转基因植物作为生物反应器生产口蹄疫疫苗的研究进展

利用转基因植物作为生物反应器表达重组蛋白,生产外源蛋白质作为动物疫苗是一个很有吸引力的廉价生产系统,它有可能代替生产成本较高的传统疫苗的发酵生产系统。通过口蹄疫病毒VP1结构蛋白基因在转基因植物中的表达,口蹄疫疫苗已在植物中产生。在植物中生产的抗原能够保持其自身的免疫原性。本文简要综述了近十年来用转基因植物作为生物反应器生产口蹄疫疫苗的研究进展、特点及其应用前景 。     

Foot-and-mouth disease virus VP1 protein fused with cholera toxin B subunit expressed in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast

A Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast expression vector, pACTBVP1, containing the fusion of the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) VP1 gene and the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) gene was constructed and transfered to the chloroplast genome of C. reinhardtii by the biolistic method. The transformants were identified by PCR, Southern blot, Western blot and ELISA assays after selection on resistant medium and incubation in the dark. The CTBVP1 fusion protein was expressed in C. reinhardtii chloroplast and accounted for up to 3% of the total soluble protein. The fusion protein also retained both GM1-ganglioside binding affinity and antigenicity of the FMDV VP1 and CTB proteins. These experimental results support the possibility of using transgenic chloroplasts of green alga as a mucosal vaccine source.     

Foot and mouth disease virus polyepitope protein produced in bacteria and plants induces protective immunity in guinea pigs

The goal of this project was to develop an alternative foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine candidate based on a recombinant protein consisting of efficient viral epitopes. A recombinant gene was designed that encodes B-cell epitopes of proteins VP1 and VP4 and T-cell epitopes of proteins 2C and 3D. The polyepitope protein (H-PE) was produced in E. coli bacteria or in N. benthamiana plants using a phytovirus expression system. The methods of extraction and purification of H-PE proteins from bacteria and plants were developed. Immunization of guinea pigs with the purified H-PE proteins induced an efficient immune response against foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotype O/Taiwan/99 and protection against the disease. The polyepitope protein H-PE can be used as a basis for developing a new recombinant vaccine against FMD.     

Protective Immune Response to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus with VP1 Expressed in Transgenic Plants

It has been reported recently that genes encoding antigens of bacterial and viral pathogens can be expressed in plants in a form in which they retain native immunogenic properties. The structural protein VP1 of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), which has frequently been shown to contain critical epitopes, has been expressed in different vectors and shown to induce virus-neutralizing antibodies and protection in experimental and natural hosts. Here we report the production of transformed plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) expressing VP1. Mice immunized with leaf plant extracts elicited specific antibody responses to synthetic peptides representing amino acid residues 135 to 160 of VP1, to VP1 itself, and to intact FMDV particles. Additionally, all of the immunized mice were protected against challenge with virulent FMDV. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing protection against a viral disease by immunization with an antigen expressed in a transgenic plant.     

A transgenic plant cell‐suspension system for expression of epitopes on chimeric Bamboo mosaic virus particles

We describe a novel strategy to produce vaccine antigens using a plant cell‐suspension culture system in lieu of the conventional bacterial or animal cell‐culture systems. We generated transgenic cell‐suspension cultures from Nicotiana benthamiana leaves carrying wild‐type or chimeric Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) expression constructs encoding the viral protein 1 (VP1) epitope of foot‐and‐mouth disease virus (FMDV). Antigens accumulated to high levels in BdT38 and BdT19 transgenic cell lines co‐expressing silencing suppressor protein P38 or P19. BaMV chimeric virus particles (CVPs) were subsequently purified from the respective cell lines (1.5 and 2.1 mg CVPs/20 g fresh weight of suspended biomass, respectively), and the resulting CVPs displayed VP1 epitope on the surfaces. Guinea pigs vaccinated with purified CVPs produced humoral antibodies. This study represents an important advance in the large‐scale production of immunopeptide vaccines in a cost‐effective manner using a plant cell‐suspension culture system.     

