Production and Targeting of the Brucella abortus Antigen L7/L12 in Lactococcus lactis: a First Step towards Food-Grade Live Vaccines against Brucellosis

Brucella abortus is a facultative intracellular gram-negative bacterial pathogen that infects humans and animals by entry mainly through the digestive tract. B. abortus causes abortion in pregnant cattle and undulant fever in humans. The immunogenic B. abortus ribosomal protein L7/L12 is a promising candidate antigen for the development of oral live vaccines against brucellosis, using food-grade lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as a carrier. The L7/L12 gene was expressed in Lactococcus lactis, the model LAB, under the nisin-inducible promoter. Using different signals, L7/L12 was produced in cytoplasmic, cell-wall-anchored, and secreted forms. Cytoplasmic production of L7/L12 gave a low yield, estimated at 0.5 mg/liter. Interestingly, a secretable form of this normally cytoplasmic protein via fusion with a signal peptide resulted in increased yield of L7/L12 to 3 mg/liter; secretion efficiency (SE) was 35%. A fusion between the mature moiety of the staphylococcal nuclease (Nuc) and L7/L12 further increased yield to 8 mg/liter. Fusion with a synthetic propeptide (LEISSTCDA) previously described as an enhancer for heterologous protein secretion in L. lactis (Y. Le Loir, A. Gruss, S. D. Ehrlich, and P. Langella, J. Bacteriol. 180:1895-1903, 1998) raised the yield to 8 mg/liter and SE to 50%. A surface-anchored L7/L12 form in L. lactis was obtained by fusing the cell wall anchor of Streptococcus pyogenes M6 protein to the C-terminal end of L7/L12. The fusions described allow the production and targeting of L7/L12 in three different locations in L. lactis. This is the first example of a B. abortus antigen produced in a food-grade bacterium and opens new perspectives for alternative vaccine strategies against brucellosis.     

Protein secretion in Lactococcus lactis : an efficient way to increase the overall heterologous protein production

Lactococcus lactis, the model lactic acid bacterium (LAB), is a food grade and well-characterized Gram positive bacterium. It is a good candidate for heterologous protein delivery in foodstuff or in the digestive tract. L. lactis can also be used as a protein producer in fermentor. Many heterologous proteins have already been produced in L. lactis but only few reports allow comparing production yields for a given protein either produced intracellularly or secreted in the medium. Here, we review several works evaluating the influence of the localization on the production yields of several heterologous proteins produced in L. lactis. The questions of size limits, conformation, and proteolysis are addressed and discussed with regard to protein yields. These data show that i) secretion is preferable to cytoplasmic production; ii) secretion enhancement (by signal peptide and propeptide optimization) results in increased production yield; iii) protein conformation rather than protein size can impair secretion and thus alter production yields; and iv) fusion of a stable protein can stabilize labile proteins. The role of intracellular proteolysis on heterologous cytoplasmic proteins and precursors is discussed. The new challenges now are the development of food grade systems and the identification and optimization of host factors affecting heterologous protein production not only in L. lactis, but also in other LAB species.     

Controlled intra- or extracellular production of staphylococcal nuclease and ovine omega interferon in Lactococcus lactis

A system for controlled targeting of heterologous protein was developed in the food-grade bacterium Lactococcus lactis. It is composed of the L. lactis strain NZ9000 and of two broad host range expression vectors pCYT:Nuc and pSEC:Nuc for, respectively, cytoplasmic and secreted staphylococcal nuclease (Nuc) nisin-inducible production. The level of intracellular production of Nuc measured with pCYT:Nuc (3 mg x l(-1)) is significantly lower than the one obtained with pSEC:Nuc ( approximately 20 mg x l(-1)). The secretion efficiency (SE) of Nuc is estimated to be approximately 70%, corresponding to approximately 15 mg of secreted Nuc x l(-1). Furthermore, we established that Nuc production continued in L. lactis 10 h after a 1-h nisin-pulse induction. This system was then used for intra- and extracellular production of a protein of therapeutical interest in L. lactis, the ovine interferon-omega (IFN-omega). The SE and the quantity of secreted active IFN-omega were evaluated respectively to be approximately 70% and approximately 1 mg x l(-1) ( approximately two-fold higher than the cytoplasmic form).     

