In‐solution antibody harvesting with a plant‐produced hydrophobin–Protein A fusion

Purification is a bottleneck and a major cost factor in the production of antibodies. We set out to engineer a bifunctional fusion protein from two building blocks, Protein A and a hydrophobin, aiming at low‐cost and scalable antibody capturing in solutions. Immunoglobulin‐binding Protein A is widely used in affinity‐based purification. The hydrophobin fusion tag, on the other hand, has been shown to enable purification by two‐phase separation. Protein A was fused to two different hydrophobin tags, HFBI or II, and expressed transiently in Nicotiana benthamiana. The hydrophobins enhanced accumulation up to 35‐fold, yielding up to 25% of total soluble protein. Both fused and nonfused Protein A accumulated in protein bodies. Hence, the increased yield could not be attributed to HFB‐induced protein body formation. We also demonstrated production of HFBI–Protein A fusion protein in tobacco BY‐2 suspension cells in 30 l scale, with a yield of 35 mg/l. Efficient partitioning to the surfactant phase confirmed that the fusion proteins retained the amphipathic properties of the hydrophobin block. The reversible antibody‐binding capacity of the Protein A block was similar to the nonfused Protein A. The best‐performing fusion protein was tested in capturing antibodies from hybridoma culture supernatant with two‐phase separation. The fusion protein was able to carry target antibodies to the surfactant phase and subsequently release them back to the aqueous phase after a change in pH. This report demonstrates the potential of hydrophobin fusion proteins for novel applications, such as harvesting antibodies in solutions.     

共表达H5和H9亚型禽流行性感冒病毒血凝素基因的重组禽痘病毒及其免疫效力

为了构建更为安全有效能同时抵抗高致病性H5亚型和低致病忡H9亚型禽流行性感冒(禽流感)病毒的基因工程疫苗,将H5和H9亚型禽流感病毒分离株的血凝素(HA)基因,分别由鸡痘病毒早晚期启动子PS和PE／L调控其转求,定向插入鸡痘病毒转移载体p11s中,获得H5A和H9A基因分别处于PS及PE／L启动子转录调控下的重组转移载体p11SH5H9。以FuGene^TM6转染法将p11SH5H9转染至已感染鸡痘病毒282E4疫苗株(wt-FPV)的鸡胚成纤维细胞(CEF)中。p11SH5H9与wt—FPV基因组DNA之间的同源重组产生了重组鸡痘病毒rFPV11SH5H9。通过在含X-gal的营养琼脂上连续挑选蓝色病毒蚀斑获得并纯化rFPV-11SH5H9。以间接免疫荧光法试验证实,纯化的rFPV-11SH5H9感染的CEF能同时表达H5A和H9A。初步的动物试验表明,用10^5PFU的rFPV-11SH5H9免疫无特定病原体(SPF)鸡,免疫后血凝抑制(HI)抗体监测阳性率均为100％(8／8);该重组病毒能显著抑制H9亚型AIV滴鼻、点眼后7日龄SPF鸡从气管和泄殖腔排毒,同时也能抵抗H5亚型AIV肌肉注射后对7日龄SPF鸡致死性攻击,保护率均为100％,显示出一定的应用前景。     

A/H6N1亚型禽流感病毒致病性评估及与2009 A/H1N1亚型流感病毒在哺乳动物体内的遗传兼容性

目的探讨人、禽流感病毒在哺乳动物体内的遗传兼容性,为下一步研究H6亚型禽流感病毒重配和致病性变异的分子机制奠定基础。方法野鸭源A/H6N1亚型禽流感病毒A/Mallard/SanJiang/275/2007以101EID50～106EID50的攻毒剂量经鼻内途径感染小鼠,通过临床症状观察、病毒滴定和病理切片观察进行病毒学和组织学两方面检测对小鼠的致病性;同时,将此病毒与2009年A/H1N1流感病毒A/Changchun/01/2009(H1N1)混合感染豚鼠,分析两株病毒在哺乳动物体内的遗传兼容性。每天采集豚鼠鼻洗液并用噬斑纯化技术获得重配病毒,对获得的重配病毒进行全基因组序列的测定。结果 H6N1亚型禽流感病毒能直接感染小鼠,但对小鼠不致死。106EID50的攻毒剂量可有效感染小鼠,攻毒后第5天,小鼠表现出被毛较粗乱、活动减少、体重下降、呼吸急促的临床症状,但至攻毒后第10天开始康复,而对照组(MOCK)小鼠在14 d的观察期内无明显临床症状。病毒滴定结果表明,该病毒主要在小鼠肺脏和鼻甲骨中复制,病毒滴度可达104.5EID50/mL。病理学观察发现感染小鼠肺泡壁增厚,有大量炎性细胞浸润,纤维蛋白渗出并伴有轻微出血;在A/H6N1和A/H1N1混合感染豚鼠的重配实验中,经过三轮噬斑纯化从豚鼠鼻洗液中分离到6株重配病毒,说明A/H6N1亚型禽流感病毒与A/H1N1亚型流感病毒具有很好的遗传兼容性,能在豚鼠体内能发生重配。结论野鸭源A/H6N1亚型流感病毒无需适应就能够感染哺乳动物;该病毒与A/H1N1流感病毒具有很好的遗传兼容性,在哺乳动物体内能够发生基因重配,产生新的重配病毒,其公共卫生意义应引起高度关注。     

