Extracellular proteins of Clostridium chauvoei are protective in a mouse model

The anaerobic bacillus Clostridium chauvoei is the causative agent of blackleg, a lethal disease that has an important impact on the sheep and cattle industry worldwide. Immunity to C. chauvoei is considered to be mainly anticellular, and for this reason there is scarce information about the immunogenicity of extracellular proteins. In this work variations in protein profiles, immune response by ELISA and protective capacity of culture supernatants of three C. chauvoei strains, collected at different growth phases, are reported. Sera raised against extracellular antigens also recognised cellular antigens of the same molecular masses. Partially purified cell-free supernatants and those concentrated 10 times by ultrafiltration (C-CFS), obtained at the early stationary phase of growth, induced a strong immunoprotective response, even at low doses, that was more marked for C. chauvoei strain ATCC 10092 (p < or = 0.05). With C-CFS formulations, a clear relationship was observed between IgG titres, protective capacity and concentration of the antigen doses, indicating a specific immune response.