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Simo FBN, Burt FJ, Makoah NA. Chikungunya Virus Diagnosis: A Review of Current Antigen Detection Methods. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:365. [PMID: 37505661 PMCID: PMC10383795 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8070365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). CHIKV is expanding at an alarming rate, potentially spreading and establishing endemicity in new areas where competent vectors are present. The dramatic spread of CHIKV in recent years highlights the urgent need to take precautionary measures and investigate options for control. It is crucial in developing nations where diagnostic tools are limited, and symptoms are similar to other prevalent diseases such as malaria and dengue. The most reliable method for diagnosing chikungunya virus is viral gene detection by RT-PCR. Alternative methods like detecting human antibody and viral antigen can also be used, especially in areas where resources are limited. In this review, we summarize the limited data on antigen detection immunoassays. We further explain the essential structural elements of the virus to help comprehend the scientific concepts underlying the testing methods, as well as future methods and diagnostic approaches under investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredy Brice Nemg Simo
- Division of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of The Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, Free State, South Africa
| | - Felicity Jane Burt
- Division of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of The Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, Free State, South Africa
- Division of Virology, National Health Laboratory Service, Bloemfontein 9301, Free State, South Africa
| | - Nigel Aminake Makoah
- Division of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of The Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, Free State, South Africa
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A Chikungunya Virus Multiepitope Recombinant Protein Expressed from the Binary System Insect Cell/Recombinant Baculovirus Is Useful for Laboratorial Diagnosis of Chikungunya. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10071451. [PMID: 35889170 PMCID: PMC9316945 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10071451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus currently distributed worldwide, causing a disease that shares clinical signs and symptoms with other illnesses, such as dengue and Zika and leading to a challenging clinical differential diagnosis. In Brazil, CHIKV emerged in 2014 with the simultaneous introduction of both Asian and East/Central/South African (ECSA) genotypes. Laboratorial diagnosis of CHIKV is mainly performed by molecular and serological assays, with the latter more widely used. Although many commercial kits are available, their costs are still high for many underdeveloped and developing countries where the virus circulates. Here we described the development and evaluation of a multi-epitope recombinant protein-based IgG-ELISA (MULTREC IgG-ELISA) test for the specific detection of anti-CHIKV antibodies in clinical samples, as an alternative approach for laboratorial diagnosis. The MULTREC IgG-ELISA showed 86.36% of sensitivity and 100% of specificity, and no cross-reactivity with other exanthematic diseases was observed. The recombinant protein was expressed from the binary system insect cell/baculovirus using the crystal-forming baculoviral protein polyhedrin as a carrier of the target recombinant protein to facilitate recovery. The crystals were at least 10 times smaller in size and had an amorphous shape when compared to the polyhedrin wild-type crystal. The assay uses a multi-epitope antigen, representing two replicates of 18 amino acid sequences from the E2 region and a sequence of 17 amino acids from the nsP3 region of CHIKV. The recombinant protein was highly expressed, easy to purify and has demonstrated its usefulness in confirming chikungunya exposure, indeed showing a good potential tool for epidemiological surveillance.
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Shukla M, Chandley P, Tapryal S, Kumar N, Mukherjee SP, Rohatgi S. Expression, Purification, and Refolding of Chikungunya Virus Full-Length Envelope E2 Protein along with B-Cell and T-Cell Epitope Analyses Using Immuno-Informatics Approaches. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:3491-3513. [PMID: 35128258 PMCID: PMC8811930 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c05975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus, which causes severe illness in humans and is responsible for epidemic outbreaks in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe. Despite its increased global prevalence, no licensed vaccines are available to date for treating or preventing CHIKV infection. The envelope E2 protein is one of the promising subunit vaccine candidates against CHIKV. In this study, we describe successful cloning, expression, and purification of CHIKV E2 full-length (E2-FL) and truncated (E2-ΔC and E2-ΔNC) proteins in the Escherichia coli expression system. The recombinant E2 proteins were purified from inclusion bodies using Ni-NTA chromatography. Further, we describe a detailed refolding procedure for obtaining the CHIKV E2-FL protein in native conformation, which was confirmed using circular dichroism and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. BALB/c mice immunized with the three different E2 proteins exhibited increased E2-specific antibody titers compared to sham-immunized controls, suggesting induction of strong humoral immune response. On analyzing the E2-specific antibody response generated in immunized mice, the CHIKV E2-FL protein was observed to be the most immunogenic among the three different CHIKV E2 antigens used in the study. Our B-cell and T-cell epitope mapping results indicate that the presence of specific immunogenic peptides located in the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of the CHIKV E2-FL protein may contribute to its increased immunogenicity, compared to truncated CHIKV E2 proteins. In summary, our study provides a detailed protocol for expressing, purifying, and refolding of the CHIKV E2-FL protein and provides an understanding of its immunogenic epitopes, which can be exploited for the development of novel multiepitope-based anti-CHIKV vaccine strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manisha Shukla
- Department
of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Pankaj Chandley
- Department
of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Suman Tapryal
- Department
of Biotechnology, Central University of
Rajasthan, Bandersindri,
Kishangarh, Ajmer 305817, Rajasthan, India
| | - Narendra Kumar
- Jaypee
