Cloning and expression of protective antigens of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</Emphasis> Ag85B and ESAT-6 in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Francisella tularensis</Emphasis> 15/10

The possibility of expression of genes encoding mycobacterial antigens in Francisella tularensis 15/10 vaccine strain cells has been shown for the first time. To obtain stable and effective expression of mycobacterial antigens in the F. tularensis cells, the plasmid vector pPMC1 and hybrid genes consisting of the leader part FL of the F. tularensis membrane protein FopA and structural moieties of the mature protein Ag85B or the fused protein Ag85B-ESAT-6 were constructed. Recombinant strains F. tularensis RVp17 and RVp18 expressing protective mycobacterial antigens in the fused proteins FL-Ag85B and FL-Ag85B-ESAT-6, respectively, were obtained. Expression of the protective mycobacterial antigens in F. tularensis was analyzed using specific antisera to the recombinant proteins Ag85-(His)6 and ESAT-6-(His)6 isolated from Escherichia coli producer strains created on the basis of the pET23b(+) and pET24b(+) vectors. The expression of heterologous protective antigens in F. tularensis 15/10 is promising for creation of live recombinant anti-tuberculosis vaccines on the basis of the tularemia vaccine strain.     

Combined DNA vaccines formulated in DDA enhance protective immunity against tuberculosis

This study evaluated the adjuvant Dimethyldioctyldecyl Ammonium Bromide (DDA) effect on the protective immunity induced by a combination of plasmids containing genes encoding antigens Ag85B, MPT-83, and ESAT-6 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The combined DNA vaccines in DDA resulted in significant increases in both specific IgG and splenic T-cell-derived Th1-type cytokine gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production in response to the three purified antigens when compared to that of combined DNA vaccines in saline. Vaccines in DDA increased the protective efficacy of mice challenged with M. tuberculosis H37Rv as measured by reduced relative CFU counts in their lungs. Mice immunized with the combined DNA vaccines were shown to limit the growth of tubercle bacilli both in lungs and in spleens. Histopathological analyses showed that vaccinated mice had substantially improved postinfection lung pathology relative to the controls. We suggest that our combination of antigens together with DDA formulation may provide a new insight into tuberculosis prevention.     

Improved humoral immunity against tuberculosis ESAT-6 antigen by chimeric DNA prime and protein boost strategy

Ag85A and ESAT-6 proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.TB) are important protective antigens. The 32-kDa Ag85A is a strong immunogen in both small and large animals. However, the 6-kDa ESAT-6 has relatively low inherent immunogenicity, especially in large animals. To improve the immunogenicity of ESAT-6 in animals, we made chimeric DNA vaccines, HG856K and HG856A, by inserting the esat-6 gene into the Kpn I or Acc I endonuclease restriction site of the ag85a gene, respectively. BALB/c mice were injected intramuscularly three times with the 10-microg singular DNA vaccine (HG85 encoding for Ag85A or HG6 encoding for ESAT-6) or chimeric DNA vaccine (HG856K or HG856A) followed by electroporation (EP). Ten days after the last DNA vaccination, mice received a booster immunization intraperitoneally with 50-microg pure recombinant protein Ag85A or ESAT-6 without adjuvant. Additional groups of mice immunized with chimeric DNA vaccines were boosted with two mixed proteins (Ag85A/ESAT-6) at the same time. The results showed that the immunogenicity of M.TB ESAT-6 antigen was not improved by priming with the HG6 DNA vaccine. However, the humoral immunity against the ESAT-6 antigen was significantly increased in the mice primed with chimeric DNA vaccines, HG856K or HG856A, followed by boosting with ESAT-6 or ESAT-6/Ag85A mixed proteins.     

