Production of biologically active chicken interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 synthesized by the recombinant fowlpox virus

Preparation of Chicken Anemia Virus (CAV) Virus-Like Particles and Chicken Interleukin-12 for Vaccine Development Using a Baculovirus Expression System

Chicken infectious anemia (CIA) is a poultry disease that causes huge economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. Commercially available CIA vaccines are derived from wild-type chicken anemia viruses (CAVs) by serial passage in cells or chicken embryos. However, these vaccinal viruses are not completely attenuated; therefore, they can be transmitted vertically and horizontally, and may induce clinical symptoms in young birds. In this study, we sought to eliminate these issues by developing a subunit vaccine exploiting the CAV structural proteins, engineering recombinant baculovirus-infected Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells that contained both the viral protein 1 (VP1) and VP2 of CAV. Moreover, we produced single-chain chicken interleukin-12 (chIL-12) in the same system, to serve as an adjuvant. The recombinant VP1 was recognized by chicken anti-CAV polyclonal antibodies in Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays, and the bioactivity of the recombinant chIL-12 was confirmed by stimulating interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secretion in chicken splenocytes. Furthermore, the ability of the recombinant VP1 to generate self-assembling virus-like particles (VLPs) was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens inoculated with VLPs and co-administered the recombinant chIL-12 induced high CAV-specific antibodies and cell-mediated immunity. Taken together, the VLPs produced by the baculovirus expression system have the potential to be a safe and effective CIA vaccine. Finally, we demonstrated the utility of recombinant chIL-12 as an adjuvant for poultry vaccine development.

Characterization of functionally active interleukin-18/eGFP fusion protein expression during cell cycle phases in recombinant chicken DF1 Cells

The dependence of foreign gene expression on cell cycle phases in mammalian cells has been described. In this study, a DF1/chIL-18a cell line that stably expresses the fusion protein chIL-18 was constructed and the enhanced green fluorescence protein connected through a (G4 S)3 linker sequence investigated the relationship between cell cycle phases and fusion protein production. DF1/chIL-18a cells (1 × 10(5) ) were inoculated in 60-mm culture dishes containing 5 mL of media to achieve 50%-60% confluence and were cultured in the presence of the cycle-specific inhibitors 10058-F4, aphidicolin, and colchicine for 24 and 48 h. The percentage of cell density and mean fluorescence intensity in each cell cycle phase were assessed using flow cytometry. The inhibitors effectively arrested cell growth. The fusion protein production rate was higher in the S phase than in the G0/G1 and G2/M phases. When cell cycle progression was blocked in the G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases by the addition of 10058-F4, aphidicolin, and colchicine, respectively, the aphidicolin-induced single cells showed higher fusion protein levels than did the 10058-F4- or colchicine-induced phase cells and the uninduced control cells. Although the cells did not proliferate after the drug additions, the amount of total fusion protein accumulated in aphidicolin-treated cells was similar to that in the untreated cultures. Fusion protein is biologically active because it induces IFN-γ production in splenocyte cultures of chicken. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:581-591, 2016.

Production and characterization of active recombinant interleukin-12/eGFP fusion protein in stably-transfected DF1 chicken cells

The adjuvant activity of chicken interleukin-12 (chIL-12) protein has been described as similar to that of mammalian IL-12. Recombinant chIL-12 can be produced using several methods, but chIL-12 production in eukaryotic cells is lower than that in prokaryotic cells. Stimulating compounds, such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), can be added to animal cell cultures to overcome this drawback. In this study, we constructed a cell line, DF1/chIL-12 which stably expressed a fusion protein, chIL-12 and enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) connected by a (G4 S)3 linker sequence. Fusion protein production was increased when cells were cultured in the presence of DMSO. When 1 × 10(6) DF1/chIL-12 cells were inoculated in a T-175 flask containing 30 mL of media, incubated for 15 h, and further cultivated in the presence of 4% DMSO for 48 h, the production of total fusion protein was mostly enhanced compared with the production of total fusion protein by using cell lysates induced with DMSO at other concentrations. The concentrations of the unpurified and purified total fusion proteins in cell lysates were 2,781 ± 2.72 ng mL(-1) and 2,207 ± 3.28 ng mL(-1) , respectively. The recovery rate was 79%. The fusion protein stimulated chicken splenocytes to produce IFN-γ, which was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, in the culture supernatant, indicating that treating DF1/chIL-12 cells with DMSO or producing chIL-12 in a fusion protein form does not have adverse effects on the bioactivity of chIL-12.