University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Solan 173234, India
| | - Sulakshana P. Mukherjee
- Department
of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Soma Rohatgi
- Department
of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
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Targovnik AM, Simonin JA, Mc Callum GJ, Smith I, Cuccovia Warlet FU, Nugnes MV, Miranda MV, Belaich MN. Solutions against emerging infectious and noninfectious human diseases through the application of baculovirus technologies. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:8195-8226. [PMID: 34618205 PMCID: PMC8495437 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11615-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Baculoviruses are insect pathogens widely used as biotechnological tools in different fields of life sciences and technologies. The particular biology of these entities (biosafety viruses 1; large circular double-stranded DNA genomes, infective per se; generally of narrow host range on insect larvae; many of the latter being pests in agriculture) and the availability of molecular-biology procedures (e.g., genetic engineering to edit their genomes) and cellular resources (availability of cell lines that grow under in vitro culture conditions) have enabled the application of baculoviruses as active ingredients in pest control, as systems for the expression of recombinant proteins (Baculovirus Expression Vector Systems—BEVS) and as viral vectors for gene delivery in mammals or to display antigenic proteins (Baculoviruses applied on mammals—BacMam). Accordingly, BEVS and BacMam technologies have been introduced in academia because of their availability as commercial systems and ease of use and have also reached the human pharmaceutical industry, as incomparable tools in the development of biological products such as diagnostic kits, vaccines, protein therapies, and—though still in the conceptual stage involving animal models—gene therapies. Among all the baculovirus species, the Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus has been the most highly exploited in the above utilities for the human-biotechnology field. This review highlights the main achievements (in their different stages of development) of the use of BEVS and BacMam technologies for the generation of products for infectious and noninfectious human diseases. Key points • Baculoviruses can assist as biotechnological tools in human health problems. • Vaccines and diagnosis reagents produced in the baculovirus platform are described. • The use of recombinant baculovirus for gene therapy–based treatment is reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Marisa Targovnik
- Cátedra de Biotecnología, Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología, Biotecnología y Genética, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Buenos Aires, 1113, Argentina.
- Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, CONICET -Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Sexto Piso, C1113AAD, 1113, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Jorge Alejandro Simonin
- Laboratorio de Ingeniería Genética y Biología Celular y Molecular, Área Virosis de Insectos, Instituto de Microbiología Básica y Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gregorio Juan Mc Callum
- Cátedra de Biotecnología, Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología, Biotecnología y Genética, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Buenos Aires, 1113, Argentina
- Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, CONICET -Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Sexto Piso, C1113AAD, 1113, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ignacio Smith
- Cátedra de Biotecnología, Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología, Biotecnología y Genética, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Buenos Aires, 1113, Argentina
- Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, CONICET -Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Sexto Piso, C1113AAD, 1113, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Franco Uriel Cuccovia Warlet
- Laboratorio de Ingeniería Genética y Biología Celular y Molecular, Área Virosis de Insectos, Instituto de Microbiología Básica y Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Victoria Nugnes
- Laboratorio de Ingeniería Genética y Biología Celular y Molecular, Área Virosis de Insectos, Instituto de Microbiología Básica y Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Victoria Miranda
- Cátedra de Biotecnología, Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología, Biotecnología y Genética, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Buenos Aires, 1113, Argentina
- Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, CONICET -Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, Sexto Piso, C1113AAD, 1113, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mariano Nicolás Belaich
- Laboratorio de Ingeniería Genética y Biología Celular y Molecular, Área Virosis de Insectos, Instituto de Microbiología Básica y Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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The neutralizing role of IgM during early Chikungunya virus infection. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0171989. [PMID: 28182795 PMCID: PMC5300252 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The antibody isotype IgM appears earlier than IgG, within days of onset of symptoms, and is important during the early stages of the adaptive immune response. Little is known about the functional role of IgM during infection with chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a recently reemerging arbovirus that has caused large global outbreaks. In this study, we studied antibody responses in 102 serum samples collected during CHIKV outbreaks in Malaysia. We described the neutralizing role of IgM at different times post-infection and examined the independent contributions of IgM and IgG towards the neutralizing capacity of human immune sera during the early phase of infection, including the differences in targets of neutralizing epitopes. Neutralizing IgM starts to appear as early as day 4 of symptoms, and their appearance from day 6 is associated with a reduction in viremia. IgM acts in a complementary manner with the early IgG, but plays the main neutralizing role up to a point between days 4 and 10 which varies between individuals. After this point, total neutralizing capacity is attributable almost entirely to the robust neutralizing IgG response. IgM preferentially binds and targets epitopes on the CHIKV surface E1-E2 glycoproteins, rather than individual E1 or E2. These findings provide insight into the early antibody responses to CHIKV, and have implications for design of diagnostic serological assays.
