Characterization of Recombinant Endonuclease IV from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Molecular Biology - Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells contain two apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases, endonuclease IV (MtbEnd) and exonuclease III (MtbXthA), the former playing a dominant role...     

Recombinant BCG expressing Mycobacterium tuberculosis major extracellular proteins

rBCG30, the first vaccine against tuberculosis demonstrated more potent than BCG in preclinical studies, is the prototype of a class of vaccines that utilize BCG as a host organism for expressing and secreting Mycobacterium tuberculosis major extracellular proteins. The vaccine is based on the concept that extracellular proteins of intracellular pathogens are key immunoprotective molecules. rBCG30, which expresses and secretes large amounts of the M. tuberculosis 30 kDa major secretory protein, is currently in human clinical trials.     

以分子信标为报告分子的凝血酶检测新方法

以分子信标为报告分子,核酸适体为识别分子,发展了一种新的凝血酶检测方法.含有分子信标互补序列的核酸适体探针与凝血酶结合后,分子信标的荧光信号下降,从而得到凝血酶的浓度信息.该方法快速、灵敏,核酸适体探针无需荧光标记、设计简单,检测限达到0.83nmol/L.     

Recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein associated with mammalian cell entry

The ability to gain entry and resist the antimicrobial intracellular environment of mammalian cells is an essential virulence property of Mycobacterium tuberculosis . A purified recombinant protein expressed by a 1362 bp locus ( mce 1) in the M . tuberculosis genome promoted uptake into HeLa cells of polystyrene latex microspheres coated with the protein. N-terminus deletion constructs of Mce1 identified a domain located between amino acid positions 106 and 163 that was needed for this cell uptake activity. Mce1 contained hydrophobic stretches at the N-terminus predictive of a signal sequence, and colloidal gold immunoelectron microscopy indicated that the corresponding native protein is expressed on the surface of the M . tuberculosis organism . The complete M . tuberculosis genome sequence revealed that it contained four homologues of mce ( mce 1, mce 2, mce 3, mce 4) and that they were all located within operons composed of genes arranged similarly at different locations in the chromosome. Recombinant Mce2, which had the highest level of identity (67%) to Mce1, was unable to promote the association of microspheres with HeLa cells. Although the exact function of Mce1 is still unknown, it appears to serve as an effector molecule expressed on the surface of M . tuberculosis that is capable of eliciting plasma membrane perturbations in non-phagocytic mammalian cells.     

Bacterial Thymidine Kinase as a Non-Invasive Imaging Reporter for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Live Animals

Background

Bacteria can be selectively imaged in experimentally-infected animals using exogenously administered 1-(2′deoxy-2′-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-[¹²⁵I]-iodouracil ([¹²⁵I]-FIAU), a nucleoside analog substrate for bacterial thymidine kinase (TK). Our goal was to use this reporter and develop non-invasive methods to detect and localize Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We engineered a M. tuberculosis strain with chromosomally integrated bacterial TK under the control of hsp60 - a strong constitutive mycobacterial promoter. [¹²⁵I]FIAU uptake, antimicrobial susceptibilities and in vivo growth characteristics were evaluated for this strain. Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), M. tuberculosis P_hsp60 TK strain was evaluated in experimentally-infected BALB/c and C3HeB/FeJ mice using the thigh inoculation or low-dose aerosol infection models. M. tuberculosis P_hsp60 TK strain actively accumulated [¹²⁵I]FIAU in vitro. Growth characteristics of the TK strain and susceptibility to common anti-tuberculous drugs were similar to the wild-type parent strain. M. tuberculosis P_hsp60 TK strain was stable in vivo and SPECT imaging could detect and localize this strain in both animal models tested.

Conclusion

We have developed a novel tool for non-invasive assessment of M. tuberculosis in live experimentally-infected animals. This tool will allow real-time pathogenesis studies in animal models of TB and has the potential to simplify preclinical studies and accelerate TB research.     

