Generation and characterization of DNA vaccines targeting the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a serious threat to public health and the economy on a global scale. The SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has been identified as the etiological agent for SARS. Thus, vaccination against SARS-CoV may represent an effective approach to controlling SARS. DNA vaccines are an attractive approach for SARS vaccine development, as they offer many advantages over conventional vaccines, including stability, simplicity, and safety. Our investigators have previously shown that DNA vaccination with antigen linked to calreticulin (CRT) dramatically enhances major histocompatibility complex class I presentation of linked antigen to CD8(+) T cells. In this study, we have employed this CRT-based enhancement strategy to create effective DNA vaccines using SARS-CoV nucleocapsid (N) protein as a target antigen. Vaccination with naked CRT/N DNA generated the most potent N-specific humoral and T-cell-mediated immune responses in vaccinated C57BL/6 mice among all of the DNA constructs tested. Furthermore, mice vaccinated with CRT/N DNA were capable of significantly reducing the titer of challenging vaccinia virus expressing the N protein of the SARS virus. These results show that a DNA vaccine encoding CRT linked to a SARS-CoV antigen is capable of generating strong N-specific humoral and cellular immunity and may potentially be useful for control of infection with SARS-CoV.     

SARS病毒N蛋白、E蛋白在大肠杆菌中的表达与鉴定

本研究通过RT-PCR反应获得了SARS冠状病毒核衣壳蛋白(N)和膜蛋白(E)基因,将n基因和e基因克 隆到大肠杆菌表达载体pGEX-KG上,并在大肠杆菌中以可溶形式获得高效表达,表达产物经亲和层析纯化。重 组蛋白N与SARS病毒抗体呈现特异性的反应,为进一步研究SARS病毒感染免疫应答机制和早期诊断奠定基础     

Adenovirus-mediated expression of the C-terminal domain of SARS-CoV spike protein is sufficient to induce apoptosis in Vero E6 cells

The pro-apoptotic properties of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) structural proteins were studied in vitro. By monitoring apoptosis indicators including chromatin condensation, cellular DNA fragmentation and cell membrane asymmetry, we demonstrated that the adenovirus-mediated over-expression of SARS-CoV spike (S) protein and its C-terminal domain (S2) induce apoptosis in Vero E6 cells in a time- and dosage-dependent manner, whereas the expression of its N-terminal domain (S1) and other structural proteins, including envelope (E), membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N) protein do not. These findings suggest a possible role of S and S2 protein in SARS-CoV induced apoptosis and the molecular pathogenesis of SARS.     

SARS冠状病毒NS融合蛋白的重组表达纯化与免疫学性质分析(英文)

刺突蛋白(S)和核心蛋白(N)是SARS冠状病毒的主要结构蛋白.在病毒细胞受体结合和病毒包装过程起重要作用.重组融合表达这2种蛋白具有较高的诊断学价值.对SARS病毒N蛋白和S蛋白氨基酸序列进行计算机分析,选择含有优势抗原表位的N蛋白1～227位氨基酸片段和S蛋白450～650位氨基酸片段,采用序列重叠延伸策略(sequenceoverlappingextension,SOE)构建编码N1227LinkerS450650新型融合蛋白的基因片段,导入原核表达载体,实现融合蛋白在大肠杆菌的高效表达.利用组氨酸标签亲和层析的方法纯化,获得高纯度的融合蛋白.对该融合蛋白的结构特征模拟分析的结果显示,其免疫化学性质均无显著改变.采用ELISA和Western印迹方法对其识别SARS冠状病毒特异性抗体的能力进行初步鉴定,显示该融合蛋白具有较好的抗原性和特异性,可有效特异性地检测恢复期SARS病人血清中抗SARS冠状病毒结构蛋白的抗体,可以作为SARS冠状病毒感染的辅助诊断手段.     

