Published in:
07-02-2022 | Vibrionaceae | Original Article
IL-21 Enhances the Immune Protection Induced by the Vibrio vulnificus Hemolysin A Protein
Authors:
Ke-Na Sun, Fei Huang, Ming-Yi Wang, Jing Wu, Cheng-Jin Hu, Xiao-Fei Liu
Published in:
Inflammation
|
Issue 4/2022
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Abstract
We previously reported that the Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin A (VvhA) protein elicited good immune protection and could effectively control V. vulnificus infection in mice. However, its molecular mechanism remains unknown. We hypothesized that hemolysin A induces an immunoprotective response via IL-21 regulation. To demonstrate this, IL-21 expression in mice was regulated by injecting either specific antibodies or rIL-21, and the immune response was evaluated by flow cytometry. Our results suggested that IL-21 enhances immune protection by inducing a T follicular helper cell and germinal center B cell response. We used RNA-seq to explore molecular mechanisms and identified 10 upregulated and 32 downregulated genes involved in IL-21-upregulated protection. Gene Ontology analysis and pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes were also performed. Our findings indicate that IL-21 can enhance the immune protection effect of the VvhA protein and may serve as a novel strategy for enhancing the immune protection effect of protein vaccines.