乳酸乳球菌食品级诱导表达系统的构建及异源蛋白的表达

以α-aga基因为食品级选择标记构建了乳酸乳球菌食品级高效诱导细胞内和细胞壁锚定表达系统,并用这一表达系统表达了铜绿假单胞菌融合外膜蛋白基因OprF/H。首先以pRAF800和pNZ8048构建了含有α-aga、PnisA-MCS-TpepN和θ复制子的乳酸乳球菌食品级细胞内诱导表达载体pRNA48,再以pRNA48和pVE5524为出发载体构建了含有α-aga、PnisA-SPUsp45-nucA-CWAM6-t1t2和θ复制子的乳酸乳球菌细胞壁锚定诱导表达载体pRNV48。然后以食品级载体pRNA48和pRNV48为基础,构建了不含抗生素抗性选择标记的铜绿假单胞菌融合外膜蛋白基因的表达质粒pRNA48-OprF/H和pRNV48-OprF/H。利用nisin进行重组乳酸乳球菌菌株的诱导表达,通过SDS-PAGE和Western blot分析,检测到表达蛋白分别占细胞内可溶蛋白的9.6%和细胞壁锚定蛋白的9.8%,表达产物具有免疫原性,可与含OprF/H的乳球菌以及铜绿假单胞菌发生特异性的凝集反应。     

Complementation of the Lactococcus lactis secretion machinery with Bacillus subtilis SecDF improves secretion of staphylococcal nuclease

Unlike Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, the gram-positive lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis does not possess the SecDF protein, a component of the secretion (Sec) machinery involved in late secretion stages and required for the high-capacity protein secretion in B. subtilis. In this study, we complemented the L. lactis Sec machinery with SecDF from B. subtilis and evaluated the effect on the secretion of two forms of staphylococcal nuclease, NucB and NucT, which are efficiently and poorly secreted, respectively. The B. subtilis SecDF-encoding gene was tested in L. lactis at different levels. Increased quantities of the precursor and mature forms were observed only at low levels of SecDF and at high NucT production levels. This SecDF secretion enhancement was observed at the optimal growth temperature (30 degrees C) and was even greater at 15 degrees C. Furthermore, the introduction of B. subtilis SecDF into L. lactis was shown to have a positive effect on a secreted form of Brucella abortus L7/L12 antigen.     

Characterization of a Lactococcus lactis strain that secretes a major epitope of bovine beta-lactoglobulin and evaluation of its immunogenicity in mice

Bovine beta-lactoglobulin (Blg) is one of the major cow's milk allergens. Peptide 41-60 of Blg (Blg41-60) was described as a murine T-cell determinant and a murine, rat, and human immunoglobulin E (IgE) epitope. The aim of this study was the expression of Blg41-60 as a fusion protein in the food-grade bacterium Lactococcus lactis and the characterization of its immunogenicity in mice. We constructed a recombinant strain of L. lactis capable of inducible production and secretion of Blg41-60::Nuc, a fusion protein between Blg41-60 and the mature part of the staphylococcal nuclease (Nuc). The highest production yield of Blg41-60::Nuc (32.5 mg/liter) was reached 4 h after induction. At this time, up to 75% of Blg41-60::Nuc was secreted. When monoclonal antibodies specific for Blg41-60 were used, purified Blg41-60::Nuc and synthetic Blg41-60 exhibited very similar immunoreactivities. Subcutaneous coadministration of purified Blg41-60::Nuc and killed nonrecombinant L. lactis resulted in the induction of specific anti-Blg41-60 IgG2a and IgG1. The IgG1/IgG2a ratio and the lack of specific IgE suggest a Th1-type immune response, i.e., a nonallergic response. Similar administrations of the killed Blg41-60::Nuc-producing L. lactis strain did not elicit a specific immune response, whereas a transitory mucosal IgA-specific immune response was induced in mice after oral administration of the live Blg41-60::Nuc-producing L. lactis strain.     

