Effect of different detoxification procedures on the residual pertussis toxin activities in vaccines

Cu-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles for efficient detoxification of epsilon toxin: Toward substituting magnetically recyclable detoxifying agent for formaldehyde

This research presents the synthesis and characterization of Cu-doped Fe3O4 (Cu-Fe3O4) nanoparticles as a magnetically recoverable and reusable detoxifying agent for the efficient and long-lasting neutralization of bacterial toxins. The nanoparticles were synthesized using the combustion synthesis method and characterized through SEM, XRD, BET, TGA, and VSM techniques. The detoxification potential of Cu-Fe3O4 was compared with traditional formaldehyde (FA) in detoxifying epsilon toxin (ETx) from Clostridium perfringens Type D, the causative agent of enterotoxemia in ruminants. In vivo residual toxicity tests revealed that Cu-Fe3O4 could detoxify ETx at a concentration of 2.0 mg mL-1 within 4 days at room temperature (RT) and 2 days at 37 °C, outperforming FA (12 and 6 days at RT and 37 °C, respectively). Characterization studies using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and circular dichroism (CD) highlighted lower conformational changes in Cu-Fe3O4-detoxified ETx compared to FA-detoxified ETx. Moreover, Cu-Fe3O4-detoxified ETx exhibited exceptional storage stability at 4 °C and RT for 6 months, maintaining an irreversible structure with no residual toxicity. The particles demonstrated remarkable reusability, with the ability to undergo five continuous detoxification batches. This study provides valuable insights into the development of an efficient and safe detoxifying agent, enabling the production of toxoids with a native-like structure. The magnetically recoverable and reusable nature of Cu-Fe3O4 nanoparticles offers practical advantages for easy recovery and reuse in detoxification reactions.

Profound structural conservation of chemically cross-linked HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein experimental vaccine antigens

Chemical cross-linking is used to stabilize protein structures with additional benefits of pathogen and toxin inactivation for vaccine use, but its use has been restricted by the potential for local or global structural distortion. This is of particular importance when the protein in question requires a high degree of structural conservation for inducing a biological outcome such as the elicitation of antibodies to conformationally sensitive epitopes. The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer is metastable and shifts between different conformational states, complicating its use as a vaccine antigen. Here we have used the hetero-bifunctional zero-length reagent 1-Ethyl-3-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-Carbodiimide (EDC) to cross-link two soluble Env trimers, selected well-folded trimer species using antibody affinity, and transferred this process to good manufacturing practice (GMP) for experimental medicine use. Cross-linking enhanced trimer stability to biophysical and enzyme attack. Cryo-EM analysis revealed that cross-linking retained the overall structure with root-mean-square deviations (RMSDs) between unmodified and cross-linked Env trimers of 0.4-0.5 Å. Despite this negligible distortion of global trimer structure, we identified individual inter-subunit, intra-subunit, and intra-protomer cross-links. Antigenicity and immunogenicity of the trimers were selectively modified by cross-linking, with cross-linked ConS retaining bnAb binding more consistently than ConM. Thus, the EDC cross-linking process improves trimer stability whilst maintaining protein folding, and is readily transferred to GMP, consistent with the more general use of this approach in protein-based vaccine design.

Unraveling the Secrets of a Double-Life Fungus by Genomics: Ophiocordyceps australis CCMB661 Displays Molecular Machinery for Both Parasitic and Endophytic Lifestyles

Ophiocordyceps australis (Ascomycota, Hypocreales, Ophiocordycipitaceae) is a classic entomopathogenic fungus that parasitizes ants (Hymenoptera, Ponerinae, Ponerini). Nonetheless, according to our results, this fungal species also exhibits a complete set of genes coding for plant cell wall degrading Carbohydrate-Active enZymes (CAZymes), enabling a full endophytic stage and, consequently, its dual ability to both parasitize insects and live inside plant tissue. The main objective of our study was the sequencing and full characterization of the genome of the fungal strain of O. australis (CCMB661) and its predicted secretome. The assembled genome had a total length of 30.31 Mb, N50 of 92.624 bp, GC content of 46.36%, and 8,043 protein-coding genes, 175 of which encoded CAZymes. In addition, the primary genes encoding proteins and critical enzymes during the infection process and those responsible for the host-pathogen interaction have been identified, including proteases (Pr1, Pr4), aminopeptidases, chitinases (Cht2), adhesins, lectins, lipases, and behavioral manipulators, such as enterotoxins, Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases (PTPs), and Glycoside Hydrolases (GHs). Our findings indicate that the presence of genes coding for Mad2 and GHs in O. australis may facilitate the infection process in plants, suggesting interkingdom colonization. Furthermore, our study elucidated the pathogenicity mechanisms for this Ophiocordyceps species, which still is scarcely studied.