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Chua CL, Sam IC, Merits A, Chan YF. Antigenic Variation of East/Central/South African and Asian Chikungunya Virus Genotypes in Neutralization by Immune Sera. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004960. [PMID: 27571254 PMCID: PMC5003353 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne virus which causes epidemics of fever, severe joint pain and rash. Between 2005 and 2010, the East/Central/South African (ECSA) genotype was responsible for global explosive outbreaks across India, the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. From late 2013, Asian genotype CHIKV has caused outbreaks in the Americas. The characteristics of cross-antibody efficacy and epitopes are poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings We characterized human immune sera collected during two independent outbreaks in Malaysia of the Asian genotype in 2006 and the ECSA genotype in 2008–2010. Neutralizing capacity was analyzed against representative clinical isolates as well as viruses rescued from infectious clones of ECSA and Asian CHIKV. Using whole virus antigen and recombinant E1 and E2 envelope glycoproteins, we further investigated antibody binding sites, epitopes, and antibody titers. Both ECSA and Asian sera demonstrated stronger neutralizing capacity against the ECSA genotype, which corresponded to strong epitope-antibody interaction. ECSA serum targeted conformational epitope sites in the E1-E2 glycoprotein, and E1-E211K, E2-I2T, E2-H5N, E2-G118S and E2-S194G are key amino acids that enhance cross-neutralizing efficacy. As for Asian serum, the antibodies targeting E2 glycoprotein correlated with neutralizing efficacy, and I2T, H5N, G118S and S194G altered and improved the neutralization profile. Rabbit polyclonal antibody against the N-terminal linear neutralizing epitope from the ECSA sequence has reduced binding capacity and neutralization efficacy against Asian CHIKV. These findings imply that the choice of vaccine strain may impact cross-protection against different genotypes. Conclusion/Significance Immune serum from humans infected with CHIKV of either ECSA or Asian genotypes showed differences in binding and neutralization characteristics. These findings have implications for the continued outbreaks of co-circulating CHIKV genotypes and effective design of vaccines and diagnostic serological assays. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has caused large epidemics of fever, rash, and joint pain around the world in recent years. Three different CHIKV genotypes exist. Infection with one genotype is likely to lead to immune protection (or cross-protection) against future infections with a different genotype. However, little is known about the nature of this cross-protection. In this study, we used serum from Malaysian patients infected with CHIKV of either Asian or East/Central/South African (ECSA) genotypes. We compared the ability of the serum antibodies to bind to and neutralize two different viruses, from either Asian or ECSA genotypes. We found that both Asian and ECSA serum were more effective in binding and neutralizing ECSA virus. We identified the key amino acids/epitopes within the E1-E2 surface glycoprotein, and showed that variation of these impacts the efficacy of antiserum in cross-neutralizing different genotypes of CHIKV. We showed how sequence variation of a known linear neutralizing epitope could alter the cross-neutralization efficacy. This study aids understanding of the importance of different circulating genotypes within a country and has implications for the design of vaccines and diagnostic antibody tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong-Long Chua
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - I-Ching Sam
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- * E-mail: (ICS); (YFC)
| | - Andres Merits
- Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Yoke-Fun Chan
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- * E-mail: (ICS); (YFC)
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