in CT and TT pigs than CC pigs. Daily weight gain was lower in infected pigs, particularly TT piglets, than control pigs. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that impairment of TLR recognition affects pig susceptibility to disease in vivo. Thus, piglets with the T allele of swine TLR5 (C1205T) exhibit impaired resistance to ST infection. Furthermore, elimination of the T allele of this SNP from Landrace pigs would lead to enhancement of their resistance to ST infection.

Generating cross-reactive vaccines aimed at targeting all human influenza A virus subtypes is among high priority tasks in contemporary vaccinology. Such vaccines will be primarily demanded during pre-pandemic period as well as used to prime some population cohorts prior to vaccination with standard vaccines containing area-relevant epidemic virus. Unlike routine approach universal vaccines do not induce a sterilizing immunity, but significantly ameliorate overt infection and probable complications. Our study was aimed at evaluating characteristics of immune response in experimental animals primed with a candidate universal vaccine challenged with sublethal influenza A virus infection. Mice were immunized intranasally with the recombinant protein FlgH2-2-4M2e containing conservative peptides derived from two influenza A virus proteins: M2 protein ectodomain and 76-130 amino acid sequence from the second hemagglutinin (HA2) subunit genetically linked to bacterial flagellin protein, which is a ligand for Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5). Control mice received saline. Two weeks after immunization, mice from both groups were infected with a sublethal dose of A/Aichi/2/68 AN3N2 influenza virus strain. Level of immunoglobulins G and A in the blood sera and bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) were determined two weeks after immunization and 1 month post infection. Percentage of lung CD4(+) T and CD4(+) Tem (CD44(+)CD62L(-)) cells secreting cytokines TNF alpha, IFN gamma, IL-2 was determined. Immunized vs. control mice responded to sublethal infection with the influenza virus by insignificant weight loss and more pronounced production of vaccine peptide-specific (M2e and aa76-130 HA2) and pan-influenza A/Aichi/2/68 virus IgG and A in the blood sera and BAL. After challenge the number of CD4(+) T cells secreting cytokines TNFa and/or IL-2 in immunized mice significantly exceeded counterpart T cells in unimmunized animals that was true for both CD4(+)T and CD4(+) Tem cells. Memory CD4(+) T cells were previously shown to play a key role in the prime-boost event and heterosubtypic immune response. Thus, we were able to demonstrate a priming effect for recombinant cross-protective vaccine used in our experiment.