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Imhof D, Hänggeli KPA, De Sousa MCF, Vigneswaran A, Hofmann L, Amdouni Y, Boubaker G, Müller J, Hemphill A. Working towards the development of vaccines and chemotherapeutics against neosporosis-With all of its ups and downs-Looking ahead. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2024; 124:91-154. [PMID: 38754928 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2024.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan and obligatory intracellular parasite, which is the leading cause of reproductive failure in cattle and affects other farm and domestic animals, but also induces neuromuscular disease in dogs of all ages. In cattle, neosporosis is an important health problem, and has a considerable economic impact. To date there is no protective vaccine or chemotherapeutic treatment on the market. Immuno-prophylaxis has long been considered as the best control measure. Proteins involved in host cell interaction and invasion, as well as antigens mediating inflammatory responses have been the most frequently assessed vaccine targets. However, despite considerable efforts no effective vaccine has been introduced to the market to date. The development of effective compounds to limit the effects of vertical transmission of N. caninum tachyzoites has emerged as an alternative or addition to vaccination, provided suitable targets and safe and efficacious drugs can be identified. Additionally, the combination of both treatment strategies might be interesting to further increase protectivity against N. caninum infections and to decrease the duration of treatment and the risk of potential drug resistance. Well-established and standardized animal infection models are key factors for the evaluation of promising vaccine and compound candidates. The vast majority of experimental animal experiments concerning neosporosis have been performed in mice, although in recent years the numbers of experimental studies in cattle and sheep have increased. In this review, we discuss the recent findings concerning the progress in drug and vaccine development against N. caninum infections in mice and ruminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Imhof
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Kai Pascal Alexander Hänggeli
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Maria Cristina Ferreira De Sousa
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Anitha Vigneswaran
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Larissa Hofmann
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yosra Amdouni
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ghalia Boubaker
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Joachim Müller
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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Setyo Utomo DI, Suhaimi H, Muhammad Azami NA, Azmi F, Mohd Amin MCI, Xu J. An Overview of Recent Developments in the Application of Antigen Displaying Vaccine Platforms: Hints for Future SARS-CoV-2 VLP Vaccines. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1506. [PMID: 37766182 PMCID: PMC10536610 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11091506] [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: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, a great effort has been devoted to studying attenuated and subunit vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2 since its outbreak in December 2019. It is known that diverse virus-like particles (VLPs) are extensively employed as carriers to display various antigenic and immunostimulatory cargo modules for vaccine development. Single or multiple antigens or antigenic domains such as the spike or nucleocapsid protein or their variants from SARS-CoV-2 could also be incorporated into VLPs via either a genetic or chemical display approach. Such antigen display platforms would help screen safer and more effective vaccine candidates capable of generating a strong immune response with or without adjuvant. This review aims to provide valuable insights for the future development of SARS-CoV-2 VLP vaccines by summarizing the latest updates and perspectives on the vaccine development of VLP platforms for genetic and chemical displaying antigens from SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doddy Irawan Setyo Utomo
- Research Center for Vaccine and Drug, Research Organization for Health, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Gedung 611, LAPTIAB, KST Habibie, Serpong, Tangerang Selatan 15314, Indonesia;
| | - Hamizah Suhaimi
- Centre of Drug Delivery Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia; (H.S.); (F.A.); (M.C.I.M.A.)
| | - Nor Azila Muhammad Azami
- UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia;
| | - Fazren Azmi
- Centre of Drug Delivery Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia; (H.S.); (F.A.); (M.C.I.M.A.)
| | - Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin
- Centre of Drug Delivery Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia; (H.S.); (F.A.); (M.C.I.M.A.)
