Vaccination of mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and LPS-derived immuno-conjugates from Leptospira interrogans

Vaccination With Leptospira interrogans PF07598 Gene Family-Encoded Virulence Modifying Proteins Protects Mice From Severe Leptospirosis and Reduces Bacterial Load in the Liver and Kidney

The molecular and cellular pathogenesis of leptospirosis remains poorly understood. Based on comparative bacterial genomics data, we recently identified the hypothetical PF07598 gene family as encoding secreted exotoxins (VM proteins) that mediate cytotoxicity in vitro. To address whether VM proteins mediate in vivo leptospirosis pathogenesis, we tested the hypothesis that VM protein immunization of mice would protect against lethal challenge infection and reduce bacterial load in key target organs. C3H/HeJ mice were immunized with recombinant E. coli-produced, endotoxin-free, leptospiral VM proteins (derived from L. interrogans serovar Lai) in combination with the human-compatible adjuvant, glucopyranoside lipid A/squalene oil-in-water. Mice receiving full length recombinant VM proteins were protected from lethal challenge infection by L. interrogans serovar Canicola and had a 3-4 log₁₀ reduction in bacterial load in the liver and kidney. These experiments show that immunization with recombinant VM proteins prevents leptospirosis clinical pathogenesis and leads to markedly reduced key target organ infection in this animal model. These data support the role of leptospiral VM proteins as virulence factors and suggest the possibility that a VM protein-based, serovar-independent, pan-leptospirosis vaccine may be feasible.

Interaction of Leptospira with the Innate Immune System

Innate immunity encompasses immediate host responses that detect and respond to microbes. Besides recognition by the complement system (see the chapter by A. Barbosa, this volume), innate immunity concerns cellular responses. These are triggered through recognition of conserved microbial components (called MAMPs) by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), leading, through secretion of cytokines, antimicrobial peptides, and immune mediators, to cellular recruitment and phagocytosis. Leptospira spp. are successful zoonotic pathogenic bacteria that obviously overcome the immune system of their hosts. The first part of this chapter summarizes what is known about leptospires recognition and interaction with phagocytes and other innate immune cells, and the second part describes specific interactions of leptospiral MAMPs with PRRs from the TLR and NLR families. On the one hand, pathogenic leptospires appear to escape macrophage and neutrophil phagocytosis. On the other hand, studies about PRR sensing of leptospires remain very limited, but suggest that pathogenic leptospires escape some of the PRRs in a host-specific manner, due to peculiar cell wall specificities or post-translational modifications that may impair their recognition. Further studies are necessary to clarify the mechanisms and consequences of leptospiral escape on phagocytic functions and hopefully give clues to potential therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring the defective activation of PRRs by pathogenic Leptospira spp.

Advances & challenges in leptospiral vaccine development

Considerable progress has been made in the field of leptospiral vaccines development since its first use as a killed vaccine in guinea pigs. Despite the fact that the immunity conferred is restricted to serovars with closely related lipopolysaccharide antigen, certain vaccines have remained useful, especially in endemic regions, for the protection of high-risk individuals. Other conventional vaccines such as the live-attenuated vaccine and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) vaccine have not gained popularity due to the reactive response that follows their administration and the lack of understanding of the pathogenesis of leptospirosis. With the recent breakthrough and availability of complete genome sequences of Leptospira, development of novel vaccine including recombinant protein vaccine using reverse vaccinology approaches has yielded encouraging results. However, factors hindering the development of effective leptospiral vaccines include variation in serovar distribution from region to region, establishment of renal carrier status following vaccination and determination of the dose and endpoint titres acceptable as definitive indicators of protective immunity. In this review, advancements and progress made in LPS-based vaccines, killed- and live-attenuated vaccines, recombinant peptide vaccines and DNA vaccines against leptospirosis are highlighted.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO-1 Lipopolysaccharide-Diphtheria Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine: Preparation, Characterization and Immunogenicity

Background:

Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO-1 infections through immunological means has been proved to be efficient and protective.

