Development of Structure-Based Vaccines for Ehrlichiosis

The obligate intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia chaffeensis that resides in mononuclear phagocytes is the etiologic agent of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (HME). HME is an emerging and often life-threatening zoonotic, tick-transmitted infectious disease in the USA. Lack of early diagnosis and treatment of HME are the main factors that lead to severe and fatal disease. Ehrlichia also causes diseases in companion animals and domesticated ruminants. E. chaffeensis and E. canis cause canine ehrlichioses in dogs, whereas E. ruminantium causes heartwater in cattle, sheep, and goats. As yet there are no commercially available vaccines to protect against these pathogens. This chapter describes a protocol to develop a structure-based vaccine for Ehrlichia based on the antigenic proteins P28-19 and Ehrlichia Hsp60.