Induction of Neutralizing Antibody against Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) with DNA‐Mediated Immunization of HCMV Glycoprotein B in Mice

Abstract

Immunization was accomplished by inoculating pcGB containing human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) glycoprotein B (gB) gene into BALB/c mice intramuscularly. IgM antibody was detected in all the immunized group. IgG antibody was also found in all the tested mice with a mean peak antibody titer of 1:262 in three-times immunized groups. IgG antibody appeared at 2 weeks postinoculation, raised peak levels at 7 weeks postinoculation and persisted over 6 months. Neutralizing antibody was developed, and the percent reduction of input infectivity in 1:100 diluted sera was 74.5 % in three-times immunized groups. This study suggested that DNA vaccine using the gene encoding HCMV gB is a candidate method for developing immunity to HCMV.