Transcutaneous Immunization with Bacterial ADP-Ribosylating Exotoxins as Antigens and Adjuvants

Transcutaneous immunization with bacterial ADP-ribosylating exotoxins as antigens and adjuvants.

Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) is a new technique that uses the application of vaccine antigens in a solution on the skin to induce potent antibody responses without systemic or local toxicity. We have previously shown that cholera toxin (CT), a potent adjuvant for oral and nasal immunization, can induce both serum and mucosal immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA and protect against toxin-mediated...

Transcutaneous immunization with bacterial ADP-ribosylating exotoxins, subunits, and unrelated adjuvants.

We have recently described a needle-free method of vaccination, transcutaneous immunization, consisting of the topical application of vaccine antigens to intact skin. While most proteins themselves are poor immunogens on the skin, we have shown that the addition of cholera toxin (CT), a mucosal adjuvant, results in cellular and humoral immune responses to the adjuvant and coadministered antigen...

Bacterial pyrogenic exotoxins as superantigens.

The recent discovery of the mode of interaction between a group of microbial proteins known as superantigens and the immune system has opened a wide area of investigation into the possible role of these molecules in human diseases. Superantigens produced by certain viruses and bacteria, including Mycoplasma species, are either secreted or membrane-bound proteins. A unique feature of these prote...

Bacterial Exotoxins and the Inflammasome

The inflammasomes are intracellular protein complexes that play an important role in innate immune sensing. Activation of inflammasomes leads to activation of caspase-1 and maturation and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. In certain myeloid cells, this activation can also lead to an inflammatory cell death (pyroptosis). Inflammasome sensor proteins have ...

The ADP-Ribosylating CTA1-DD Adjuvant