Mucosal immunity in the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula): Detection of antibody in serum and at female reproductive sites after intranasal immunization

Abstract

Summary Vaccination strategies for the brushtail possum, which rely upon stimulation of mucosal immunity, are being developed for biocontrol purposes. As little is known about how to stimulate possum immune responses via a mucosal site, groups of possums were immunized intranasally with keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) alone or in combination with known or novel mucosal adjuvants. Antigen-specific antibody titres in female reproductive secretions were measured by ELISA and compared with antibody titres in the serum. Antigen-induced lymphocyte proliferative responses were measured as an indicator of cell-mediated responses. Intranasal immunization with KLH alone stimulated a weak serum antibody response that was significantly increased when KLH was given with cholera toxin subunit B (CTB), recombinant possum tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) or live Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG). Antibody titres in secretions from ovarian follicles and the uterus were very low in animals administered KLH alone. Significantly higher antibody titres to KLH were present in the reproductive secretions of possums immunized with KLH plus CTB, BCG or heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae. Antibody titres were lower in mucosal secretions than in the serum, but there was a significant correlation between the two. In addition, coadministration of live BCG with KLH produced a strong antigen-specific cell-mediated response to KLH. This study has shown that an immune response to a protein antigen can be stimulated in possums by intranasal immunization and that antigen-specific antibodies can be detected in secretions from the female reproductive tract.

Novel immunocontraceptive targets in mammals: uterine secretions and the conceptus; a marsupial approach

“…2A), than previously shown in most marsupial studies, where the initial response is slower (Rowlands 1970) and lower (Taylor & Burrell 1968, Doolin et al 2002, but once initiated remains high for a much longer period (Wilkinson et al 1994, Duckworth et al 1998a, Kitchener et al 2002, Kay & Kitchener 2003, as long as 37 weeks in Monodelphis domestica (Croix et al 1989). The results of this study support Kitchener et al (2002) who also did not find a slow or low marsupial primary humoral immune response, but the immune titre in that study remained high for a longer period than found here.…”

“…In most representations of the immune titre, the dilution factor has been converted to its log 2 equivalent, so that the values were positive for graphical representation, and to allow statistical analyses (Doolin et al 2002).…”

Protein and RNA extraction from mucosal swabs: a minimally invasive source of ecological data for studies of natural populations

“…German, Hall & Day ; Harley, Gruffydd‐Jones & Day ; Kaiser, Kristopher‐Hennings & Nelson ; Doolin et al . ; Escribano et al . ).…”

“…Veterinary medicine has also incorporated mucosal swabbing for health assessment, and it is routinely used for quantitation of salivary and urogenital antibodies in domestic animals and, more sporadically, in captive wildlife (e.g. German, Hall & Day 1998;Harley, Gruffydd-Jones & Day 1998;Kaiser, Kristopher-Hennings & Nelson 2000;Doolin et al 2002;Escribano et al 2012). Mucosal swabbing has also been widely used as a source of DNA to perform genetic population assessments (e.g.…”