Measuring Immunoglobulin Subtypes in Various BALB/c Mice Groups

Vaccines are essential for maintaining public health and preventing the spread of disease. Currently, there is no effective vaccine for HIV and developing a vaccine for the disease could significantly contribute to controlling its spread. Chronic schistosomiasis, a disease caused by infection with parasitic worms of the genus Schistosoma, is co-endemic with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Chronic schistosomiasis can bias the immune system towards a T-helper 2 (Th2) response. Systemic Th2 immune responses downregulate the formation of Th1 responses, which are vital for the immune response to intracellular pathogens such as HIV. While Th2 responses are associated with increased antibody production in general, both Th1 and Th2 responses result in the production of distinct types of specialized antibodies. The first set of experimental groups for this study varied by Schistosoma mansoni infection: one was infected with S. mansoni and the other group remained uninfected. The first group was vaccinated using a vaccine that contained the pGag plasmid that is taken up by the mouse cells. This results in the production of the HIV-Gag antigen and triggers a subsequent immune response. The second set of experimental groups under study were vaccinated using the Lm-Gag vaccine, in which Listeria monocytogenes bacteria express Gag from its chromosome. The L. monocytogenes bacteria produce the HIV-Gag antigen and have been shown to induce Th1-immune responses in systemically Th2-biased immune systems. The BALB/c mice studied in the second experimental set were purchased from two different vendors and were compared. Relative serum antibody titers of Th1-associated antibodies (IgG2a), Th2-associated antibodies (IgG1, IgE), as well as other general markers of an immune response (total IgG and fecal IgA) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results from this study indicate that there were differences observed in the HIV-Gag specific sera IgG levels of BALB/c mice purchased from the two different mouse vendors ...