Vaccine Design: An Introduction

Vaccines are the most successful and cost-effective medical interventions available to fight infectious diseases. They consist of biological preparations that are capable of stimulating the immune system to confer protective immunity against a particular harmful pathogen/agent. Vaccine design and development have evolved through the years. Early vaccines were obtained with little implementation of technology and in the absence of fundamental knowledge, representing a pure feat of human ingenuity. In contrast, modern vaccine development takes advantage of advances in technology and in our enhanced understanding of the immune system and host-pathogen interactions. Moreover, vaccine design has found novel applications beyond the prophylactic arena and there is an increasing interest in designing vaccines to treat human ailments like cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. In this chapter, we focus on prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases, providing an overview on immunology principles underlying immunization and on how vaccines work and are designed.

Effects of detoxification process on toxicity and foreign protein of tetanus toxoid and diphtheria toxoid

Formaldehyde detoxification is a process for converting tetanus toxin (TT) and diphtheria toxin (DT) into tetanus toxoid (TTd) and diphtheria toxoid (DTd), respectively. The mechanism of this detoxification process has been investigated by several previous studies based on lab-scale toxoids. To obtain greater insights of the effects induced by formaldehyde, industrial TTd and DTd batches obtained from different detoxification processes were studied in this work. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), 15 and 20 repeatable formaldehyde-induced modification sites of TTd and DTd were identified, respectively. Toxoid which had a higher formaldehyde-induced modification rate observed by LC-MS, also had larger bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Aggregates which were observed on size exclusion chromatogram (SEC) were confirmed by SDS-PAGE and LC-MS. Formaldehyde detoxification also led to a decrease of isoelectric point (pI) values and an increase of retention on weak anion exchange (WAX) column. Specific toxicity tests were conducted to evaluate toxicity of the TTd and DTd samples obtained with different detoxification conditions. Results from the specific toxicity tests showed that all toxoids used in this study were qualified, including toxoids obtained from mild and drastic detoxification conditions. However, obtained from mild detoxification conditions had less aggregates and may lead to a higher degree of glycosylation in conjugate vaccines than the ones obtained from drastic detoxification conditions. Thus, we suggest that mild detoxification conditions should be used to obtain TTd and DTd. Furthermore, as well as studying the formaldehyde-induced modifications and toxicity in TTd and DTd, the effects of the detoxification process on foreign proteins were also investigated. An increase in foreign proteins were observed in the aggregate than in the monomer of the toxoids. Additionally, some foreign proteins in the monomer of the toxins transferred to the aggregate of toxoids due to the formation of cross-linking. To eliminate the risk of cross-linking foreign proteins to toxoids in vaccination programs, a purification process is necessary before the detoxification process and/or the use of toxoids in vaccines.

Evaluation of Anti-PT Antibody Response after Pertussis Vaccination and Infection: The Importance of Both Quantity and Quality

Pertussis toxin (PT) is considered the main virulence factor causing whooping cough or pertussis. The protein is widely studied and its composition was revealed and sequenced already during the 1980s. The human immune system creates a good response against PT when measured in quantity. However, the serum anti-PT antibodies wane rapidly, and only a small amount of these antibodies are found a few years after vaccination/infection. Therefore, multiple approaches to study the functionality (quality) of these antibodies, e.g., avidity, neutralizing capacity, and epitope specificity, have been investigated. In addition, the long-term B cell memory (Bmem) to PT is crucial for good protection throughout life. In this review, we summarize the findings from functional PT antibody and Bmem studies. These results are discussed in line with the quantity of serum anti-PT antibodies. PT neutralizing antibodies and anti-PT antibodies with proper avidity are crucial for good protection against the disease, and certain epitopes have been identified to have multiple functions in the protection. Although PT-specific Bmem responses are detectable at least five years after vaccination, long-term surveillance is lacking. Variation of the natural boosting of circulating Bordetella pertussis in communities is an important confounding factor in these memory studies.

Differences in epitope-specific antibodies to pertussis toxin after infection and acellular vaccinations

Objectives

Pertussis toxin (PT) is a component of all acellular pertussis vaccines. PT must be detoxified to be included in acellular vaccines, which results in conformational changes in the functional epitopes of PTs. Therefore, induced epitope‐specific antibodies to PT may vary after vaccinations or natural infections, and this information could reveal biomarkers implicated for protection and successful immunisation.

