Immune induction and modulation in mice following immunization with DNA encoding F protein of respiratory syncytial virus

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the principal agents of bronchi olitis and pneumonia in young children. Thus, there is a strong need to mak e a safe and effective vaccine against the RSV infection. DNA immunization is very effective at inducing both cellular and humoral immune responses. I n this study, we inserted the RSV-F gene into expression vectors, pcDNA3.1 and pQE. These constructs were transformed into C2C12 and E.coli M15 cells, respectively. The expression of the RSV-F protein was confirmed by SDS-PAG E, followed by Western blot analyses. The immunization of pcDNA3.1-RSV-F el icited both anti-RSV-F titer in mouse sera and CTL activities with mouse sp lenocytes. Especially, the co-administration of IL-4, or the GM-CSF gene wi th the RSV-F gene construct, enhanced the production of anti-RSV-F Ab. Howe ver, this enhancement disappeared by the simultaneous injection of the Th1 and Th2 type cytokine genes. The CTL activities were affected by the co-del ivery of the IFN-gamma gene, but not by Th2-type cytokines.