SARS-CoV N蛋白与人冠状病毒HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E的交叉反应表位及特异表位的确定

为确定SARS-CoV N蛋白的特异抗原表位,对3种人冠状病毒SARS-CoV、HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E N蛋白之间的交叉免疫反应进行了系统研究。构建了分别表达SARS-CoV、HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E N蛋白的重组痘苗病毒,并制备了相应的小鼠免疫血清。用间接免疫荧光方法,检测了3种N蛋白的表达及其与3种冠状病毒免疫动物血清和SARS病人恢复期血清之间的反应。与此同时,用Western blot方法分析了原核表达的39个不同区段的SARS-CoV N蛋白与3种冠状病毒动物免疫血清和SARS病人恢复期血清之间的交叉反应性。免疫荧光检测结果表明,SARS-CoV、HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E3种病毒的N蛋白在重组痘苗病毒感染的HeLa细胞中均可以特异表达;3种N蛋白之间存在明显交叉免疫反应。Western blot结果显示,SARS-CoV N蛋白的表位主要位于30~60aa、170~184aa、301~320aa和360~422aa;与HCoV-OC43的交叉反应表位主要位于30~60aa、90~120aa、204~214aa和320~360aa;与HCoV-229E的交叉反应表位主要位于30~60aa、150~160aa和301~360aa。含SARS-CoV N蛋白特异表位的重组肽N155b(60~214aa)和N185(30~214aa)只与SARS病人恢复期血清和灭活SARS-CoV免疫小鼠的血清反应,而不与灭活HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E免疫的山羊血清产生交叉反应。上述结果为使用SARS-CoV N蛋白抗原进行特异诊断试剂的研究,提供了重要的实验依据。     

Recombinant scFv antibodies against E protein and N protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome virus

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) brought aglobal outbreak in spring of 2003 [1–3], and more andmore attention has been paid on it when a new caseresurfaced in Singapore last September [4]. By the endof May in 2003, WHO reported a cumulative total of 8202infected cases with 725 deaths from 28 countries.Because of the high transmission and morality rate ofSARS, scientists in many countries have made theirefforts in studying SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV)[5, 6]. Several genomes of…     

Improved protective efficacy of a species-specific DNA vaccine encoding mycolyl-transferase Ag85A from Mycobacterium ulcerans by homologous protein boosting

Vaccination with plasmid DNA encoding Ag85A from M. bovis BCG can partially protect C57BL/6 mice against a subsequent footpad challenge with M. ulcerans. Unfortunately, this cross-reactive protection is insufficient to completely control the infection. Although genes encoding Ag85A from M. bovis BCG (identical to genes from M. tuberculosis) and from M. ulcerans are highly conserved, minor sequence differences exist, and use of the specific gene of M. ulcerans could possibly result in a more potent vaccine. Here we report on a comparison of immunogenicity and protective efficacy in C57BL/6 mice of Ag85A from M. tuberculosis and M. ulcerans, administered as a plasmid DNA vaccine, as a recombinant protein vaccine in adjuvant or as a combined DNA prime-protein boost vaccine. All three vaccination formulations induced cross-reactive humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, although species-specific Th1 type T cell epitopes could be identified in both the NH2-terminal region and the COOH-terminal region of the antigens. This partial species-specificity was reflected in a higher--albeit not sustained--protective efficacy of the M. ulcerans than of the M. tuberculosis vaccine, particularly when administered using the DNA prime-protein boost protocol.     

SARS冠状病毒M蛋白的原核表达及其DNA疫苗构建

为探讨SARS-CoV的M蛋白的免疫学特性以及M蛋白作为SARS-CoV病毒疫苗组分的可行性和必要性.分别用pET-15b和pET-22b在大肠杆菌中表达SARS-CoV的M蛋白,亲和层析纯化后作为抗原应用.同时,将M蛋白的编码基因克隆进分泌型真核表达载体pSecTagB中得到重组质粒pSecM作为DNA疫苗,免疫BALB/c小白鼠、制备SARS-CoV M蛋白的抗血清.并用纯化后的M蛋白建立的SARS-CoV M抗体ELISA检测技术研究所构建的M-DNA疫苗的免疫效果.结果表明:两种重组M蛋白在大肠杆菌中均以可溶性形式得到高效表达,经与华大产的用灭活SARS全病毒制备的SARS-CoV抗体ELISA检测试剂盒比较实验,证明该原核表达的重组M蛋白能与SARS确诊病人血清以及M-DNA免疫鼠血清发生特异性抗原抗体反应.这两种重组M蛋白有可能作为抗原组分用于临床SARS-CoV检测中;所构建的SARS-CoV的M基因核酸疫苗能在小鼠体内产生特异性抗体,提示M蛋白在SARS-CoV疫苗尤其是组分疫苗的研制中应加以考虑,为DNA疫苗的开发提供了依据.     