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to produce a conjugate vaccine composed of detoxified lipopolysaccharide (D-LPS) P. aeruginosa and diphtheria toxoid (DT).

Materials and Methods:

Firstly, LPS was purified and characterized from P. aeruginosa PAO1 and then detoxified. D-LPS was covalently coupled to DT as a carrier protein via amidation method with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) as a spacer molecule and 1-ethyl-3- (3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDAC) as a linker. The molar ratio of LPS to DT in the prepared conjugate was 3:1. The immunogenicity of D-LPS-DT conjugate vaccine in mice model was evaluated as well.

Results:

The conjugate was devoid of endotoxin activity and 0.125 U/mL of D-LPS was acceptable for immunization. D-LPS-DT conjugate was nonpyrogenic for rabbits and nontoxic for mice. Mice immunization with D-LPS-DT conjugate vaccine elicited the fourfold higher IgG antibody compared to D-LPS. Anti-LPS IgG antibody was predominantly IgG1 subclass and then IgG3, IgG2a and IgG2b, respectively.

Conclusions:

Vaccine based on the conjugation of P. aeruginosa PAO-1 LPS with DT increased anti-LPS antibodies and had a significant potential to protect against Pseudomonas infections.

Vaccines against leptospirosis

Vaccines against leptospirosis followed within a year of the first isolation of Leptospira, with the first use of a killed whole cell bacterin vaccine in guinea pigs published in 1916. Since then, bacterin vaccines have been used in humans, cattle, swine, and dogs and remain the only vaccines licensed at the present time. The immunity elicited is restricted to serovars with related lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen. Likewise, vaccines based on LPS antigens have clearly demonstrated protection in animal models, which is also at best serogroup specific. The advent of leptospiral genome sequences has allowed a reverse vaccinology approach for vaccine development. However, the use of inadequate challenge doses and inappropriate statistical analysis invalidates many of the claims of protection with recombinant proteins.

Characterization of acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA carboxylases encoded by Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai: an initial biochemical study for leptospiral gluconeogenesis via anaplerotic CO(2) assimilation

Leptospira interrogans is the causative agent of leptospirosis. The in vitro growth of L. interrogans requires CO(2) and a partial 3-hydroxypropionate pathway involving two acyl-CoA carboxylases was suggested by genomic analysis to assimilate CO(2). Either set of the candidate genes heterologously co-expressed in Escherichia coli was able to demonstrate both acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) activities. The tri-subunit holoenzyme (LA_2736-LA_2735 and LA_3803), although failed to be purified, was designated ACC based on its substrate preference toward acetyl-CoA. The partially purified bi-subunit holoenzyme (LA_2432-LA_2433) has a considerably higher activity against propionyl-CoA as the substrate than that of acetyl-CoA, and thus, designated PCC. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that this PCC has a molecular mass of around 669 kDa, suggesting an α(4)β(4) quaternary structure and both structural homology modeling and site-directed mutagenesis analysis of its carboxyltransferase subunit (LA_2433) indicated that the A431 residue located at the bottom of the putative substrate binding pocket may play an important role in substrate specificity determination. Both transcriptomic and proteomic data indicated that enzymes involved in the suggested partial 3-hydroxypropionate pathway were expressed in vivo in addition to ACC/PCC and the homologous genes in genomes of other Leptospira species were re-annotated accordingly. However, as the in vitro detected specific activity of ACC in the crude cell extract was too low to account for the growth of the bacterium in Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris minimal medium, further systematic analysis is required to unveil the mechanism of gluconeogenesis via anaplerotic CO(2) assimilation in Leptospira species.

