1. Novel IFN-γ ELISpot reveals robust T cell responses elicited after influenza nucleoprotein DNA vaccination in New Zealand White rabbits
- Author
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Kate E. Broderick, Trevor R.F. Smith, Karuppiah Muthumani, Bryan S. Yung, Nikki Phanhthilath, Holly Pugh, Katherine Schultheis, and Alison Generotti
- Subjects
Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay ,T-Lymphocytes ,T cell ,030231 tropical medicine ,Population ,Biology ,Antiviral Agents ,DNA vaccination ,Interferon-gamma ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Immune system ,Antigen ,Vaccines, DNA ,medicine ,Animals ,030212 general & internal medicine ,education ,education.field_of_study ,General Veterinary ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,Viral Core Proteins ,ELISPOT ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,RNA-Binding Proteins ,Nucleocapsid Proteins ,Vaccination ,Infectious Diseases ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Immunization ,Influenza Vaccines ,Immunology ,Leukocytes, Mononuclear ,Molecular Medicine ,Female ,Rabbits - Abstract
The New Zealand White rabbit is a highly accessible animal model which is regularly employed in biomedical research. However, the paucity of rabbit-specific reagents available limits its use in certain fields. Specifically, the lack of a reliable T cell assay has limited its employment in immune prophylactic and therapeutic studies. To address this inadequacy, we have developed an ELISpot assay to detect cellular immune responses (IFN-γ production) after antigenic stimulation. We have applied this assay to model the T cell responses elicited by a DNA vaccine. Immunization with an influenza nucleoprotein (NP) DNA vaccine revealed strong antigen-specific T cell responses in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell population. We believe this is the first report of such an assay in rabbit species, and it will become a useful tool to monitor in vivo responses to vaccines and permit the wider adoption of this model to measure immunological responses.
- Published
- 2019