Expression of major antigen domains of E2 gene of CSFV and analysis of its immunological activity

E2 is an envelope glycoprotein of Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and contains sequential neutralizing epitopes to induce virus-neutralizing antibodies and mount protective immunity in the natural host. In this study, four antigen domains (ABCD) of the E2 gene was cloned from CSFV Shimen strain into the retroviral vector pBABE puro and expressed in eukaryotic cell (PK15) by an retroviral gene expression system, and the activity of recombinant E2 protein to induce immune responses was evaluated in rabbits. The results indicated that recombinant E2 protein can be recognized by fluorescence antibodies of CSFV and CSFV positive serum (Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China) using Western blot, indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and ELISA, Furthermore, anti-CSFV specific antibodies and lymphocyte proliferation were elicited and increased by recombinant protein after vaccination. In the challenge test, all of rabbits vaccinated with recombinant protein and Chinese vaccine strain (C-strain) were fully protected from a rabbit spleen virus challenge. These results indicated that a retroviral-based epitope-vaccine carrying the major antigen domains of E2 is able to induce high level of epitope-specific antibodies and exhibits similar protective capability with that induced by the C-strain, and encourages further work towards the development of a vaccine against CSFV infection. Foundation items: The National “973” (2005CB523201); Key Technology R&D Programme (2006BAD06A03).     

表达猪瘟病毒E2蛋白的重组腺病毒的构建及其在兔体内的免疫原性分析

为了构建猪瘟重组腺病毒载体疫苗,通过细菌内同源重组法构建了含有猪瘟病毒E2基因的重组腺病毒rAdV-E2.测定其一步生长曲线,同时用间接免疫荧光试验和Western blotting检测外源基因表达,然后用rAdV-E2免疫家兔,免疫后6周用猪瘟兔化弱毒疫苗株(c株)进行攻击,攻毒后3 d取其脾脏,用实时荧光定量RT-PCR检测C株病毒RNA.结果表明,该重组腺病毒传至第10代时,毒价可达1.0×1010TCID<,50/mL;外源基因可在其中得到稳定表达;rAdV-E2接种兔免疫后2周产生猪瘟特异性抗体,免疫后5 W抗体达到峰值,攻毒后rAdV-E2接种兔和C株接种兔均未出现定型热反应,从其脾脏也未检测到C株病毒RNA,而野生型腺病毒接种兔均出现了定型热反应,并且从其脾脏检测大量C株病毒RNA,其含量达到了103拷贝/μL以上.由此表明,rAdV-E2可望开发为猪瘟候选疫苗.     

表达猪圆环病毒2型Cap蛋白的重组猪瘟兔化弱毒疫苗株的构建与鉴定

猪瘟(CSF)是由猪瘟病毒(CSFV)引起的一种毁灭性传染病,给养猪业造成重大经济损失。猪瘟兔化弱毒疫苗(C株)是一株非常安全、有效的优秀弱毒疫苗,对各年龄和品种的猪都极其安全,同时对不同基因亚型的CSFV均能提供有效的免疫保护。在现地,CSFV和猪圆环病毒2型(PCV2)混合感染的现象时常发生,有必要研制针对这两种病毒混合感染的二价疫苗。本研究首次构建了表达PCV2 Cap蛋白的重组C株,并评价了其在体内外的特性。结果表明,该重组病毒与C株具有相近的体外增殖特征,能够稳定表达Cap蛋白,在家兔体内具有与C株相似的生物学表型,在免疫家兔后10 d,抗CSFV E2抗体全部转阳,然而抗Cap抗体未能转阳。本研究为进一步优化表达PCV2Cap蛋白的重组C株奠定了基础。     

Production of Classical Swine Fever Virus Envelope Glycoprotein E2 as Recombinant Polyhedra in Baculovirus-Infected Silkworm Larvae