COMPARISON OF AGGLUTINATING AND GROWTH INHIBITION ANTIBODIES LEVELS IN SOWS IMMUNIZED WITH TWO EXPERIMENTAL INACTIVATED MONOVALENT VACCINES OF CANICOLA SEROVAR: WHOLE CULTURE WITH ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE AND LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE SUBUNIT WITH LIPID A

ABSTRACT It was compared the antibody response of sows immunized with two experimental vaccines produced with L.interrogans, serovar Canicola, strain LO-4, isolated in Brazil.One of the vaccines was the usual bacterin (whole culture inactivated with phenol and adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide -WC-AlOH3) and the other one was a subunit vaccine produced with a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fraction extracted from the bacteria outer envelop and with the lipid A, also extracted from the leptospira wall as adjuvant (LPS-MPLA). Experiment was as follows: group 1 (n = 11), not immunized control, group 2, (n = 11): two immunization with 30 days interval of LPS-MPLA vaccine and group 3 (n = 11): two immunization with 30 days interval of WC-AlOH3 vaccine All three groups were simultaneously immunized, independently of pregnancy stage. Both agglutinin and neutralizing post vaccination antibodies levels were measured respectively by the microscopic sera agglutination with live antigens test (MAT) and the in vitro leptospira growth inhibition test (GIT). Sera collections were performed each 30 days during four months after the first vaccination. Non vaccinated control group animals presented no agglutinating antibodies against Canicola serovar during the whole experiment. At 32 and 68 post vaccination days the agglutinating antibodies levels of group 2 (LPS-MPLA) were significantly higher than the observed in group 3 (WC AlOH3), respectively, p = 0.013 and p = 0.031. The differences observed in the growth inhibition antibodies titers of the two vaccines tested were not significant (p > 0.05). Despite the peak of post-vaccination agglutinins have been registered at 68 days after first immunization, higher levels growth inhibition antibodies were detected at 30 days of first vaccination. Subunit vaccine presented the same immunogenic capacity for the production of neutralizing antibodies as the whole culture one.

Identification of potential Leptospira phosphoheptose isomerase inhibitors through virtual high-throughput screening

The life-threatening infections caused by Leptospira serovars demand the need for designing anti-leptospirosis drugs. The present study encompasses exploring inhibitors against phosphoheptose isomerase (GmhA) of Leptospira, which is vital for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis and is identified as a common drug target through the subtractive genomic approach. GmhA model was built in Modeller 9v7. Structural refinement and energy minimization of the predicted model was carried out using Maestro 9.0. The refined model reliability was assessed through Procheck, ProSA, ProQ and Profile 3D. The substrate-based virtual high-throughput screening (VHTS) in Ligand.Info Meta-Database tool generated an in-house library of 354 substrate structural analogs. Furthermore, structure-based VHTS from the in-house library with different conformations of each ligand provided 14 novel competitive inhibitors. The model together with insight gained from the VHTS would be a promising starting point for developing anti-leptospirosis competitive inhibitors targeting LPS biosynthesis pathway.

Leptospira and leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is the most wide spread zoonosis worldwide; it is present in all continents except Antarctica and evidence for the carriage of Leptospira has been found in virtually all mammalian species examined. Humans most commonly become infected through occupational, recreational, or domestic contact with the urine of carrier animals, either directly or via contaminated water or soil. Leptospires are thin, helical bacteria classified into at least 12 pathogenic and 4 saprophytic species, with more than 250 pathogenic serovars. Immunity following infection is generally, but not exclusively, mediated by antibody against leptospiral LPS and restricted to antigenically related serovars. Vaccines currently available consist of killed whole cell bacterins which are used widely in animals, but less so in humans. Current work with recombinant protein antigens shows promise for the development of vaccines based on defined protective antigens. The cellular and molecular basis for virulence remains poorly understood, but comparative genomics of pathogenic and saprophytic species suggests that Leptospira expresses unique virulence determinants. However, the recent development of defined mutagenesis systems for Leptospira heralds the potential for gaining a much improved understanding of pathogenesis in leptospirosis.

