ABSTRACT
The outer membrane proteins of Anaplasma marginale have been the focus of research to obtain an improved vaccine against bovine anaplasmosis. We evaluated the capacity of the recombinant plasmids pcDNA-msp1alpha, pcDNA-msp1beta, and pcDNA-mp5 to express MSP1a, MSP1b, and MSP5 proteins, and to determine the immunogenicity of BALB/c mice immunized with these plasmids individually or in association. Expression of proteins was confirmed in Vero cells by IFA. The combination of recombinant plasmids showed high antibodies response, produced better induction of Th1 response than individual plasmids, and induced significant proliferation of splenocytes. The mice sera immunized with A. marginale showed seroconversion and reacted with all native MSPs, but demonstrated predominance of the humoral IgG1 isotype and did not induce significant proliferation of splenocytes. The use of association of recombinant plasmid can be an effective strategy for the immunoprophylaxis of anaplasmosis.