表达O型口蹄疫病毒 VP1基因的重组病毒BHV-1的构建与鉴定

摘要：【目的】为了构建表达口蹄疫病毒（O/China/99）VP1基因的牛疱疹病毒1型,将人工合成的口蹄疫病毒VP1基因插入到巨细胞病毒（CMV）启动子之下构建gE基因缺失转移载体。【方法】利用磷酸钙介导转染法将该转移载体与亲本病毒BHV-1/gE-/LacZ+的基因组DNA共转染牛鼻甲细胞后收获增殖的病毒。通过筛选白色病毒蚀斑,得到重组病毒BHV-1/gE-/VP1。【结果】PCR检测结果表明VP1基因已经插入到了重组病毒BHV-1/gE-的基因组中,间接免疫荧光试验和Western blot证实了BHV-1/gE-/VP1中的VP1基因在感染的细胞中获得了表达。【结论】本研究成功的构建了表达口蹄疫病毒VP1基因的重组病毒BHV-1/gE-/VP1,为研制口蹄疫及其他重要牛传染病的BHV-1病毒载体疫苗奠定了基础。     

High expression level of a foot and mouth disease virus epitope in tobacco transplastomic plants

Chloroplast transformation has an extraordinary potential for antigen production in plants because of the capacity to accumulate high levels of recombinant proteins and increased biosafety due to maternal plastid inheritance in most crops. In this article, we evaluate tobacco chloroplasts transformation for the production of a highly immunogenic epitope containing amino acid residues 135–160 of the structural protein VP1 of the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV). To increase the accumulation levels, the peptide was expressed as a fusion protein with the β-glucuronidase reporter gene (uidA). The recombinant protein represented the 51% of the total soluble proteins in mature leaves, a level higher than those of the Rubisco large subunit, the most abundant protein in the leaf of a wild-type plant. Despite this high accumulation of heterologous protein, the transplastomic plants and wild-type tobacco were phenotypically indistinguishable. The FMDV epitope expressed in transplastomic plants was immunogenic in mice. These results show that transplastomic tobacco express efficiently the recombinant protein, and we conclude that this technology allows the production of large quantities of immunogenic proteins.     

Antibodies against a preselected peptide recognize and neutralize foot and mouth disease virus.

A major antibody combining site on foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotype O1K has been identified in a predicted surface helix of viral protein 1 (VP1) between amino acid residues 144 and 159. A hexadecapeptide covering this sequence elicits high titers of antibodies that specifically recognize and neutralize FMDV. The high quality of the immune response is attributed to a particularly stable conformation of the antigenic amino acid sequence, which is most likely an alpha-helix.     

口蹄疫病毒与宿主细胞的相互作用研究进展

口蹄疫病毒（FMDV）导致了偶蹄动物口蹄疫的发生,它是一类有着自身特点的RNA病毒。首先,FMDV衣壳蛋白VP1识别结合宿主细胞膜上的整联蛋白等受体,以内吞的方式进入细胞,利用宿主细胞成分完成病毒蛋白的合成。这些新合成的L^pro、2C和3C^pro等病毒致病因子进一步抑制宿主基因的转录和翻译,诱导细胞凋亡和白噬,并抑制干扰素介导的一系列先天性和获得性免疫反应。宿主则在病毒侵染细胞的初期,利用病毒识别受体等来识别病毒并诱导合成干扰素等细胞因子,介导多种免疫反应以清除病毒。病毒和宿主两者在持续的利用和较量中完成疾病的发生和痊愈等。其次,不断发现的病毒受体、结合基序、致病因子及宿主细胞的多种免疫调节因子将成为相关领域新的研究内容。综上,开发高效安全疫苗、增强自身免疫力及利用RNAi直接抑制病毒RNA等便成为现代FMDV防治的主要内容。     

miR-142-3p is essential for hematopoiesis and affects cardiac cell fate in zebrafish

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness in young children. HFMD is caused by viruses belonging to the enterovirus genus of the picornavirus family. Recently, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has emerged as a virulent agent for HFMD with severe clinical outcomes. In the current report, we conducted a pilot antigen engineering study to optimize the expression and immunogenicity of subunit VP1 antigen for the design of EV71 vaccines. DNA immunization was adopted as a simple technical approach to test different designs of VP1 antigens without the need to express VP1 protein in vitro first. Our studies indicated that the expression and immunogenicity of VP1 protein can be improved with alternated VP1 antigen designs. Data presented in the current report revealed novel pathways to optimize the design of VP1 antigen-based EV71 vaccines.     

