Magnetic immunoenzyme analysis of Yersinia pestis antigens

The detection of Y. pestis cells in magnetic enzyme immunoassay is carried out with the use of magnetic polyacrylamide microgranules. In the assay system for the determination of the antigen commercial Y. pestis antigens, peroxidase-labeled antibodies, the substrate mixture consisting of sodium salt of 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid and H2O2 in citrate-phosphate buffer solution, pH 4.5, are used. The sensitivity of the method is 5 X 10(4) microbial bodies per ml.     

Immunobiological properties of <Emphasis Type=Italic>Yersinia pestis</Emphasis> antigens

The immunobiological properties of plague microbe antigens are described in the review. All of the identified antigens are evaluated in relation to the pathogenicity of Yersinia pestis (resistance to phagocytosis, toxicity, adhesiveness, etc.), as well as persistence ability and adaptation to a variable environment. In addition, the role of the antigen in the immunogenicity of a living plague microbe and literature data about the inherent protectiveness of antigens for the model animals are discussed. The data concerning the mechanisms of antigenic contribution to the development of the adaptive immunity are presented.     

Immunobiological properties of monoclonal antibodies to Mycoplasma hominis antigens

Approaches to obtaining stable mouse hybridomas synthesizing monoclonal antibodies (McAb) to M. hominis key antigens were developed. 4 clones capable of the stable synthesis of McAb of different IgG classes were obtained. Clones A3/2 and A5/D produced antibodies to the thermostable determinant to with a mol. wt. of 80-120 kD, sensitive to sodium periodate and resistant to potassium proteinase. Clone H9/B2 synthesized McAb which interacted with potassium proteinase-sensitive M. hominis thermolabile determinant with a mol. wt. of 80 kD. McAb of clone A3/2, labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate and horse-radish peroxidase, specifically reacted with M. hominis antigens in the immunofluorescence test and the immunoenzyme assay (EIA). The sensitivity of EIA was 0.25 ng/ml of antigen protein. These data may serve as prerequisites for the development of diagnostic test systems aimed at the detection of M. hominis antigens in different clinical substances.     

Chemical and physical properties of lipopolysaccharide of Yersinia pestis

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) prepared from Yersinia pestis 195/P contained d-glucose, d-glycero-d-mannoheptose, l-glycero-d-mannoheptose, glucosamine, 3-deoxyoctulosonic acid, lipid A, beta-hydroxymyristate, acetyl, phosphate, and protein. Traces of ethanolamine, mannose, and galactose were also detected. The lipid A moiety was composed of glucosamine substituted with phosphate, amide-linked beta-hydroxymyristate, and amide-bound acetate. The absence of significant amounts of additional fatty acids indicates a lipid A structure somewhat less complex than that of other gram-negative bacteria. The sugars identified are those generally found in the "core" region of LPS from the Enterobacteriaceae, with the exception of the d-glycero-d-mannoheptose. The molecular weight of the aggregated LPS was estimated to be 1.6 x 10(8).     

Comparative evaluation of mono- and neutrophilokins inducing activity of Yersinia pestis antigens

The results of the comparative analysis of the cytokine inducing activity of Yersinia pestis EV antigens are presented. Y. pestis fraction 1A (F1A) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were shown to induce mono- and neutrophilokines, regulating cooperative interaction of phagocytes in the process of immunity formation to plague. Neutrophilokines and monokines exceed in their capacity for inducing F1A such acknowledged inductor as Escherichia coli LPS. As revealed by the comparative evaluation of Y. pestis EV LPS and E. coli LPS, neutrophilokines synthesized under the action of the former preparation, have greater influence on the inhibition of the macrophage migration from the infection focus as well as on digestive activity of these cells (in secondary immune response) and on the labilization of the lysosome membranes of macrophages than neutrophilokines induced by E. coli LPS. At the same time they produce a lesser modulating effect on the killer and chemotactic activity of neutrophils, as well as on the expression of FC receptors (FcR) on their surface in comparison with monokines, synthesized under the influence of E. coli LPS.     