Crystal structure of LipL32, the most abundant surface protein of pathogenic Leptospira spp

Spirochetes of the genus Leptospira cause leptospirosis in humans and animals worldwide. Proteins exposed on the bacterial cell surface are implicated in the pathogenesis of leptospirosis. However, the biological role of the majority of these proteins is unknown; this is principally due to the lack of genetic systems for investigating Leptospira and the absence of any structural information on leptospiral antigens. To address this, we have determined the 2.0-A-resolution structure of the lipoprotein LipL32, the most abundant outer-membrane and surface protein present exclusively in pathogenic Leptospira species. The extracellular domain of LipL32 revealed a compact, globular, "jelly-roll" fold from which projected an unusual extended beta-hairpin that served as a principal mediator of the observed crystallographic dimer. Two acid-rich patches were also identified as potential binding sites for positively charged ligands, such as laminin, to which LipL32 has a propensity to bind. Although LipL32 shared no significant sequence identity to any known protein, it possessed structural homology to the adhesins that bind components of the extracellular matrix, suggesting that LipL32 functions in an analogous manner. Moreover, the structure provides a framework for understanding the immunological role of this major surface lipoprotein.

Leptospirosis vaccines

Leptospirosis is a serious infection disease caused by pathogenic strains of the Leptospira spirochetes, which affects not only humans but also animals. It has long been expected to find an effective vaccine to prevent leptospirosis through immunization of high risk humans or animals. Although some leptospirosis vaccines have been obtained, the vaccination is relatively unsuccessful in clinical application despite decades of research and millions of dollars spent. In this review, the recent advancements of recombinant outer membrane protein (OMP) vaccines, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) vaccines, inactivated vaccines, attenuated vaccines and DNA vaccines against leptospirosis are reviewed. A comparison of these vaccines may lead to development of new potential methods to combat leptospirosis and facilitate the leptospirosis vaccine research. Moreover, a vaccine ontology database was built for the scientists working on the leptospirosis vaccines as a starting tool.

LEPTOSPIROSE SUÍNA

RESUMO A leptospirose suína é uma importante causa de prejuízos em rebanhos de reprodução, e ocorre em de todas as partes do mundo. A leptospirose suína pode se apresentar basicamente nas formas aguda e crônica. Na forma aguda, pode ocorrer febre, mastite focal e leptospirúria em animais adultos. Na forma crônica é comum a infertilidade, com a ocorrência de abortamentos, natimortos e nascimento de leitões fracos. Os sorovares Canicola, Pomona e Icterohaemorrhagiae são os mais importantes na epidemiologia da doença. Apesar das várias técnicas disponíveis e as que estão sendo desenvolvidas para o diagnóstico da leptospirose, a soroaglutinação microscópica ainda é a mais praticada, principalmente em suínos, sendo um teste considerado sorogrupo específico e a sua interpretação é complexa. O controle da leptospirose suína é baseado na imunização de suscetíveis, nas ações sobre as fontes de infecção, visando a diminuição da quantidade de leptospiras lançadas no ambiente e na identificação e eliminação dos fatores que ampliam a sobrevivência do agente. As vacinas anti-leptospirose suína são constituídas de bactérias íntegras inativadas polivalentes. Os sorovares comumente presentes são: Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Copenhageni, Pomona, Grippotyphosa e Bratislava. As proteínas, especialmente as de membrana externa e de superfície das leptospiras patogênicas, são antígenos efetivos para a produção de vacinas anti-leptospirose e têm se tornado um dos maiores pontos de interesse para o desenvolvimento de vacinas anti-leptospirose.