口蹄疫病毒VP1基因在番茄中的表达及转基因番茄对豚鼠诱导免疫保护

构建克隆有O型口蹄疫病毒China99株VP1基因的植物双元表达载体pBin438/VP1。通过农杆菌介导法转化番茄子叶,经卡那霉素抗性筛选,获得60株抗性植株。对抗性植株分别做PCR、RT-PCR检测目的基因的整合与转录,ELISA筛选约40%的卡那抗性植株阳性,分别提取两株ELISA和Western blot检测阳性的转基因番茄叶片蛋白与弗氏佐剂乳化,于0、15、30d经肌肉途径免疫豚鼠,第三次免疫后28d用100ID50的同源强毒攻击,根据豚鼠抗体水平的消长动态和免疫豚鼠抗强毒攻击的保护率进行转基因植物疫苗免疫原性的评估。结果表明,双元表达载体pBin438/VP1构建正确,PCR、RT-PCR结果证实口蹄疫病毒VP1基因已整合到番茄基因组并在转录水平表达,ELISA和Western blot检测重组蛋白能够与FMDV阳性血清反应。转基因番茄第三次免疫豚鼠后21d血清效价最高可达1∶64,攻毒后两组免疫豚鼠保护率分别达80%和40%,证明转基因番茄表达的VP1蛋白具有良好的免疫原性。     

Successful oral prime-immunization with VP60 from rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus produced in transgenic plants using different fusion strategies

Expression levels of vaccine antigens in transgenic plants have important consequences in their use as edible vaccines. The major structural protein VP60 from the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) has been produced in transgenic plants using different strategies to compare its accumulation in plant tissues. The highest expressing plants were those presenting stable, complex, high-density structures formed by VP60, suggesting the importance of multisubunit structures for the stability of this protein in plant cells. Mice fed with leaves of transgenic plants expressing VP60 were primed to a subimmunogenic baculovirus-derived vaccine single dose. This indicates that plants expressing VP60 antigen may be a new means for oral RHDV immunization.     

High-yield production of the VP1 structural protein epitope from serotype O foot-and-mouth disease virus in Escherichia coli

For effective control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the development of rapid diagnostic systems and vaccines are required against its etiological agent, FMD virus (FMDV). To accomplish this, efficient large-scale expression of the FMDV VP1 protein, with high solubility, needs to be optimized. We attempted to produce high levels of a serotype O FMDV VP1 epitope in Escherichia coli. We identified the subtype-independent serotype O FMDV VP1 epitope sequence and used it to construct a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein. For efficient production of the FMDV VP1 epitope fused to GST (VP1e–GST), four E. coli strains and three temperatures were examined. The conditions yielding the greatest level of VP1e–GST with highest solubility were achieved with E. coli BL21(DE3) at 25 °C. For high-level production, fed-batch cultures were conducted in 5-l bioreactors. When cells were induced at a high density and complex feeding solutions were supplied, approximately 11 g of VP1e–GST was obtained from a 2.9-l culture. Following purification, the VP1 epitope was used to immunize rabbits, and we confirmed that it induced an immune response.     

Purification and immunogenicity of fusion VP1 protein of foot and mouth disease virus

A procedure has been developed to purify foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) VP1 surface antigens from recombinant Escherichia coli. The VP1 antigens are expressed as fusion proteins derived from the E. coli Trp operon and VP1 surface protein of FMDV. The procedure is capable of recovering greater than 96% of the desired product at a purity of greater than 96%. The resulting antigens induce significant levels of virus-neutralizing antibody in guinea pigs and cattle as determined by a mouse protection assay [Skinner, H.H. (1952) Proc. Int. Vet. Congr., 15th 1, 195]. E. coli contaminants have a deleterious effect on ion-exchange chromatography as well as immunogenicity of the expressed fusion VP1 antigens. The method presented removes significant E. coli contaminants, yielding fusion VP1 proteins which are immunogenically potent. In particular, virus neutralization titers at 100-micrograms dosage of the fusion VP1 proteins of the O1 and A24 serotypes are similar to that induced by the natural VP1 proteins isolated from FMD virions.     

Expression of the B Subunit of E. coli Heat-labile Enterotoxin in the Chloroplasts of Plants and its Characterization

Transgenic chloroplasts have become attractive systems for heterologous gene expressions because of unique advantages. Here, we report a feasibility study for producing the nontoxic B subunit of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LTB) via chloroplast transformation of tobacco. Stable site-specific integration of the LTB gene into chloroplast genome was confirmed by PCR and genomic Southern blot analysis in transformed plants. Immunoblot analysis indicated that plant-derived LTB protein was oligomeric, and dissociated after boiling. Pentameric LTB molecules were the dominant molecular species in LTB isolated from transgenic tobacco leaf tissues. The amount of LTB protein detected in transplastomic tobacco leaf was approximately 2.5% of the total soluble plant protein, approximately 250-fold higher than in plants generated via nuclear transformation. The GM1-ELISA binding assay indicated that chloroplast-synthesized LTB protein bound to GM1-ganglioside receptors. LTB protein with biochemical properties identical to native LTB protein in the chloroplast of edible plants opens the way for inexpensive, safe, and effective plant-based edible vaccines for humans and animals.     