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy study using combination of four tuberculosis DNA vaccines

Immune response and protective efficacy for the combination of four tuberculosis DNA vaccines were evaluated in this study. We obtained 1:200 antibody titers against Ag85B 21d after mice were vaccinated for the first time by four recombinant eukaryotic expression vectors containing coding sequences for Ag85B, MPT-64, MPT-63 and ESAT-6. The titers of Ag85B were elevated to 1:102400 after the second injection and decreased to 1:12800 after the third injection. Antibody titers for MPT-64 and MPT-63 reached 1:25600 21 d after the first vaccination, and were then decreased following the second and third injections. No antigen-specific antibody titer against ESAT-6 was detected in sera harvested from immunized mice at any time. These DNA vaccines evoked specific IFN-λ responses in the spleens of vaccinated mice as well. When challenged with M. tuberculosis H37Rv, we found that the lungs of the vaccinated mice produced 99.8% less bacterial counts than that of the empty-vector control group and the bacterial counts were also significantly less than that of the BCG group. Histopathological analyses showed that the lungs of vaccinated mice produced no obvious caseation while over 50%-70% of the pulmonary parenchyma tissue produced central caseation in the vector control group. Our results indicated that the combination of four tuberculosis DNA vaccines may generate high levels of immune responses and result in better animal protection.     

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy study using combination of four tuberculosis DNA vaccines

Tuberculosis is an ancient scourge of mankind. According to statistics, there are more than 10 million new cases of tuberculosis each year and the annual death toll for tuberculosis exceeds three millions. The current available BCG is of questionable efficacy, and its protection ranges from 0 to 85%. Therefore, developing a safe and effective vaccine against this scourge is very important. Previous studies have shown that the secreted proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. TB) can induc…     

The Ag85B protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis may turn a protective immune response induced by Ag85B-DNA vaccine into a potent but non-protective Th1 immune response in mice

Clarifying how an initial protective immune response to tuberculosis may later loose its efficacy is essential to understand tuberculosis pathology and to develop novel vaccines. In mice, a primary vaccination with Ag85B-encoding plasmid DNA (DNA-85B) was protective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection and associated with Ag85B-specific CD4+ T cells producing IFN-gamma and controlling intramacrophagic MTB growth. Surprisingly, this protection was eliminated by Ag85B protein boosting. Loss of protection was associated with a overwhelming CD4+ T cell proliferation and IFN-gamma production in response to Ag85B protein, despite restraint of Th1 response by CD8+ T cell-dependent mechanisms and activation of CD4+ T cell-dependent IL-10 secretion. Importantly, these Ag85B-responding CD4+ T cells lost the ability to produce IFN-gamma and control MTB intramacrophagic growth in coculture with MTB-infected macrophages, suggesting that the protein-dependent expansion of non-protective CD4+ T cells determined dilution or loss of the protective Ag85B-specific CD4+ induced by DNA-85B vaccination. These data emphasize the need of exerting some caution in adopting aggressive DNA-priming, protein-booster schedules for MTB vaccines. They also suggest that Ag85B protein secreted during MTB infection could be involved in the instability of protective anti-tuberculosis immune response, and actually concur to disease progression.     

DNA-Launched Alphavirus Replicons Encoding a Fusion of Mycobacterial Antigens Acr and Ag85B Are Immunogenic and Protective in a Murine Model of TB Infection

There is an urgent need for effective prophylactic measures against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, particularly given the highly variable efficacy of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the only licensed vaccine against tuberculosis (TB). Most studies indicate that cell-mediated immune responses involving both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are necessary for effective immunity against Mtb. Genetic vaccination induces humoral and cellular immune responses, including CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses, against a variety of bacterial, viral, parasitic and tumor antigens, and this strategy may therefore hold promise for the development of more effective TB vaccines. Novel formulations and delivery strategies to improve the immunogenicity of DNA-based vaccines have recently been evaluated, and have shown varying degrees of success. In the present study, we evaluated DNA-launched Venezuelan equine encephalitis replicons (Vrep) encoding a novel fusion of the mycobacterial antigens α-crystallin (Acr) and antigen 85B (Ag85B), termed Vrep-Acr/Ag85B, for their immunogenicity and protective efficacy in a murine model of pulmonary TB. Vrep-Acr/Ag85B generated antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses that persisted for at least 10 wk post-immunization. Interestingly, parenterally administered Vrep-Acr/Ag85B also induced T cell responses in the lung tissues, the primary site of infection, and inhibited bacterial growth in both the lungs and spleens following aerosol challenge with Mtb. DNA-launched Vrep may, therefore, represent an effective approach to the development of gene-based vaccines against TB, particularly as components of heterologous prime-boost strategies or as BCG boosters.     

