Molecular design and construction of infection protective antigens for Q fever agent

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We investigated differences among Coxiella burnetii strains using a new animal experiment model of SCID mice for Q fever. Pathogenicity of a chronic strains in SCID mice was completely different from that of the acute strain. The severity of the heart lesion in SCID mice caused by C. burnetii Priscilla strain, the prototype strain for chronic Q fever, were less severe than expected. The clinical course of SCID mice infected with Priscilla strain was long and mild, and the histopathological observations were mild. The results suggest that pathogen factors as well as host factors are involved in the manifestation of Q fever.Then we investigated PCR-RFLP on icd nad, com1 genes for 72 isolates in Japan. Fourty-nine isolates showed varied PCR-RFLP, which was reported on isoates overseas, to other isolates which showed the same profile as published pattern on icd gene. Sequences of the varied isoates in Japan were different from those of published data. Putative amino acid sequences of the varied isolates in Japan were identical to those of plasmid-less choric strains~. We showed the presence of unique strains in Japan.Our project resulted in the usefulness of SCID mice for an animal model of Q fever, the establishment of Latex agglutination assay for detecting antigen and antibody of Q fever, and molecular properties of C. burnetii isolates in Japan which should be different from those of overseas isolates.