Cloning and characterization of a 7 transmembrane receptor from the adherent cells of chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells

A cDNA encoding a 7 transmembrane (7TM) receptor gene from the adherent cells of chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was cloned and characterized. The open reading frame of the chicken-7TM (Ch-7TM) receptor gene was 1008 nucleotides long, encoding a protein of 335 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of approximately 37.1 kDa. Hydrophobic stretches indicated the presence of 7 TM domains. Moreover, the complete nucleotide sequences encoding 7TM of duck (Du-7TM) and goose (Go-7TM), corresponding to the open reading frame of Ch-7TM, were determined. Each of the Du- and Go-7TM encoding regions comprised 990 nucleotides, representing an 18-nucleotide deletion in alignment with the Ch-7TM encoding region, resulting in a 6-amino-acid deletion at the 3'-end. No signal peptides were predicted. Six phosphorylation sites were predicted and conserved for all three 7TMs. The proteins of the three 7TMs were similar, with 11 conserved cysteine residues. No glycosylation sites could be predicted. The results of the pairwise comparisons indicated that the Ch-7TM encoding region and Ch-7TM protein were the least similar to those of Du- and Go-7TMs. These results were in accordance with those of the phylogenetic analysis, which indicated that the Du- and Go-7TM encoding regions clustered, but were separated from the Ch-7TM encoding region. Monoclonal antibody B28D5 was prepared from spleens of mice immunized with the bacterially expressed N-terminal (55 amino acid residues) region of the Ch-7TM protein for further use. Double staining with B28D5 and KUL01 suggested that Ch-7TM was expressed in subsets of the adherent cells, among which a subset that was recognized with both antibodies was likely of monocyte and macrophage lineage. However, the fluorescence intensities of B28D5 and, particularly, KUL01 decreased after the adherent cells were incubated for additional 48 h.

Adjuvant activity of chicken interleukin-12 co-administered with infectious bursal disease virus recombinant VP2 antigen in chickens

A recombinant fowlpox virus (rFPV/VP2) expressing infectious bursal diseases virus (IBDV) VP2 gene has been constructed. After purification and identification of rFPV/VP2, the adjuvant activity of the recombinant chicken IL-12 (rchIL-12), synthesized by our previous construct of rFPV/chIL-12, in rFPV/VP2-expressed rVP2 antigen was assessed in one-week-old specific-pathogen free chickens. The results indicated that rchIL-12 alone or rchIL-12 plus mineral oil (MO) co-administered with rVP2 antigen significantly enhanced the production of serum neutralization (SN) antibody against IBDV, compared to those with MO alone. The SN titers in groups receiving rVP2 antigen with MO alone were more inconsistent after vaccination. On the other hand, rchIL-12 significantly stimulated IFN-γ production in serum and in splenocyte cultured supernatant, suggesting that rchIL-12 alone or plus MO significantly induced a cell-mediated immune response. Finally, bursal lesion protection from very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) challenge in chickens receiving rVP2 antigen with rchIL-12 alone or plus MO was much more effective than that with MO alone at two weeks after boosting. Taken together, rchIL-12 alone augmented in vivo the induction of a primary and also a secondary SN antibody production and a cell-mediated immunity against IBDV rVP2 antigen, which conferred the enhancement of bursal lesion protective efficacy from vvIBDV challenge. These data indicated that a potential for chIL-12 as immunoadjuvant for chicken vaccine development such as IBDV rVP2 antigen.