乳酸乳球菌作为黏膜免疫活载体疫苗传递抗原的研究进展

乳酸菌是人和动物肠道内的常见细菌,被公认为安全级(generally recognized as safe,GRAS)微生物。近年来,对于乳酸菌作为宿主菌表达外源蛋白或抗原的研究取得了一定进展。乳酸乳球菌(Lactococcus lactis)是乳酸菌的代表菌种,以其生长迅速、易于操作等优点成为表达外源抗原,作为黏膜免疫活载体疫苗的理想菌株。随着对乳酸乳球菌基因工程的研究逐渐深入,已发展了一系列组成型和诱导型乳酸乳球菌表达系统以及蛋白定位系统。破伤风毒素片段C、布氏杆菌L7/L12蛋白等多种病原微生物抗原已成功在乳酸乳球菌中表达,并已证明部分重组乳酸乳球菌作为黏膜免疫疫苗可以同时刺激局部黏膜免疫应答和系统免疫应答。目前,如何使活载体乳酸乳球菌以最佳方式向黏膜免疫系统提呈抗原继而诱导有效免疫反应是该领域的研究热点,也是巨大挑战。实现外源抗原在乳酸乳球菌中的准确定位及与细胞因子的共表达是未来研究的重要方向之一。乳酸乳球菌作为黏膜免疫活载体疫苗传递外源抗原具有广阔的应用前景。     

Fusion to a carrier protein and a synthetic propeptide enhances E7 HPV-16 production and secretion in Lactococcus lactis

An inducible system to improve and stabilize the production of an extremely labile protein (E7 antigen of human papillomavirus type 16) was developed in the food-grade bacterium Lactococcus lactis. A protein carrier, the staphylococcal nuclease Nuc, was fused either to N- or C-termini of E7 protein, and the resulting hybrid proteins were rescued from intracellular proteolysis but poorly secreted by L. lactis. A synthetic propeptide (LEISSTCDA) was then fused and significantly improved the secretion efficiency of the hybrid protein Nuc-E7 by L. lactis.     

Identification and nucleotide sequence of Brucella melitensis L7/L12 ribosomal protein

Abstract DNA sequencing of the gene encoding a Brucella melitensis 12-kDa protein revealed that this protein was the ribosomal protein L7/L12. The B. melitensis L7/L12 DNA sequence was identical to that of the corresponding B. abortus gene, showing the near identity of these two organisms. When comparing the sequence of this protein to that of other organisms some domains were highly conserved, especially the C-terminus, which contrasted with the lack of conservation of the sequences at the N-terminus. The finding that the ribosomal protein L7/L12 of Brucella is an immunodominant antigen provides a new rationale to explain the activity of ribosomal vaccines.     

Lipoproteins, not lipopolysaccharide, are the key mediators of the proinflammatory response elicited by heat-killed Brucella abortus

Inflammation is a hallmark of brucellosis. Although Brucella abortus, one of the disease's etiologic agents, possesses cytokine-stimulatory properties, the mechanism by which this bacterium triggers a proinflammatory response is not known. We examined the mechanism whereby heat-killed B. abortus (HKBA), as well as its LPS, induces production of inflammatory cytokines in monocytes/macrophages. Polymyxin B, a specific inhibitor of LPS activity, did not inhibit the production of TNF-alpha- and IL-6-induced HKBA in the human monocytic cell line THP-1. HKBA induced the production of these cytokines in peritoneal macrophages of both C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice, whereas B. abortus LPS only stimulated cells from C3H/HeN mice. Anti-TLR2 Ab, but not anti-TLR4 Ab, blocked HKBA-mediated TNF-alpha and IL-6 production in THP-1 cells. Because bacterial lipoproteins, a TLR2 ligand, have potent inherent stimulatory properties, we investigated the capacity of two B. abortus lipoproteins, outer membrane protein 19 (Omp19) and Omp16, to elicit a proinflammatory response. Lipidated (L)-Omp16 and L-Omp19, but not their unlipidated forms, induced the secretion of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Preincubation of THP-1 cells with anti-TLR2 Ab blocked L-Omp19-mediated TNF-alpha and IL-6 production. Together, these results entail a mechanism whereby B. abortus can stimulate cells from the innate immune system and induce cytokine-mediated inflammation in brucellosis. We submit that LPS is not the cause of inflammation in brucellosis; rather, lipoproteins of this organism trigger the production of proinflammatory cytokines, and TLR2 is involved in this process.     

Food-grade gene expression in lactic acid bacteria

In the 1990s, significant efforts were invested in the research and development of food-grade expression systems in lactic acid bacteria (LAB). At this time, Lactococcus lactis in particular was demonstrated to be an ideal cell factory for the food-grade production of recombinant proteins. Steady progress has since been made in research on LAB, including Lactococcus, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus, in the areas of recombinant enzyme production, industrial food fermentation, and gene and metabolic pathway regulation. Over the past decade, this work has also led to new approaches on chromosomal integration vectors and host/vector systems. These newly constructed food-grade gene expression systems were designed with specific attention to self-cloning strategies, food-grade selection markers, plasmid replication and chromosomal gene replacements. In this review, we discuss some well-characterized chromosomal integration and food-grade host/vector systems used in LAB, with a special focus on sustainability, stability and overall safety, and give some attractive examples of protein expression that are based on these systems.     