Various physico-chemical properties of the Yersinia pestis capsular protein

Some properties of the structure of Y. pestis capsular antigen macromolecules have been studied. The aminoacid composition of F1 protein, the aminoacid sequence of the N-terminal fragment of antigen polipeptide chain were determined. Some peculiarities in the dissociation of capsular antigen macromolecules have been studied. The formation of the product resulting from unterminated thermodissociation of F1 protein oligomeric form, consisting of four subunits, has been registered. The aspects of F1 protein association are discussed.     

重组鼠疫耶尔森菌LcrV抗原原液性质研究

目的进行重组鼠疫耶尔森菌LcrV抗原原液二聚体含量及性质研究,确定LcrV原液的相关质控标准。方法在不同缓冲体系(0.85%NaCl(NS)、20 mmol/L PBS),不同蛋白浓度(2.0、1.5、1.0、0.5、0.1 mg/mL)及不同保存温度(4℃、-20℃、-70℃)条件下保存LcrV抗原,采用SDS-PAGE和HPSEC方法定期检测LcrV二聚体含量及纯度。将连续三批检定合格的LcrV抗原原液进行质谱相对分子质量测定、等电点测定、N末端氨基酸序列测定、圆二色(CD)谱、HPLC肽谱及氨基酸组成分析,研究LcrV抗原的相关性质。结果随着保存时间的延长LcrV抗原二聚体含量增加,低温保存时二聚体不易大量形成。在-20℃和-70℃条件下,NS保存的LcrV抗原比PBS体系保存稳定,而在4℃条件下NS保存的LcrV抗原容易降解。LcrV抗原高浓度保存容易发生聚合。LcrV抗原在低质量浓度(0.1 mg/mL)保存时免疫学活性明显下降。质谱检测到LcrV单体和二聚体共同存在,且与理论相对分子质量一致。LcrV原液检测等电点范围为4.6～6.3。N末端测序、CD谱、HPLC肽谱图及氨基酸组成分析与理论结果一致。结论 LcrV抗原原液保存条件确定为:NS体系,蛋白质量浓度1.0～2.0 mg/mL,-20℃以下冻存。制备的LcrV抗原各项检测结果与理论结果一致,抗原性质稳定。     

Evaluation of hypoxic state in experimental animals induced by Yersinia pestis antigens

Some characteristics of purine metabolism in experimental animals (white mice, clawed jirds and guinea pigs), injected intraperitoneally with Y. pestis "murine" toxin and capsular antigen (Fraction 1), were studied. Under the influence of sublethal doses of these antigens increased levels of guanine and xanthine in blood were noted. Changes in the content of xanthine oxidase in cells were insignificant. In white mice and clawed jirds the activity of succinate dehydrogenase decreased under the action of "murine" toxin and increased after the injection of Fraction 1.     

Plasmid-like properties of the four virulence-associated factors of Yersinia pestis

The virulence-associated factors of Yersinia pestis, which determine the abilities to produce pesticin I (Pst+), capsular fraction I antigen (Fra+), V and W antigen complex (Vwa+) and a cell-surface component for adsorption of exogenous pigments (Pgm+), were independently eliminated by cultivation of the cells in the presence of acridine orange, ethidium bromide or sodium dodecyl sulfate at a subinhibitory concentration. A virulent Y. pestis strain, Yreka, harbored at least five extrachromosomal DNA molecules of different sizes. In these molecules, a novel 13-megadalton DNA which was cured concomitantly with the elimination of the Fra factor was found, in addition to the known species of 7 and 44 megadaltons which were lost with the conversions to Pst- and Vwa-, respectively. Although the conversion to Pgm- could not be correlated with the lack of any proper extra-chromosomal DNA, the factor was transmitted to Pgm- cells with the aid of self-conjugative RP4 plasmid. The cells acquiring the Pgm factor regained virulence for mice.     

