Anti-flagellin antibody responses elicited in mice orally immunized with attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strains

Igg Subclasses Targeting the Flagella of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Can Mediate Phagocytosis and Bacterial Killing

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella are a common cause of invasive disease in immuno-compromised individuals and in children. Multi-drug resistance poses challenges to disease control, with a critical need for effective vaccines. Flagellin is an attractive vaccine candidate due to surface exposure and high epitope copy number, but its potential as a target for opsonophacytic antibodies is unclear. We examined the effect of targeting flagella with different classes of IgG on the interaction between Salmonella Typhimurium and a human phagocyte-like cell line, THP-1. We tagged the FliC flagellar protein with a foreign CD52 mimotope (TSSPSAD) and bacteria were opsonized with a panel of humanised CD52 antibodies with the same antigen-binding V-region, but different constant regions. We found that IgG binding to flagella increases bacterial phagocytosis and reduces viable intracellular bacterial numbers. Opsonisation with IgG3, followed by IgG1, IgG4, and IgG2, resulted in the highest level of bacterial uptake and in the highest reduction in the intracellular load of viable bacteria. Taken together, our data provide proof-of-principle evidence that targeting flagella with antibodies can increase the antibacterial function of host cells, with IgG3 being the most potent subclass. These data will assist the rational design of urgently needed, optimised vaccines against iNTS disease.

Immunogenicity and in vitro and in vivo protective effects of antibodies targeting a recombinant form of the Streptococcus mutans P1 surface protein

Streptococcus mutans is a major etiologic agent of dental caries, a prevalent worldwide infectious disease and a serious public health concern. The surface-localized S. mutans P1 adhesin contributes to tooth colonization and caries formation. P1 is a large (185-kDa) and complex multidomain protein considered a promising target antigen for anticaries vaccines. Previous observations showed that a recombinant P1 fragment (P1(39-512)), produced in Bacillus subtilis and encompassing a functional domain, induces antibodies that recognize the native protein and interfere with S. mutans adhesion in vitro. In the present study, we further investigated the immunological features of P1(39-512) in combination with the following different adjuvants after parenteral administration to mice: alum, a derivative of the heat-labile toxin (LT), and the phase 1 flagellin of S. Typhimurium LT2 (FliCi). Our results demonstrated that recombinant P1(39-512) preserves relevant conformational epitopes as well as salivary agglutinin (SAG)-binding activity. Coadministration of adjuvants enhanced anti-P1 serum antibody responses and affected both epitope specificity and immunoglobulin subclass switching. Importantly, P1(39-512)-specific antibodies raised in mice immunized with adjuvants showed significantly increased inhibition of S. mutans adhesion to SAG, with less of an effect on SAG-mediated bacterial aggregation, an innate defense mechanism. Oral colonization of mice by S. mutans was impaired in the presence of anti-P1(39-512) antibodies, particularly those raised in combination with adjuvants. In conclusion, our results confirm the utility of P1(39-512) as a potential candidate for the development of anticaries vaccines and as a tool for functional studies of S. mutans P1.

Evaluation of recombinant Salmonella expressing the flagellar protein fliC for persistence and enhanced antibody response in commercial turkeys

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) is one of the most common causes of human foodborne illness in the United States. Previous research indicates that antibodies against the fliC protein can provide protection against Salmonella challenge in mice. To generate a vaccine that effectively protects poultry against multiple Salmonella serotypes, novel attenuated strains of SE were developed to express a fliC peptide sequence on the outer membrane protein lamB in association with an M2e (marker) epitope. In 3 separate trials, poults were immunized with 10(7) to 10(8) cfu/poult of the appropriate recombinant Salmonella strains (ΔSE-M2e or ΔSE-M2e-fliC) via oral gavage on the day of hatch and again on d 21 posthatch. Liver, spleen, and cecal tonsils were aseptically removed on d 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 posthatch for detection of Salmonella, and blood samples were obtained at these same time points for determination of an M2e-specific antibody response. In all 3 trials, the ΔSE-M2e-fliC strain exhibited significantly less invasion of the liver and spleen at d 7 and 14 when compared with ΔSE-M2e or SE phage type 13A (P < 0.05). Similarly, colonization of the cecal tonsils was decreased in the poults immunized with the ΔSE-M2e-fliC strain. By d 21, the ΔSE-M2e-fliC strain exhibited a significantly higher M2e-specific antibody response when compared with the negative control and SE phage type 13A groups (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences in M2e-specific antibody responses were observed between the ΔSE candidate vaccine strains throughout the study. Overall, these data suggest that oral live attenuated Salmonella-vectored vaccines expressing a fliC peptide sequence are able to elicit a humoral immune response in commercial poults and may contribute to a reduction in Salmonella organ invasion and colonization.

