induction of ifn-? cytokine response against hepatitis b surface antigen using melittin

normal 0 false false false en-us x-none ar-sa microsoftinternetexplorer4 normal 0 false false false en-us x-none ar-sa microsoftinternetexplorer4 aim : in this study we co-administered melittin along with hbsag/alum vaccine to investigate if it helps elicitation of th1/th2 response. background : hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection is a life-threatening liver infection, which can lead to chronic liver disease. vigorous t cell responses are stimulated at acute, self-limiting hbv infection, while chronic hbv infection elicits very weak t cell responses. the prevalence of hbv infection has been decreased by the approved vaccination approach using recombinant hbs antigen (hbsag) and alum i.e. hbv vaccine. alum, a strong th2 stimulator, is usually used as adjuvant to increase hbsag immunogenicity. the present vaccine does not induce protective and/or prophylactic immune response in some groups. melittin, major active component in the venom of honeybee, induces th1 development. patients and methods : experimental mice were immunized with melittin plus hepatitis b vaccine on day 0 following by two booster doses with the same injections. lymphocyte proliferation, ifn- g , and il-4 level, total antibody and isotyping of igg1 ? igg2a igg2b, and igm were measured using elisa. results : administration of melittin and hbv vaccine had no effect on lymphoproliferation and total antibody responses, but increased ifn- g response and induced th1 response. conclusion : the present study proposed that administration of melittin along with conventional vaccine shifts t cell responses towards th1/th2 dominated with th1 response. the resultant immune response leads to activation of both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, both of which required for clearance of hbv infection.