Plant‐made E2 glycoprotein single‐dose vaccine protects pigs against classical swine fever

Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV) causes classical swine fever, a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever affecting both feral and domesticated pigs. Outbreaks of CSF in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America had significant adverse impacts on animal health, food security and the pig industry. The disease is generally contained by prevention of exposure through import restrictions (e.g. banning import of live pigs and pork products), localized vaccination programmes and culling of infected or at‐risk animals, often at very high cost. Current CSFV‐modified live virus vaccines are protective, but do not allow differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA), a critical aspect of disease surveillance programmes. Alternatively, first‐generation subunit vaccines using the viral protein E2 allow for use of DIVA diagnostic tests, but are slow to induce a protective response, provide limited prevention of vertical transmission and may fail to block viral shedding. CSFV E2 subunit vaccines from a baculovirus/insect cell system have been developed for several vaccination campaigns in Europe and Asia. However, this expression system is considered expensive for a veterinary vaccine and is not ideal for wide‐spread deployment. To address the issues of scalability, cost of production and immunogenicity, we have employed an Agrobacterium‐mediated transient expression platform in Nicotiana benthamiana and formulated the purified antigen in novel oil‐in‐water emulsion adjuvants. We report the manufacturing of adjuvanted, plant‐made CSFV E2 subunit vaccine. The vaccine provided complete protection in challenged pigs, even after single‐dose vaccination, which was accompanied by strong virus neutralization antibody responses.     

Influenza virus‐like particles produced by transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana induce a protective immune response against a lethal viral challenge in mice

A strain‐specific vaccine represents the best possible response to the threat of an influenza pandemic. Rapid delivery of such a vaccine to the world's population before the peak of the first infection wave seems to be an unattainable goal with the current influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity. Plant‐based transient expression is one of the few production systems that can meet the anticipated surge requirement. To assess the capability of plant agroinfiltration to produce an influenza vaccine, we expressed haemagglutinin (HA) from strains A/Indonesia/5/05 (H5N1) and A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1) by agroinfiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Size distribution analysis of protein content in infiltrated leaves revealed that HA was predominantly assembled into high‐molecular‐weight structures. H5‐containing structures were purified and examination by transmission electron microscopy confirmed virus‐like particle (VLP) assembly. High‐performance thin layer chromatography analysis of VLP lipid composition highlighted polar and neutral lipid contents comparable with those of purified plasma membranes from tobacco plants. Electron microscopy of VLP‐producing cells in N. benthamiana leaves confirmed that VLPs accumulated in apoplastic indentations of the plasma membrane. Finally, immunization of mice with two doses of as little as 0.1 µg of purified influenza H5‐VLPs triggered a strong immune response against the homologous virus, whereas two doses of 0.5 µg of H5‐VLPs conferred complete protection against a lethal challenge with the heterologous A/Vietnam/1194/04 (H5N1) strain. These results show, for the first time, that plants are capable of producing enveloped influenza VLPs budding from the plasma membrane; such VLPs represent very promising candidates for vaccination against influenza pandemic strains.     