A flagellin-producing Lactococcus strain: interactions with mucin and enteropathogens

Bacillus cereus CH is a probiotic strain used in human nutrition whose adhesion to mucin is dependent on its surface-associated flagellin. Flagellins from the surface of several probiotic Bacillus strains were efficiently extracted with 5 M LiCl and identified by peptide fingerprinting. Based on the proteomic analysis, cloning of the gene coding for the flagellin of B. cereus CH was performed in the lactococcal vector pNZ8110 under the control of a nisin-inducible promoter. The resulting strain, Lactococcus lactis CH, produced a surface-associated flagellin after 6 h of induction with nisin. The recombinant Lactococcus strain adhered strongly to mucin-coated polystyrene plates, whilst inhibiting competitively the adhesion of the pathogens Escherichia coli LMG2092 and Salmonella enterica ssp. enterica LMG15860 to the same molecule. Strain CH could be used in further experimentation for the characterization of the molecular mechanism of action of this probiotic B. cereus CH flagellin.

Production of human rotavirus and Salmonella antigens in plants and elicitation of fljB-specific humoral responses in mice

A Nicotiana benthamiana transient expression system was used to express single antigen and dimeric combinations of the human rotavirus (HRV) VP7 and a truncated VP4 (VP4Δ) proteins fused with Salmonella typhimurium's flagellin fljB subunit. Immunoblot analyses using rabbit antibodies generated against these proteins demonstrated that the constructs were successfully expressed with yields ranging from 0.85 to 31.97 μg of recombinant protein per gram of fresh leaf tissue. Expressing the single and dimeric antigens has no effect on plant growth and development except for VP7 and VP4Δ::VP7, which show mild necrotic lesions. Immunization of mice with proteins from leaves transformed with constructs bearing the fljB moiety elicited an fljB-specific humoral response. The Nicotiana benthamiana transient system is efficient to express multiple combinations of pathogen proteins and demonstrates the potential of generating a Salmonella typhimurium subunit vaccine in plants.

Oral vaccination with attenuated Salmonella enterica strains encoding T-cell epitopes from tumor antigen NY-ESO-1 induces specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses

Bacterial fimbriae can accept foreign peptides and display them on the cell surface. A highly efficient gene replacement method was used to generate peptide vaccines based on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SL3261. The T-cell epitopes (NY-ESO-1 p157-165 and p157-167) from NY-ESO-1, which is a promising target antigen in patients for the specific immune recognition of cancer, were incorporated into the gene encoding AgfA (the major subunit protein of thin aggregative fimbriae of Salmonella) by replacing an equal length of the DNA segment. To improve cytotoxic T-lymphocyte recognition, both termini of the peptide were flanked by double alanine (AA) residues. Immunofluorescence microscopy with AgfA-specific antiserum verified the expression of chimeric AgfA, which was also proved by a Congo red binding assay. Oral immunizations of HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice with recombinant SL3261 strains encoding NY-ESO-1 p157-165 or p157-167 induced NY-ESO-1 p157-165-specific CD8(+) T cells, detected by an HLA-A*0201 pentamer, and induced a T-cell response detected by an enzyme-linked immunospot assay. The Salmonella fimbrial display system was efficient at the induction of an antitumor cellular immune response in vivo, providing a new strategy for the development of efficient cancer vaccinations.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strains expressing a nontoxic Shiga-like toxin 2 derivative induce partial protective immunity to the toxin expressed by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Shiga-like toxin 2 (Stx2)-producing enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (referred to as EHEC or STEC) strains are the primary etiologic agents of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which leads to renal failure and high mortality rates. Expression of Stx2 is the most relevant virulence-associated factor of EHEC strains, and toxin neutralization by antigen-specific serum antibodies represents the main target for both preventive and therapeutic anti-HUS approaches. In the present report, we describe two Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium aroA vaccine strains expressing a nontoxic plasmid-encoded derivative of Stx2 (Stx2DeltaAB) containing the complete nontoxic A2 subunit and the receptor binding B subunit. The two S. Typhimurium strains differ in the expression of flagellin, the structural subunit of the flagellar shaft, which exerts strong adjuvant effects. The vaccine strains expressed Stx2DeltaAB, either cell bound or secreted into the extracellular environment, and showed enhanced mouse gut colonization and high plasmid stability under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Oral immunization of mice with three doses of the S. Typhimurium vaccine strains elicited serum anti-Stx2B (IgG) antibodies that neutralized the toxic effects of the native toxin under in vitro conditions (Vero cells) and conferred partial protection under in vivo conditions. No significant differences with respect to gut colonization or the induction of antigen-specific antibody responses were detected in mice vaccinated with flagellated versus nonflagellated bacterial strains. The present results indicate that expression of Stx2DeltaAB by attenuated S. Typhimurium strains is an alternative vaccine approach for HUS control, but additional improvements in the immunogenicity of Stx2 toxoids are still required.