Abstract
We investigated whether immunization with recombinant anti-idiotypic antibody fragments mimicking the conformation of the capsular antigen can protect against infection by group B streptococcus, an important neonatal pathogen. Single-chain fragment-variable anti-idiotypes competed with the type III carbohydrate for binding to type-specific antibodies and elicited, in mice, the production of protective immunoglobulins reacting against the type III polysaccharide. Moreover, maternal immunization with soluble or phage-displayed fragments protected neonatal mice against streptococcal infection. These data indicate that recombinant anti-idiotypic antibodies may be useful in developing protein images of relevant carbohydrate epitopes and, ultimately, in preventing infections by encapsulated bacteria.
MeSH terms
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Agglutination / drug effects
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Agglutination Tests
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Animals
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Animals, Newborn
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Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / administration & dosage
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Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / genetics
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Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / immunology*
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Antibody Formation / drug effects
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Antibody Formation / immunology
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Female
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Immunity, Maternally-Acquired / immunology*
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Immunoglobulin Fragments / administration & dosage
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Immunoglobulin Fragments / immunology
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Immunoglobulin Variable Region / administration & dosage
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Immunoglobulin Variable Region / immunology
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Male
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred BALB C
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Recombinant Proteins / genetics
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Recombinant Proteins / immunology
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Streptococcal Infections / immunology*
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Streptococcal Infections / prevention & control
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Streptococcus agalactiae*
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Vaccination
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Vaccines, DNA / genetics
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Vaccines, DNA / immunology*
Substances
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Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic
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Immunoglobulin Fragments
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Immunoglobulin Variable Region
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Recombinant Proteins
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Vaccines, DNA
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immunoglobulin Fv