Immunological Response of the Rabbit to Vi Antigen

Vi antibody response of rabbits varied depending on whether Vi antigen was administered in particulate or soluble state. Vi antigen in particulate form induced hemagglutinins, bacterial agglutinins, and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) antibodies, whereas soluble Vi antigen induced only hemagglutinins. Guinea pigs passively sensitized with antisera against particulate Vi antigen gave PCA reactions when challenged with either soluble or cellular Vi antigen; antisera against soluble Vi antigen were negative for PCA. The specificity of PCA was demonstrated by its dependence on the Vi concentration and by absorption of PCA activity from antisera with V-form cells of Salmonella typhosa.     

Interaction of Vi antigen with proteins

Whiteside, Roberta E. (Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass.), and Edgar E. Baker. Interaction of Vi antigen with proteins. J. Bacteriol. 92:1597-1603. 1966.-Purified Vi antigen (Vi) mixed in equal amounts with bovine serum albumin (BSA) or human gamma globulin (HGG) at pH values above 4.7 formed a complex which was not precipitated by trichloroacetic acid or tungstic acid. At pH values below 4.7, the interaction between Vi and either BSA or HGG produced insoluble complexes except when excess Vi antigen was present. When sufficient Vi was present at the lower pH values, the soluble complex was not precipitated by trichloroacetic acid. Other acid polysaccharides tested did not form trichloroacetic acid-soluble complexes with BSA. When subjected to immunoelectrophoresis, the Vi-BSA complex migrated in agar at a rate different from that of either BSA or Vi alone. The complex reacted with both Vi and BSA antiserum. The addition of either BSA or Vi antiserum to a Vi-BSA complex resulted in dissociation of the complex and precipitation of either Vi or BSA, depending upon the antiserum used. Vi antigen mixed with purified O antigen from Salmonella typhosa formed a complex which migrated in agar at a rate different from that of either component alone when subjected to immunoelectrophoresis.     

Factors Affecting Formation of Incomplete Vi Antibody in Mice.

Gaines, Sidney (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C.), Julius A. Currie, and Joseph G. Tully. Factors affecting formation of incomplete Vi antibody in mice. J. Bacteriol. 90:635-642. 1965.-Single immunizing doses of purified Vi antigen elicited complete and incomplete Vi antibodies in BALB/c mice, but only incomplete antibody in Cinnamon mice. Three of six other mouse strains tested responded like BALB/c mice; the remaining three, like Cinnamon mice. Varying the quantity of antigen injected or the route of administration failed to stimulate the production of detectable complete Vi antibody in Cinnamon mice. Such antibody was evoked in these animals by multiple injections of Vi antigen or by inoculating them with Vi-containing bacilli or Vi-coated erythrocytes. The early protection afforded by serum from Vi-immunized BALB/c mice coincided with the appearance of incomplete Vi antibody, 1 day prior to the advent of complete antibody. Persistence of incomplete as well as complete antibody in the serum of immunized mice was demonstrated for at least 56 days after injection of 10 mug of Vi antigen. Incomplete Vi antibody was shown to have blocking ability, in vitro bactericidal activity, and the capability of protecting mice against intracerebral as well as intraperitoneal challenge with virulent typhoid bacilli. Production of incomplete and complete Vi antibodies was adversely affected by immunization with partially depolymerized Vi antigens.     

伤寒Vi多糖菌苗多糖含量及分子大小测定试验

伤寒Ｖｉ多糖菌苗是我国新近研制成功的一种多糖菌苗。为了严格控制该制品的质量,经反复试验,建立了多糖含量和分子大小的测定方法。本文报导了（１）用火箭电泳法测定伤寒Ｖｉ多糖菌苗多糖含量。经对不同实验条件进行比较,选择出较为理想的条件。用该法测定８批样品。结果均符合规程要求。对其中５批样品进行６次重复试验表明,该法的重复性好,操作简单,是测定多糖含量较为理想的方法。（２）用琼脂糖柱层析法对２８批伤寒Ｖｉ多糖菌苗的分子大小进行测定。对用该法所得柱层析收集液分别用Ｈｅｓｔｒｉｎ法和２０６ｎｍ扫描法测定其多糖回收率,对测定结果进行比较。结果表明,两种方法的测定结果无显著性差异（Ｐ＞０．０１）,而且重复性均好。可根据实验室条件选择测定方法。     

