脊髓灰质炎病毒C3表位和C-myc十肽表位在细菌表面的表达

为了进一步验证载体pCSB136和pCSX72作为表面呈现载体的可行性 ,化学合成脊髓灰质炎病毒C3表位和C myc十肽表位的基因片段 ,并插入到上述载体的相应位点间 ,采用全菌PCR筛选到正向插入的重组子 ,全细胞ELISA和电镜观察显示 ,重组蛋白以杂和菌毛的形式得到了表达 ,并保持CS3和外源表位的抗原性 ,表明脊髓灰质炎病毒C3表位和C myc十肽表位在细菌表面得到了表达 ,证实载体pCSB136和pCSX72可用于外源表位的呈现 ,为构建基因工程活菌疫苗奠定了基础     

用人源肠毒素性大肠杆菌CS3菌毛构建新型呈现载体

根据对人源大肠杆菌菌毛CS3亚单位亲水性、表位、二级结构和柔韧性计算机预测结果,以CS3亚单位第72位氨基酸残基之后作为外源表位的插入位点,构建了一种新的表面呈现载体pCSX72。用该载体分别表达口蹄疫病毒（FMDV）的VP1表位和C-myc的十肽表位（410-419aa）。SDS-PAGE结果以及电镜和免疫电镜观察证明,插入的外源表位和CS3亚单位以杂合菌毛的形式呈现在菌体表面。ELISA检测结果表明,pCSX72表达的杂合蛋白的抗原性较之其他插入位点的载体要高得多。用重组细菌腹腔免疫小鼠,能够诱发机体对杂合蛋白的双重免疫应答。构建的表面呈现载体可望成为构建多价疫苗的有力工具。     

幽门螺杆菌Ure B串联融合表位的表面呈现表达

目的:应用表达载体pHIE3N表面呈现表达幽门螺杆菌Ure B串联融合表位。方法:通过引入多克隆位点的方法改造表达呈现表达载体pHIE11,并用改造后的质粒表达幽门螺杆菌Ure B串联融合表位,用SDS-PAGE、Western blot和全菌ELISA检测所得到的重组菌。结果:改造的质粒插入序列正确,能够特异性呈现表达Ure B串联融合表位,表达产物的分子量约为60kDa,与预期大小一致。全菌ELISA结果表明Ure B串联融合表位表达于菌体表面。结论:pHIE3N载体能够表面展示呈现Ure B串联融合表位,构建的重组菌为幽门螺杆菌候选疫苗的研发奠定了基础。     

大肠杆菌耐热肠毒素在细菌表面的呈现

为了探讨CS3菌毛呈现载体用于呈现立体表位的可行性,选择大肠杆菌耐热肠毒素（ST）作为靶蛋白,通过全细胞ELISA,电镜技术来检测重组蛋白的表达,结果显示重组蛋白以杂合菌毛的形式得到了表达,并保持有CS3载体蛋白的抗原性,初步表明ST在细菌表面得到呈现,CS3菌毛呈现载体可用于立体表位的呈现。     

应用ELISPOT方法筛选确定HIV-1B'/C亚型疫苗六种抗原的H-2d限制的T细胞表位

为了筛选和确定用于检测表达HIV-1 B’/C亚型病毒6种抗原(gp160、gag、polr、evt、at和nef)的艾滋病疫苗免疫小鼠后H-2d限制的特异性T细胞表位,本研究使用表达上述6种抗原的复制型DNA疫苗和非复制型重组痘苗病毒疫苗联合免疫BALB/c小鼠,通过矩阵设计将HIV-1 B(C)亚型6种相应抗原全序列肽库分别混合成肽池,使用肽池对免疫小鼠进行IFN-γELISPOT检测,根据检测结果确定肽库中特异反应的优势表位肽。结果显示:筛选到七条针对Gag的特异表位肽,其中有5条与文献报道相同,另2条为新表位肽;筛选到3条针对Pol蛋白特异表位肽,其中一条为新表位肽;筛选到2条针对gp160特异表位肽,其中一条为新表位肽;在Nef肽库中筛选到一条新的表位肽;从Tat肽库中筛选到3条表位肽,这三条肽在肽库中是连续的序列,都包含(或部分包含)网上公布的表位序列;在Rev肽库中没有筛选到能够产生阳性反应的特异性表位肽。本研究使用IFN-γELISPOT方法筛选和确定了可用于检测表达HIV-1 B’/C亚型病毒6种抗原(gp160、gag、pol、revt、at和nef)的艾滋病疫苗免疫小鼠后H-2d限制的特异性T细胞表位。     