封闭式饲养鸡场H9N2亚型禽流感病毒HA基因在5年内的遗传变异

选择一个于1998年开始发生H9亚型禽流感的封闭式大型养鸡场,连续5年内分离到22株H9N2亚型病毒,对其中9株与1998年分离株进行HA基因序列和病毒抗原性的比较结果表明,这些分离株均与1998年的具有较高的序列同源性,且在本研究期内HA基因的这些变化尚未产生引起交叉保护性改变。初步推断这些分离株均系1998年分离株在场内循环传播变化得来,其HA基因的变异可能与频繁的疫苗免疫选择压力有关。这为进一步研究禽流感病毒变异的规律和制定正确的禽流感防治对策具有重要意义。     

H5N1禽流感病毒对C57BL／6小鼠的致病性研究

本试验利用虎源H5N1禽流感病毒对6～8周龄雌性C57BL/6小鼠进行滴鼻感染,观测小鼠临床症状和组织病理变化,于感染后第3d和第5d每组分别处死3只小鼠,测定肺、脑、脾、肾、肝组织中的病毒含量;并测定该病毒对C57BL/6小鼠的MLD50。结果表明感染小鼠出现精神不振、体重下降、支气管炎和间质性肺炎为主的临床症状和病理变化;测得感染后小鼠肺脏中病毒拷贝数和病毒滴度最高,其次是脑、肾、脾、肝等组织;该病毒对C57BL/6小鼠的MLD50为10-6.5/0.05mL。此研究成功进行了H5N1禽流感病毒对C57BL/6小鼠的感染,可以作为感染模型进行H5N1禽流感病毒的发病机制、疫苗评价、药物筛选等研究。     

上海地区H9N2亚型禽流感病毒的遗传演化分析

为阐明上海地区 H9N2亚型禽流感病毒分离株的遗传变异、分子特征和重组模式,选取2002和2006～2014年分离自活禽市场、家禽养殖场和生猪屠宰场的14株 H9N2亚型禽流感病毒进行分析。这14株病毒分别来源于鸡、鸭、鸽、野鸡咽喉和泄殖腔样品及猪肺脏样品,用 H9亚型荧光反转录‐聚合酶链反应（RT‐PCR）试剂盒检测后,阳性样品经无特定病原体（SPF）级鸡胚尿囊腔接种并分离病毒,用血凝抑制（HI）实验进一步确定其血凝素（HA）亚型。RT‐PCR分别扩增这14株病毒全基因并进行序列测定,分析8个基因片段的遗传发生关系,发现这些分离株主要由 F／98亚系、Y280亚系、G1亚系及未知亚系重组而成。根据8个基因片段的组合情况,这14株病毒可分成5个基因型。2002、2006～2008年分离的5株H9N2亚型禽流感病毒代表了4个不同基因型,2009～2014年分离的9株H9N2亚型禽流感病毒属第5种基因型,推测可能与疫苗免疫选择压力有关。因此,在以后工作中加强H9N2亚型禽流感分子流行病学监测是非常必要的。     

Plant‐produced Zika virus envelope protein elicits neutralizing immune responses that correlate with protective immunity against Zika virus in mice

The global Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak and its link to foetal and newborn microcephaly and severe neurological complications in adults call for the urgent development of ZIKV vaccines. In response, we developed a subunit vaccine based on the ZIKV envelope (E) protein and investigated its immunogenicity in mice. Transient expression of ZIKV E (zE) resulted in its rapid accumulation in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Biochemical analysis revealed that plant‐produced ZIKV E (PzE) exhibited specific binding to a panel of monoclonal antibodies that recognize various zE conformational epitopes. Furthermore, PzE can be purified to >90% homogeneity with a one‐step Ni²⁺ affinity chromatography process. PzE are found to be highly immunogenic, as two doses of PzE elicited both potent zE‐specific antibody and cellular immune responses in mice. The delivery of PzE with alum induced a mixed Th1/Th2 immune response, as the antigen‐specific IgG isotypes were a mixture of high levels of IgG1/IgG2c and splenocyte cultures from immunized mice secreted significant levels of IFN‐gamma, IL‐4 and IL‐6. Most importantly, the titres of zE‐specific and neutralizing antibodies exceeded the threshold that correlates with protective immunity against multiple strains of ZIKV. Thus, our results demonstrated the feasibility of plant‐produced ZIKV protein antigen as effective, safe and affordable vaccines against ZIKV.     