Biological and physico-chemical properties of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis bacterial culture having the fra-operon Yersinia pestis

The biological and physico-chemical properties of cultures of two isogenous recombinant variants of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis were studied. The cell genomes of the cultures are distinguished from one another only by the presence or by the absence of the fra-operon, which is a determined attribute of the plague microbe capsule-forming process. The expression of the attribute is amplified by rising the microbial biomass cultivation temperature and stimulates the decrease in the viability of the bacteria and adaptation potential in vitro. In the warm-blooded owner organism the microbes of the capsule-forming recombinant variant are characterized by the greater residual pathogenicity and immunogenic ability to the experimental plague of the laboratory animals as compared to the reference-variant cells. These specific features could be explained by more expressed colonizing ability of the capsule-forming microbes provided by owner cells' stability to the phagocyte process.     

The effect of different Yersinia pestis antigens on the cellular link in immunity

Immunization with live plague vaccine has been shown to give no protection to thymectomized mice from subcutaneous challenge with Y. pestis virulent strain. Under the action of the vaccine or individual Y. pestis antigens (fraction I) the functional and morphological activation of thymocytes and macrophages is observed, more pronounced in C57BL/6 mice and less pronounced in CBA mice. Y. pestis antigenic preparations (fractions I and II, pesticin) act as T-cell mitogens and are thus capable of inducing the in vitro proliferation of thymocytes. At the same time the in vivo action of fraction II induces a decrease in the level of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of mice and the destruction of lymphocytes in their thymus and spleen.     

Expression of Yersinia pestis antigens encoded by the Ca2+-dependence plasmid

Antigens coded by the Ca2(+)-dependance plasmid were found in the cultural medium, cytoplasm and outer membranes of the three monoplasmid (pCadV) strains of Yersinia pestis with the different basic properties. The presence of 20 mM of Mg2+ at least in the medium is necessary for optimal expression of these proteins. The existence of strain differences in the bacterial cells reaction to temperature, cultivation medium has been demonstrated. No difference in the pCad-dependent proteins was found in Yersinia pestis and the causative agents of pseudotuberculosis, enterocolitis.     

Adhesive properties of the purified plasminogen activator Pla of Yersinia pestis

The beta-barrel outer membrane protease Pla from Yersinia pestis is an important virulence factor in plague and enables initiation of the bubonic plague. Pla is a multifunctional protease whose expression also enhances bacterial adherence to extracellular matrix. It has remained uncertain whether the increase in cellular adhesiveness results from modification of the bacterial surface by Pla, or whether the Pla molecule is an adhesin. Pla was purified as a His6-fusion protein from Escherichia coli and reconstituted with lipopolysaccharide to an enzymatically active form. Purified His6-Pla was coated onto fluorescent micro-particles (FMPs) that expressed plasminogen activity. Pla-coated FMPs also bound to laminin and to reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) immobilized on permanox slides, whereas only poor activity was seen with lipopolysaccharide-coated FMPs or bovine serum albumin-coated FMPs. The results show that the Pla molecule has intrinsic adhesive properties and that purified transmembrane proteins coated onto FMPs can be used for functional assays.     

Oligomerization of PcrV and LcrV, protective antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia pestis

Protective antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PcrV) and Yersinia pestis (LcrV) are key elements of specialized machinery, the type III secretion system (T3SS), which enables the injection of effector molecules into eukaryotic cells. Being positioned at the injectisome extremity, V proteins participate in the translocation process across the host cell plasma membrane. In this study, we demonstrate the assembly of V proteins into oligomeric doughnut-like complexes upon controlled refolding of the proteins in vitro. The oligomeric nature of refolded PcrV was revealed by size exclusion chromatography, native gel electrophoresis, and native mass spectrometry, which ascertain the capacity of the protein to multimerize into higher-order species. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy performed on oligomers of both PcrV and LcrV revealed the presence of distinct structures with approximate internal and external diameters of 3-4 and 8-10 nm, respectively. The C-terminal helix, alpha12, of PcrV and notably the hydrophobic residues Val(255), Leu(262), and Leu(276) located within this helix, were shown to be crucial for oligomerization. Moreover, the corresponding mutant proteins produced in P. aeruginosa were found to be non-functional in in vivo type III-dependent cytotoxicity assays by directly affecting the correct assembly of PopB/D translocon within the host cell membranes. The detailed understanding of structure-function relationships of T3SS needle tip proteins will be of value in further developments of new vaccines and antimicrobials.     

