Epitope-vaccine induces high levels of ELDKWA-epitope-specific neutralizing antibody

Development of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on the multiepitope peptide for the synchronous detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin A and G proteins in milk

Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP), one of the most common foodborne diseases, results from ingestion of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) in foods. In our previous studies, we found that SEA and SEG were two predominant SE proteins produced by milkacquired S. aureus isolates. Here, a tandemly arranged multiepitope peptide (named SEAGepis) was designed with six linear B-cell epitopes derived from SEA or SEG and was heterologously expressed. The SEAGepis-specific antibody was prepared by immunizing rabbit with rSEAGepis. Then, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) based on rSEAGepis and the corresponding antibody was developed to simultaneously detect SEA and SEG. Under the optimized conditions, the ic-ELISA standard curve for rSEAGepis was constructed in the concentration range of 0.5 to 512 ng/ml, and the average coefficients of variation of intra- and interassay were 4.28 and 5.61% during six standard concentrations. The average half-maximal inhibitory concentration was 5.07 ng/ml, and the limit of detection at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was 0.52 ng/ml. The anti-rSEAGepis antibody displayed over 90% cross-reactivity with SEA and SEG but less than 0.5% cross-reactivity with other enterotoxins. Artificially contaminated milk with different concentrations of rSEAGepis, SEA, and SEG was detected by the established ic-ELISA; the recoveries of rSEAGepis, SEA, and SEG were 91.1 to 157.5%, 90.3 to 134.5%, and 89.1 to 117.5%, respectively, with a coefficient of variation below 12%. These results demonstrated that the newly established ic-ELISA possessed high sensitivity, specificity, stability, and accuracy and could potentially be a useful analytical method for synchronous detection of SEA and SEG in milk.

Mucosal antibodies induced by tandem repeat of 2F5 epitope block transcytosis of HIV-1

Induction of mucosal antibodies to prevent HIV infection is an important strategy for the HIV-1 prophylaxis. Here we report an epitope-vaccine based antigen that was able to elicit mucosal antibodies capable of blocking HIV-1 transcytosis. Because the ELDKWA epitope of neutralizing antibody 2F5 plays a crucial role in transcytosis, a series of immunogens that contain tandem copies of ELDKWA were prepared. Mice were immunized with these immunogens intranasally, and received intraperitoneal+intranasal boosters. The immunogens that contained more ELDKWA epitopes elicited higher level of mucosal ELDKWA-epitope specific IgAs and systemic IgGs. Although the antisera from the immunized mice exhibited mild neutralizing potency to HIV-1 isolates HXB2 and JRFL, the affinity purified mucosal ELDKWA-epitope specific antibodies could block the transcytosis of cell-free CNE3 (a primary isolate of subtype CRF01_AE) in human tight epithelial models.

Surface plasmon resonance for vaccine design and efficacy studies: recent applications and future trends

The lack of a clear correlation between design and protection continues to present a barrier to progress in vaccine research. In this article, we outline how surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors are emerging as tools to help resolve some of the key biophysical determinants of protection and, thereby, facilitate more rational vaccine design campaigns. SPR technology has contributed significantly to our understanding of the complex biophysical determinants of HIV neutralization and offers a platform for preclinical evaluation of vaccine candidates. In particular, the concept of reverse-engineering HIV vaccine targets based on known broadly neutralizing antibody modalities is explored and extended to include other infectious diseases, such as malaria and influenza, and other diseases such as cancer. The analytical capacity afforded by SPR includes serum screening to monitor immune responses and highly efficient quality-control surveillance measures. These are discussed alongside key technological advances, such as developments in sample throughput, and a perspective predicting continued growth and diversification of the role of SPR in vaccine development is proposed.

Structure-affinity relationships in the gp41 ELDKWA epitope for the HIV-1 neutralizing monoclonal antibody 2F5: effects of side-chain and backbone modifications and conformational constraints

The human monoclonal antibody, mAb 2F5, has broad HIV-1 neutralizing activity and binds a conserved linear epitope within the envelope glycoprotein gp41 having a core recognition sequence ELDKWA. In this study, the structural requirements of this epitope for high-affinity binding to mAb 2F5 were explored using peptide synthesis and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Expansion of the minimal epitope to an end-capped, linear nonapeptide, Ac-LELDKWASL-amide, was sufficient to attain maximal affinity within the set of native gp41-sequence peptides assayed. Scanning single-residue alanine and d-residue substitutions then confirmed the essential recognition requirements of 2F5 for the central DKW sequence, and also established the importance of the terminal leucine residues in determining high-affinity binding of the linear nonapeptide. Further studies of side-chain and backbone-modified analogs revealed a high degree of structural specificity for the DK sequence in particular, and delineated the steric requirements of the Leu(3) and Trp(6) residues. The nine-residue 2F5 epitope, flanked by pairs of serine residues, retained a high affinity for 2F5 when it was conformationally constrained as a 15-residue, disulfide-bridged loop. However, analogs with smaller or larger loop sizes resulted in lower 2F5 affinities. The conformational effects of the gp41 C-peptide helix immediately adjacent to the N-terminal end of the ELDKWA epitope were examined through the synthesis of helix-initiated analogs. Circular dichroism (CD) studies indicated that the alpha-helical conformation was propagated efficiently into the LELDKWASL epitope, but without any significant effect on its affinity for 2F5. This study should guide the design of a second generation of conformationally constrained ELDKWA analogs that might elicit an immune response that mimics the HIV-neutralizing actions of 2F5.

Induction of monoclonal antibody with predefined ELNKWA epitope specificity by epitope vaccine

Since the hybridoma technique to produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) was discovered, thousands of MAbs with predefined protein specificity have been produced, and a natural or recombinant protein as antigen is necessary for inducing MAbs in the conventional hybridoma technique. To induce epitope-specific MAbs, we suggest an epitope vaccine as a new technique to induce MAbs with predefined epitope specificity. ELDKWA was identified as an important neutralizing epitope on HIV-1 gp41. The MAb 2F5, recognizing ELDKWA epitope, has shown broad neutralizing activity to many HIV strains, including primary isolates, but the mutant in ELNKWA epitope results in escape 2F5-based neutralization. To produce MAbs recognizing this mutated epitope for consideration of passive immunotherapy against the mutant bearing the ELNKWA epitope, MAbs with predefined ELNKWA epitope specificity were induced by synthetic epitope-peptide instead of a natural or recombinant gp41 bearing this epitope. Three MAbs were identified to recognize ELNKWA epitope on the synthetic epitope-peptide, and interestingly could bind the recombinant gp41 with ELDKWA epitope in an ELISA assay and immunoblotting analysis.