H7N9禽流感病毒裂解佐剂(MF59)疫苗稳定性研究

目的评价H7N9禽流感病毒裂解佐剂(MF59)疫苗的稳定性。方法采用国内自主构建的重组H7N9禽流感病毒疫苗株毒种制备单价疫苗原液,制备含MF59佐剂的成品疫苗。按照企业注册质量标准进行检定,分别放置于(37±2)℃、(25±2)℃和(5±3)℃环境下,观察不同时间疫苗的稳定性。结果经检定,成品疫苗的外观、装量、无菌检查、异常毒性检测、细菌内毒素含量、渗透压质量摩尔浓度及其他检定项目均符合企业注册质量标准。H7N9禽流感病毒裂解佐剂(MF59)疫苗在(37±2)℃保存3 d、在(25±2)℃保存3个月、在(5±3)℃保存30个月,疫苗各项指标均符合企业注册质量标准。结论 H7N9禽流感病毒裂解佐剂(MF59)疫苗具有良好的稳定性。     

一株H5N2亚型鹦鹉源禽流感病毒分子进化分析

2005年在广东进行流行病学调查时分离到一株鹦鹉源禽流感病毒,经鉴定为H5N2亚型禽流感病毒(A/Parrot/Guangdong/268/2005)。该毒株的HA裂解位点附近的氨基酸序列为RETRGLF,只含有一个碱性氨基酸,符合低致病性禽流感病毒的HA裂解位点附近氨基酸序列的分子特征;与H5N2亚型禽流感代表毒株相比,该毒株HA和NA基因的糖基化位点、HA基因的受体结合位点编码区、NA基因的耐药性位点均未发生变异。将该毒株全基因组序列与GenBank已公布的19株H5N2亚型禽流感病毒株的相应序列进行比较分析并绘制系统进化树后发现:其与低致病性禽流感毒株A/Pheasant/NJ/1355/1998(H5N2)-like的亲缘关系最近,位于以A/Chicken/Pennsylvania/1/1983(H5N2)为代表的美洲进化分支。     

重组细胞高产型H3N2猪流感病毒株的拯救

为拯救出一株能够在动物传代细胞中高水平复制的H3N2亚型猪流感疫苗株,利用反向遗传操作技术,将A/Goose/Dalian/3/01(H9N2)毒株的PB1、PA、NP、M、NS基因和A/PR/8/34毒株的PB2基因作为内部基因与猪流感病毒A/Swine/Henan/S4/01(H3N2)毒株的HA、NA基因进行重组,成功拯救出了具有高度细胞适应性毒株rH3N2株,该毒株接毒MDCK细胞60h后,血凝价可以达到1∶512,表明该毒株具有高度适应细胞繁殖特性,为H3N2亚型猪流感病毒细胞培养型疫苗的研制奠定了基础。     

禽流感病毒A/Chicken/Guangdong/SS/94(H9N2)HA基因的克隆及序列分析

禽流感是由A型流感病毒引起的禽的一种疾病综合症.1878年首次在意大利爆发流行,当时称该病为"鸡瘟".之后,许多国家和地区都有该病的报道,包括美国、英国、澳大利亚、爱尔兰、比利时、荷兰、法国、俄罗斯、加拿大、以色列、匈牙利、日本、中国(包括香港)等[1-3].     

番鸭源H6N6亚型禽流感病毒全基因组的分子特征

【目的】为了丰富水禽源禽流感病毒的分子流行病学资料,明确我国国内首次分离的番鸭源H6N6亚型禽流感(Avian influenza virus,AIV)病毒A/Muscovy Duck/Fujian/FZ01/2008(H6N6)(以下简称MD/FJ/F1/08)全基因组的分子特征,弄清该病毒的遗传进化特点。【方法】对其8个基因片段分别进行扩增和序列测定,并利用分子生物学软件对测序结果进行序列分析。【结果】MD/FJ/F1/08的HA裂解位点附近的氨基酸序列为PSMKVIV↓GL,为非连续的碱性氨基酸,其静脉接种指数(the intravenoys pathogenicity index,IVPI)为0.15,推测其为一株低致病力AIV。其HA基因、NP基因、M基因和PB2基因均与我国台湾分离株A/duck/Kingmen/E322/04(H6N2)该基因的核苷酸同源性最高,分别高达94.2%、95.7%、97.2%和95.6%,均处于同一遗传进化分支。其NA基因和我国远东分离株A/duck/Eastern China/01/2007(H4N6)同源性最高,达97.1%;其颈部有11个氨基酸的缺失(TNSTTTIINNN),为N6亚型神经氨酸酶基因中首次报道,在遗传进化上和H4N6亚型AIV的NA基因处于相同的分支。NS基因和香港地区分离株A/duck/HongKong/3600/99(H6N2)同源性最高,达96.1%;PB1和PA均与高致病性禽流感病毒株A/duck/HongKong/140/1998(H5N1)同源性最高,达95.6%和96.7%。且MD/FJ/F1/08的8基因与H6N6亚型流感病毒北美洲分离代表株均不处在同一遗传进化分支上,相互之间遗传关系较远。【结论】MD/FJ/F1/08可能是由H6N2、H4N6和H5N1等多亚型AIV基因重组而成。     