Although, classical swine fever virus (CSFV) envelope glycoprotein E2 subunit vaccine has been developed using the baculovirus expression system, the expression of viral antigens in baculovirus-infected insect cells is often ineffective. Therefore, an alternative strategy to the traditional baculovirus expression system is needed that is more productive and effective. Here, we report a novel strategy for the large-scale production of a CSFV E2 in the larvae of a baculovirus-infected silkworm, Bombyx mori. We constructed a recombinant B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) that expressed recombinant polyhedra together with the N-terminal 179 amino acids of CSFV E2 (E2ΔC). BmNPV-E2ΔC-infected silkworm larvae expressed native polyhedrin and approximately 44-kDa fusion protein that was detected using both anti-polyhedrin and anti-CSFV E2 antibodies. Electron and confocal microscopy both demonstrated that the recombinant polyhedra contained both the fusion protein and native polyhedrin were morphologically normal and contained CSFV E2ΔC. The CSFV E2ΔC antigen produced in BmNPV-E2ΔC-infected silkworm larvae reached 0.68?mg/ml of hemolymph and 0.53?mg/larva at 6-days post-infection. Six-week-old female BALB/c mice that were immunized with the E2ΔC protein purified from solubilized recombinant polyhedra elicited CSFV E2 antibodies, which indicated that the CSFV E2ΔC protein from recombinant polyhedra was immunogenic. The virus neutralization test showed that the serum from mice that were treated with E2ΔC protein from recombinant polyhedra contained significant levels of virus neutralization activity. These results demonstrate that this strategy can be used for the large-scale production of CSFV E2 antigen.     

猪瘟病毒E2基因真核表达质粒的构建及基因疫苗的研究

构建了猪瘟（ｃｌａｓｓｉｃａｌ ｓｗｉｎｅ ｆｅｖｅｒ ｖｉｒｕｓ,ＣＳＦＶ）主要保护性抗原Ｅ２基因４种不同的真核表达质粒。小鼠免疫试验表明,Ｅ２基因上不同的功能区对基因疫苗的免疫应答有很大影响,有信号肽序列的Ｅ２基因可诱导产生特异性免疫反应,且无跨膜区序列的Ｅ２基因所诱导的免疫应答反应比有跨膜区序列的强,而无信号肽序列的Ｅ２基因则不能诱导产生ＣＳＦＶ特异性的免疫反应。攻毒保护试验表明,免疫家兔最     

猪瘟病毒E2基因的定点突变、在大肠杆菌中的高效表达及表达产物的免疫原性

用重组PCR技术对猪瘟病毒石门株E2基因进行了定点突变, 然后将突变后的基因克隆至表达载体质粒pET-28a(+)中,构建成重组质粒pETE2。将pETE2转入受体菌BL21(DE3)plysS中,在IPTG的诱导下, 重组转化菌可高效表达目的基因, 表达量平均可达菌体蛋白总量的28%。免疫印迹和间接ELISA表明所表达的蛋白是CSFV特异性的。此重组蛋白免疫的家兔可抵抗猪瘟兔化弱毒的攻击。     

猪瘟病毒T细胞表位E290多肽与猪细小病毒VP2蛋白在干酪乳杆菌中的共表达及免疫小鼠特异性抗体的测定

将分别编码猪瘟病毒T细胞表位E290多肽和猪细小病毒主要保护性抗原VP2蛋白的重组基因插入干酪乳杆菌分泌型表达载体pPG中,构建了重组表达载体pPG-VP2-E290,将其电转化干酪乳杆菌Lactobacillus casei 393,获得了猪瘟病毒T细胞表位E290多肽与猪细小病毒VP2蛋白的乳酸菌共表达系统,经2%乳糖在MRS培养基中的诱导表达,对诱导表达的菌体及培养上清液进行SDS-PAGE检测表明,有约70kDa蛋白得到了表达,表达蛋白的大小与理论值相符。Western blot分析结果表明所表达的蛋白具有与天然病毒蛋白一样的抗原特异性。以诱导表达上清液作为抗原进行的间接ELISA实验也表明,重组的目的蛋白获得了分泌表达。将该重组干酪乳杆菌经口服接种途径免疫BALB/c小鼠,收集粪便样品检测小鼠产生抗PPV的特异性sIgA抗体,采集血液样本检测血清中抗PPV及抗E290的特异性IgG。结果表明分泌型的重组菌pPG-VP2-E290/L.casei 393免疫小鼠能够产生明显的抗体水平,为重组猪瘟与猪细小病毒乳酸菌口服活菌疫苗的研制奠定了重要的物质基础。     

