Protective anti-outer membrane protein immunity against Pasteurella pneumotropica infection of mice

Low-Energy Electron Irradiation Efficiently Inactivates the Gram-Negative Pathogen Rodentibacter pneumotropicus-A New Method for the Generation of Bacterial Vaccines with Increased Efficacy

Bacterial pathogens cause severe infections worldwide in livestock and in humans, and antibiotic resistance further increases the importance of prophylactic vaccines. Inactivated bacterial vaccines (bacterins) are usually produced via incubation of the pathogen with chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is time consuming and may cause loss of immunogenicity due to the modification of structural components. We evaluated low-energy electron irradiation (LEEI) as an alternative method to generate a bacterin. Rodentibacter pneumotropicus, an invasive Gram-negative murine pathogen, was inactivated with LEEI and formaldehyde. LEEI resulted in high antigen conservation, and LPS activity was significantly better maintained when compared with formaldehyde treatment. Immunization of mice with LEEI-inactivated R. pneumotropicus elicited a strong immune response with no detectable bacterial burden upon sublethal challenge. The results of this study suggest the inactivation of bacteria with LEEI as an alternative, fast and efficient method to generate bacterial vaccines with increased efficacy.

Sensitive and immunogen-specific serological detection of Rodentibacter pneumotropicus infections in mice

Background

Rodentibacter (R.) pneumotropicus colonizes the respiratory and urogenital tracts of laboratory mice with a reported moderate serological prevalence from 4 to 13%. Thus, regular tests to identify this pathogen in mice are recommended for animal facilities. However, a recent study indicated that current serological assays are partly insensitive, as C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice infected with R. pneumotropicus were incorrectly screened as seronegative.

Results

Here, we report a systematic analysis of protein and lipopolysaccharides antigens by immunoblot and ELISA that allowed establishing a sensitive test system able to differentiate between R. pneumotropicus and the closely related species R. heylii. Furthermore, the main immunogen, designated as ‘characteristic antigen for Rodentibacter of laboratory origin 1’ (CARLO-1), was identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblot and tandem mass spectrometry in a preparation of outer membrane proteins. An indirect ELISA relying on the recombinantly expressed protein provided high sensitivity, specificity, and selectivity. The corresponding carlo1 gene was highly conserved (> 97%) among 21 isolates of R. pneumotropicus and R. heylii.

Conclusion

The newly identified protein CARLO-1 is well suited for the sensitive and specific serological detection of Rodentibacter infections in mice. Indirect differentiation of R. pneumotropicus and R. heylii infections may be possible using an ELISA based on a whole-cell antigen preparation. All four established ELISA systems using a whole-cell preparation, lipopolysaccharides, outer-membrane proteins and protein CARLO-1 as antigen, respectively, outperformed a commercial ELISA in terms of sensitivity.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-019-1417-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparative analysis of humoral immune responses and pathologies of BALB/c and C57BL/6 wildtype mice experimentally infected with a highly virulent Rodentibacter pneumotropicus (Pasteurella pneumotropica) strain

BACKGROUND

Mice are a natural host for Rodentibacter (R.) pneumotropicus. Despite specific monitoring, it is still one of the most important infectious agents in laboratory animals. The objective of this study was to determine the virulence of a prevalent pathotype of R. pneumotropicus and characterize the host response in a new animal model.

RESULTS

Intranasal infection of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice with a R. pneumotropicus strain (JF4Ni) bearing the genes of the three known repeats in toxin (RTX) toxins resulted in an unprecedented high mortality and morbidity above 50 and 80%, respectively. Morbidity was associated with severe weight loss as well as conjunctivitis and dyspnea. A main pathology was a catarrhal purulent to necrotic bronchopneumonia. Specific immune globuline (Ig) A was detected in tracheonasal lavages of most surviving mice which were still colonized by R. pneumotropicus. Furthermore, all surviving animals showed a distinct production of IgG antibodies. To differentiate T-helper cell (Th) 1 and Th2 immune responses we used subclasses of IgGs as indicators. Mean ratios of IgG2b to IgG1 were below 0.8 in sera drawn from both mice strains prior infection and from BALB/c mice post infection. In contrast, C57BL/6 mice had a mean IgG2b/IgG1 ratio of 1.6 post infection indicating a Th1 immune response in C57BL/6 versus a Th2 response in BALB/c mice associated with a tenfold higher bacterial load in the lung. In accordance with a Th1 response high antigen-specific IgG2c titers were detected in the majority of surviving C57BL/6 mice.

CONCLUSIONS

R. pneumotropicus JF4Ni is a highly virulent strain causing severe pneumonia and septicemia after intranasal infection of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. Persisting infections in the two mice strains are associated with Th1 and Th2 immune responses, respectively, and differences in the bacterial burden of the lung. The described model is ideally suited for future vaccination studies using the natural host.

Characterization of Biofilm Formation in [Pasteurella] pneumotropica and [Actinobacillus] muris Isolates of Mouse Origin

[Pasteurella] pneumotropica biotypes Jawetz and Heyl and [Actinobacillus] muris are the most prevalent Pasteurellaceae species isolated from laboratory mouse. However, mechanisms contributing to their high prevalence such as the ability to form biofilms have not been studied yet. In the present investigation we analyze if these bacterial species can produce biofilms in vitro and investigate whether proteins, extracellular DNA and polysaccharides are involved in the biofilm formation and structure by inhibition and dispersal assays using proteinase K, DNase I and sodium periodate. Finally, the capacity of the biofilms to confer resistance to antibiotics is examined. We demonstrate that both [P.] pneumotropica biotypes but not [A.] muris are able to form robust biofilms in vitro, a phenotype which is widely spread among the field isolates. The biofilm inhibition and dispersal assays by proteinase and DNase lead to a strong inhibition in biofilm formation when added at the initiation of the biofilm formation and dispersed pre-formed [P.] pneumotropica biofilms, revealing thus that proteins and extracellular DNA are essential in biofilm formation and structure. Sodium periodate inhibited the bacterial growth when added at the beginning of the biofilm formation assay, making difficult the assessment of the role of β-1,6-linked polysaccharides in the biofilm formation, and had a biofilm stimulating effect when added on pre-established mature biofilms of [P.] pneumotropica biotype Heyl and a majority of [P.] pneumotropica biotype Jawetz strains, suggesting that the presence of β-1,6-linked polysaccharides on the bacterial surface might attenuate the biofilm production. Conversely, no effect or a decrease in the biofilm quantity was observed by biofilm dispersal using sodium periodate on further biotype Jawetz isolates, suggesting that polysaccharides might be incorporated in the biofilm structure. We additionally show that [P.] pneumotropica cells enclosed in biofilms were less sensitive to treatment with amoxicillin and enrofloxacin than planktonic bacteria. Taken together, these findings provide a first step in understanding of the biofilm mechanisms in [P.] pneumotropica, which might contribute to elucidation of colonization and pathogenesis mechanisms for these obligate inhabitants of the mouse mucosa.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Rodent Opportunistic Pathogen Pasteurella pneumotropica ATCC 35149T

Pasteurella pneumotropica is an opportunistic pathogen in rodents that is commonly isolated from upper respiratory tracts in laboratory rodents. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the P. pneumotropica type strain ATCC 35149, which was first isolated and characterized as biotype Jawetz.