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  • Title: The early humoral immune response to Bacillus anthracis toxins in patients infected with cutaneous anthrax.
    Author: Brenneman KE, Doganay M, Akmal A, Goldman S, Galloway DR, Mateczun AJ, Cross AS, Baillie LW.
    Journal: FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol; 2011 Jul; 62(2):164-72. PubMed ID: 21401726.
    Abstract:
    Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, produces a tripartite toxin composed of two enzymatically active subunits, lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF), which, when associated with a cell-binding component, protective antigen (PA), form lethal toxin and edema toxin, respectively. In this preliminary study, we characterized the toxin-specific antibody responses observed in 17 individuals infected with cutaneous anthrax. The majority of the toxin-specific antibody responses observed following infection were directed against LF, with immunoglobulin G (IgG) detected as early as 4 days after the onset of symptoms in contrast to the later and lower EF- and PA-specific IgG responses. Unlike the case with infection, the predominant toxin-specific antibody response of those immunized with the US anthrax vaccine absorbed and UK anthrax vaccine precipitated licensed anthrax vaccines was directed against PA. We observed that the LF-specific human antibodies were, like anti-PA antibodies, able to neutralize toxin activity, suggesting the possibility that they may contribute to protection. We conclude that an antibody response to LF might be a more sensitive diagnostic marker of anthrax than to PA. The ability of human LF-specific antibodies to neutralize toxin activity supports the possible inclusion of LF in future anthrax vaccines.
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