Failure to protect goats following vaccination with soluble proteins of Sarcoptes scabiei: Evidence for a role for IgE antibody in protection

Developing an anti-scabies vaccine is thought to be a feasible alternative to chemical control, since animals which have recovered from sarcoptic mange become resistant against mite reinfestation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective value of immune responses developed in animals after immunisation with soluble mite proteins. Soluble proteins from Sarcoptes scabiei were extracted then subjected to ion exchange chromatography, and proteins from the column were eluted step-wise with 0%, 10%, 25% and 50% of 1 M solution of NaCl in a Tris buffer. Each protein fraction was concentrated and dialysed against PBS. To evaluate the immunogenicity of the fractions, 36 goats were allocated into six groups, group1 goats were unvaccinated, group 2 were vaccinated with intact soluble mite proteins, and groups 3-6 were vaccinated respectively with the fractionated proteins. Vaccinations were conducted four times with 1 mg protein/dose and 4-week intervals between vaccinations. One week after the last vaccination, all goats were challenged with approximately 2000 live mites on the auricles and infestations were allowed to progress for 6 weeks. The severity of lesions caused by the infestation was assessed throughout the study. The challenge caused mange or encrustation dermatitis in all animals and no differences in severity of lesions were observed between vaccinated and unvaccinated control goats. Vaccination with each fraction of the mite proteins invoked high levels of scabies-specific IgG in the serum of all animals but failed to induce specific IgE as determined by Elisa. In contrast, goats challenged experimentally with a primary or repeated mite challenge developed strong serum IgE and IgG antibody responses to Sarcoptes antigens. The latter animals were shown in a previous study to be resistant to reinfestation. The lack of immune protection in the vaccinated animals may be attributed to the absence of protective levels of IgE antibody, and the present findings indicate that allergens and IgE antibody is important in immunity to S. scabiei infection.