Characterization of gene use and efficacy of mouse monoclonal antibodies to Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 8

Promoting Fc-Fc interactions between anti-capsular antibodies provides strong immune protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia and an important cause of childhood mortality. Despite the introduction of successful vaccines, the global spread of both non-vaccine serotypes and antibiotic-resistant strains reinforces the development of alternative therapies against this pathogen. One possible route is the development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that induce killing of bacteria via the immune system. Here, we investigate whether mAbs can be used to induce killing of pneumococcal serotypes for which the current vaccines show unsuccessful protection. Our study demonstrates that when human mAbs against pneumococcal capsule polysaccharides (CPS) have a poor capacity to induce complement activation, a critical process for immune protection against pneumococci, their activity can be strongly improved by hexamerization-enhancing mutations. Our data indicate that anti-capsular antibodies may have a low capacity to form higher-order oligomers (IgG hexamers) that are needed to recruit complement component C1. Indeed, specific point mutations in the IgG-Fc domain that strengthen hexamerization strongly enhance C1 recruitment and downstream complement activation on encapsulated pneumococci. Specifically, hexamerization-enhancing mutations E430G or E345K in CPS6-IgG strongly potentiate complement activation on S. pneumoniae strains that express capsular serotype 6 (CPS6), and the highly invasive serotype 19A strain. Furthermore, these mutations improve complement activation via mAbs recognizing CPS3 and CPS8 strains. Importantly, hexamer-enhancing mutations enable mAbs to induce strong opsonophagocytic killing by human neutrophils. Finally, passive immunization with CPS6-IgG1-E345K protected mice from developing severe pneumonia. Altogether, this work provides an important proof of concept for future optimization of antibody therapies against encapsulated bacteria.

The IgM response to pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is sufficient for conferring immunity

In mice, pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPS) vaccines generate antigen-specific IgM, IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3. Antibody and complement-dependent opsonophagocytosis correlates with the protection induced by PPS vaccines in vivo. Since IgM is a very efficient immunoglobulin isotype in activating the complement system, we evaluated whether anti-PPS IgM alone is sufficient to confer protective immunity to Streptococcus pneumoniae. We found that immunization of wildtype and activation-induced cytidine deaminase-deficient mice capable of producing only IgM with Pneumovax®23 generated comparable anti-PPS IgM and resistance to lethal systemic challenge with S. pneumoniae. These data suggests that an IgM response to PPS vaccines is sufficient for conferring immunity.

A Structural Model for the Ligand Binding of Pneumococcal Serotype 3 Capsular Polysaccharide-Specific Protective Antibodies

Capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) are major virulence factors that decorate the surfaces of many human bacterial pathogens. In their pure form or as glycoconjugate vaccines, CPSs are extensively used in vaccines deployed in clinical practice worldwide. However, our understanding of the structural requirements for interactions between CPSs and antibodies is limited. A longstanding model based on comprehensive observations of antibody repertoires binding to CPSs is that antibodies expressing heavy chain variable gene family 3 (VH3) predominate in these binding interactions in humans and VH3 homologs in mice. Toward understanding this highly conserved interaction, we generated a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAb) against Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 CPS, determined an X-ray crystal structure of a protective MAb in complex with a hexasaccharide derived from enzymatic hydrolysis of the polysaccharide, and elucidated the structural requirements for this binding interaction. The crystal structure revealed a binding pocket containing aromatic side chains, suggesting the importance of hydrophobicity in the interaction. Through mutational analysis, we determined the amino acids that are critical in carbohydrate binding. Through elucidating the structural and functional properties of a panel of murine MAbs, we offer an explanation for the predominant use of the human VH3 gene family in antibodies against CPSs with implications in knowledge-based vaccine design.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Glycoconjugates for Vaccine Development

During the last decade there has been a growing interest in glycoimmunology, a relatively new research field dealing with the specific interactions of carbohydrates with the immune system. Pathogens’ cell surfaces are covered by a thick layer of oligo- and polysaccharides that are crucial virulence factors, as they mediate receptors binding on host cells for initial adhesion and organism invasion. Since in most cases these saccharide structures are uniquely exposed on the pathogen surface, they represent attractive targets for vaccine design. Polysaccharides isolated from cell walls of microorganisms and chemically conjugated to immunogenic proteins have been used as antigens for vaccine development for a range of infectious diseases. However, several challenges are associated with carbohydrate antigens purified from natural sources, such as their difficult characterization and heterogeneous composition. Consequently, glycoconjugates with chemically well-defined structures, that are able to confer highly reproducible biological properties and a better safety profile, are at the forefront of vaccine development. Following on from our previous review on the subject, in the present account we specifically focus on the most recent advances in the synthesis and preliminary immunological evaluation of next generation glycoconjugate vaccines designed to target bacterial and fungal infections that have been reported in the literature since 2011.

