ARS | Publication request: Immunoproteomic analysis of the antibody response obtained in Nile tilapia following vaccination with a Streptococcus iniae vaccine

Submitted to: Veterinary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 19, 2011
Publication Date: August 18, 2011
Repository URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/55525
Citation: Lafrentz, B.R., Shoemaker, C.A., Klesius, P.H. 2011. Immunoproteomic analysis of the antibody response obtained in Nile tilapia following vaccination with a Streptococcus iniae vaccine. Veterinary Microbiology. 152: 346-352.

Interpretive Summary: Streptococcus iniae is an economically important bacterial pathogen of aquaculture raised fish species and accounts for millions of dollars of losses annually worldwide. The USDA-ARS Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit developed a modified S. iniae bacterin that has been demonstrated to be effective in Nile tilapia. Upon vaccination, tilapia generate specific antibodies against the bacterium that are responsible for protection following subsequent infection. Although the vaccine is effective, the specific vaccine components that are important for efficacy are not known. In order to identify these components, research was conducted to identify protein antigens of S. iniae to which antibodies from vaccinated tilapia are specific. A total of eleven unique immunoreactive proteins were identified. Based on research conducted on homologous proteins in other Streptococcus spp., antibodies specific for several of the identified proteins are likely involved in protection from streptococcosis caused by S. iniae. The results of this study increased the understanding of the immune response of tilapia to the vaccine and identified proteins contained in the vaccine that are likely important for the efficacy observed.

Technical Abstract: Streptococcus iniae is one of the most economically important Gram-positive pathogens in cultured fish species worldwide. The USDA-ARS Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit developed a modified (contains concentrated culture supernatant) S. iniae bacterin that has been demonstrated to be efficacious, and protection is mediated by specific anti-S. iniae antibodies. Although effective, the specific vaccine components important for efficacy are not known. In the present study, an immunoproteomic approach was utilized to identify whole-cell lysate proteins of S. iniae that stimulated specific antibody production in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) following vaccination. Groups of tilapia were vaccinated by intraperitoneal injection with either the modified S. iniae bacterin or mock-vaccinated, and at 30 d post-vaccination sera samples were obtained from individual fish. Vaccination of tilapia with the S. iniae vaccine stimulated significantly elevated specific antibody responses against proteins of the bacterium and passive immunization of tilapia with this serum demonstrated the antibodies were highly protective. Whole-cell lysate proteins of S. iniae were separated by 2D-PAGE and were probed with a pooled serum sample from vaccinated tilapia. A total of eleven unique immunogenic proteins were positively identified by mass spectrometry. Based on research conducted on homologous proteins in other Streptococcus spp., antibodies specific for three of the identified proteins, enolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, are likely involved in protection from streptococcosis caused by S. iniae.