Ag85A真核表达重组体的构建及稳定转染细胞系的建立

构建结核杆菌抗原85A（AgS5A）的真核表达重组体,转染L929细胞,建立稳定转染细胞系。从质粒V1 Jns．tPA—Ag85A中经PCR扩增出Ag85A基因,利用DNA重组技术将其插入到真核表达载体peDNA3．1／myc—HisA中,经酶切和测序鉴定后,脂质体转染法转染L929细胞,通过G418选择培养,建立稳定转染细胞系,Western Blot检测Ag85A的表达。成功构建pcDNA3．1／mye—HisA—Ag85A真核表达载体并稳定转染L929细胞,成功表达了目的基因。为进一步研究Ag85ADNA疫苗对结核杆菌的免疫防护作用奠定了基础。     

共表达结核杆菌Ag85A-ESAT-6融合抗原与IL-21核酸疫苗的构建及免疫效果研究

目的：构建结核杆菌Ag85A-ESAT-6融合抗原与细胞因子IL-21共表达核酸疫苗pIRES-IL-21-Ag85A-ESAT-6,研究其对小鼠免疫功能的影响。方法：用PCR方法分别扩增出Ag85A和IL-21编码基因,并先后插入质粒pIRES-ESAT-6中,构成共表达核酸疫苗pIRES-IL-21-Ag85A-ESAT-6;免疫小鼠后,通过CTL和NK细胞杀伤活性和脾细胞增殖试验,以及小鼠血清抗体、IFN-γ和IL-4的检测,评价该核酸疫苗的免疫效果。结果：pIRES-IL-21-Ag85A-ESAT-6核酸疫苗免疫鼠的CTL活性、脾细胞增殖反应、IFN-γ水平及血清抗体产生明显高于对照组,差异有显著性意义。结论：pIRES-IL-21-Ag85A-ESAT-6核酸疫苗能够诱导小鼠产生有效的免疫反应,可作为新型结核疫苗的候选组分。     

Immunologic evaluation and validation of methods using synthetic peptides derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection

The goal of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serodiagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). This assay used 20 amino acid-long, non-overlapped synthetic peptides that spanned the complete Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT-6 and Ag85A sequences. The validation cohort consisted of 1,102 individuals who were grouped into the following five diagnostic groups: 455 patients with PTB, 60 patients with EPTB, 40 individuals with non-EPTB, 33 individuals with leprosy and 514 healthy controls. For the PTB group, two ESAT-6 peptides (12033 and 12034) had the highest sensitivity levels of 96.9% and 96.2%, respectively, and an Ag85A-peptide (29878) was the most specific (97.4%) in the PTB groups. For the EPTB group, two Ag85A peptides (11005 and 11006) were observed to have a sensitivity of 98.3% and an Ag85A-peptide (29878) was also the most specific (96.4%). When combinations of peptides were used, such as 12033 and 12034 or 11005 and 11006, 99.5% and 100% sensitivities in the PTB and EPTB groups were observed, respectively. In conclusion, for a cohort that consists entirely of individuals from Venezuela, a multi-antigen immunoassay using highly sensitive ESAT-6 and Ag85A peptides alone and in combination could be used to more rapidly diagnose PTB and EPTB infection.     