猪霍乱沙门菌载体介导猪瘟病毒DNA免疫研究

构建了猪瘟病毒(CSFV)主要保护性抗原E2基因的真核表达质粒pVAXE2。将其电转化猪霍乱沙门氏菌C500疫苗株,得到了携带pVAXE2质粒的猪霍乱沙门氏菌工程菌株S.C500/pVAXE2,对该菌株的特征、培养特性和生化特性进行了鉴定。分别用1×10⁸CFU、2×10⁹CFU S.C500/pVAXE2经口服或肌肉注射免疫小鼠和家兔,间接ELISA检测免疫动物的特异性抗体,在第三次免疫后2周用20ID50猪瘟兔化弱毒和致死量猪霍乱沙门氏菌强毒株对免疫兔进行攻击。结果表明,S.C500/pVAXE2保持了猪霍乱沙门氏菌原有形态特征、培养特性和生化特性,免疫鼠和兔都产生了抗CSFV和猪霍乱沙门菌的ELISA抗体,免疫家兔能抵抗猪瘟兔化弱毒株和猪霍乱沙门氏菌强毒株的攻击。显示了以S.C500为DNA运输载体构建二联或多联猪用疫苗的可行性。     

The expression of classical swine fever virus structural protein E2 gene in tobacco chloroplasts for applying chloroplasts as bioreactors

It has been reported that genes encoding antigens of bacterial and viral pathogens can be expressed in plants and are shown to induce protection antibodies. The structural protein E2 of classical swine fever virus (CSFV), which has been shown to carry critical epitopes, has been expressed in different systems. Here, we report the expression of CFSV E2 gene in tobacco chloroplasts. Mice immunized with leaf extracts elicited specific antibodies. This indicated that the expressed E2 proteins had a certain degree of immunogenicity. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing induction of protective antibody in response to classical swine fever virus (CSFV) by immunization with antigen protein E2 expressed in tobacco chloroplasts, which will open a new way to protection from CSFV by plant chloroplasts as bioreactors.     

Development of multiple elisas for the detection of antibodies against classical swine fever virus in pig sera

The major immunogenic proteins (Ems,E2 and NS3) of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) (Shimen strain) were expressed in E.coli and purified by affinity chromatography.The recombinant antigens were appl...     

表达重组猪瘟病毒E290多肽的干酪乳杆菌口服免疫特性及诱导特异性CTL反应的研究

经PCR扩增获得约60bp编码猪瘟病毒T细胞表位E290多肽基因片段,克隆至表达载体pPG-VP2中VP2基因5′端上游,命名为pPG-VP2-E290,电转化干酪乳杆菌,构建了表达猪瘟病毒E290多肽的重组乳酸菌系统。口服免疫BALB/c鼠和新西兰兔,检测诱导小鼠和兔体内产生特异性抗猪瘟病毒E290多肽IgG水平,并对E290多肽的CTL活性进行检测,同时对免疫兔进行猪瘟病毒攻毒实验,检测E290多肽抗体对免疫兔的保护作用。构建的重组猪瘟病毒T细胞表位的干酪乳杆菌具有良好的免疫性,口服免疫后的小鼠和兔血清中均检测到了较高水平的抗E290多肽抗体IgG,且能诱导小鼠机体产生抗猪瘟病毒的特异性CTL反应,亦证实猪瘟病毒E290免疫兔能够抵抗猪瘟病毒的攻击。     