The terminal portion of leptospiral immunoglobulin-like protein LigA confers protective immunity against lethal infection in the hamster model of leptospirosis

Subunit vaccines are a potential intervention strategy against leptospirosis, which is a major public health problem in developing countries and a veterinary disease in livestock and companion animals worldwide. Leptospiral immunoglobulin-like (Lig) proteins are a family of surface-exposed determinants that have Ig-like repeat domains found in virulence factors such as intimin and invasin. We expressed fragments of the repeat domain regions of LigA and LigB from Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni. Immunization of Golden Syrian hamsters with Lig fragments in Freund's adjuvant induced robust antibody responses against recombinant protein and native protein, as detected by ELISA and immunoblot, respectively. A single fragment, LigANI, which corresponds to the six carboxy-terminal Ig-like repeat domains of the LigA molecule, conferred immunoprotection against mortality (67-100%, P<0.05) in hamsters which received a lethal inoculum of L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni. However, immunization with this fragment did not confer sterilizing immunity. These findings indicate that the carboxy-terminal portion of LigA is an immunoprotective domain and may serve as a vaccine candidate for human and veterinary leptospirosis.

Outer membrane proteins of pathogenic spirochetes

Pathogenic spirochetes are the causative agents of several important diseases including syphilis, Lyme disease, leptospirosis, swine dysentery, periodontal disease and some forms of relapsing fever. Spirochetal bacteria possess two membranes and the proteins present in the outer membrane are at the site of interaction with host tissue and the immune system. This review describes the current knowledge in the field of spirochetal outer membrane protein (OMP) biology. What is known concerning biogenesis and structure of OMPs, with particular regard to the atypical signal peptide cleavage sites observed amongst the spirochetes, is discussed. We examine the functions that have been determined for several spirochetal OMPs including those that have been demonstrated to function as adhesins, porins or to have roles in complement resistance. A detailed description of the role of spirochetal OMPs in immunity, including those that stimulate protective immunity or that are involved in antigenic variation, is given. A final section is included which covers experimental considerations in spirochetal outer membrane biology. This section covers contentious issues concerning cellular localization of putative OMPs, including determination of surface exposure. A more detailed knowledge of spirochetal OMP biology will hopefully lead to the design of new vaccines and a better understanding of spirochetal pathogenesis.

Global analysis of outer membrane proteins from Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai

Recombinant leptospiral outer membrane proteins (OMPs) can elicit immunity to leptospirosis in a hamster infection model. Previously characterized OMPs appear highly conserved, and thus their potential to stimulate heterologous immunity is of critical importance. In this study we undertook a global analysis of leptospiral OMPs, which were obtained by Triton X-114 extraction and phase partitioning. Outer membrane fractions were isolated from Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai grown at 20, 30, and 37 degrees C with or without 10% fetal calf serum and, finally, in iron-depleted medium. The OMPs were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Gel patterns from each of the five conditions were compared via image analysis, and 37 gel-purified proteins were tryptically digested and characterized by mass spectrometry (MS). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight MS was used to rapidly identify leptospiral OMPs present in sequence databases. Proteins identified by this approach included the outer membrane lipoproteins LipL32, LipL36, LipL41, and LipL48. No known proteins from any cellular location other than the outer membrane were identified. Tandem electrospray MS was used to obtain peptide sequence information from eight novel proteins designated pL18, pL21, pL22, pL24, pL45, pL47/49, pL50, and pL55. The expression of LipL36 and pL50 was not apparent at temperatures above 30 degrees C or under iron-depleted conditions. The expression of pL24 was also downregulated after iron depletion. The leptospiral major OMP LipL32 was observed to undergo substantial cleavage under all conditions except iron depletion. Additionally, significant downregulation of these mass forms was observed under iron limitation at 30 degrees C, but not at 30 degrees C alone, suggesting that LipL32 processing is dependent on iron-regulated extracellular proteases. However, separate cleavage products responded differently to changes in growth temperature and medium constituents, indicating that more than one process may be involved in LipL32 processing. Furthermore, under iron-depleted conditions there was no concomitant increase in the levels of the intact form of LipL32. The temperature- and iron-regulated expression of LipL36 and the iron-dependent cleavage of LipL32 were confirmed by immunoblotting with specific antisera. Global analysis of the cellular location and expression of leptospiral proteins will be useful in the annotation of genomic sequence data and in providing insight into the biology of Leptospira.