Lectin of Yersinia pestis vaccine strain EV and its immunological properties

As the result of the chromatographic separation of Y. pestis EV membrane proteins, a protein fraction with hemagglutinating activity was obtained. The isolated preparation was glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 22 kD, contained 16% of carbohydrates and exhibited thermolabile properties. The determination of the carbohydrate specificity of this glycoprotein revealed that it belonged to the class of lectins. Changes in the content of 11 corticosteroids and the population composition of lymphocytes, as well as the detection of specific antibodies in the blood serum of guinea pigs immunized with lectin, were indicative of the fact that the preparation was sufficiently immunogenic and induced the activation of the processes of proliferation and activation of lymphocytes during immunogenesis. The lectin isolated from Y. pestis EV outer membrane may be regarded as an additional factor ensuring the contact of the pathogen with the cells of the body and as a promising component of combined plague vaccine.     

Adhesion pili in Yersinia pestis

Y. pestis cells cultivated at 37 degrees C are capable of agglutinating red blood cells of some animals, which is due to the appearance of pili. The adhesion pili consist of protein subunits with a molecular weight of the order of 12000 daltons, their isoionic point being at pH 4.7. The reaction of hemagglutination was inhibited by the mixture of ganglyosides, while the preliminary treatment of red blood cells with neuraminidases increased its effectiveness. The pili are supposed to take part in the expression of virulence.     

Yersinia pestis lineages in Mongolia

Background

Whole genome sequencing allowed the development of a number of high resolution sequence based typing tools for Yersinia (Y.) pestis. The application of these methods on isolates from most known foci worldwide and in particular from China and the Former Soviet Union has dramatically improved our understanding of the population structure of this species. In the current view, Y. pestis including the non or moderate human pathogen Y. pestis subspecies microtus emerged from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis about 2,600 to 28,600 years ago in central Asia. The majority of central Asia natural foci have been investigated. However these investigations included only few strains from Mongolia.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Prokaryotic Repeats (CRISPR) analysis and Multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) with 25 loci was performed on 100 Y. pestis strains, isolated from 37 sampling areas in Mongolia. The resulting data were compared with previously published data from more than 500 plague strains, 130 of which had also been previously genotyped by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. The comparison revealed six main clusters including the three microtus biovars Ulegeica, Altaica, and Xilingolensis. The largest cluster comprises 78 isolates, with unique and new genotypes seen so far in Mongolia only. Typing of selected isolates by key SNPs was used to robustly assign the corresponding clusters to previously defined SNP branches.

Conclusions/Significance

We show that Mongolia hosts the most recent microtus clade (Ulegeica). Interestingly no representatives of the ancestral Y. pestis subspecies pestis nodes previously identified in North-western China were identified in this study. This observation suggests that the subsequent evolution steps within Y. pestis pestis did not occur in Mongolia. Rather, Mongolia was most likely re-colonized by more recent clades coming back from China contemporary of the black death pandemic, or more recently in the past 600 years.     

Interleukin-1-inducing activity of the polysaccharide-containing antigens of the cell wall in Yersinia pestis

The induction of the synthesis of interleukin-1 (IL-1) in human monocytes under the influence of the endotoxic preparations (LPS) and Y. pestis basis somatic antigen has been experimentally studied. The results obtained in this study make it possible to come to the conclusion that the capacity of the endotoxin of Y. pestis cell wall, consisting of LPS of type R, for inducing the synthesis of IL-1 in human monocytes is not different from the corresponding capacity of Salmonella and Shigella LPS, type S. Y. pestis O-specific polysaccharide in a discrete state has considerably greater IL-1-inducing activity in comparison with other preparations used in this experimental study. Such typical changes, characteristic of the initial stage of Y. pestis infection, as a sharp rise in temperature, transitory neutropenia, significant primary suppression of the oxygen-dependent metabolism of polymorphonuclear neutrophils are probably due to the induction of the synthesis of IL-1 by the polysaccharide-containing antigen of Y. pestis cell wall (LPS, basic somatic antigen) in cells of the mononuclear phagocytizing system.