猪瘟病毒E2基因主要抗原区的克隆及原核表达

利用反转录PCR（RT－PCR）和套式PCR（nest Polymerase Chain Reaction,nPCR)技术扩增出当前猪瘟流行毒（广西玉林株,GXYL)一中国猪瘟兔化弱毒（C－株）兔脾组织毒E2基因的主要抗原区,将其克隆到表达载体pPROEX-HTb中,获得重组质粒pPROEX-GXYL和pPROEX-C,经PCR,酶切和序列分析鉴定表明,插入的位置,大小和读码框均正确。SDS－PAGE,检测表明,经重组质业pPROEX-GXYL和pPROEX-C转化,诱导的受体菌能表达E2基因主要抗原区蛋白,Western-blot检测表明,诱导表达的抗原蛋白能与猪瘟阳性血清发生特异性反应。     

Generation and Efficacy Evaluation of Recombinant Classical Swine Fever Virus E2 Glycoprotein Expressed in Stable Transgenic Mammalian Cell Line

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is the causative agent of classical swine fever (CSF), which is a highly contagious swine disease that causes significant economic loses to the pig industry worldwide. The envelope E2 glycoprotein of CSFV is the most important viral antigen in inducing protective immune response against CSF. In this study, we generated a mammalian cell clone (BCSFV-E2) that could stably produce a secreted form of CSFV E2 protein (mE2). The mE2 protein was shown to be N-linked glycosylated and formed a homodimer. The vaccine efficacy of mE2 was evaluated by immunizing pigs. Twenty-five 6-week-old Landrace piglets were randomly divided into five groups. Four groups were intramuscularly immunized with mE2 emulsified in different adjuvants twice at four-week intervals. One group was used as the control group. All mE2-vaccinated pigs developed CSFV-neutralizing antibodies two weeks after the first vaccination with neutralizing antibody titers ranging from 1∶40 to 1∶320. Two weeks after the booster vaccination, the neutralizing antibody titers increased greatly and ranged from 1∶10,240 to 1∶81,920. At 28 weeks after the booster vaccine was administered, the neutralizing antibody titers ranged from 1∶80 to 1∶10240. At 32 weeks after the first vaccination, pigs in all the groups were challenged with a virulent CSFV strain at a dose of 1×10⁵ TCID₅₀. At two weeks after the challenge, all the mE2-immunized pigs survived and exhibited no obvious symptoms of CSF. The neutralizing antibody titer at this time was 20,480. Unvaccinated pigs in the control group exhibited symptoms of CSF 3–4 days after challenge and were euthanized from 7–9 days after challenge when the pigs became moribund. These results indicate that the mE2 is a good candidate for the development of a safe and effective CSFV subunit vaccine.     

Secretory expression of E2 main antigen domain of CSFV C strain and the establishment of indirect ELISA assay

The sequence encoding an E2 main antigen glycoprotein of the C strain of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) was highly expressed in the host cell E. coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL using the pGEX-4T-1 expression vector and the soluble recombinant product was purified with Glutathione Sepharose TM<'4B> by centrifugation. The soluble recombinant protein showed good immune reactions and was confirmed by Western blot using anti-CSFV-specific antibodies. Then an indirect ELISA with the purified E2 protein as the coating antigen was established to detect antibody against CSFV. The result revealed that the optimal concentration of coated antigen was 0.6 μg/well and the optimal dilution of serum was 1:80. The positive cut-off value of this ELISA assay was OD<,tested serum>/OD<,negative serum>≥2.1- The E2-ELISA method was evaluated by comparison with the indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT). When a total of 100 field serum samples were tested the sensitivity and specificity were 90.3% and 94.7% respectively. Specificity analysis showed that there were no cross-reactions between BVD serum and the purified E2 protein in the E2-ELISA.     

