Production of monoclonal antibodies to Tropheryma whipplei and identification of recognized epitopes by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry

Monoclonal Antibodies for the Diagnosis of Borrelia crocidurae

Relapsing fever borreliae, produced by ectoparasite-borne Borrelia species, cause mild to deadly bacteremia and miscarriage. In the perspective of developing inexpensive assays for the rapid detection of relapsing fever borreliae, we produced 12 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against Borrelia crocidurae and characterized the two exhibiting the highest titers. P3A10 MAb reacts with the 35.6-kDa flagellin B (flaB) of B. crocidurae while P6D9 MAb recognizes a 35.1-kDa variable-like protein (Vlp) in B. crocidurae and a 35.2-kDa Vlp in Borrelia duttonii. Indirect immunofluorescence assay incorporating relapsing fever and Lyme group borreliae and 11 blood-borne organisms responsible for fever in West Africa confirmed the reactivity of these two MAbs. Combining these two MAbs in indirect immunofluorescence assays detected relapsing fever borreliae including B. crocidurae in ticks and the blood of febrile Senegalese patients. Both antibodies could be incorporated into inexpensive and stable formats suited for the rapid point-of-care diagnosis of relapsing fever. These first-ever MAbs directed against African relapsing fever borreliae are available for the scientific community to promote research in this neglected field.

Immunoreactive proteins of Campylobacter concisus, an emergent intestinal pathogen

Campylobacter concisus is an emerging pathogen of the human gastrointestinal tract. Recently, a significantly higher prevalence of C. concisus DNA and higher levels of antibodies specific to C. concisus was detected in children with Crohn's disease when compared with controls. The aim of this study was to identify C. concisus immunoreactive antigens. Proteins from C. concisus were separated using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and sera from 10 C. concisus-positive children with Crohn's disease were employed for immunoprobing. The patients' sera reacted with 69 spots, which corresponded to 31 proteins identified by mass spectrometry. The proteins were functionally classified as involved in chemotaxis, signal transduction, flagellar motility, surface binding and membrane protein assembly. Although the individual patients' sera reacted to different sets of proteins, common antigens that were recognized by all patients were flagellin B, ATP synthase F1 alpha subunit, and outer membrane protein 18. Cross-reactivity between proteins of the Campylobacter genus was tested using patients' sera absorbed with Campylobacter showae, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter ureolyticus. Most of the C. concisus immunoreactive proteins identified in this study showed cross-reactivity with other species except for three antigens. In conclusion, this study has identified C. concisus proteins that are immunoreactive within patients with Crohn's disease.

Global proteomic pattern of Tropheryma whipplei: a Whipple's disease bacterium

The proteome of Tropheryma whipplei, the intracellular bacterium responsible for Whipple's disease (WD), was analyzed using two complementary approaches: 2-DE coupled with MALDI-TOF and SDS-PAGE with nanoLC-MS/MS. This strategy led to the identification of 206 proteins of 808 predicted ORFs, resolving some questions raised by the genomic sequence of this bacterium. We successfully identified antibiotic targets and proteins with predicted N-terminal signal sequences. Additionally, we identified a family of surface proteins (known as T. whipplei surface proteins (WiSPs)), which are encoded by a unique group of species-specific genes and serve as both coding regions and DNA repeats that promote genomic recombination. Comparison of the protein expression profiles of the intracellular facultative host-associated WD bacterium with other host-associated, intracellular obligate, and environmental bacteria revealed that T. whipplei shares a proteomic expression profile with other host-associated facultative intracellular bacteria. In summary, this study describes the global protein expression pattern of T. whipplei and reveals some specific features of the T. whipplei proteome.

Advances in Tropheryma whipplei research: the rush to find biomarkers for Whipple's disease

Whipple's disease (WD) is a systemic chronic infection, caused by the Gram-positive bacterium Tropheryma whipplei. There are several clinical traits linked to WD: histological lesions in the GI tract in association with diverse clinical manifestations (classic WD), endocarditis with negative blood cultures, and isolated neurological infection. WD is rare, predominantly affects middle-aged men and is fatal without treatment. The most recent strategy for diagnosing WD uses the results of diastase-resistant periodic acid Schiff staining and PCR in parallel, both performed on involved organ/tissue biopsy (small intestine, cardiac valve and cerebrospinal fluid). The generation of rabbit polyclonal antibodies has enabled the detection of the bacterium in tissues by immunohistochemical staining. However, the diagnosis of WD remains an invasive procedure. The recent achievement of stable bacterial culture and sequencing of the T. whipplei genome has opened a framework for the development of a biomarker platform. Several studies in different fields have been performed, for example, transcriptomics, immunoproteomics and comparative proteomics. Biomarker candidates have been proposed for the development of less invasive procedures for diagnosing WD.