H9N2亚型禽流感病毒广东分离株的全基因克隆及序列分析

本研究以一株2006年广东省分离的H9N2亚型禽流感病毒A/Chicken/Guangdong/HL/2006(H9N2)(简称Ck/GD/HL/06)为研究对象,用RT-PCR法扩增病毒基因组各片段(包括5′端和3′端的非编码区序列),将扩增片段进行克隆、测序并与参考毒株的相应序列进行比较分析,绘制各基因片段的系统发生树。分析结果表明,Ck/GD/HL/06株的HA基因同1997年中国香港鸭源毒株Dk/HK/Y280/97(H9N2)在同一进化分支,从HA的糖基化位点、受体结合位点等综合分析,该毒株HA基因未发生明显的变异,符合我国大陆H9亚型禽流感病毒的特点。HA的226位氨基酸残基为亮氨酸(Leu),具有同哺乳动物SAα,2-6受体结合的特性。Ck/GD/HL/06的PB1、PA和NP基因,同2004年越南分离的人源高致病性H5N1亚型流感病毒A/VietNam/1203/2004(H5N1)株(简写A/VN/1203/04)的核苷酸序列一致性分别是93.8%、95%和96.8%,在先前的研究中未见有类似特性毒株的报道,而这种特性H9N2亚型AIV的出现,是否会增加在重组过程中产生新的高致病性H5N1亚型AIV的可能性,是值得我们关注的一个问题,也提醒在我国华南地区应更加重视防控H9N2亚型AIV,做好长期对H9N2亚型AIV监控及分子流行病学调查的工作。     

An oligosaccharyltransferase from Leishmania major increases the N‐glycan occupancy on recombinant glycoproteins produced in Nicotiana benthamiana

N‐glycosylation is critical for recombinant glycoprotein production as it influences the heterogeneity of products and affects their biological function. In most eukaryotes, the oligosaccharyltransferase is the central‐protein complex facilitating the N‐glycosylation of proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Not all potential N‐glycosylation sites are recognized in vivo and the site occupancy can vary in different expression systems, resulting in underglycosylation of recombinant glycoproteins. To overcome this limitation in plants, we expressed LmSTT3D, a single‐subunit oligosaccharyltransferase from the protozoan Leishmania major transiently in Nicotiana benthamiana, a well‐established production platform for recombinant proteins. A fluorescent protein‐tagged LmSTT3D variant was predominately found in the ER and co‐located with plant oligosaccharyltransferase subunits. Co‐expression of LmSTT3D with immunoglobulins and other recombinant human glycoproteins resulted in a substantially increased N‐glycosylation site occupancy on all N‐glycosylation sites except those that were already more than 90% occupied. Our results show that the heterologous expression of LmSTT3D is a versatile tool to increase N‐glycosylation efficiency in plants.     

Differential contributions of plant Dicer‐like proteins to antiviral defences against potato virus X in leaves and roots

Members of the plant Dicer‐like (DCL) protein family are the critical components of the RNA‐silencing pathway that mediates innate antiviral defence. The distinct antiviral role of each individual DCL protein has been established with mostly based on observations of aerial parts of plants. Thus, although the roots are closely associated with the life cycle of many plant viruses, little is known about the antiviral activities of DCL proteins in roots. We observed that antiviral silencing strongly inhibits potato virus X (PVX) replication in roots of some susceptible Solanaceae species. Silencing of the DCL4 homolog in Nicotiana benthamiana partially elevated PVX replication levels in roots. In Arabidopsis thaliana, which was originally considered a non‐host plant of PVX, high levels of PVX accumulation in inoculated leaves were achieved by inactivation of DCL4, while in the upper leaves and roots, it required the additional inactivation of DCL2. In transgenic A. thaliana carrying the PVX amplicon with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene insertion in the chromosome (AMP243 line), absence of DCL4 enabled high levels of PVX‐GFP accumulation in various aerial organs but not in the roots, suggesting that DCL4 is critical for intracellular antiviral silencing in shoots but not in roots, where it can be functionally compensated by other DCL proteins. Together, the high level of functional redundancies among DCL proteins may contribute to the potent antiviral activities against PVX replication in roots.