Leptospiral outer membrane proteins OmpL1 and LipL41 exhibit synergistic immunoprotection

New vaccine strategies are needed for prevention of leptospirosis, a widespread human and veterinary disease caused by invasive spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira. We have examined the immunoprotective capacity of the leptospiral porin OmpL1 and the leptospiral outer membrane lipoprotein LipL41 in the Golden Syrian hamster model of leptospirosis. Specialized expression plasmids were developed to facilitate expression of leptospiral proteins in Escherichia coli as the membrane-associated proteins OmpL1-M and LipL41-M. Although OmpL1-M expression is highly toxic in E. coli, this was accomplished by using plasmid pMMB66-OmpL1, which has undetectable background expression without induction. LipL41-M expression and processing were enhanced by altering its lipoprotein signal peptidase cleavage site to mimic that of the murein lipoprotein. Active immunization of hamsters with E. coli membrane fractions containing a combination of OmpL1-M and LipL41-M was found to provide significant protection against homologous challenge with Leptospira kirschneri serovar grippotyphosa. At 28 days after intraperitoneal inoculation, survival in animals vaccinated with both proteins was 71% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53 to 89%), compared with only 25% (95% CI, 8 to 42%) in the control group (P < 0.001). On the basis of serological, histological, and microbiological assays, no evidence of infection was found in the vaccinated survivors. The protective effects of immunization with OmpL1-M and LipL41-M were synergistic, since significant levels of protection were not observed in animals immunized with either OmpL1-M or LipL41-M alone. In contrast to immunization with the membrane-associated forms of leptospiral proteins, hamsters immunized with His(6)-OmpL1 and His(6)-LipL41 fusion proteins, either alone or in combination, were not protected. These data indicate that the manner in which OmpL1 and LipL41 associates with membranes is an important determinant of immunoprotection.

Prevalence and geographic origin of pigs with serological evidence of infection with Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona slaughtered in abattoirs in Victoria, Australia

A set of 10,440 sera was collected from pigs slaughtered at Victorian abattoirs. These sera were subjected to the microscopic agglutination test for antibodies to Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona. Identification of the herd of origin was possible for 6511 pigs, and these were derived from 167 herds in Victoria (84% of sera), from 32 herds in New South Wales (8% of sera) and 29 herds in South Australia (8% of sera). The overall prevalence of titres of 512 and above was 3.7%. This was higher (5.3%) among pigs for which the property of origin was unknown than among pigs with identified properties of origin. Among the latter the prevalence was 2.7% (Victoria 0.6%, New South Wales 1.3%, South Australia 25.2%.) Most of the pigs with unknown properties of origin were derived from market groups and were probably typically from smaller herds. Within Victoria a comparison of results with the known pig populations of the 12 statistical divisions indicated that infection was spread throughout the State. Of the 228 identified herds of origin sampled, 32 (14%) had at least one pig with a high titre. However, this may underestimate the proportion of infected herds, as in many cases only a few serum samples were obtained. Of 73 herds from which 25 or more serum samples were obtained, serological evidence of infection was obtained in 18 herds (25%).

Identification and characterization of the dTDP-rhamnose biosynthesis and transfer genes of the lipopolysaccharide-related rfb locus in Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni

Immunity to leptospirosis is principally humorally mediated and involves opsonization of leptospires for phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils. The only protective antigen identified to date is the leptospiral lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which biochemically resembles typical gram-negative LPS but has greatly reduced endotoxic activity. Little is known about the structure of leptospiral LPS. A 2.1-kb EcoRI fragment from the chromosome of serovar Copenhageni was cloned in pUC18 in Escherichia coli, after which flanking regions were cloned from a genomic library constructed in bacteriophage lambda GEM12. Sequence analysis identified four open reading frames which showed similarity to the rfbC, rfbD, rfbB, and rfbA genes, transcribed in that order, which encode the four enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of dTDP-rhamnose for the assembly of LPS in Salmonella enterica, E. coli, and Shigella flexneri. An additional open reading frame downstream of the rfbCDBA locus showed similarity with the rhamnosyltransferase genes of Shigella and Yersinia enterocolitica but not Salmonella. Comparison of deduced amino acid sequences showed up to 85% similarity of the leptospiral proteins with those of other gram-negative bacteria. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of recombinant clones identified the putative RfbCDBA proteins, while reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR analysis indicated that the rfbCDBA gene cluster was expressed in Leptospira. Moreover, it could restore normal LPS phenotype to a defined rfbB::Tn5 mutant of S. flexneri which was deficient in all four genes, thereby confirming the functional identification of a part of the leptospiral rfb locus.

Characterization of an antigenic oligosaccharide from Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona and its role in immunity

An antigenic oligosaccharide fraction derived from the lipopolysaccharide of Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona was isolated by endo-glycosidase H digestion and column chromatography. The oligosaccharide contained rhamnose, ribose, glucose, and glucosamine and inhibited the binding of opsonic, protective monoclonal antibodies directed against the lipopolysaccharide. When conjugated to diphtheria toxoid, the oligosaccharide elicited the production of agglutinating, opsonic antibodies.

Immunochemical studies of opsonic epitopes of the lipopolysaccharide of Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo

Leptospiral lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are the main antigens responsible for immunity in leptospirosis. In this investigation we studied the nature of the antigenic determinants of LPS extracted from Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo (reference strain Hardjoprajitno). The reactions of anti-LPS monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) MUM/F1-4/hardjo (IgM) and MUM/F1-6/hardjo (IgG) with whole cell lysates in Western immunoblotting analysis were unaffected by proteinase K treatment. Periodate treatment of the LPS destroyed the binding of MUM/F1-6/hardjo but preserved that of MUM/F1-4/hardjo. Alkaline phosphatase decreased significantly the binding of MUM/F1-4/hardjo to the LPS but only slightly that of MUM/F1-6/hardjo. On the other hand, phosphodiesterase totally destroyed the binding capacity of both monoclonal antibodies in enzyme immunoassays (EIA). A number of mono- and oligosaccharides was used in EIA inhibition studies. Mannose-6-phosphate and galactose-6-phosphate inhibited the binding of MUM/F1-4/hardjo (50% inhibition at a concentration of 5 mM) to the antigen, but glucose-6-phosphate did not. Galactosamine and mannosamine inhibited the binding of MUM/F1-6/hardjo (50% inhibition at a concentration of 3-4 mM), whereas only a weak inhibition was observed with glucosamine. In contrast, N-acetylated amino sugars did not show any inhibition. An O-acetyl group also appears to be involved in the antigen-antibody binding process.

Effect of streptomycin treatment on the shedding of and the serologic responses to Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo subtype hardjobovis in experimentally infected cows

Shedding patterns of and serologic responses to Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo subtype hardjobovis (L. hardjobovis) have been studied in experimentally infected cows treated with streptomycin in comparison to experimentally infected cows receiving no such treatment. Fourteen cows were experimentally infected with L. hardjobovis, and blood and urine samples were collected weekly for 24 weeks. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to determine serologic responses. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine bacterial shedding in urine. Six weeks after infection six cows were treated with the antibiotic streptomycin (25 mg/kg body weight/day); three cows were treated only once, and the remaining three were treated for five consecutive days. After treatment all six cows had lower serologic responses compared to the untreated cows. The treated cows became also PCR-negative two days after the first treatment, whereas the eight untreated cows remained PCR-positive for at least 70 days. Cows that stopped shedding did not resume shedding within the observation period. Since streptomycin treatment reduces the period of shedding, transmission of leptospira via contaminated urine might be prevented by a single treatment of an infected herd.