Mapping the binding domain of the F18 fimbrial adhesin

Seed-specific expression of porcine verotoxigenic Escherichia coli antigens in tobacco plants as a potential model of edible vaccines

Vaccines can reduce the use of antibiotics by preventing specific infective diseases in pigs. Plant-based edible vaccines are particularly attractive because, upon oral ingestion via feed, they can elicit the local immune system against a foreign disease-causing organism. The aim of this study was to engineer two different independent lines of tobacco plants for the seed-specific expression of immunogenic proteins of VTEC as a model of an edible vaccine. For each antigen, fifty Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Xanthi leaf disks were transformed by agroinfection for the seed-specific expression of the structural parts of the fimbrial subunit FedF of F18 and the B-subunit of Vt2e genes. The synthetic genes, optimized by the codon adaptation index for their expression in tobacco, were inserted into expression cassettes under the control of β-conglycinin promoter. Regenerated tobacco plants (T0) were characterized by molecular and immunoenzymatic techniques. Our results showed that both FedF and Vt2eB genes were integrated into tobacco genome efficiently (> 80%) and they are also maintained in the second generation (T1). Western blotting analyses carried out on the positive producing lines, showed the tissue-specific expression in seeds and the temporal protein accumulation in the mid-late maturation phases. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed seed expression levels of 0.09 to 0.29% (from 138 to 444 µg/g of seeds) and 0.21 to 0.43% (from 321 to 658 µg/g of seeds) of total soluble protein for the FedF and Vt2eB antigens, respectively. This study confirmed the seed-specific expression of the selected antigens in plant seeds. The expression level is suitable for seed-based edible vaccination systems, which could represent a cost-effective way to prevent VTEC infection. Our findings encourage further in vivo studies focused on the activation of the local immune response.

A vaccine candidate for post-weaning diarrhea in swine constructed with a live attenuated Salmonella delivering Escherichia coli K88ab, K88ac, FedA, and FedF fimbrial antigens and its immune responses in a murine model

In order to construct a novel vaccine candidate for preventing post-weaning diarrhea in swine, the individual genes for Escherichia coli K88ab, K88ac, FedA, and FedF fimbriae were inserted into a secretion plasmid pBP244 containing asd, lepB, secA, and secB. These were transformed into Salmonella Typhimurium Δlon ΔcpxR Δasd. Secretion of the individual recombinant fimbrial antigens was confirmed by immunoblot analysis. Groups 1 and 2 mice received a single oral dose of the vaccine mixture and S. Typhimurium carrying pBP244 only as a control, respectively. In groups 3 and 4, mice were primed and boosted with the vaccine mixture and S. Typhimurium carrying pBP244 only as a control, respectively. In general, all immunized mice had significantly increased serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G (P < 0.05) and intestinal secretory IgA against the individual fimbrial antigens compared with those mice in the control group. In the IgG2a and IgG1 titer assay, only IgG2a titer was increased in group 1, while both IgG2a and IgG1 titers were increased in group 3. Furthermore, the vaccine strains were not detected in the excreted feces of any immunized mice. Thus, the vaccine candidate can be highly immunogenic and be safe to the environment.

Isolation of Escherichia coli from piglets in South Korea with diarrhea and characteristics of the virulence genes

Escherichia coli was isolated from the feces of 122 piglets with diarrhea on 55 farms in Korea. The virulence genes of each isolate were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the 562 isolates, 191 carried 1 or more of the virulence genes tested for in this study. Of the 191 isolates, 114 (60%) carried 1 or more of the genes for enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) fimbriae F4, F5, F6, F18, and F41 and ETEC toxins LT, STa, and STb, 57 (30%) carried 1 or more of the genes for the Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) toxins Stx1, Stx2, and Stx2e, and 21% and 37% carried the gene for enteropathogenic E. coli intimin and for enteroaggregative E. coli toxin, respectively. Collectively, our results indicate that other pathotypes of E. coli as well as ETEC can be strongly associated with diarrhea in piglets. In addition, detection of the genes for Stx1 and Stx2 indicates that pigs are reservoirs of human pathogenic STEC.