Optimization of Vi capsular polysaccharide production during growth of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi Ty2 in a bioreactor

Vi capsular polysaccharide is synthesized during growth of Salmonella typhi Ty2 and is spontaneously released from the bacterial cells into the culture medium during culture. Vi production was dependent on cell growth and the greater the cell mass the greater the production of Vi. Using fed batch culture to optimize bacterial growth resulted is an increase in cell mass and consequently Vi production. The yield of Vi obtained in fed batch culture was 415 mg l⁻¹, which was over three times that, obtained in batch culture. A proportion of the Vi remained cell associated in the form of a capsule and at least part of this was released from the bacterial surface by sonication. The size of the Vi polysaccharide produced was consistently high and did not change during the different phases of bacterial growth. The synthesis of Vi was also dependent upon the media components and the fermentation conditions. The presence of high concentrations of glucose at the beginning of growth inhibited the production of Vi, particularly during the stationary phase. At a concentration of 400 mM sodium phosphate the synthesis of Vi was strongly inhibited.     

Isolation of Vi Antigen and a Simple Method for Its Measurement

Vi antigen was purified from saline extract of Citrobacter strain 5396/38 by enzymatic digestion, concentration with ethanol, and precipitation with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide. The Vi antigen prepared by this method was 18 and 230 times more protective in mice than two other preparations isolated by an earlier method utilizing acid hydrolysis. A sensitive and specific method of electroimmunodiffusion was described for measurement of Vi antigen.     

宋内氏痢疾菌无毒株S7表达Vi抗原工程菌的构建

将含有编码Ｖｉ抗原ＶｉａＢ基因片断的质粒转导进入宋内氏痢疾菌无毒株Ｓ７中,组建了重组菌株Ｓ７Ｖｉ。质粒电泳图谱显示重组菌株Ｓ７Ｖｉ中存在被转入的外源质粒带。重组株的生化特性没有改变。菌体凝集及Ｖｉ抗血清标记的ＳＰＡ菌液凝集反应证明在重组株的菌体表面,同时表达了Ｖｉ抗原和宋内氏毒菌的Ｏ抗原。以５×１０~８ＣＦＵ、１０×１０~８ＣＦＵ的重组株免疫近交系的ＬＩＢＰ小鼠,免疫小鼠对宋内氏毒株Ｓ６３攻击的保护率为６０％至９０％,对伤寒毒株Ｔｙ２攻击的保护率为２５％至４０％。     

Genetic Basis of Vi Antigen Expression in Salmonella paratyphi C

Analysis of hybrids formed in a cross between a Salmonella paratyphi C Hfr and an S. typhimurium recipient indicated that the structural genetic determinants of the S. paratyphi C Vi antigen are located closely adjacent to the mel determinant, between this marker and purA. A similar location was indicated for the structural genetic determinants of the S. typhi Vi antigen (the viaB locus) by the results of a mating in which a hybrid S. typhimurium Hfr bearing the S. typhi viaB determinants was used to transfer these genes to an S. typhimurium recipient. Mating experiments with a Vi-antigen-expressing S. typhi Hfr and an S. typhimurium hybrid recipient expressing the Vi antigen of S. paratyphi C yielded no recombinants in which loss of Vi antigen expression occurred, indicating that the chromosomal locus occupied by the genetic determinants of the S. paratyphi C Vi antigen is the same one at which, in S. typhi, the viaB genes reside. Introduction of a mutant S. typhi viaA gene into an S. typhimurium hybrid expressing the Vi antigen, as the consequence of prior receipt of the S. paratyphi C viaB determinants, resulted in that hybrid's loss of Vi antigen expression, demonstrating that the viaA determinant plays a role in Vi antigen expression in S. paratyphi C, as well as in S. typhi. Although the percentages of coinheritance of the viaB and mel determinants in the mating experiments suggested that their linkage is sufficiently close to allow cotransduction by P22, attempts to accomplish this with lysates prepared on S. typhimurium hybrids expressing either S. typhi or S. paratyphi C viaB determinants were not successful.     

