The rOmp22-HpaA Fusion Protein Confers Protective Immunity Against Helicobacter pylori in Mice

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) plays an essential role in the development of various gastroduodenal diseases; however, no vaccines preventing H. pylori infection have been available now. This study was to evaluate the protective effect of rOmp22-HpaA fusion protein against H. pylori infection in mouse model and to screen the candidate to be used in the development of an oral vaccine against H. pylori. rOmp22, rHpaA, rOmp22+rHpaA, and rOmp22-HpaA groups were used to immunize mice with mLT63 as adjuvant by intragastric route, respectively, four times at 1-week intervals. Two weeks after last immunization, all of the animals were orally challenged with H. pylori NCTC11637 and then were killed after another 2 weeks. The mice gastric tissue of all groups was separated to detect the presence of infection by urease tests, to culture H. pylori, and to observe the histological characteristics. The protective effect against H. pylori challenge in mice immunized with rOmp22-HpaA fusion protein and mLT63 adjuvant was significantly higher than PBS and mLT63 control groups (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was detected among rOmp22, rHpaA, rOmp22+rHpaA, and rOmp22-HpaA groups (P > 0.05). rOmp22-HpaA fusion protein retained immunogenicity and could be used as an antigen candidate in the development of an oral vaccine against H. pylori infection.