| | - Jian Xu
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
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Immunization with a Multivalent Listeria monocytogenes Vaccine Leads to a Strong Reduction in Vertical Transmission and Cerebral Parasite Burden in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Mice Infected with Neospora caninum. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11010156. [PMID: 36680001 PMCID: PMC9863997 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11010156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan parasite that causes abortion and stillbirth in cattle. We employed the pregnant neosporosis mouse model to investigate the efficacy of a modified version of the attenuated Listeria monocytogenes vaccine vector Lm3Dx_NcSAG1, which expresses the major N. caninum surface antigen SAG1. Multivalent vaccines were generated by the insertion of gra7 and/or rop2 genes into Lm3Dx_NcSAG1, resulting in the double mutants, Lm3Dx_NcSAG1_NcGRA7 and Lm3Dx_NcSAG1_NcROP2, and the triple mutant, Lm3Dx_NcSAG1_NcGRA7_NcROP2. Six experimental groups of female BALB/c mice were inoculated intramuscularly three times at two-week intervals with 1 × 107 CFU of the respective vaccine strains. Seven days post-mating, mice were challenged by the subcutaneous injection of 1 × 105N. caninum NcSpain-7 tachyzoites. Non-pregnant mice, dams and their offspring were observed daily until day 25 post-partum. Immunization with Lm3Dx_NcSAG1 and Lm3Dx_NcSAG1_NcGRA7_NcROP2 resulted in 70% postnatal pup survival, whereas only 50% and 58% of pups survived in the double mutant-vaccinated groups. Almost all pups had died at the end of the experiment in the infection control. The triple mutant was the most promising vaccine candidate, providing the highest rate of protection against vertical transmission (65%) and CNS infection. Overall, integrating multiple antigens into Lm3Dx_SAG1 resulted in lower vertical transmission and enhanced protection against cerebral infection in dams and in non-pregnant mice.
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Xu J, Nakanishi T, Kato T, Park E. In vivo enzymatic digestion of HRV 3C protease cleavage sites-containing proteins produced in a silkworm-baculovirus expression system. Biosci Rep 2022; 42:BSR20220739. [PMID: 35642592 PMCID: PMC9202508 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20220739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) has been recognized as a potent protein expression system in engineering valuable enzymes and vaccines. Various fusion tags facilitate protein purification, leaving the potential risk to influence the target protein's biological activity negatively. It is of great interest to consider removing the additional tags using site-specific proteases, such as human rhinoviruses (HRV) 3C protease. The current study validated the cleavage activity of 3C protease in Escherichia coli and silkworm-BEVS systems by mixing the cell or fat body lysates of 3C protein and 3C site containing target protein in vitro. Further verification has been performed in the fat body lysate from co-expression of both constructs, showing remarkable cleavage efficiency in vivo silkworm larvae. We also achieved the glutathione-S-transferase (GST) tag-cleaved product of the VP15 protein from the White spot syndrome virus after purification, suggesting that we successfully established a coinfection-based recognition-and-reaction BEVS platform for the tag-free protein engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Xu
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Green Chemistry Research Division, Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
| | - Takafumi Nakanishi
- Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Kato
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Green Chemistry Research Division, Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
- Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
| | - Enoch Y. Park
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Green Chemistry Research Division, Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
- Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan
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Imhof D, Pownall WR, Monney C, Oevermann A, Hemphill A. A Listeria monocytogenes-Based Vaccine Formulation Reduces Vertical Transmission and Leads to Enhanced Pup Survival in a Pregnant Neosporosis Mouse Model. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9121400. [PMID: 34960146 PMCID: PMC8706174 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9121400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum is the worldwide leading cause of abortion and stillbirth in cattle. An attenuated mutant Listeria monocytogenes strain (Lm3Dx) was engineered by deleting the virulence genes actA, inlA, and inlB in order to avoid systemic infection and to target the vector to antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Insertion of sag1, coding for the major surface protein NcSAG1 of N. caninum, yielded the vaccine strain Lm3Dx_NcSAG1. The efficacy of Lm3Dx_NcSAG1 was assessed by inoculating 1 × 105, 1 × 106, or 1 × 107 CFU of Lm3Dx_NcSAG1 into female BALB/c mice by intramuscular injection three times at two-week intervals, and subsequent challenge with 1 × 105N. caninum tachyzoites of the highly virulent NcSpain-7 strain on day 7 of pregnancy. Dose-dependent protective effects were seen, with a postnatal offspring survival rate of 67% in the group treated with 1 × 107 CFU of Lm3Dx_NcSAG1 compared to 5% survival in the non-vaccinated control group. At euthanasia (25 days post-partum), IgG antibody titers were significantly decreased in the groups receiving the two higher doses and cytokines recall responses in splenocyte culture supernatants (IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10) were increased in the vaccinated groups. Thus, Lm3Dx_NcSAG1 induces immune-protective effects associated with a balanced Th1/Th2 response in a pregnant neosporosis mouse model and should be further assessed in ruminant models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Imhof
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - William Robert Pownall
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
- Department of Surgery, Small Animal Clinic, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 128, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Camille Monney
- Division of Neurological Sciences, DCR-VPH, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bremgartenstrasse 109A, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (C.M.); (A.O.)
| | - Anna Oevermann
- Division of Neurological Sciences, DCR-VPH, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bremgartenstrasse 109A, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (C.M.); (A.O.)