Protection of mice with a divalent tuberculosis DNA vaccine encoding antigens Ag85B and MPT64

Tuberculosis (TB) remains to be a major challenge tothe public health in the world. It is estimated that, through-out the world, 15 individuals are affected by TB and 6 ofthem die from it every minute [1]. Drug resistance andcoinfection with HIV, which ut…     

口服脂质体包裹Ag85A DNA疫苗诱导抗体的产生

制备脂质体包裹的Ag85A口服DNA疫苗,并观察小鼠口服后所诱生的抗体产生情况。用脂质体包襄重组质粒pcDNA3．1／mye—HisA—Ag85A制备口服DNA疫苗,并用脂质体包裹空质粒pcDNA3．1／myc—HisA作为对照。将C57BL／6小鼠随机分为3组,即生理盐水组、空质粒组和重组质粒DNA疫苗组。分别将生理盐水、空质粒和重组质粒DNA疫苗以灌胃方式投给各组小鼠,共免疫3次,每次间隔14d,末次免疫后14d处死小鼠,ELISA法检测血清中Ag85A特异性抗体水平,放射免疫法测定肠组织中分泌型IgA（sIgA）含量。重组质粒组血清中Ag85A特异性抗体滴度为1：160,空质粒组和生理盐水组血清中均未捡出Ag85A特异性抗体。重组质粒组肠组织中slgA含量（0．3761±0．0456）μg／mL较空质粒组（0．2374±0．0414）μg／mL和生理盐水（0．1993±0．0899）μg／mL组显著增高（P〈0．05）,而空质粒组和生理盐水组未见有意义的变化（P〉0．05）。口服脂质体包裹Ag85ADNA疫苗可诱导外周特异性抗体的产生和肠道黏膜局部sIgA的水平的升高。     

真核表达编码Ag85A基因重组体的构建

抗原85复合体（Ag85）是BCG合成的能够刺激机体产生细胞免疫和体液免疫的多种成分之一,Ag85A是抗原85复合体组成成分之一,可显著刺激细胞免疫功能增强。为研究经口接种Ag85A的DNA疫苗的免疫效应,根据结核分枝杆菌Ag85A的基因序列自行设计了一对PCR引物,以人型结核杆菌H37Rv标准毒力株的DNA为模板,经过PCR扩增出Ag85A目的基因,纯化PCR产物TA克隆入载体pUCm-T载体,蓝白斑筛选将回收的PCR产物用限制性核酸内切酶Xhol和BamHI双酶酶切后,经T4DNA连接酶作用,与真核表达载体pCDNA3．1^＋连接,筛选得到的阳性克隆经DNA测序鉴定证实为Ag85A基因,且被克隆到载体pCDNA3．1^＋中的CMV启动子的下游,成功构建并鉴定的真核表达载体pCDNA3．1^＋携带Ag85A基因的重组体,命名为pCDNA3．1^＋／Ag85A。将其转化大肠埃希菌并使之大量扩增,并采用无内毒素提取质粒方法收集此重组质粒DNA．即为可经口途径喂饲小鼠的结核杆菌Ag85A的DNA疫苗,为口服DNA疫苗的临床应用研究奠定基础。     

Role of 4-1BB Receptor in the Control Played by CD8+ T Cells on IFN-γ Production by Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigen-Specific CD4+ T Cells

Background

Antigen-specific IFN-γ producing CD4⁺ T cells are the main mediators of protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection both under natural conditions and following vaccination. However these cells are responsible for lung damage and poor vaccine efficacy when not tightly controlled. Discovering new tools to control nonprotective antigen-specific IFN-γ production without affecting protective IFN-γ is a challenge in tuberculosis research.

