Low-Energy Electron Irradiation Efficiently Inactivates the Gram-Negative Pathogen <i>Rodentibacter pneumotropicus</i>—A New Method for the Generation of Bacterial Vaccines with Increased Efficacy
Jasmin Fertey,
Lea Bayer,
Sophie Kähl,
Rukiya M. Haji,
Anke Burger-Kentischer,
Martin Thoma,
Bastian Standfest,
Jessy Schönfelder,
Javier Portillo Casado,
Frank-Holm Rögner,
Christoph Georg Baums,
Thomas Grunwald,
Sebastian Ulbert
Affiliations
Jasmin Fertey
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Perlickstrasse 1, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Lea Bayer
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Perlickstrasse 1, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Sophie Kähl
Institute of Bacteriology and Mycology, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 29, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Rukiya M. Haji
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Perlickstrasse 1, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Anke Burger-Kentischer
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Martin Thoma
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Bastian Standfest
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, Nobelstrasse 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Jessy Schönfelder
Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, Winterbergstrasse 28, 01277 Dresden, Germany
Javier Portillo Casado
Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, Winterbergstrasse 28, 01277 Dresden, Germany
Frank-Holm Rögner
Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, Winterbergstrasse 28, 01277 Dresden, Germany
Christoph Georg Baums
Institute of Bacteriology and Mycology, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 29, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Thomas Grunwald
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Perlickstrasse 1, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Sebastian Ulbert
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Perlickstrasse 1, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Bacterial pathogens cause severe infections worldwide in livestock and in humans, and antibiotic resistance further increases the importance of prophylactic vaccines. Inactivated bacterial vaccines (bacterins) are usually produced via incubation of the pathogen with chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is time consuming and may cause loss of immunogenicity due to the modification of structural components. We evaluated low-energy electron irradiation (LEEI) as an alternative method to generate a bacterin. Rodentibacter pneumotropicus, an invasive Gram-negative murine pathogen, was inactivated with LEEI and formaldehyde. LEEI resulted in high antigen conservation, and LPS activity was significantly better maintained when compared with formaldehyde treatment. Immunization of mice with LEEI-inactivated R. pneumotropicus elicited a strong immune response with no detectable bacterial burden upon sublethal challenge. The results of this study suggest the inactivation of bacteria with LEEI as an alternative, fast and efficient method to generate bacterial vaccines with increased efficacy.