Ⅲ型脊髓灰质炎病毒抗原表位嵌合蛋白的免疫学研究

目的:对以轮状病毒(RV)重组VP6蛋白为载体插入Ⅲ型脊髓灰质炎病毒(PV3)VP1蛋白上1个抗原表位(VP1的91~102、254和168位氨基酸残基)所构建的嵌合蛋白6F/PV3N1进行体外免疫学研究。方法:利用分子克隆和基因重组技术将PV3抗原表位插入RV载体蛋白,构建重组抗原表位嵌合蛋白表达质粒,转染大肠杆菌后表达重组蛋白,经SDS-PAGE确认表达产物,再通过Western印迹分析嵌合蛋白的抗原反应性。结果:用载体蛋白VP6F、轮状病毒Wa病毒株免疫的豚鼠血清抗体分别都能与VP6F和6F/PV3N1产生特异性结合;PV3免疫的豚鼠血清抗体只能与6F/PV3N1产生特异性结合,不能与VP6F产生特异性结合;PV1免疫的豚鼠血清抗体则不能与6F/PV3N1和VP6F产生特异性结合。结论:PV1、PV3之间不存在交叉反应现象,以RV VP6为载体构建的嵌合蛋白6F/PV3N1具有较好的免疫原性,为研发RV/PV3嵌合疫苗提供了基础。     

表达轮状病毒SA11株Vp4的抗原表位诱导病毒中和抗体生成

以昆虫病毒Flockhousevirus（FHV）外壳蛋白为载体的外源抗原表位表达系统（FHV-RNA2载体系统）．在重组杆状病毒和重组pET系统中构建和表达了SA11Vp4胰酶切割位点两侧和重叠切割位点3个抗原表位氨基酸序列（抗原表位A,aa223~242;抗原表位B,aa243～262;抗原表位C,aa234～251）,并对其免疫原性进行了研究。结果表明：这3个抗原表位能诱导动物产生抗同源氨基酸序列的抗体和抗同源病毒（SA11）感染性的血清中和抗体。研究结果提示：RVVp4胰酶切割位点区氨基酸序列除了具有胰酶切割增强病毒感染力外,还具有诱导动物机体产生血清中和抗体的能力,是RV重组抗原表位亚单位疫苗研究中重要的抗原表位氨基酸序列。     

研究报告Ⅱ型脊灰病毒抗原表位嵌合蛋白的免疫学研究

目的：评价以轮状病毒（RV）重组VP6蛋白为载体插入Ⅱ型脊髓灰质炎病毒（PV2）VP1蛋白上的1个抗原表位构建而成的嵌合蛋白的体外免疫学性质。 方法：采用分子克隆和基因重组技术将PV2抗原表位插入到RV载体蛋白上,在大肠杆菌中表达并用SDS-PAGE确认表达产物,再通过动物免疫、Western blot、免疫荧光和病毒血清抗体中和试验分析嵌合蛋白的免疫学性质。结果：成功构建了以VP6为载体的PV2抗原表位嵌合蛋白6F/PV₂N₁,并且在E.coli系统中高效表达,嵌合蛋白免疫的豚鼠血清抗体对RV和PV2具备较好的中和活性。结论：以RV VP6为载体构建的嵌合蛋白具有较好的免疫原性,免疫豚鼠产生血清抗体可中和RV和PV2在体外细胞上的感染;进一步为研发RV/PV2嵌合疫苗提供了较好的基础。     

