Transient expression of an scFvG8 antibody in plants and characterization of its effects on the virulence factor pthA of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri

Transient expression of anti-HrpE scFv antibody reduces the hypersensitive response in non-host plant against bacterial phytopathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri

Citrus canker is a bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) that affects the citrus industry worldwide. Hrp pili subunits (HrpE), an essential component of Type III secretion system (T3SS) bacteria, play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Xcc by transporting effector proteins into the host cell and causing canker symptoms. Therefore, development of antibodies that block HrpE can suppress disease progression. In this study, a specific scFv detecting HrpE was developed using phage display technique and characterized using sequencing, ELISA, Western blotting, and molecular docking. In addition, a plant expression vector of pCAMBIA-scFvH6 was constructed and agroinfiltrated into Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samson leaves. The hypersensitive response (HR) in the leaves of transformed and non-transformed plants was evaluated by inoculating leaves with Xcc. After three rounds of biopanning of the phage library, a specific human scFv antibody, named scFvH6, was identified that showed high binding activity against HrpE in ELISA and Western blotting. Molecular docking results showed that five intermolecular hydrogen bonds are involved in HrpE-scFvH6 interaction, confirming the specificity and high binding activity of scFvH6. Successful transient expression of pCAMBIA-scFvH6 in tobacco leaves was verified using immunoassay tests. The binding activity of plant-produced scFvH6 to detect HrpE in Western blotting and ELISA was similar to that of bacterial-produced scFvH6 antibody. Interestingly, tobacco plants expressing scFvH6 showed a remarkable reduction in HR induced by Xcc compared with control plants, so that incidence of necrotic lesions was significantly higher in non-transformed controls (≥ 1.5 lesions/cm2) than in the plants producing scFvH6 (≤ 0.5 lesions/cm2) after infiltration with Xcc inoculum. Our results revealed that the expression of scFvH6 in tobacco leaves can confer resistance to Xcc, indicating that this approach could be considered to provide resistance to citrus bacterial canker disease.

Generation of broad-spectrum recombinant antibody and construction of colorimetric immunoassay for tropane alkaloids: Recognition mechanism and application

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) have emerged as plant toxins, related to poisoning events. The development of stable antibodies is crucial to ensure the effectiveness of immunological methods in quickly and accurately monitoring these alkaloids. In this study, based on hybridoma, the variable region gene of monoclonal antibody (mAb) was amplified, and the recombinant antibody (rAb) gene sequence (VH-Linker-VL) was successfully constructed and expressed in HEK293F. The obtained rAb has kept the same performance as mAb, and the IC50 of 29 TAs ranged from 0.12 to 2642.78 ng/mL. In the recognition mechanism, the docking and dynamics model identified hydrophobic interaction as the most critical force. Substituent will impact recognition by influencing the spatial structure and hydrophobic properties. Then, a colorimetric immunoassay based on rAb was established, five types of water and thirty-nine nectars of honey were tested. The results demonstrated the absence of TAs in environmental water, whereas atropine was detected in more than 13.47% of honey samples at concentrations exceeding 1 μg/kg. The results show a good correlation with UHPLC-MS/MS, suggesting that the immunoassay has excellent screening ability. The data on TAs in honey and water could serve as a foundation for developing relevant policies.

Application of recombinant antibodies for treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection: Current status and future perspective

Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), known as the major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, is regarded as one of the most common healthcare-associated bacterial infections worldwide. Due to the emergence of hypervirulent strains, development of new therapeutic methods for C. difficile infection (CDI) has become crucially important. In this context, antibodies have been introduced as valuable tools in the research and clinical environments, as far as the effectiveness of antibody therapy for CDI was reported in several clinical investigations. Hence, production of high-performance antibodies for treatment of CDI would be precious. Traditional approaches of antibody generation are based on hybridoma technology. Today, application of in vitro technologies for generating recombinant antibodies, like phage display, is considered as an appropriate alternative to hybridoma technology. These techniques can circumvent the limitations of the immune system and they can be exploited for production of antibodies against different types of biomolecules in particular active toxins. Additionally, DNA encoding antibodies is directly accessible in in vitro technologies, which enables the application of antibody engineering in order to increase their sensitivity and specificity. Here, we review the application of antibodies for CDI treatment with an emphasis on recombinant fragment antibodies. Also, this review highlights the current and future prospects of the aforementioned approaches for antibody-mediated therapy of CDI.