Engineering metabolic highways in Lactococci and other lactic acid bacteria

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used in industrial food fermentations and are receiving increased attention for use as cell factories for the production of food and pharmaceutical products. Glycolytic conversion of sugars into lactic acid is the main metabolic highway in these Gram-positive bacteria and Lactococcus lactis has become the model organism because of its small genome, genetic accessibility and simple metabolism. Here we discuss the metabolic engineering of L. lactis and the value of metabolic models compared with other LAB, with a particular focus on the food-grade production of metabolites involved in flavour, texture and health.     

食品级分泌表达载体的构建及报告蛋白在乳酸乳球菌中的表达

为构建乳酸乳球菌食品级分泌表达载体,通过PCR扩增质粒pMG36e的p32启动子片段及乳酸乳球菌MG1363未知分泌蛋白(Usp45)基因的核糖体结合位点、分泌信号肽和成熟肽前11个氨基酸的编码序列(SPusp45),克隆到食品级载体pSH91中,构建食品级分泌性表达载体pSQ;克隆报告基因金黄色葡萄球菌核酸酶(NucA)成熟肽的编码序列nucA到pSQ中分泌信号后,转化乳酸乳球菌MBP71,构建了乳酸乳球菌食品级分泌性表达系统L lactis/pSQ-nucA;通过TB-D法和酶谱法检测L lactis/pSQ-nucA的表达形式、表达量并与以前构建的L lactis/pSQZ-nucA系统表达能力进行比较,结果发现L lactis/pSQ-nucA能够分泌性表达NucA,分泌性表达的NucA量大约是胞内NucA的10倍;L lactis/pSQ-nucA的表达量高于lactis/pSQZ-nucA.为进一步目的蛋白的的分泌性表达及食品级疫苗的研制奠定了基础.     

A combined DNA vaccine encoding BCSP31, SOD, and L7/L12 confers high protection against Brucella abortus 2308 by inducing specific CTL responses

We constructed a combined DNA vaccine comprising genes encoding the antigens BCSP31, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and L7/L12 and evaluated its immunogenicity and protective efficacy. Immunization of mice with the combined DNA vaccine offered high protection against Brucella abortus (B. abortus) infection. The vaccine induced a vigorous specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) response, with higher IgG2a than IgG1 titers. Cytokine profiling performed at the same time showed a biased Th1-type immune response with significantly increased interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha stimulation. CD8(+), but not CD4(+), T cells accumulated at significantly higher levels after administration of the vaccine. Granzyme B-producing CD8(+) T cells were significantly higher in number in samples prepared from combined DNA-vaccinated mice compared with S19-vaccinated mice, demonstrating that the cytotoxicity lysis pathway is involved in the response to Brucella infection. The success of our combined DNA vaccine in a mouse model suggests its potential efficacy against brucellosis infection in large animals.     

乳酸菌食品级nisin控制的基因表达系统NICE

乳酸菌安全应用于人们的生产和生活已有上千年的历史,是一种食品级的微生物。在过去二十年里,其生理及遗传学特性已被彻底研究。由于其遗传可行且操作简单,乳酸菌除了其传统应用外已被广泛用于表达异源基因,在食品、农业及医药工程领域具有重要的应用前景。人们已开发了一系列乳酸菌食品级基因表达系统。本文主要介绍了乳酸菌,重点是其模式菌Lactococcus lactis最常见的食品级诱导表达系统--nisin控制的基因表达系统NIC E及其食品级诱导物nisin、食品级的宿主及表达载体系统,以及NICE系统在表达异源基因方面的应用。     

