Simultaneous recombinant 503 antigen recovery and endotoxin removal from E. coli M15 homogenate using expanded bed adsorption chromatography

Use of plasmids for expression of proteins from the genus Leishmania in Escherichia coli: current state and perspectives

Leishmaniosis is caused by the protozoa of the genus Leishmania with a wide spectrum of clinical and epidemiological manifestations which are characterized into four clinical groups: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, diffuse cutaneous, and visceral. American visceral leishmaniosis (AVL) or visceral leishmaniosis (VL) has been known as the most severe form of the disease. However, despite the growing number of people exposed to the infection risk and the great effort done by the scientific community worldwide to significantly increase the knowledge about these diseases, there is no vaccine capable of preventing VL in humans. In this short review, we present some of the plasmids used for the expression of recombinant protein by Escherichia coli strains used mainly for the second generation of vaccines for leishmaniosis. It can be emphasized that currently, these vectors and hosts play an important role in developing vaccine strategies against the disease. Indeed, use of the E. coli BL21 (DE) strain is remarkable mainly due to its characteristics for being a stable protein producer as well as the use of histidine tags for antigen purification. KEY POINTS: • Plasmid vectors and E. coli will continue being important for studies about leishmaniosis. • Protein purification exploiting histidine tags is a key technique.

Optimization of the 503 antigen induction strategy of Leishmania infantum chagasi expressed in Escherichia coli M15

Leishmaniosis is a complex of diseases that can be fatal, if not given proper attention. Despite its relevance in the public health system, there is no vaccine capable of preventing the disease in humans so far and its treatment is expensive and aggressive to human health. The present study aims to optimize the induction parameters of the 503 Leishmania i. chagasi antigen expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli M15. The induction at different cell densities was evaluated in order to analyze the influence of the induction time on the yield of the protein of interest. In this segment, lactose and isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) were used as inducer molecules, using various concentrations: 0.1 g/L, 1.0 g/L, and 10 g/L for lactose and 20 μM, 100 μM, 500 μM, and 1000 μM for IPTG. The results presented that the concentration of IPTG that obtained the higher antigen levels was that of 100 μM (0.087 g/L), a 10-fold lower concentration than was being previously used in this type of system and for lactose, it was 1 g/L (0.016 g/L). Thus, the induction with 100 μM allowed obtaining the antigen with a concentration 5.6 times higher than the lactose induction maximum concentration.