乙型肝炎病毒核心蛋白作为表位疫苗载体的应用

乙型肝炎病毒核心蛋白(Hepatitis B viruscore protein,HBc)可以形成二十面体对称的颗粒样结构,由于其N端、C端和主要免疫显性区域(Major immunodominant region,MIR)允许一定程度的缺失和外源插入,并且能够将外源序列重复且高密度地暴露在颗粒的表面,诱发强烈的外源序列特异的体液和细胞免疫反应,从上世纪80年代中期就开始被运用于表位疫苗的研究。以下主要从影响HBc作为表位疫苗载体的因素,包括HBc长度、外源插入位点和表位序列的性质等来介绍HBc作为表位疫苗载体的应用。     

禽流感抗原表位在沙门氏菌菌毛的表达

目的:经抗原表位预测和同源性比较,禽流感M1蛋白位于58-66序列的九肽是A型流感病毒中保守并具有很强免疫原性的T细胞表位,鉴于鼠伤寒沙门氏菌LT2的SEF17菌毛基因agfA作为疫苗载体的优势,在其上构建引起机体细胞免疫的沙门氏茵口服活体重组疫苗,以求在人类对抗禽流感过程中发挥作用。方法:利用两步重叠延伸PCR和基因置换,将外源表位插入LT2茵毛,并利用抗生素抗性,温度敏感质粒,及茵毛的刚果红吸附能力筛选菌毛上插有外源抗原表位的重组菌,并通过测序进一步验证外源基因的插入。结果:两步重叠延伸PCR产物AB,CD,AD长度与理论大小530bp,423bp,932bp一致。两次转化PCR鉴定,产物长度与理论大小932bp,634bp一致。刚果红吸附测定,菌毛上插入有外源肽的菌落因吸附刚果红能力减弱呈粉色,对筛选出的KmS型粉色茵落的PCR鉴定,产物长度与理论大小417bp一致,测序结果也显示agfA中外源表位基因的插入。结论:禽流感M1蛋白位于58-66序列的T细胞表位成功插入沙门氏茵SEF17菌毛基因agfA。     

Epitope mapping of monoclonal antibodies for the Deinococcus radiodurans bacteriophytochome

Bacteriophytochromes (BphP) are phytochrome‐like light sensing proteins in bacteria, which use biliverdin as a chromophore. In order to study the biochemical properties of the DrBphP protein, five (2B8, 2C11, 3B2, 3D2, and 3H7) anti‐DrBphP monoclonal antibodies were produced through the immunization of mice with purified full‐length DrBphP and DrBphN (1–321 amino acid) proteins, and epitope mapping was then carried out. Among the five antibodies, 2B8 and 2C11 preferentially recognized the N‐terminal region of BphP whereas 3B2, 3D2, and 3H7 showed preference for the C‐terminal region. We performed further epitope mapping using recombinant truncated BphP proteins to narrow down their target sequences. The results demonstrated that each of the five monoclonal antibodies recognized different regions on the DrBphP protein. Additionally, epitopes of 2B8 and 3H7 antibodies were discovered to be shorter than 10 amino acids (2B8: RDPLPFFPP, 3H7: PGEIEEA). These two antibodies with such specific recognition epitopes could be especially valuable for developing new peptide tags for protein detection and purification.     

一种蛋白质B细胞表位展示系统的构建及验证

目的:建立一种能够有效展示蛋白质B细胞表位的载体系统,以用于表位特异性抗体的制备和表位疫苗的设计。方法:选用抗体的可变区作为蛋白质B细胞表位展示的骨架蛋白,B细胞表位的展示部位为CDR3区。全基因合成骨架蛋白基因,通过重叠PCR将B细胞表位编码序列插入到骨架蛋白基因中,原核表达目的蛋白,利用Sephacryl S-100层析柱进行蛋白纯化,用纯化的蛋白按常规方法免疫小鼠,采用ELISA法检测免疫血清的滴度及特异性,通过Western blot和间接免疫荧光技术进一步验证免疫血清对目的蛋白的识别。结果:成功构建了3种表位展示蛋白,均表现出了很好的抗原性,表位展示蛋白免疫血清具有较好的特异性,能够特异识别所展示的B细胞表位。结论:抗体可变区作为骨架蛋白能够很好地展示B细胞表位,免疫小鼠后获得的免疫血清表现出了较好的特异性。     