Methods

Pertussis toxin epitope‐specific antibodies in sera from 152 vaccinated children and 72 serologically confirmed patients were tested with a blocking ELISA, based on monoclonal antibodies that target protective PT epitopes.

Results

All study groups induced considerable antibody titres to subunit 1 (S1). Of interest, S3 7E10‐specific antibodies were present in patients, but not after vaccinations (P < 0.001). The impact of glutaraldehyde treatment of PT was visible on epitope 1D7 (S1), whereas epitopes 1B7 (S1) and 10D (S1) were more preserved. Antibodies to these epitopes were higher after three primary vaccine doses than after a single booster dose.

Conclusion

The high amount of 7E10‐specific antibodies in patients suggests this epitope might be functionally relevant in protection. The overall characteristics of epitope‐specific antibodies are influenced by infection or vaccination background, by the used detoxification method of PT and by the amount of the toxin used in immunisation.

Collaborative study for the calibration of the replacement International Standard for pertussis toxin for use in histamine sensitisation and CHO cell clustering assays

Pertussis toxin (PT) in its detoxified form is one of the major protective antigens in vaccines against Bordetella pertussis (whooping cough). Reference preparations of native PT are required for the quality control of pertussis vaccines. Stocks of the first WHO International Standard (IS) for PT (JNIH-5) were low and a replacement was required. One candidate material was donated by a vaccine manufacturer to NIBSC. It was formulated, lyophilised into sealed glass ampoules and coded 15/126. An international collaborative study assessed the suitability of this material to replace JNIH-5. Fourteen laboratories from 12 countries took part in the study. Eleven laboratories performed lethal murine histamine sensitisation assay (HIST), 14 performed Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell clustering assay. International Units (IU) were assigned to the material using these assays as they were used to assign units to JNIH-5. It was found that, unlike JNIH-5, the activities of 15/126 in HIST and CHO cell assays did not agree and therefore different unitage for each assay was assigned. The preparation 15/126 was established as the Second WHO IS for PT for HIST and CHO cell assays. It was assigned a unitage of 1,881 IU/ampoule in HIST and 680 IU/ampoule in the CHO cell clustering assay.

Assays for Determining Pertussis Toxin Activity in Acellular Pertussis Vaccines

Whooping cough is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. There are currently two types of vaccines that can prevent the disease; whole cell vaccines (WCV) and acellular vaccines (ACV). The main virulence factor produced by the organism is pertussis toxin (PTx). This toxin is responsible for many physiological effects on the host, but it is also immunogenic and in its detoxified form is the main component of all ACVs. In producing toxoid for vaccines, it is vital to achieve a balance between sufficiently detoxifying PTx to render it safe while maintaining enough molecular structure that it retains its protective immunogenicity. To ensure that the first part of this balancing act has been successfully achieved, assays are required to accurately measure residual PTx activity in ACV products accurately. Quality control assays are also required to ensure that the detoxification procedures are robust and stable. This manuscript reviews the methods that have been used to achieve this aim, or may have the potential to replace them, and highlights their continuing requirement as vaccines that induce a longer lasting immunity are developed to prevent the re-occurrence of outbreaks that have been observed recently.

Characterization of Individual Human Antibodies That Bind Pertussis Toxin Stimulated by Acellular Immunization

Despite high vaccination rates, the incidence of whooping cough has steadily been increasing in developing countries for several decades. The current acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines all include the major protective antigen pertussis toxin (PTx) and are safer, but they appear to be less protective than infection or older, whole-cell vaccines. To better understand the attributes of individual antibodies stimulated by aP, we isolated plasmablast clones recognizing PTx after booster immunization of two donors. Five unique antibody sequences recognizing native PTx were recovered and expressed as recombinant human IgG1 antibodies. The antibodies all bind different epitopes on the PTx S1 subunit, B oligomer, or S1-B subunit interface, and just one clone neutralized PTx in an in vitro assay. To better understand the epitopes bound by the nonneutralizing S1-subunit antibodies, comprehensive mutagenesis with yeast display provided a detailed map of the epitope recognized by antibodies A8 and E12. Residue R76 is required for antibody A8 binding and is present on the S1 surface but is only partially exposed in the holotoxin, providing a structural explanation for A8's inability to neutralize holotoxin. The B-subunit-specific antibody D8 inhibited PTx binding to a model receptor and neutralized PTx in vitro as well as in an in vivo leukocytosis assay. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to identify individual human antibodies stimulated by the acellular pertussis vaccine and demonstrates the feasibility of using these approaches to address outstanding issues in pertussis vaccinology, including mechanisms of accelerated waning of protective immunity despite repeated aP immunization.