Antisense downregulation of SARS-CoV gene expression in Vero E6 cells

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It is an enveloped, single-stranded, plus-sense RNA virus with a genome of approximately 30 kb. The structural proteins E, M and N of SARS-CoV play important roles during host cell entry and viral morphogenesis and release. Therefore, we have studied whether expression of these structural proteins can be down-regulated using an antisense technique. METHODS: Vero E6 cells were transfected with plasmid constructs containing exons of the SARS-CoV structural protein E, M or N genes or their exons in frame with the reporter protein EGFP. The transfected cell cultures were treated with antisense phosphorothioated oligonucleotides (antisense PS-ODN, 20mer) or a control oligonucleotide by addition to the culture medium. RESULTS: Among a total of 26 antisense PS-ODNs targeting E, M and N genes, we obtained six antisense PS-ODNs which could sequence-specifically reduce target genes expression by over 90% at the concentration of 50 microM in the cell culture medium tested by RT-PCR. The antisense effect was further proved by down-regulating the expression of the fusion proteins containing the structural proteins E, M or N in frame with the reporter protein EGFP. In Vero E6 cells, the antisense effect was dependent on the concentrations of the antisense PS-ODNs in a range of 0-10 microM or 0-30 microM. CONCLUSIONS: The antisense PS-ODNs are effective in downregulation of SARS. The findings indicate that antisense knockdown of SARS could be a useful strategy for treatment of SARS, and could also be suitable for studies of the pathological function of SARS genes in a cellular model system.     

SARS冠状病毒N蛋白激活hfgl2凝血酶原酶基因的研究

研究鉴定激活hfgl2凝血酶原酶基因的SARS冠状病毒结构蛋白。从SARS尸检肺组织中抽提RNA后制备cDNA,分别扩增SARS-CoV的N、S2和M全长基因序列,再分别克隆到真核表达载体pcDNA3.1( )上。应用免疫组织化学分析鉴定pcDNA3.1-N、pcDNA3.1-M和pcDNA3.1-S2的表达。构建人纤维介素(hfgl2)启动子荧光素酶报告基因质粒,并将SARS冠状病毒结构蛋白表达质粒分别与其共转染以明确激活hfgl2基因转录的SARS冠状病毒结构蛋白。将目的片段克隆至pcDNA3.1( ),经酶切鉴定和测序鉴定无误;免疫组织化学染色可见明显的CHO细胞胞浆棕染。与hfgl2启动子共转染实验阐明SARS冠状病毒膜(M)蛋白和刺突糖(S2)蛋白对hfgl2基因的激活与对照组无显著差异,而SARS冠状病毒核心(N)蛋白可激活hfgl2启动子,使其转染活性提高4.6倍。SARS冠状病毒N蛋白可增强hfgl2基因的转录活性。     

Enhancing immune responses against SARS-CoV nucleocapsid DNA vaccine by co-inoculating interleukin-2 expressing vector in mice

The immunogenicity of SARS-CoV nucleocapsid DNA vaccine and the immunoregulatory activity of interleukin-2 (IL-2) were investigated. DNA vaccine plasmids, pcDNA-N and pcDNA-IL2, were constructed and inoculated into BALB/c mice with or without pcDNA-IL2 by intramuscular injection. Cellular and humoral immune responses were assessed by indirect ELISA, lymphocyte proliferation assays, ELISPOT and FACS. The nucleocapsid DNA vaccine had good immunogenicity and can induce specific humoral and cellular immunity in BALB/c mice, while IL-2 plays an immunoadjuvant role and enhances specific immune responses. This study provides a frame of reference for the design of DNA vaccines against SARS-CoV.     