Epitope mapping of antibodies against S-tagged fusion proteins and molecular weight markers

Monoclonal antibodies against S-tagged fusion proteins expressed in pET vectors were generated and further characterized. Most pET vectors contain a 15-meric S-tag as a fusion tag for the detection of recombinant proteins. Two antibodies, G18BA3 and G18BE8, recognized this S-tag in enzyme immunoassay and Western blot. Their epitopes were mapped using peptide array technology and were confirmed to be AAKFERQHMDSPD. This corresponds to the C-terminal region of the S-tag plus additional amino acids P and D, which are also present in most available pET vectors. Amino acid substitution analysis revealed several essential residues for binding. The binding motif was therefore FExxHxDxxD for G18BA3 and AxxFExxH for G18BE8. Since some commercially available protein standards are expressed in pET vectors, G18BA3 and G18BE8 were also found to detect the ladder bands of a molecular weight marker on immunoblot analysis. Both antibodies should be highly useful for the simultaneous detection of recombinant pET vector-expressed fusion proteins and protein molecular weight standards in Western blotting, especially when chemoluminescent detection systems are used.     

Epitope analysis of the FanC subunit protein of the K99 (F5) fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli using a recombinant fusion technique

We have used a recombinant approach to characterise the B- and T-cell epitopes of FanC, the major subunit polypeptide of K99 (F5) fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains. This involved the fusion of FanC and its carboxy-terminal truncated derivatives to a reporter, the E. coli alkaline phosphatase (PhoA), generating stable, recombinant fusions. The B-cell epitopes of FanC were characterised by Western blotting of FanC::PhoA fusion proteins with a polyclonal mouse antiserum directed against K99 fimbrial antigen, and with a panel of monoclonal antibodies generated to the K99 antigen. An attempt to characterise the T-cell epitopes of the fimbrial subunit was made by standard in vitro T-cell proliferation assay. Our results suggest that the B-cell epitopes of FanC are likely to be continuous, with a potentially immunodominant epitope at the carboxy-terminus. However, T-cell proliferation assays with the FanC::PhoA fusion proteins did not indicate any immunodominant T-cell epitope(s). We hypothesise that fusion of FanC peptides to PhoA had resulted in altered folding of the peptides for antibody and T-cell recognition, highlighting the potential problems and drawbacks of the recombinant fusion technique in defining the epitopes of certain proteins.     

Using recombinant coxsackievirus B3 to evaluate the induction and protective efficacy of CD8+ T cells during picornavirus infection

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a common human pathogen that has been associated with serious diseases including myocarditis and pancreatitis. To better understand the effect of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses in controlling CVB3 infection, we have inserted well-characterized CTL epitopes into the CVB3 genome. Constructs were made by placing the epitope of interest upstream of the open reading frame encoding the CVB3 polyprotein, separated by a poly-glycine linker and an artificial 3Cpro/3CDpro cleavage site. This strategy results in the foreign protein being translated at the amino- terminus of the viral polyprotein, from which it is cleaved prior to viral assembly. In this study, we cloned major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted CTL epitopes from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) into recombinant CVB3 (rCVB3). In vitro, rCVB3 growth kinetics showed a 1- to 2-h lag period before exponential growth was initiated, and peak titers were approximately 1 log unit lower than for wild-type virus. rCVB3 replicated to high titers in vivo and caused severe pancreatitis but minimal myocarditis. Despite the high virus titers, rCVB3 infection of naive mice failed to induce a strong CD8+ T-cell response to the encoded epitope; this has implications for the proposed role of "cross-priming" during virus infection and for the utility of recombinant picornaviruses as vaccine vectors. In contrast, rCVB3 infection of LCMV-immune mice resulted in direct ex vivo cytotoxic activity against target cells coated with the epitope peptide, demonstrating that the rCVB3-encoded LCMV-specific epitope was expressed and presented in vivo. The preexisting CD8+ memory T cells could limit rCVB replication; compared to naive mice, infection of LCMV-immune mice with rCVB3 resulted in approximately 50-fold-lower virus titers in the heart and approximately 6-fold-lower virus titers in the pancreas. Although the inserted CTL epitope was retained by rCVB3 through several passages in tissue culture, it was lost in an organ-specific manner in vivo; a substantial proportion of viruses from the pancreas retained the insert, compared to only 0 to 1.8% of myocardial viruses. Together, these results show that expression of heterologous viral proteins by recombinant CVB3 provides a useful model for determining the mechanisms underlying the immune response to this viral pathogen.     

