Expression and Purificaton of Multi-toxin Fusion Protein of Clostridium perfringens and the Preparation of Genetically Engineered Multivalent Subunit Vaccine

Abstract Currently, there is an urgent need to develop genetically engineered multivalent subunit vaccines or DNA vaccines to provide protection against infection of multiple types of Clostridium perfringens. In this study, we expressed the fusion protein of α-β2-ε-toxin derived from C. perfringens in Escherichia coli. For the first time, an efficient expression of a soluble α-β2-ε-toxin in E. coli was obtained after codon optimization, removal of the signal peptide and optimization of the expression conditions. Increased level of antibodies was detected in the serum of mice after immunization with the expressed protein. The immunized mice were protected from C. perfringens type A, B, C and D infections with the survival rate of 100, 100, 90and 100%, respectively.