| Abstract | Helicobacter pylori infection is particularly common in developing countries as well as Indigenous populations of North America and has been associated with chronic gastritis and increased risk of ulcers and gastric cancer in adults. Our group has been interested in the development of a conjugate vaccine based on lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major cell surface component of H. pylori. We have identified a common antigenic LPS core epitope, α-1,6-glucan, and have recently demonstrated that synthetic glycoconjugates based on a truncated H. pylori LPS devoid of Lewis antigens and presenting an α-1,6-glucan epitope in the outer core region induced broadly cross-reactive bactericidal antibodies in immunized animals and conferred partial protection against H. pylori challenge in a mouse model. To investigate the candidacy of α-1,6-glucan as an alternative vaccine strategy we prepared glycoconjugates based on dextrans produced by lactic acid bacteria Leuconostoc mesenteroides B512F. The conjugates were immunogenic in both rabbits and mice and induced specific IgG responses against α-1,6-glucan-expressing H. pylori LPS. Future studies will focus on further development of H. pylori vaccine formulations, including the choice of carrier proteins and adjuvants. |
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