Protection against Enterovirus 71 with Neutralizing Epitope Incorporation within Adenovirus Type 3 Hexon

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is responsible for hand, foot and mouth disease with high mortality among children. Various neutralizing B cell epitopes of EV71 have been identified as potential vaccine candidates. Capsid-incorporation of antigens into adenovirus (Ad) has been developed for a novel vaccine approach. We constructed Ad3-based EV71 vaccine vectors by incorporating a neutralizing epitope SP70 containing 15 amino acids derived from capsid protein VP1 of EV71 within the different surface-exposed domains of the capsid protein hexon of Ad3EGFP, a recombinant adenovirus type 3 (Ad3) expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein. Thermostability and growth kinetic assays suggested that the SP70 epitope incorporation into hypervariable region (HVR1, HVR2, or HVR7) of the hexon did not affect Ad fitness. The SP70 epitopes were thought to be exposed on all hexon-modified intact virion surfaces. Repeated administration of BALB/c mice with the modified Ads resulted in boosting of the anti-SP70 humoral immune response. Importantly, the modified Ads immunization of mother mice conferred protection in vivo to neonatal mice against the lethal EV71 challenge, and the modified Ads-immunized mice serum also conferred passive protection against the lethal challenge in newborn mice. Compared with the recombinant GST-fused SP70 protein immunization, immunization with the Ads containing SP70 in HVR1 or HVR2 elicited higher SP70-specific IgG titers, higher neutralization titers, and conferred more effective protection to neonatal mice. Thus, this study provides valuable information for hexon-modified Ad3 vector development as a promising EV71 vaccine candidate and as an epitope-delivering vehicle for other pathogens.     

Monoclonal antibody against non-dominant epitopes of HBV e Ag was raised by antigen-antibody co-immunization

Detection of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) in the sera of individuals infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) can indicate both a high infectivity of the disease and a poor prognosis of disease treatment. Most of monoclonal antibodies raised against HBV e proteins interact with immuno-dominant epitopes, such as HBeAg-beta. In order to raise antibodies against non-dominant epitopes of HBV e protein, in this study, mice were immunized with both recombinant HBeAg (rHBeAg) and an anti-HBeAg antibody (EWB) recognizing a dominant antigenic epitope of HBeAg (HBeAg-beta epitope). With this strategy, we successfully selected two monoclonal antibodies, S-29-3 and S-72-3. Both S-29-3 and S-72-3 bind to recombinant HBeAg with a high affinity. The epitope mapping assay determined that the S-73-2 recognizes the N-terminal of HBeAg (1-118 aa) and the S-29-3 recognizes the C-terminal of HBeAg (91-149 aa). Further experiment showed that these two antibodies could be formed a pair-Abs that is used in detecting native HBeAg from the sera of HBV patients. The conclusion is that the developed method is useful to raise mAb against non-dominant epitopes in given Ag.     

Epitope mapping of Borrelia burgdorferi OspC protein in homodimeric fold

In current work, we used recombinant OspC protein derived from B. afzelii strain BRZ31 in the native homodimeric fold for mice immunization and following selection process to produce three mouse monoclonal antibodies able to bind to variable parts of up to five different OspC proteins. Applying the combination of mass spectrometry assisted epitope mapping and affinity based theoretical prediction we have localized regions responsible for antigen‐antibody interactions and approximate epitopes' amino acid composition. Two mAbs (3F4 and 2A9) binds to linear epitopes located in previously described immunogenic regions in the exposed part of OspC protein. The third mAb (2D1) recognises highly conserved discontinuous epitope close to the ligand binding domain 1.