Methods and Findings

Immunization with DNA encoding Ag85B, a candidate vaccine antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, elicited in mice a low but protective CD4⁺ T cell-mediated IFN-γ response, while in mice primed with DNA and boosted with Ag85B protein a massive increase in IFN-γ response was associated with loss of protection. Both protective and non-protective Ag85B-immunization generated antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells which suppressed IFN-γ-secreting CD4⁺ T cells. However, ex vivo ligation of 4-1BB, a member of TNF-receptor super-family, reduced the massive, non-protective IFN-γ responses by CD4⁺ T cells in protein-boosted mice without affecting the low protective IFN-γ-secretion in mice immunized with DNA. This selective inhibition was due to the induction of 4-1BB exclusively on CD8⁺ T cells of DNA-primed and protein-boosted mice following Ag85B protein stimulation. The 4-1BB-mediated IFN-γ inhibition did not require soluble IL-10, TGF-β, XCL-1 and MIP-1β. In vivo Ag85B stimulation induced 4-1BB expression on CD8⁺ T cells and in vivo 4-1BB ligation reduced the activation, IFN-γ production and expansion of Ag85B-specific CD4⁺ T cells of DNA-primed and protein-boosted mice.

Conclusion/Significance

Antigen-specific suppressor CD8⁺ T cells are elicited through immunization with the mycobacterial antigen Ag85B. Ligation of 4-1BB receptor further enhanced their suppressive activity on IFN-γ-secreting CD4⁺ T cells. The selective expression of 4-1BB only on CD8⁺ T cells in mice developing a massive, non-protective IFN-γ response opens novel strategies for intervention in tuberculosis pathology and vaccination through T-cell co-stimulatory-based molecular targeting.     

Heterologous Prime Boost Regimes with N-terminal Peptides of Ag85B Induces Better Protection than Ag85B and BCG in Murine Model of Tuberculosis

Limited experimental evidences are available on the use of peptides as vaccines to boost BCG induced immunity for protection against tuberculosis. The present study therefore evaluated protective efficacy of booster dose of N-terminal peptides of Ag85B, using prime boost approaches in murine model of tuberculosis. Using earlier established subcutaneous murine model of TB in our laboratory, we compared the protective vaccination efficacy of peptides of Ag85B with that of booster dose of whole Ag85B and BCG by evaluating both antibody and cell-mediated immune response. Groups of mice primed by BCG and boosted with Ag85B peptides showed limited pulmonary bacillary burden and reduced lung pathology after challenge with virulent dose of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice. Significant levels (p < 0.001) of BCG specific antibodies (anti-BCG, anti-PPD) and T cell-specific cytokines were observed in Ag85B peptides boosted mice compared to Ag85B and BCG. Ag85B and BCG boosted mice however showed significant protection compared to single BCG dose and unvaccinated control groups. Our result suggests that prime boost strategy using N-terminal peptides of Ag85B may improve immunogenicity of BCG against TB. Such peptides may be attractive candidates for boosting waning BCG induced immune response in near future. However study demands further work including improvisation in experimental designs to justify the results.     

Comparison of PSA-specific CD8<Superscript>+</Superscript> CTL responses and antitumor immunity generated by plasmid DNA vaccines encoding PSA-HSP chimeric proteins

The ability of heat shock proteins (HSPs) to increase the potency of protein- and DNA-based vaccines has been previously reported. We have constructed several plasmid-based vectors encoding chimeric proteins containing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) fused to Mycobacterium tuberculosis hsp70, M. bovis hsp65, Escherichia coli DnaK (hsp70), or human hsp70. Immunizing mice with these plasmids induced CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific to human PSA and protected mice from a subsequent subcutaneous challenge with PSA-expressing tumors. We did not observe a significant difference either in the levels of PSA-specific CTLs or in protection against tumor challenge in mice immunized with plasmids expressing PSA-HSP chimeric proteins, as compared to mice receiving a conventional PSA-expressing DNA plasmid. Our data indicate that using HSPs as fusion partners for tumor-specific antigens does not always result in the enhancement of antigen-specific CTL responses when applied in the form of DNA vaccines.     

