Gs. Deepe et R. Gibbons, Protective efficacy of H antigen from Histoplasma capsulatum in a murine model of pulmonary histoplasmosis, INFEC IMMUN, 69(5), 2001, pp. 3128-3134
We previously reported that immunization with H antigen from Histoplasma ca
psulatum did not protect mice against an intravenous challenge with yeasts,
Here, we investigated the utility of H antigen to protect mice in a model
of pulmonary histoplasmosis. Mice immunized with H antigen and challenged i
ntranasally 4 weeks postvaccination were protected against sublethal and le
thal challenges with H, capsulatum yeasts. If the challenge was performed 3
months after vaccination, there was a reduction in fungal burden following
sublethal challenge and a modest delay in mortality in mice given a lethal
inoculum, Vaccination was associated with production of gamma interferon,
granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-4, and interl
eukin-10 by splenocytes. Vaccination with H antigen was not accompanied by
a major expansion of CD4(+) or CD8(+) cells in spleens of mice. These resul
ts demonstrate that Il antigen may be useful as a protective immunogen agai
nst pulmonary exposure to H. capsulatum..