人胰岛素基因在乳酸菌中的表达及其对非肥胖糖尿病(NOD)小鼠的作用

为实现人胰岛素基因在乳酸菌中的表达及探索其用作口服疫苗治疗Ⅰ型糖尿病(T1DM)的可行性,首先将人胰岛素基因密码子替换为乳酸菌偏爱密码子,同时在A,B链序列间加入连接短肽序列,经引物退火拼接合成人胰岛素基因。克隆至乳酸菌表达载体中后,利用电击转化法实现了带信号肽SPUsp45的人胰岛素基因在乳酸乳球菌(Lactococcus lactis)MG1363和干酪乳杆菌(Lactobacillus casei)ATCC27092中的表达。Western blot检测显示重组胰岛素位于细胞壁上,当菌体生长到OD600为0.4时达到最大表达量。用含有表达重组人胰岛素的Lactobacillus caseiATCC27092/pSW501菌体饲喂非肥胖糖尿病(NOD)小鼠,发现可刺激小鼠产生特异性抗体,同时使与免疫耐受相关的细胞因子IL-4水平明显升高(38.583±2.083pg/mL,P<0.05),提示其对NOD小鼠产生免疫耐受有一定的作用,为研制乳酸菌口服疫苗防治T1DM的可行性进行了有益的探索。     

Rotavirus vp7 antigen produced by Lactococcus lactis induces neutralizing antibodies in mice

AIMS: To determine if live recombinant Lactococcus lactis strains expressing rotavirus VP7 antigen are immunogenic in mice. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the food-grade lactic acid bacterium L. lactis as a carrier, we expressed VP7, the major rotavirus outer shell protein and one of the main components of the infective particle, as a cytoplasmic, secreted or cell wall anchored forms. Our results showed that recombinant L. lactis strains secreting VP7 proved to be more immunogenic than strains containing the antigen in the cytoplasm or anchored to the cell wall. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first demonstration that recombinant L. lactis producing VP7 can induce the production of a neutralizing antibody response against rotavirus by the intragastric route. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Rotaviruses are the single most important aetiological agents of severe diarrhoea of infants and young children worldwide and have been estimated to be responsible for 650 000-800 000 deaths per year of children younger than 5 years old in development countries. Thus, the development of a safe and effective vaccine has been a global public health goal. Although two of five mice orally inoculated with L. lactis strains secreting VP7 elicited a specific-antibody response, these strains could be very useful to be used as a prototype to develop a new generation of protective rotavirus vaccines.     

Heterologous leaky production of transglutaminase in Lactococcus lactis significantly enhances the growth performance of the host

This study describes a novel strategy to improve the growth performance of Lactococcus lactis by heterologous production of food-grade transglutaminase. The mtg gene from Streptoverticillium mobaraense that encodes the transglutaminase mature protein was cloned into a nisin-inducible expression vector and transformed into L. lactis subsp. cremoris NZ9000. The leaky expression of the mtg gene from the nisA promoter resulted in ammonia formation and carbon flux redistribution at the pyruvate branch. As a consequence, medium acidification was lessened and energy utilization was improved. This led to significantly higher biomass production under aerobic conditions and particularly under non-pH-controlled conditions (up to a 12-fold increase). The results presented here provide a novel way to enhance the growth yield of L. lactis, which is an important step for the purposes of producing proteins of commercial interest using L. lactis as a host.     

Controlled production of stable heterologous proteins in Lactococcus lactis

The use of Lactococcus lactis (the most extensively characterized lactic acid bacterium) as a delivery organism for heterologous proteins is, in some cases, limited by low production levels and poor-quality products due to surface proteolysis. In this study, we combined in one L. lactis strain use of the nisin-inducible promoter P(nisA) and inactivation of the extracellular housekeeping protease HtrA. The ability of the mutant strain, designated htrA-NZ9000, to produce high levels of stable proteins was confirmed by using the staphylococcal nuclease (Nuc) and the following four heterologous proteins fused or not fused to Nuc that were initially unstable in wild-type L. lactis strains: (i) Staphylococcus hyicus lipase, (ii) the bovine rotavirus antigen nonstructural protein 4, (iii) human papillomavirus antigen E7, and (iv) Brucella abortus antigen L7/L12. In all cases, protein degradation was significantly lower in strain htrA-NZ9000, demonstrating the usefulness of this strain for stable heterologous protein production.     

Mice immunization with live lactococci displaying a surface anchored HPV-16 E7 oncoprotein

E7 oncoprotein of human papillomavirus-16 (HPV-16) is constitutively produced in cervical cancer (CxCa) and is a good candidate for the design of therapeutic vaccines. In this work, the nisin-controlled expression system was used to display the E7 protein at the cell surface of the food-grade Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis. An efficient cell wall anchoring of E7 was obtained. Intranasal administration of these recombinant lactococci in mice induced an HPV-16 E7-specific immune response. This is the first report of E7 cell wall anchoring in L. lactis and represents one more step towards the use of live food-grade bacteria to fight against CxCa.