小鼠对结核分枝杆菌Ag85B-Esat6-HspX融合基因的免疫反应

目的研究结核分枝杆菌Ag85B-Esat6-HspX融合基因的免疫原性。方法将40只BALB/c小鼠随机分成4组,NS组、BCG组、pcDNA-HspX组和pcDNA-Ag85B-Esat6-HspX组,每组10只。BCG组只在0周时皮内注射卡介苗1次。NS组、pcDNA-HspX组及融合基因组分别于0、2、4周肌肉注射生理盐水和重组质粒DNA,共免疫3次。在免疫的第2周,4周及最后一次免疫后2周检测体血清中的总IgG水平。同时,最后一次免疫后2周,取脾细胞检测细胞免疫反应。结果构建的融合基因重组质粒DNA免疫动物后能产生针对结核杆菌特定抗原的特异性细胞免疫和体液免疫应答,具有较强的免疫原性。结论结核分枝杆菌Ag85B-Esat6-HspX融合基因可作为DNA疫苗进行保护作用的研究。     

Rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis based on antigen 85B via real-time recombinase polymerase amplification

Tuberculosis (TB), as a common infectious disease, still remains a severe challenge to public health. Due to the unsatisfied clinical needs of currently available diagnostic vehicles, it is desired to establish a new approach for universally detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Herein, we designed a real-time recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technology for identifying M. tuberculosis within 20 min at 39°C via custom-designed oligonucleotide primers and probe, which could specifically target antigen 85B (Ag85B). Particularly, the primers F4-R4 produced the fastest fluorescence signal with the probe among four pairs of designed primers in the RPA assays. The optimal primers/probe combination could effectively identify M. tuberculosis with the detection limit of 4·0 copies per μl, as it could not show a positive signal for the genomic DNA from other mycobacteria or pathogens. The Ag85B-based RPA could determine the genomic DNA extracted from M. tuberculosis with high reliability (100%, 22/22). More importantly, when testing clinical sputum samples, the real-time RPA displayed an admirable sensitivity (90%, 95% CI: 80·0-96·0%) and specificity (98%, 95% CI: 89·0-100·0%) compared to traditional smear microscopy, which was similar to the assay of Xpert MTB/RIF. This real-time RPA based Ag85B provides a promising strategy for the rapid and universal diagnosis of TB.     

结核杆菌抗原85A与小鼠白细胞介素21共表达DNA疫苗的构建及其免疫效应研究

目的:利用真核表达质粒pRSC,构建结核杆菌抗原85A(Ag85A)与小鼠白细胞介素21(mIL21)共表达重组体pRSC-mIL21-Ag85A,为研究新型结核杆菌DNA疫苗提供新的策略。方法:从质粒pcDNA3.1-mIL21中经PCR扩增出mIL21基因,并插入质粒pRSC中构成pRSC-mIL21;再从pIRES-Ag85A质粒中经PCR扩增出Ag85A基因,构建于pRSC-mIL21重组质粒上,成为共表达DNA疫苗pRSC-mIL21-Ag85A。结果:经酶切、基因测序证实,该疫苗构建正确并能成功表达目的基因。共表达DNA疫苗免疫小鼠后,CTL活性、特异性淋巴细胞增殖水平及小鼠血清特异性抗体均呈有意义的提高。结论:结核杆菌Ag85A与mIL21共表达DNA疫苗能诱导小鼠免疫反应,为进一步研究DNA疫苗抗结核杆菌攻击的免疫防护效应奠定了基础。     

结核分枝杆菌Ag85B-Esat6-HspX融合基因真核表达载体的构建

目的构建结核分枝杆菌Ag85B-Esat6-HspX融合基因,并对其在体外真核细胞中进行表达。方法用PCR法从结核分枝杆菌H37Rv株基因组中分别扩增Ag85B、Esat6、HspX基因,插入到pUC19-T载体,序列测定正确后,将融合基因再次克隆到真核表达载体pcDNA3.1（-）。重组质粒经酶切鉴定并测序正确后,用MegaTran1.0转染293T细胞,并用Western-Blot检测目的蛋白的表达。结果 Western-blot检测到分子量大小约65 kDa的目的蛋白。结论成功地构建了结核分枝杆菌Ag85B-Esat6-HspX融合基因的真核表达载体,且该重组载体可在体外真核细胞中获得特异性的表达。