Immunogenicity in Swine of Orally Administered Recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum Expressing Classical Swine Fever Virus E2 Protein in Conjunction with Thymosin α-1 as an Adjuvant

Classical swine fever, caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV), is a highly contagious disease that results in enormous economic losses in pig industries. The E2 protein is one of the main structural proteins of CSFV and is capable of inducing CSFV-neutralizing antibodies and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activities in vivo. Thymosin α-1 (Tα1), an immune-modifier peptide, plays a very important role in the cellular immune response. In this study, genetically engineered Lactobacillus plantarum bacteria expressing CSFV E2 protein alone (L. plantarum/pYG-E2) and in combination with Tα1 (L. plantarum/pYG-E2-Tα1) were developed, and the immunogenicity of each as an oral vaccine to induce protective immunity against CSFV in pigs was evaluated. The results showed that recombinant L. plantarum/pYG-E2 and L. plantarum/pYG-E2-Tα1 were both able to effectively induce protective immune responses in pigs against CSFV infection by eliciting immunoglobulin A (IgA)-based mucosal, immunoglobulin G (IgG)-based humoral, and CTL-based cellular immune responses via oral vaccination. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in the levels of immune responses were observed between L. plantarum/pYG-E2-Tα1 and L. plantarum/pYG-E2, suggesting a better immunogenicity of L. plantarum/pYG-E2-Tα1 as a result of the Tα1 molecular adjuvant that can enhance immune responsiveness and augment specific lymphocyte functions. Our data suggest that the recombinant Lactobacillus microecological agent expressing CSFV E2 protein combined with Tα1 as an adjuvant provides a promising strategy for vaccine development against CSFV.     

Protection against lethal subcutaneous challenge of virulent Y. pestis strain 141 using an F1-V subunit vaccine

In this study, we designed and engineered a two-component recombinant fusion protein antigen as a vaccine candidate against the possible biological threat of Yersinia pestis. The recombinant F1-V pro-tein was formulated with Alhydrogel. A four-time injection with a dosage of 10, 20 and 50 μg/mouse in about two months was adopted for vaccination. Serum antibodies and subclass of T helper cells were measured and analyzed. After the final vaccination, the mice were challenged by 141 strain with 25― 600 LD50. In conclusion, the recombinant vaccine was capable of inducing protective immunity against subcutaneous challenge. The level of serum IgG was supposed to be a main factor that affected the final protection of challenge. 20 μg recombinant protein could induce an endpoint titre of serum IgG as high as 51200, which was enough to afford 100% protection against 400 LD50 virulent 141 challenge. The antibody isotype analysis showed that the vaccine induced predominantly an IgG1 rather than IgG2a response. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that Alhydrogel significantly helped induce a stronger humoral immunity instead of CTL cellular response. These findings suggested that the plague F1-V subunit vaccine is promising for the next plague vaccine.     

抗人红细胞单链抗体与猪瘟E2蛋白双功能融合蛋白的构建及生物学活性检测

为构建具有凝集性、免疫反应性的双功能融合蛋白,本研究采用重叠延伸PCR方法将2E8ScFv(抗人红细胞H抗原单链抗体基因)和mE2(猪瘟病毒E2蛋白主要抗原编码区基因)拼接成融合基因2E8mE2,并插入原核表达载体pET-DsbA,将重组表达质粒pET-DsbA-2E8mE2转化入大肠杆菌Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)PlysS中进行IPTG诱导表达,表达的融合蛋白经SDS-PAGE和Western blotting分析鉴定,结果表明:2E8mE2融合基因在大肠杆菌中获得了表达,表达产物以包涵体形式存在,分子量约为65kDa,与预期的大小一致。分别采用亲和层析法和谷胱甘肽再氧化法对融合蛋白进行纯化和复性,红细胞凝集试验证实:2E8mE2融合蛋白复性效果良好,既能够与人红细胞结合,又能够与猪瘟病毒抗体反应,具有双功能特性。     

Real-time analysis of the interaction of a multiple-epitope peptide with antibodies against classical swine fever virus using surface plasmon resonance