Investigation of core machinery for biosynthesis of Vi antigen capsular polysaccharides in Gram-negative bacteria

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi causes typhoid fever. It possesses a Vi antigen capsular polysaccharide coat that is important for virulence and is the basis of a current glycoconjugate vaccine. Vi antigen is also produced by environmental Bordetella isolates, while mammal-adapted Bordetella species (such as Bordetella bronchiseptica) produce a capsule of undetermined structure that cross-reacts with antibodies recognizing Vi antigen. The Vi antigen backbone is composed of poly-α-(1→4)-linked N-acetylgalactosaminuronic acid, modified with O-acetyl residues that are necessary for vaccine efficacy. Despite its biological and biotechnological importance, some central aspects of Vi antigen production are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that TviE and TviD, two proteins encoded in the viaB (Vi antigen production) locus, interact and are the Vi antigen polymerase and O-acetyltransferase, respectively. Structural modeling and site-directed mutagenesis reveal that TviE is a GT4-family glycosyltransferase. While TviD has no identifiable homologs beyond Vi antigen systems in other bacteria, structural modeling suggests that it belongs to the large SGNH hydrolase family, which contains other O-acetyltransferases. Although TviD possesses an atypical catalytic triad, its O-acetyltransferase function was verified by antibody reactivity and ¹³C NMR data for tviD-mutant polysaccharide. The B. bronchiseptica genetic locus predicts a mode of synthesis distinct from classical S. enterica Vi antigen production, but which still involves TviD and TviE homologs that are both active in a reconstituted S. Typhi system. These findings provide new insight into Vi antigen production and foundational information for the glycoengineering of Vi antigen production in heterologous bacteria.     

N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase of Vi phage III.

1. A lytic enzyme was isolated from Vi phage III-induced lysate of Salmonella typhi, and purified about 200-fold by chromatography on IRC-50, CM-cellulose, and Sephadex G-75 columns. 2. Both E. coli B murein and muropeptide C6 were digested on incubation with the lytic enzyme. The main product of murein and muropeptide C6 digestion is identical with tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-DAP-Ala. The release of amino groups during digestion was not accompanied by the appearance of either reducing groups or hexosamines. 3. It is concluded that Vi phage III-induced lytic enzyme is N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase, which cleaves the amide bond between N-acetylmuramic acid and L-alanine.     

伤寒─鼠伤寒重组株Vi4072的效力试验研究

伤寒─鼠伤寒重组株Ｖｉ４０７２所产生Ｖｉ抗原以伤寒Ｔｙ２株所产Ｖｉ抗原作对照,通过ＥＤ５０测定和小白鼠被动保护试验作了比较,结果表明Ｖｉ４０７２株Ｖｉ抗原的半数有效剂量为０．０１３６μｇ,Ｔｙ２株的半数有效剂量为０．０１８３μｇ,说明Ｖｉ４０７２─Ｖｉ对小白鼠的保护作用不低于Ｔｙ２─Ｖｉ。被动保护试验证明,在同等条件下,两种Ｖｉ抗原的免疫血清对小白鼠提供的保护作用相同。     

伤寒─鼠伤寒重组株Vi4072的效力试验研究

伤寒─鼠伤寒重组株Ｖｉ４０７２所产生Ｖｉ抗原以伤寒Ｔｙ２株所产Ｖｉ抗原作对照,通过ＥＤ５０测定和小白鼠被动保护试验作了比较,结果表明Ｖｉ４０７２株Ｖｉ抗原的半数有效剂量为０．０１３６μｇ,Ｔｙ２株的半数有效剂量为０．０１８３μｇ,说明Ｖｉ４０７２─Ｖｉ对小白鼠的保护作用不低于Ｔｙ２─Ｖｉ。被动保护试验证明,在同等条件下,两种Ｖｉ抗原的免疫血清对小白鼠提供的保护作用相同。     

