Factors involved in immunity against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in mice

Active and passive immunization studies in mice were undertaken to examine the protective efficiency of vaccines prepared from different components of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, or combinations thereof. Subcutaneous immunization using either washed formalinized whole cells, capsular polysaccharide, lipopolysaccharide or purified hemolysin I (105 kDa protein) partially protected mice against intranasal challenge with a lethal dose of homologous or heterologous A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes. However, full protection was obtained if the formalinized whole cells were supplemented with purified hemolysin. Similar protection was obtained when mice were immunized simultaneously with a sublethal dose of live cells by the intranasal route and with formalinized whole cells subcutaneously. Passive immunization using rabbit hyperimmune serum against formalinized whole cells provided almost total protection whereas hyperimmune serum against capsular polysaccharide, lipopolysaccharide or hemolysin alone provided only a partial protection. Cell mediated immunity as detected by the foot pad test may not be implicated significantly in the protein against acute A. pleuropneumoniae infection. However, humoral immune response seems to play an important role in protection. All the antigenic components examined may contribute to the protection to some extent. However, heat-labile components such as hemolysin and outer membrane proteins may play a crucial role in protection against acute challenge infection.