SARS冠状病毒N蛋白与γ血红蛋白的相互作用

目的:研究SARS冠状病毒(SARS-CoV)核衣壳蛋白(N蛋白)与γ血红蛋白的相互作用。方法:利用免疫共沉淀实验验证SARS-CoV N蛋白与γ血红蛋白存在相互作用,并通过Western印迹检测SARS-CoV N蛋白对细胞内γ血红蛋白表达量及稳定性的影响。结果:SARS-CoV N蛋白与γ血红蛋白的相互作用能使SARS-CoV N蛋白抑制γ血红蛋白在293细胞中的泛素化,提高γ血红蛋白在293细胞中的稳定性,从而使γ血红蛋白在细胞内的表达量显著提高。结论:SARS-CoV N蛋白能与γ血红蛋白在细胞内形成复合物,为揭示SARS-CoV在婴幼儿群体中致病率较低的机理提供了实验基础。     

Assembly of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus RNA packaging signal into virus-like particles is nucleocapsid dependent

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was recently identified as the etiology of SARS. The virus particle consists of four structural proteins: spike (S), small envelope (E), membrane (M), and nucleocapsid (N). Recognition of a specific sequence, termed the packaging signal (PS), by a virus N protein is often the first step in the assembly of viral RNA, but the molecular mechanisms involved in the assembly of SARS-CoV RNA are not clear. In this study, Vero E6 cells were cotransfected with plasmids encoding the four structural proteins of SARS-CoV. This generated virus-like particles (VLPs) of SARS-CoV that can be partially purified on a discontinuous sucrose gradient from the culture medium. The VLPs bearing all four of the structural proteins have a density of about 1.132 g/cm(3). Western blot analysis of the culture medium from transfection experiments revealed that both E and M expressed alone could be released in sedimentable particles and that E and M proteins are likely to form VLPs when they are coexpressed. To examine the assembly of the viral genomic RNA, a plasmid representing the GFP-PS580 cDNA fragment encompassing the viral genomic RNA from nucleotides 19715 to 20294 inserted into the 3' noncoding region of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was constructed and applied to the cotransfection experiments with the four structural proteins. The SARS-CoV VLPs thus produced were designated VLP(GFP-PS580). Expression of GFP was detected in Vero E6 cells infected with the VLP(GFP-PS580), indicating that GFP-PS580 RNA can be assembled into the VLPs. Nevertheless, when Vero E6 cells were infected with VLPs produced in the absence of the viral N protein, no green fluorescence was visualized. These results indicate that N protein has an essential role in the packaging of SARS-CoV RNA. A filter binding assay and competition analysis further demonstrated that the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of the SARS-CoV N protein each contain a binding activity specific to the viral RNA. Deletions that presumably disrupt the structure of the N-terminal domain diminished its RNA-binding activity. The GFP-PS-containing SARS-CoV VLPs are powerful tools for investigating the tissue tropism and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV.     

DNA vaccine of SARS-Cov S gene induces antibody response in mice

The spike (S) protein, a main surface antigen of SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV), is one of themost important antigen candidates for vaccine design. In the present study, three fragments of the truncated S protein were expressed in E. coli, and analyzed with pooled sera of convalescence phase of SARS patients. The full length S gene DNA vaccine was constructed and used to immunize BALB/c mice. The mouse serum IgG antibody against SARS-CoV was measured by ELISA with E. coli expressed truncated S protein or SARS-CoV lysate as diagnostic antigen. The results showed that all the three fragments of S protein expressed by E. coli was able to react with sera of SARS patients and the S gene DNA candidate vaccine could induce the production of specific IgG antibody against SARS-CoV efficiently in mice with seroconversion ratio of 75% after 3 times of immunization. These findings lay some foundations for further understanding the immunology of SARS-CoV and developing SARS vaccines.     