Solubilization of coal by an extracellular product fromStreptomyces setonii 75Vi2

Summary Several low-ranked coals were solubilized when placed on the surface of agar cultures ofStreptomyces viridosporous T7A andS. setonii 75Vi2. When grown in submerged cultureS. setonii 75Vi2 produced an extracellular component that was capable of solubilizing coals. The extracellular coal solubilizing component had a molecular weight of <10000 and was heat stable since, after 1h at 121°C, only 30–40% of the activity was lost. Treatment with any of three proteases also appeared to be ineffective in decreasing activity. These results suggest that coal solubilization byS. setonii 75Vi2 is nonenzymatic.Research supported by the Fossil Energy Advances Research and Technology Program, managed by the Pittsburg Energy Technology Center, U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC05-840R21400 with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.     

Detection of O-acetylated Vi polysaccharide of Salmonella enterica subspecies typhi by enzyme immunoassay.

Immunisation with capsular Vi polysaccharide (Vi PS) of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. typhi) protects against typhoid. This protection depends on the presence of O-acetyl groups on the Vi PS, which form an immunodominant epitope. An antiserum raised against conjugated Vi PS was used as the basis for an indirect Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA). The antiserum did not react with lipopolysaccharide of five gram negative bacteria including S. typhi. Vi PS from three different sources was tested, and all but one of 18 native Vi PS preparations had EIA values comparable to a standard Vi PS preparation. The sensitivity of the EIA for the detection of O-acetyl groups on Vi PS was compared to an NMR spectroscopy assay (Biologicals 28 (2000) 17-24). The EIA distinguished between O-acetylated and de-O-acetylated Vi PS preparations. However, significantly lower EIA reactivity was observed only for samples which had O-acetylation levels of 25% or less. This assay should facilitate batch control of Vi vaccines.     

Vi I typing phage for generalized transduction of Salmonella typhi.

Salmonella typhi Vi typing phages were used to transduce temperature-sensitive (Ts) mutants of Salmonella typhi. Antibiotic resistance and Ts+ markers were transduced at high frequency (> 10(-4) per virulent phage). Several markers were cotransduced by phage Vi I, suggesting that it may be useful for mapping studies of the S. typhi genome.     

Differential Killing of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi by Antibodies Targeting Vi and Lipopolysaccharide O:9 Antigen

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi expresses a capsule of Vi polysaccharide, while most Salmonella serovars, including S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium, do not. Both S. Typhi and S. Enteritidis express the lipopolysaccharide O:9 antigen, yet there is little evidence of cross-protection from anti-O:9 antibodies. Vaccines based on Vi polysaccharide have efficacy against typhoid fever, indicating that antibodies against Vi confer protection. Here we investigate the role of Vi capsule and antibodies against Vi and O:9 in antibody-dependent complement- and phagocyte-mediated killing of Salmonella. Using isogenic Vi-expressing and non-Vi-expressing derivatives of S. Typhi and S. Typhimurium, we show that S. Typhi is inherently more sensitive to serum and blood than S. Typhimurium. Vi expression confers increased resistance to both complement- and phagocyte-mediated modalities of antibody-dependent killing in human blood. The Vi capsule is associated with reduced C3 and C5b-9 deposition, and decreased overall antibody binding to S. Typhi. However, purified human anti-Vi antibodies in the presence of complement are able to kill Vi-expressing Salmonella, while killing by anti-O:9 antibodies is inversely related to Vi expression. Human serum depleted of antibodies to antigens other than Vi retains the ability to kill Vi-expressing bacteria. Our findings support a protective role for Vi capsule in preventing complement and phagocyte killing of Salmonella that can be overcome by specific anti-Vi antibodies, but only to a limited extent by anti-O:9 antibodies.     

Acetone-dried typhoid bacteria as a stable antigen for the standardised Vi agglutination test

Summary and conclusions A technical improvement is described of the typhoid Vi agglutination test in which aceton-dried suspensions are used. We thank DrA. Felix for the revision of this paper.