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
- Correspondence:
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Tuo W, Feng X, Cao L, Vinyard B, Dubey JP, Fetterer R, Jenkins M. Vaccination with Neospora caninum-cyclophilin and -profilin confers partial protection against experimental neosporosis-induced abortion in sheep. Vaccine 2021; 39:4534-4544. [PMID: 34176703 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.06.032] [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: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective efficacy of a vaccine consisting of recombinant Neospora caninum-cyclophilin (NcCyP) and -profilin (NcPro) in sheep. At 42 d and 21 d prior to mating, adult Dorset ewes were immunized with the rNcCyP-rNcPro vaccine (Group 1) or co-purifying non-recombinant (NR) control vaccine (Group 2). At 90 days post-mating, all immunized ewes and were challenged by intravenous injection with 106Nesopora caninum Illinois tachyzoites (NcTZ). Significant protection (P < 0.05) was observed in Group 1 with 9 out of 13 ewes giving birth to live-born lambs (69.2%), whereas all Group 2 ewes aborted (6/6). Neospora caninum was detected by PCR in both fetal and placental tissues from all Group 2 aborting ewes and in the placental tissues of Group 1 aborting ewes. In contrast, tissues and placentas of Group 1 live-born lambs were Neospora DNA-negative. Immunoreactive Neospora antigens were demonstrated in placentas associated with abortions, but not in tissues of aborted fetuses or those of the live-born lambs and their associated placentas. Anti-NcCyP and anti-NcPro titers were high in sera from Group 1 ewes and were further boosted by challenge infection, resulting in long-lasting (≥14.5 mos.) elevated titers. Lambs born to Group 1 ewes also had high NcCyP and NcPro titers in pre-colostrum sera. Immunofluorescence staining (IFA) of NcTZ with Group 1 post-immunization sera revealed both surface and internal TZ staining, a pattern consistent with that observed with rabbit sera to rNcCyP or rNcPro. Infection of NR-vaccinated ewes produced high but transient anti-NcCyP and anti-NcPro Ab titers. The results indicate that the NcCyP-NcPro vaccine elicited strong anti-N. caninum responses and conferred significant protection against abortion and transplacental transmission of N. caninum TZ in sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbin Tuo
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
| | - Xiaosheng Feng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Lili Cao
- Academy of Animal Sciences and Technology, Changchun, China
| | | | - J P Dubey
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
| | - Raymond Fetterer
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
| | - Mark Jenkins
- Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States.
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Shedding light on biochemical features and potential immunogenic epitopes of Neospora caninum SAG1: In silico study. INFORMATICS IN MEDICINE UNLOCKED 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2021.100785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Kato T, Machida Y, Takemura K, Xu J, Park EY. Preparation of divalent antigen-displaying enveloped virus-like particles using a single recombinant Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus bacmid in silkworms. J Biotechnol 2020; 323:92-97. [PMID: 32771428 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Silkworms have been used as a host for the production of recombinant proteins in a baculovirus expression system using Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV). To coexpress several recombinant proteins, a silkworm must be coinfected with several recombinant BmNPVs, which requires a difficult DNA manipulation procedure. In this study, we constructed recombinant BmNPVs containing three expression cassettes, Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag protein, surface antigen 1 of Neospora caninum (NcSAG1) and SAG1-related sequence 2 of N. caninum (NcSRS2), by Gibson assembly and the Bac-to-Bac system, designated BmNPV/SAG-SRS-Gag and BmNPV/SAG-Gag-SRS. BmNPV/SAG-SRS-Gag was expressed in silkworms and characterized. NcSAG1 and NcSRS2 were purified with RSV Gag proteins using sucrose density gradient centrifugation and affinity chromatography. RSV Gag formed virus-like particles (RSV-LPs) at a diameter of 20-30 nm based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Immuno-TEM analysis showed that both NcSAG1 and NcSRS2 were displayed on the surface of the RSV-LPs. These results indicate that RSV-LPs displaying two different kinds of proteins were produced in the hemolymph of silkworm larvae by the single polycistronic strategy. This expression platform is efficient for generating multiantigen-displaying VLPs and facilitates the development of vaccines against infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Kato
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan; Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Bioscience, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan; Laboratory of Biotechnology, Green Chemistry Research Division, Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Yuki Machida
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Kenshin Takemura
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Bioscience, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Jian Xu
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Green Chemistry Research Division, Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan; Institute of Biology and Information Science, Biomedical Synthetic Biology Research Center, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Enoch Y Park
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan; Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Bioscience, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan; Laboratory of Biotechnology, Green Chemistry Research Division, Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, Japan.
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