A Capsular Polysaccharide-Specific Antibody Alters Streptococcus pneumoniae Gene Expression during Nasopharyngeal Colonization of Mice

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) elicit opsonophagocytic (opsonic) antibodies to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides (PPS) and reduce nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization by vaccine-included Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. However, nonopsonic antibodies may also be important for protection against pneumococcal disease. For example, 1E2, a mouse IgG1 monoclonal antibody (MAb) to the serotype 3 (ST3) PPS (PPS3), reduced ST3 NP colonization in mice and altered ST3 gene expression in vitro Here, we determined whether 1E2 affects ST3 gene expression in vivo during colonization of mice by performing RNA sequencing on NP lavage fluid from ST3-infected mice treated with 1E2, a control MAb, or phosphate-buffered saline. Compared to the results for the controls, 1E2 significantly altered the expression of over 50 genes. It increased the expression of the piuBCDA operon, which encodes an iron uptake system, and decreased the expression of dpr, which encodes a protein critical for resistance to oxidative stress. 1E2-mediated effects on ST3 in vivo required divalent binding, as Fab fragments did not reduce NP colonization or alter ST3 gene expression. In vitro, 1E2 induced dose-dependent ST3 growth arrest and altered piuB and dpr expression, whereas an opsonic PPS3 MAb, 5F6, did not. 1E2-treated bacteria were more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and the iron-requiring antibiotic streptonigrin, suggesting that 1E2 may increase iron import and enhance sensitivity to oxidative stress. Finally, 1E2 also induced rapid capsule shedding in vitro, suggesting that this may initiate 1E2-induced changes in sensitivity to oxidative stress and gene expression. Our data reveal a novel mechanism of direct, antibody-mediated antibacterial activity that could inform new directions in antipneumococcal therapy and vaccine development.

A semisynthetic Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 8 glycoconjugate vaccine

Glycoconjugate vaccines based on capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) of pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae successfully protect from disease but suffer from incomplete coverage, are troublesome to manufacture from isolated CPSs, and lack efficacy against certain serotypes. Defined, synthetic oligosaccharides are an attractive alternative to isolated CPSs but require the identification of immunogenic and protective oligosaccharide antigens. We describe a medicinal chemistry strategy based on a combination of automated glycan assembly (AGA), glycan microarray-based monoclonal antibody (mAb) reverse engineering, and immunological evaluation in vivo to uncover a protective glycan epitope (glycotope) for S. pneumoniae serotype 8 (ST8). All four tetrasaccharide frameshifts of ST8 CPS were prepared by AGA and used in glycan microarray experiments to identify the glycotopes recognized by antibodies against ST8. One tetrasaccharide frameshift that was preferentially recognized by a protective, CPS-directed mAb was conjugated to the carrier protein CRM197. Immunization of mice with this semisynthetic glycoconjugate followed by generation and characterization of a protective mAb identified protective and nonprotective glycotopes. Immunization of rabbits with semisynthetic ST8 glycoconjugates containing protective glycotopes induced an antibacterial immune response. Coformulation of ST8 glycoconjugates with the marketed 13-valent glycoconjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 yielded a potent 14-valent S. pneumoniae vaccine. Our strategy presents a facile approach to develop efficient semisynthetic glycoconjugate vaccines.

Reduction of Streptococcus pneumoniae Colonization and Dissemination by a Nonopsonic Capsular Polysaccharide Antibody

