In the present study, poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) was used as a carrier for a divalent fusion DNA vaccine encoding the Aeromonas veronii outer membrane protein A (ompA) and Aeromonas hydrophila hemolysins (hly) protein. The recombinant pET-28a-ompA-hly was constructed by inserting the ompA gene and hly gene into a pET-28a expression vector. Loading of ompA-hly antigen module on PLGA microspheres were accomplished by water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) encapsulation. The molecular weight and specificity of pET-28a-ompA-hly were detected by dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and western blotting. The microspheres showed an average particle size of 100-150 μm and a loading efficiency (LE) of 68.8%. Mice received ompA-hly antigen-loaded PLGA microspheres by intraperitoneal or intragastric administration mounted strong and sustained IgG response, which was significantly higher (p<0.05) than those achieved by pET-28a-ompA-hly antigen alone. OmpA-hly antigen-loaded PLGA microsphere vaccine uniquely conferred a long lasting (30 days) sterile immunity against challenge infection. Results indicated that ompA-hly antigen-loaded PLGA microsphere vaccine is a qualified candidate vector system for sterile protective immunity against A. hydrophila and A. veronii infections.
Keywords: Divalent DNA vaccine; PLGA microspheres; hly gene; ompA gene.
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