Immunogenicity and protective efficacy against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli colonization following intradermal, sublingual, or oral vaccination with EtpA adhesin

Abstract

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains are a common cause of diarrhea. Extraordinary antigenic diversity has prompted a search for conserved antigens to complement canonical approaches to ETEC vaccine development. EtpA, an immunogenic extracellular ETEC adhesin relatively conserved in the ETEC pathovar, has previously been shown to be a protective antigen following intranasal immunization. These studies were undertaken to explore alternative routes of EtpA vaccination that would permit use of a double mutant (R192G L211A) heat-labile toxin (dmLT) adjuvant. Here, oral vaccination with EtpA adjuvanted with dmLT afforded significant protection against small intestinal colonization, and the degree of protection correlated with fecal IgG, IgA, or total fecal antibody responses to EtpA. Sublingual vaccination yielded compartmentalized mucosal immune responses with significant increases in anti-EtpA fecal IgG and IgA, and mice vaccinated via this route were also protected against colonization. In contrast, while intradermal (i.d.) vaccination achieved high levels of both serum and fecal antibodies against both EtpA and dmLT, mice vaccinated via the i.d. route were not protected against subsequent colonization and the avidity of serum IgG and IgA EtpA-specific antibodies was significantly lower after i.d. immunization compared to other routes. Finally, we demonstrate that antiserum from vaccinated mice significantly impairs binding of LT to cognate GM1 receptors and shows near complete neutralization of toxin delivery by ETEC in vitro. Collectively, these data provide further evidence that EtpA could complement future vaccine strategies but also suggest that additional effort will be required to optimize its use as a protective immunogen.