The E2 envelope glycoprotein is the major immunodominant protein of classical swine fever virus (CSFV), and can induce neutralizing antibodies and protective immune responses in infected swine. We developed a tandem-repeat multiple-epitope recombinant protein that contains two copies of each of the regions of E2 spanned by residues 693-704, 770-780, and 826-843, coupled by two copies of the region spanned by residues 1446-1460 of the CSFV nonstructural protein NS2-3. The chemically synthesized gene was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion with glutathione S-8 (GST), named GST-BT21. After it was purified with Glutathione Sepharose 4B, we used Western blotting to characterize the construct and surface plasmon resonance to analyze its affinity and specific interaction with CSFV-positive serum. Purified GST-BT21 protein displayed excellent immunoreactivity with antiserum against CSFV (Tian et al., 2012), and surface plasmon resonance confirmed the specific affinity between BT21, but not GST, and antibodies in serum from animals infected with CSFV. Surface plasmon resonance is a sensitive and precise method for epitope evaluation, and it can be used to characterize the immunogenicity and functions of recombinant proteins.     

Protective immunity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis>-synthesized NS1 protein of Japanese encephalitis virus

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of recombinant Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) NS1 proteins generated using DNA vaccines and recombinant viruses have been demonstrated to induce protection in mice against a challenge of JEV at a lethal dose. The West Nile virus NS1 region expressed in E. coli is recognized by these protective monoclonal antibodies and, in this study, we compare immunogenicity and protective immunity of the E. coli-synthesized NS1 protein with another protective immunogen, the envelope domain III (ED3). Pre-challenge, detectable titers of JEV-specific neutralizing antibody were detected in the immunized mice with E. coli-synthesized ED3 protein (PRNT50 = 1:28) and the attenuated JEV strain T1P1 (PRNT50 = 1:53), but neutralizing antibodies were undetectable in the immunized mice with E. coli-synthesized NS1 protein (PRNT50 < 1:10). However, the survival rate of the NS1-immunized mice against the JEV challenge was 87.5% (7/8), showing significantly higher levels of protection than the ED3-immunized mice, 62.5% (5/8) (P = 0.041). In addition, E. coli-synthesized NS1 protein induced a significant increase of anti-NS1 IgG1 antibodies, resulting in an ELISA titer of 100,1000 in the immunized sera before lethal JEV challenge. Surviving mice challenged with the virulent JEV strain Beijing-1 showed a ten-fold or greater rise in IgG1 and IgG2b titers of anti-NS1 antibodies, implying that the Th2 cell activation might be predominantly responsible for antibody responses and mice protection.     

共表达PRRSV GP5蛋白和CSFV E2蛋白的“自杀性”DNA疫苗在小鼠体内诱导的免疫应答

为了获得新型双价"自杀性"DNA疫苗,将猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(Porcine reproductive and respiratorysyndrome virus,PRRSV)GP5基因克隆于此前构建的表达猪瘟病毒(Classical swine fever virus,CSFV)E2基因的甲病毒复制子载体疫苗pSFV1CS-E2中.为了增强免疫效果,在密码子优化的GP5基因中插入了泛DR表位(PADRE),在CSFV E2基因后融合伪狂犬病病毒(PrV)UL49基因,获得了6种重组质粒.间接免疫荧光试验显示,PRRSV GP5和CSFV E2基因在瞬时转染的293T细胞中得到同时表达,将6种重组质粒和空载体pSFV1CS分别免疫BALB/c小鼠,用间接ELISA方法检测血清抗体水平,通过基于CSFE/WST-8的淋巴细胞增殖试验和细胞因子ELISA评价疫苗诱导的细胞免疫.结果显示,除pSFV1CS组外,从各疫苗组小鼠血清中均可检测到低水平的针对GP5和E2蛋白的抗体;各疫苗组小鼠脾细胞经CSFV和PRRSV刺激后均能诱导特异性的淋巴细胞增殖:部分疫苗组小鼠脾细胞经CSFV和PRRSV刺激后可分泌较高水平的IFN-γ和IL-4;引入UL49的疫苗组细胞免疫应答显著高于其它疫苗组.结果表明,这些共表达GP5和E2蛋白的自杀性DNA疫苗可以诱导体液免疫和细胞免疫,PrV UL49可以增强其细胞免疫应答.