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization of the nasopharynx (NP) is a prerequisite for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The marked reduction in IPD that followed the routine use of pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has been linked to reduced NP colonization with vaccine-included serotypes (STs), with the caveat that PCVs are less effective against pneumonia than against IPD. Although PCV-elicited opsonic antibodies that enhance phagocytic killing of the homologous ST are considered a key correlate of PCV-mediated protection, recent studies question this relationship for some STs, including ST3. Studies with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (PPS) of ST3 (PPS3) have shown that nonopsonic, as well as opsonic, antibodies can each protect mice against pneumonia and sepsis, but the effect of these types of MAbs on NP colonization is unknown. In this study, we determined the effects of protective opsonic and nonopsonic PPS3 MAbs on ST3 NP colonization in mice. Our results show that a nonopsonic MAb reduced early NP colonization and prevented ST3 dissemination to the lungs and blood, but an opsonic MAb did not. Moreover, the opsonic MAb induced a proinflammatory NP cytokine response, but the nonopsonic MAb had an antiinflammatory effect. The effect of the nonopsonic MAb on colonization did not require its Fc region, but its antiinflammatory effect did. Our findings challenge the paradigm that opsonic MAbs are required to prevent NP colonization and suggest that further studies of the activity of nonopsonic antibodies could advance our understanding of mechanisms of PCV efficacy and provide novel correlates of protection.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) have markedly reduced the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Vaccine-elicited pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPS) antibodies that enhance in vitro phagocyte killing of vaccine-included serotypes (STs) (opsonic antibodies) have been considered correlates of vaccine protection and are thought to exert their effect at the initial site of infection, the nasopharynx (NP). However, the data presented here show that this is not the necessarily the case. A nonopsonic PPS monoclonal antibody (MAb) reduced pneumococcal colonization and dissemination of its homologous ST in mice, but surprisingly, an opsonic PPS MAb to the same ST did not. These results reveal that PPS antibodies can work in different ways than previously thought, challenge the paradigm that opsonic antibodies are required to prevent IPD, and provide new insights into PCV efficacy that could lead to novel correlates of vaccine protection.

Epicutaneous immunization with phosphorylcholine conjugated to bovine serum albumin (PC-BSA) and TLR9 ligand CpG alleviates pneumococcal pneumonia in mice

BACKGROUND

Epicutaneous (EC) immunization is a potential new strategy of a needle-free and self-administrable immunization by using a topically applied patch to deliver vaccine. We have previously shown that EC immunization with various protein antigens inhibits both Th1- and Tc1-mediated contact hypersensitivity (CHS) in mice. Our further work showed that maneuver of EC immunization with an antigen and Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands prior to hapten sensitization reverses skin-induced suppression.

METHODS

Animal model of pneumococcal pneumonia was used to study efficacy of EC induced immunopotentiation.

RESULTS

Current work showed that EC immunization with phosphorylcholine conjugated to bovine serum albumin (PC-BSA) and CpG prior to Streptococcus pneumoniae infection results in smaller decrease of body weight when compared to PBS treated mice. Consistent with the behavioral observations and body weight, smaller numbers of bacteria were quantitated in lung homogenates of mice patched with PC-BSA and CpG prior inoculation with S. pneumonia when compared to mice patched with PBS alone. In vitro experiments showed that lymph node cells and spleen cells from mice EC immunized with PC-BSA plus CpG produced high levels of IFN-γ and IL-17A when compared to PBS or PC-BSA or CpG treated mice.

CONCLUSION

This work shows that EC immunization with PC-BSA plus TLR9 ligand CpG may be a potential tool to boost immunity to S. pneumoniae.

A serotype 3 pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide-specific monoclonal antibody requires Fcγ receptor III and macrophages to mediate protection against pneumococcal pneumonia in mice

Antibodies to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (PPS) are required for PPS-based vaccine-mediated protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Previous work established that 1E2, a mouse IgG1 to PPS3 that does not induce serotype 3 (ST3) S. pneumoniae killing by phagocytes in vitro, protects mice from death after intranasal infection with ST3, but its efficacy was abrogated in FcγR (F common gamma receptor)-deficient mice. In this study, we determined whether 1E2 efficacy against pulmonary ST3 infection requires FcγRIII. 1E2 did not protect FcγRIII-deficient (FcγRIII(-/-)) mice. Studies of the mechanism of 1E2-mediated effects showed that it resulted in a marked reduction in lung inflammation in ST3-infected wild-type (Wt [C57BL/6]) mice that was abrogated in FcγRIII(-/-) mice. 1E2 had no effect on early bacterial clearance in the lungs of ST3-infected Wt, FcγRIIB(-/-), or FcγRIII(-/-) mice, but it reduced levels of bacteremia and serum macrophage inflammatory protein-2) (MIP-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in Wt and FcγRIIB(-/-) mice, strains in which it is protective. As previous work showed that neutrophils were dispensable for 1E2 efficacy, we investigated whether macrophages are required for 1E2 efficacy against intranasal infection with ST3 and found that its efficacy was abrogated in Wt mice depleted of macrophages intranasally. In vitro studies revealed that1E2 promoted ST3 internalization by naïve alveolar macrophages but did not induce early intracellular killing. Macrophages from 1E2-treated ST3-infected mice studied ex vivo exhibited more apoptosis than those from FcγRIII(-/-) mice. These findings suggest that 1E2 mediates protection against ST3 in mice by affecting the inflammatory response, perhaps in part via macrophage apoptosis, rather than by inducing early bacterial clearance.

