Induction of intestinal IgA and IgG antibodies preventing adhesion of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli to Caco-2 cells by oral immunization with liposomes

AIMS: To examine the efficacy of liposome oral administration to induce systemic and mucosal immune responses against verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) and the effect of the induced antibodies on the binding of the bacteria to Caco-2 cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mice were immunized orally with VTEC antigen and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL)-containing liposomes composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, dipalmitoylphosphatidylserine and cholesterol (1 : 1 : 2, molar ratio) (PS-liposome). After immunization, significant IgA and IgG responses to VTEC were induced in both serum and the intestinal lavage fluid in all mice tested. Furthermore, anti-VTEC IgA and IgG antibodies in the lavage fluid effectively inhibited the adhesion of VTEC to Caco-2 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Oral immunization with liposome-associated E. coli O157:H7 antigen can induce significant systemic and mucosal antibody responses against the bacterial antigen and antibodies produced in the intestinal tract, thus functioning as inhibitors for preventing VTEC infection. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Oral PS-liposome vaccines containing MPL have the potential usefulness for the induction of a protective mucosal immune response against intestinal diseases.     

The roles of mutation accumulation and selection in loss of sporulation in experimental populations of Bacillus subtilis

Phenotypic loss is an important evolutionary force in nature but the mechanism(s) responsible for loss remains unclear. We used both simulation and multiple-regression approaches to analyze data on the loss of sporulation, a complex bacterial developmental process, during experimental evolution of Bacillus subtilis. Neutral processes of mutational degradation alone were sufficient to explain loss-of-sporulation ability in four of five populations, while evidence that selection facilitated mutational loss was found for only one population. These results are discussed in the context of the evolution of sporulation in particular and phenotypic loss in general.     

Revealing the Sequence and Resulting Cellular Morphology of Receptor-Ligand Interactions during Plasmodium falciparum Invasion of Erythrocytes

During blood stage Plasmodium falciparum infection, merozoites invade uninfected erythrocytes via a complex, multistep process involving a series of distinct receptor-ligand binding events. Understanding each element in this process increases the potential to block the parasite’s life cycle via drugs or vaccines. To investigate specific receptor-ligand interactions, they were systematically blocked using a combination of genetic deletion, enzymatic receptor cleavage and inhibition of binding via antibodies, peptides and small molecules, and the resulting temporal changes in invasion and morphological effects on erythrocytes were filmed using live cell imaging. Analysis of the videos have shown receptor-ligand interactions occur in the following sequence with the following cellular morphologies; 1) an early heparin-blockable interaction which weakly deforms the erythrocyte, 2) EBA and PfRh ligands which strongly deform the erythrocyte, a process dependant on the merozoite’s actin-myosin motor, 3) a PfRh5-basigin binding step which results in a pore or opening between parasite and host through which it appears small molecules and possibly invasion components can flow and 4) an AMA1–RON2 interaction that mediates tight junction formation, which acts as an anchor point for internalization. In addition to enhancing general knowledge of apicomplexan biology, this work provides a rational basis to combine sequentially acting merozoite vaccine candidates in a single multi-receptor-blocking vaccine.     

基于基因组SNPs对东亚家马不同群体遗传多样性的评估

家马地方品种的遗传多样性是动态演变的, 并与其育种模式息息相关; 在过去约300年中, 育种者培育了具突出表型特征的标准化培育品种, 该类型品种对家马地方品种的繁育产生了巨大影响, 这是导致家马地方品种遗传多样性下降及遗传分化的主要因素之一。本研究采集了5个东亚家马地方品种(蒙古马、哈萨克马、河曲马、藏马和西南马)、2个西亚家马品种(阿拉伯马和阿哈尔捷金马)以及2个欧洲家马品种(设特兰矮马和克莱斯黛尔马)的70个样品, 并整合之前所发表的100匹内蒙古地区家马不同群体单核苷酸多态性(SNPs)数据集, 通过全基因组重测序和生物信息学方法分析了东亚家马不同群体的遗传多样性。研究发现东亚家马地方品种具有较丰富的遗传多样性, 相比欧洲和西亚品种产生了显著的遗传分化, 其中蒙古高原群体的遗传多样性最为丰富; 受杂交改良影响, 内蒙古不同群体间产生了一定程度的遗传分化; 河曲马和藏马的遗传背景最为单一, 受引种杂交繁育影响较小。本研究评估了东亚家马地方品种的遗传多样性分布格局和演化特征, 可为建立家马地方种质核心保护群体以及培育新品种提供遗传学理论支持。     

Residues E53, L55, H59, and G70 of the cellular receptor protein Tva mediate cell binding and entry of the novel subgroup K avian leukosis virus

Subgroup K avian leukosis virus (ALV-K) is a novel subgroup of ALV isolated from Chinese native chickens. As for a retrovirus, the interaction between its envelope protein and cellular receptor is a crucial step in ALV-K infection. Tva, a protein previously determined to be associated with vitamin B₁₂/cobalamin uptake, has been identified as the receptor of ALV-K. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between Tva and the envelope protein of ALV-K remains unclear. In this study, we identified the C-terminal loop of the LDL-A module of Tva as the minimal functional domain that directly interacts with gp85, the surface component of the ALV-K envelope protein. Further point-mutation analysis revealed that E53, L55, H59, and G70, which are exposed on the surface of Tva and are spatially adjacent, are key residues for the binding of Tva and gp85 and facilitate the entry of ALV-K. Homology modeling analysis indicated that the substitution of these four residues did not significantly impact the Tva structure but impaired the interaction between Tva and gp85 of ALV-K. Importantly, the gene-edited DF-1 cell line with precisely substituted E53, L55, H59, and G70 was completely resistant to ALV-K infection and did not affect vitamin B₁₂/cobalamin uptake. Collectively, these findings not only contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of ALV-K entry into host cells but also provide an ideal gene-editing target for antiviral study.     

Vegetative segregation of mitochondria in yeast: Estimating parameters using a random model

Summary Yeast zygotes which are heteroplasmic for mitochondrial genes reproduce vegetatively to form clones of diploid progeny which are homoplasmic. This vegetative segregation of mitochondrial genes has been interpreted in terms of a random distribution of mitochondria or mitochondrial genomes between mother and bud at cell division. We have developed equations which permit calculation of the number of segregating units in the zygote and the number of those units which enter the bud, assuming that segregation of the units is genetically random and numerically variable or equal. Use of the equations requires data from partial pedigree analyses: we isolate zygotes, separate the first bud, then determine the frequency of mitochondrial alleles among the progeny of mother cells whose first buds were homoplasmic. Application of this method to data from five crosses suggests that most zygotes have a small number of segregating units (usually less than a dozen) and only one or two enter the first bud. Analysis of the frequency of buds which are nearly but not quite homoplasmic indicates that the segregating units may be mitochondria or portions thereof which include many mitochondrial genomes, all the genomes in a unit being genetically identical in most but not all cases. These results are compatible with, but do not prove, the hypothesis of random vegetative segregation of mitochondria.