抗体夹心酶联免疫吸附法测定重组溶葡萄球菌酶研究

用重组溶葡萄球菌酶免疫家兔获得抗血清,经亲和层析纯化后用HRP标记,以双向免疫扩散法确定抗血清效价,以Westernblot鉴定抗体的特异性,建立双抗夹心法标准曲线,鉴定其最小检出限、精确度、回收率。实验显示多克隆抗体能与溶葡萄球菌酶特异性结合,双抗夹心ELISA法检测抗原的最小检出限为0·98ng/mL,标准曲线在0·98~500ng/mL范围内线性良好。3份同批样本分别重复6次测定,平均批内变异系数为6·4%;3份不同批样本分别重复6次测定,平均批间变异系数为6·5%。血清中加入已知量的标准抗原,测得平均回收率为98·6%。此法检测重组溶葡萄球菌酶的可测范围广,灵敏度和精密度高,变异系数较小。结果证实建立的检测血清中重组溶葡萄球菌酶含量的双抗夹心酶联免疫吸附测定法(Enzyme-linkedimmunosorbentassay,ELISA)灵敏、准确、可靠。     

结核分枝杆菌组合DNA疫苗的免疫效果

以编码结核分枝杆菌分泌蛋白Ag85B、ESAT 6和MPT6 3的基因为插入片段 ,构建核酸疫苗联合免疫小鼠。以原核表达纯化的抗原为检测物 ,检测了抗原特异性的抗体和γ 干扰素的形成。研究表明 ,组合核酸疫苗第 3次免疫后 2 1天 ,实验小鼠血清中Ag85B抗体滴度达到 10 5以上 ,Ag85B抗原刺激产生的特异性γ 干扰素达到 (17.0± 7.0 )u/ml。组合疫苗虽然没有提高小鼠血清中ESAT 6及MPT6 3蛋白的特异性抗体滴度 ,但仍显著刺激产生了两种特异性的 γ 干扰素。攻毒实验表明 ,经组合疫苗免疫后小鼠肺部结核杆菌数量显著下降。肺部切片显示 ,免疫小鼠病理状况较对照组有明显改善。因此 ,研究提示Ag85B等组合核酸疫苗具有较好的结核病预防效果。     

Exploitation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Reporter Strains to Probe the Impact of Vaccination at Sites of Infection

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains a major public health problem, with an effective vaccine continuing to prove elusive. Progress in vaccination strategies has been hampered by a lack of appreciation of the bacterium''s response to dynamic changes in the host immune environment. Here, we utilize reporter Mtb strains that respond to specific host immune stresses such as hypoxia and nitric oxide (hspX′::GFP), and phagosomal maturation (rv2390c′::GFP), to investigate vaccine-induced alterations in the environmental niche during experimental murine infections. While vaccination undoubtedly decreased bacterial burden, we found that it also appeared to accelerate Mtb''s adoption of a phenotype better equipped to survive in its host. We subsequently utilized a novel replication reporter strain of Mtb to demonstrate that, in addition to these alterations in host stress response, there is a decreased percentage of actively replicating Mtb in vaccinated hosts. This observation was supported by the differential sensitivity of recovered bacteria to the front-line drug isoniazid. Our study documents the natural history of the impact that vaccination has on Mtb''s physiology and replication and highlights the value of reporter Mtb strains for probing heterogeneous Mtb populations in the context of a complex, whole animal model.     

Pharmacological Screening Using an FXN-EGFP Cellular Genomic Reporter Assay for the Therapy of Friedreich Ataxia

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by neurodegeneration and cardiomyopathy. The presence of a GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron of the FXN gene results in the inhibition of gene expression and an insufficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. There is a correlation between expansion length, the amount of residual frataxin and the severity of disease. As the coding sequence is unaltered, pharmacological up-regulation of FXN expression may restore frataxin to therapeutic levels. To facilitate screening of compounds that modulate FXN expression in a physiologically relevant manner, we established a cellular genomic reporter assay consisting of a stable human cell line containing an FXN-EGFP fusion construct, in which the EGFP gene is fused in-frame with the entire normal human FXN gene present on a BAC clone. The cell line was used to establish a fluorometric cellular assay for use in high throughput screening (HTS) procedures. A small chemical library containing FDA-approved compounds and natural extracts was screened and analyzed. Compound hits identified by HTS were further evaluated by flow cytometry in the cellular genomic reporter assay. The effects on FXN mRNA and frataxin protein levels were measured in lymphoblast and fibroblast cell lines derived from individuals with FRDA and in a humanized GAA repeat expansion mouse model of FRDA. Compounds that were established to increase FXN gene expression and frataxin levels included several anti-cancer agents, the iron-chelator deferiprone and the phytoalexin resveratrol.