Production of HIV-1 p24 protein in transgenic tobacco plants

The production of antigens for vaccines in plants has the potential as a safe and cost-effective alternative to traditional production systems. Toward the development of a plant-based expression system for the production of human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) p24 capsid protein, the p24 gene was introduced into the genome of tobacco plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer. Southern blot analyses confirmed the presence of the p24 coding sequence within the genome of transgenic lines. Western blot analysis of protein extracts from transgenic plants identified plant-expressed p24 protein that cross-reacted with a p24-specific monoclonal antibody, thus confirming the maintenance of antigenicity. Quantification of the p24 protein using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) estimated yields of approx 3.5 mg per g of soluble leaf protein. Similar accumulation levels of p24 were also detected in T1 plants, confirming that the p24 gene is transmitted stably. Our results indicate that plant-based transgenic expression represents a viable means of producing p24 for the development of HIV vaccine and for use in HIV diagnostic procedures.     

Correlation between efficacy and structure of recombinant epitope vaccines against bovine type O foot and mouth disease virus

To develop recombinant epitope vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), genes coding for six recombinant proteins (rP1–rP6) consisting of different combinations of B cell and T cell epitope from VP1 capsid protein (VP1) of type O FMDV were constructed and the 3D structure of these proteins analyzed. This revealed a surface-exposed RGD sequence of B cell epitopes in all six recombinant proteins as that in VP1 of FMDV and rP1, rP2 and rP4 globally mimicked the backbone conformation of the VP1. rP1, rP2 and rP4 stimulated guinea pigs to produce higher level of neutralizing antibodies capable of protecting suckling mice against FMDV challenge. rP1 stimulated cattle to produce FMDV-neutralizing antibody. The data suggest that an efficient recombinant epitope vaccine against FMDV should share local similarities with the natural VP1 of FMDV.     

DNA vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease via electroporation: study of molecular approaches for enhancing VP1 antigenicity

BACKGROUND: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) affects susceptible livestock animals and causes disastrous economic impact. Immunization with plasmid expressing VP1 that contains the major antigenic epitope(s) of FMDV as cytoplasmic protein (cVP1) failed to elicit full protection against FMDV challenge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, mice were immunized via electroporation with four cDNA expression vectors that were constructed to express VP1 of FMDV, as cytoplasmic (cVP1), secreted (sVP1), membrane-anchored (mVP1) or capsid precursor protein (P1), respectively, to evaluate whether expression of VP1 in specific subcellular compartment(s) would result in better immune responses. RESULTS: Electroporation enhanced immune responses to vectors expressing cVP1 or P1 and expedited the immune responses to vectors expressing sVP1 or mVP1. Immunization of mice via electroporation with mVP1 cDNA was better than sVP1 or cVP1 cDNA in eliciting neutralizing antibodies and viral clearance protection. Vaccination with P1 cDNA, nonetheless, yielded the best immune responses and protection among all four cDNAs that we tested. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the antigenicity of a VP1 DNA vaccine can be significantly enhanced by altering the cellular localization of the VP1 antigen. Electroporation is a useful tool for enhancing the immune responses of vectors expressing VP1 or P1. By mimicking FMDV more closely than that of transgenic VP1 and eliciting immune responses favorably toward Th2, transgenic P1 may induce more neutralizing antibodies and better protection against FMDV challenge.     

Identification of peptides from foot‐and‐mouth disease virus structural proteins bound by class I swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) alleles,SLA‐1*0401 and SLA‐2*0401

Characterization of the peptide‐binding specificity of swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) class I and II molecules is critical to the understanding of adaptive immune responses of swine toward infectious pathogens. Here, we describe the complete binding motif of the SLA‐2*0401 molecule based on a positional scanning combinatorial peptide library approach. By combining this binding motif with data achieved by applying the NetMHCpan peptide prediction algorithm to both SLA‐1*0401 and SLA‐2*0401, we identified high‐affinity binding peptides. A total of 727 different 9mer and 726 different 10mer peptides within the structural proteins of foot‐and‐mouth disease virus (FMDV), strain A24 were analyzed as candidate T‐cell epitopes. Peptides predicted by the NetMHCpan were tested in ELISA for binding to the SLA‐1*0401 and SLA‐2*0401 major histocompatibility complex class I proteins. Four of the 10 predicted FMDV peptides bound to SLA‐2*0401, whereas five of the nine predicted FMDV peptides bound to SLA‐1*0401. These methods provide the characterization of T‐cell epitopes in response to pathogens in more detail. The development of such approaches to analyze vaccine performance will contribute to a more accelerated improvement of livestock vaccines by virtue of identifying and focusing analysis on bona fide T‐cell epitopes.