Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein enhances the immunogenicity of a co-delivered DNA vaccine encoding HCV structural antigens in mice

In the present study, recombinant HCV (hepatitis C virus) core proteins enhanced the immune response elicited by a co‐delivered DNA vaccine encoding HCV core and envelope proteins. A mixture of the plasmid pIDKE2 and Co.173, a protein comprising the first 173 amino acids of HCV core, in particular induces a strong humoral response, including antibodies that recognized peptides representing hypervariable region I from different viral isolates. Moreover, positive lymphoproliferative responses against the HCV structural proteins, encoded by the plasmid, were detected after two doses with this mixture. When the HCV core protein used in the mixture with pIDKE2 was Co.120, a protein comprising the first 120 amino acids of the viral antigen, a strong humoral response and a positive lymphoproliferative response were also detected. The effectiveness of this formulation was tested in vivo by measuring the protection against infection with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HCV core protein. A 2 log reduction in vaccinia‐virus titre was observed in mice immunized with the mixture of pIDKE2 and Co.120. Humoral and cellular immune responses elicited for the mixture of pIDKE2 with either Co.173 or Co.120 was stronger and more diverse than those generated by individual components. In conclusion, our results indicate that formulations comprising both DNA constructs and protein subunit vaccine candidates are able to elicit strong humoral and cellular immunity against several antigens. Particularly, HCV core protein might be used as a feasible vehicle/adjuvant for DNA vaccines.