Cell type-specific cleavage of nucleocapsid protein by effector caspases during SARS coronavirus infection

The epidemic outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 was caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV), designated SARS-CoV. The RNA genome of SARS-CoV is complexed by the nucleocapsid protein (N) to form a helical nucleocapsid. Besides this primary function, N seems to be involved in apoptotic scenarios. We show that upon infection of Vero E6 cells with SARS-CoV, which elicits a pronounced cytopathic effect and a high viral titer, N is cleaved by caspases. In contrast, in SARS-CoV-infected Caco-2 cells, which show a moderate cytopathic effect and a low viral titer, this processing of N was not observed. To further verify these observations, we transiently expressed N in different cell lines. Caco-2 and N2a cells served as models for persistent SARS-CoV infection, whereas Vero E6 and A549 cells did as prototype cell lines lytically infected by SARS-CoV. The experiments revealed that N induces the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, resulting in processing of N at residues 400 and 403 by caspase-6 and/or caspase-3. Of note, caspase activation is highly cell type specific in SARS-CoV-infected as well as transiently transfected cells. In Caco-2 and N2a cells, almost no N-processing was detectable. In Vero E6 and A549 cells, a high proportion of N was cleaved by caspases. Moreover, we examined the subcellular localization of SARS-CoV N in these cell lines. In transfected Vero E6 and A549 cells, SARS-CoV N was localized both in the cytoplasm and nucleus, whereas in Caco-2 and N2a cells, nearly no nuclear localization was observed. In addition, our studies indicate that the nuclear localization of N is essential for its caspase-6-mediated cleavage. These data suggest a correlation among the replication cycle of SARS-CoV, subcellular localization of N, induction of apoptosis, and the subsequent activation of caspases leading to cleavage of N.     

The nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus inhibits the activity of cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase complex and blocks S phase progression in mammalian cells

Deregulation of the cell cycle is a common strategy employed by many DNA and RNA viruses to trap and exploit the host cell machinery toward their own benefit. In many coronaviruses, the nucleocapsid protein (N protein) has been shown to inhibit cell cycle progression although the mechanism behind this is poorly understood. The N protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) bears signature motifs for binding to cyclin and phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and has recently been reported by us to get phosphorylated by the cyclin-CDK complex (Surjit, M., Kumar, R., Mishra, R. N., Reddy, M. K., Chow, V. T., and Lal, S. K. (2005) J. Virol. 79, 11476-11486). In the present study, we prove that the N protein of SARS-CoV can inhibit S phase progression in mammalian cell lines. N protein expression was found to directly inhibit the activity of the cyclin-CDK complex, resulting in hypophosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein with a concomitant down-regulation in E2F1-mediated transactivation. Coexpression of E2F1 under such conditions could restore the expression of S phase genes. Analysis of RXL and CDK phosphorylation mutant N protein identified the mechanism of inhibition of CDK4 and CDK2 activity to be different. Whereas N protein could directly bind to cyclin D and inhibit the activity of CDK4-cyclin D complex; inhibition of CDK2 activity appeared to be achieved in two different ways: indirectly by down-regulation of protein levels of CDK2, cyclin E, and cyclin A and by direct binding of N protein to CDK2-cyclin complex. Down-regulation of E2F1 targets was also observed in SARS-CoV-infected VeroE6 cells. These data suggest that the S phase inhibitory activity of the N protein may have major significance during viral pathogenesis.     

抗SARS-CoV N蛋白单克隆抗体的特异性及其识别抗原表位的初步鉴定

为了明确抗SARS-CoVN蛋白单克隆抗体的特异性,并鉴定其识别表位,首先在E.coli中表达了人类冠状病毒229E(HCoV-229E)和OC43(HCoV-OC4)N蛋白,用Westernblotting和间接免疫荧光方法分别检测了4株抗SARS-CoVN蛋白单克隆抗体(1-1C2、1-1D6、2-8F11和2-2E5)与HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E及其N蛋白的交叉反应情况,而后应用12种重组截短型SARS-CoVN蛋白对上述4种单克隆抗体的识别表位进行了初步定位。结果显示:(1)在4株抗N蛋白单克隆抗体中,1-1C2、1-1D6和2-2E5不与HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E及其N蛋白发生交叉反应,为SARS-CoVN蛋白特异性抗体;(2)2-8F11、1-1D6和2-2E5针对的抗原表位位于SARS-CoVN蛋白的aa30-60,1-1C2针对的抗原表位则位于SARS-CoVN蛋白的aa170-184。这一研究为阐明SARS-CoVN蛋白的免疫学特征,建立特异性免疫诊断技术和研究其致病机制提供了必要的依据和材料。