Dr. Gaber Abdellrazek is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Washington State University Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology. He is currently researching the pathogenic mechanism of MAP with Dr. William Davis.

Abstract

Objective: Studies were conducted ex vivo to demonstrate the potential efficacy for a peptide based vaccine for paratuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (Map).

Methods: Two ex vivo assays were developed and used to study the functional activity of CD4 and CD8 T cells proliferating in response to stimulation with dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with a major membrane protein, MMP, expressed by Map.

Results: Two rounds of stimulation with MMP-pulsed DC incorporated into a nanoparticle vector elicited a consistent CD4, CD8 T cell proliferative response. Analysis of the response showed responding CD8 T cells developed the ability to kill Map present in macrophage target cells infected with Map.

Conclusion: MMP shows potential for development of an efficacious vaccine.

For more information, see this recently published article describing the discovery of a MAP mutation that may lead to the development of a MAP vaccine for both animals and humans. Dr. William C. Davis, has provided Human Para with a summary of this highly technical article. A huge thanks to Dr. Davis, Dr. Abdellrazek and their colleagues for this piece, and for their contribution to MAP science.