Infection of C57BL/6 mice by Trypanosoma musculi modulates host immune responses during Brucella abortus cocolonization.

Brucellosis, which results in fetal abortions in domestic and wildlife animal populations, is of major concern in the US and throughout much of the world. The disease, caused by Brucella abortus, poses an economic threat to agriculture-based communities. A moderately efficacious live attenuated vaccine (B.

Vaccination with Brucella abortus recombinant in vivo-induced antigens reduces bacterial load and promotes clearance in a mouse model for infection.

Current vaccines used for the prevention of brucellosis are ineffective in inducing protective immunity in animals that are chronically infected with Brucella abortus, such as elk. Using a gene discovery approach, in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT) on B. abortus, we previously identified ten loci that encode products up-regulated during infection in elk and consequently may play a role in virulence.