Antibodies to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharide enhance pneumococcal quorum sensing

The use of pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (PPS)-based vaccines has resulted in a substantial reduction in invasive pneumococcal disease. However, much remains to be learned about vaccine-mediated immunity, as seven-valent PPS-protein conjugate vaccine use in children has been associated with nonvaccine serotype replacement and 23-valent vaccine use in adults has not prevented pneumococcal pneumonia. In this report, we demonstrate that certain PPS-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) enhance the transformation frequency of two different Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. This phenomenon was mediated by PPS-specific MAbs that agglutinate but do not promote opsonic effector cell killing of the homologous serotype in vitro. Compared to the autoinducer, competence-stimulating peptide (CSP) alone, transcriptional profiling of pneumococcal gene expression after incubation with CSP and one such MAb to the PPS of serotype 3 revealed changes in the expression of competence (com)-related and bacteriocin-like peptide (blp) genes involved in pneumococcal quorum sensing. This MAb was also found to induce a nearly 2-fold increase in CSP2-mediated bacterial killing or fratricide. These observations reveal a novel, direct effect of PPS-binding MAbs on pneumococcal biology that has important implications for antibody immunity to pneumococcus in the pneumococcal vaccine era. Taken together, our data suggest heretofore unsuspected mechanisms by which PPS-specific antibodies could affect genetic exchange and bacterial viability in the absence of host cells.

IMPORTANCE

Current thought holds that pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (PPS)-binding antibodies protect against pneumococcus by inducing effector cell opsonic killing of the homologous serotype. While such antibodies are an important part of how pneumococcal vaccines protect against pneumococcal disease, PPS-specific antibodies that do not exhibit this activity but are highly protective against pneumococcus in mice have been identified. This article examines the effect of nonopsonic PPS-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) on the biology of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The results showed that in the presence of a competence-stimulating peptide (CSP), such MAbs increase the frequency of pneumococcal transformation. Further studies with one such MAb showed that it altered the expression of genes involved in quorum sensing and increased competence-induced killing or fratricide. These findings reveal a novel, previously unsuspected mechanism by which certain PPS-specific antibodies exert a direct effect on pneumococcal biology that has broad implications for bacterial clearance, genetic exchange, and antibody immunity to pneumococcus.

The innate immune response to Streptococcus pneumoniae in the lung depends on serotype and host response

Bacteremic pneumonia with some pneumococcal capsular serotypes, including serotype 3 (ST3), has been associated with a higher risk of death, whereas others, such as ST8, are associated with a lower risk. To provide a molecular basis for understanding such differences, we used oligo cDNA microarrays to analyze and compare the gene expression profiles of the lungs of Balb/c mice infected intranasally with either ST3, strain A66.1, or ST8, strain ATCC 6308 (6308). Compared to uninfected controls, infection with either A66.1 or 6308 led to inoculum-dependent expression of IFN-γ inducible CXC chemokines among other pro-inflammatory genes. To investigate the role that IFN-γ inducible chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11 play in A66.1- and 6308-induced pneumonia, we examined the effect of the absence of their common receptor, CXCR3, on intranasal infection in CXCR3(-/-) (Balb/c) mice. Compared to wild type (WT) mice, virulence of A66.1 but not 6308 was attenuated in CXCR3(-/-) mice. A66.1-infected CXCR3(-/-) mice had fewer lung neutrophils and more alveolar macrophages 48 h after infection and fewer blood CFU 72 h after infection. Histopathological examination of lung sections revealed less inflammation among A66.1-infected CXCR3(-/-) than WT mice. The reduced virulence of A66.1 in CXCR3(-/-) mice suggests that inhibition of the functional activity of IFN-γ inducible chemokines modulates the host response to A66.1, in turn suggesting a novel approach to improve vaccine-mediated protection against ST3 pneumonia.