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Steinrigl A, Willixhofer D, Schindler M, Richter S, Unterweger C, Ahmed AA, van der Linden H, Mende DR, Pucci N, Steinparzer R. Isolation and characterization of Leptospira licerasiae in Austrian swine - a first-time case report in Europe. BMC Vet Res 2024; 20:348. [PMID: 39113014 PMCID: PMC11304667 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-024-04213-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/11/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Leptospiraceae comprise a diverse family of spirochetal bacteria, of which many are involved in infectious diseases of animals and humans. Local leptospiral diversity in domestic animals is often poorly understood. Here we describe the incidental detection of Leptospira (L.) licerasiae in an Austrian pig. CASE PRESENTATION During an experiment to characterize the pathogenesis of L. interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae in pigs, cultivation of a urine sample from a non-challenged contact pig resulted in growth of a spirochetal bacterium that tested negative for pathogenic Leptospira (LipL32 gene). PCR, Sanger sequencing and standard serotyping further confirmed that the recovered isolate was clearly different from the challenge strain L. interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae used in the animal experiment. Whole genome sequencing revealed that the isolate belongs to the species L. licerasiae, a tropical member of the Leptospiraceae, with no prior record of detection in Europe. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report describing the occurrence of L. licerasiae in Europe. Since L. licerasiae is considered to have intermediate pathogenicity, it will be important to follow the geographical distribution of this species and its pathogenic and zoonotic potential in more detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adi Steinrigl
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control Moedling, Robert Koch Gasse 17, Mödling, 2340, Austria.
| | - Denise Willixhofer
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control Moedling, Robert Koch Gasse 17, Mödling, 2340, Austria
| | - Martin Schindler
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control Moedling, Robert Koch Gasse 17, Mödling, 2340, Austria
| | - Susanne Richter
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control Moedling, Robert Koch Gasse 17, Mödling, 2340, Austria
| | - Christine Unterweger
- Clinical Centre for Farm Animals and Food System Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, Vienna, 1221, Austria
| | - Ahmed A Ahmed
- Expertise Centre for Reference and Research On Leptospirosis/WOAH Reference Laboratory for Leptospirosis, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Meibergdreef 39, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Hans van der Linden
- Expertise Centre for Reference and Research On Leptospirosis/WOAH Reference Laboratory for Leptospirosis, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Meibergdreef 39, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Daniel R Mende
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Nicholas Pucci
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Romana Steinparzer
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control Moedling, Robert Koch Gasse 17, Mödling, 2340, Austria
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Elgebaly SA, Peacock WF, Christenson RH, Kreutzer DL, Faraag AHI, Sarguos AMM, El-Khazragy N. Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis Confirms the Diagnostic Value of Nourin-Dependent miR-137 and miR-106b in Unstable Angina Patients. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14783. [PMID: 37834231 PMCID: PMC10573268 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241914783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The challenge of rapidly diagnosing myocardial ischemia in unstable angina (UA) patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) is due to a lack of sensitive blood biomarkers. This has prompted an investigation into microRNAs (miRNAs) related to cardiac-derived Nourin for potential diagnostic application. The Nourin protein is rapidly expressed in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (UA and acute myocardial infarction (AMI)). MicroRNAs regulate gene expression through mRNA binding and, thus, may represent potential biomarkers. We initially identified miR-137 and miR-106b and conducted a clinical validation, which demonstrated that they were highly upregulated in ACS patients, but not in healthy subjects and non-ACS controls. Using integrated comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, the present study confirms that the Nourin protein targets miR-137 and miR-106b, which are linked to myocardial ischemia and inflammation associated with ACS. Molecular docking demonstrated robust interactions between the Nourin protein and miR137/hsa-miR-106b, involving hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions, with -10 kcal/mol binding energy. I-TASSER generated Nourin analogs, with the top 10 chosen for structural insights. Antigenic regions and MHCII epitopes within the Nourin SPGADGNGGEAMPGG sequence showed strong binding to HLA-DR/DQ alleles. The Cytoscape network revealed interactions of -miR137/hsa-miR--106b and Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in myocardial ischemia. RNA Composer predicted the secondary structure of miR-106b. Schrödinger software identified key Nourin-RNA interactions critical for complex stability. The study identifies miR-137 and miR-106b as potential ACS diagnostic and therapeutic targets. This research underscores the potential of miRNAs targeting Nourin for precision ACS intervention. The analysis leverages RNA Composer, Schrödinger, and I-TASSER tools to explore interactions and structural insights. Robust Nourin-miRNA interactions are established, bolstering the case for miRNA-based interventions in ischemic injury. In conclusion, the study contributes to UA and AMI diagnosis strategies through bioinformatics-guided exploration of Nourin-targeting miRNAs. Supported by comprehensive molecular analysis, the hypoxia-induced miR-137 for cell apoptosis (a marker of cell damage) and the inflammation-induced miR-106b (a marker of inflammation) confirmed their potential clinical use as diagnostic biomarkers. This research reinforces the growing role of miR-137/hsa-miR-106b in the early diagnosis of myocardial ischemia in unstable angina patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salwa A. Elgebaly
- Research & Development, Nour Heart, Inc., Vienna, VA 22180, USA
- Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT 06032, USA;
| | - W. Frank Peacock
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77057, USA;
| | - Robert H. Christenson
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 2120, USA;
| | - Donald L. Kreutzer
- Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT 06032, USA;
| | - Ahmed Hassan Ibrahim Faraag
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt;
- School of Biotechnology, Badr University, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | | | - Nashwa El-Khazragy
- Department of Clinical Pathology-Hematology, Ain Shams Medical Research Institute (MASRI), Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt;
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo11599, Egypt
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Naveed M, Mahmood S, Aziz T, Azeem A, Hussain I, Waseem M, Ali A, Alharbi M, Alshammari A, Alasmari AF. Designing a novel chimeric multi-epitope vaccine subunit against Staphylococcus argenteus through artificial intelligence approach integrating pan-genome analysis, in vitro identification, and immunogenicity profiling. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-16. [PMID: 37695632 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2256881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcus argenteus is a newly identified pathogen that causes respiratory tract infections, skin infections, such as cellulitis, abscesses, and impetigo, and currently, there is no licensed vaccine available against it. To develop a vaccine against S. argenteus, a bacterial pan-genome analysis was applied to identify potential vaccine candidates. A total of 4908 core proteins were retrieved and utilized for identifying four proteins, including SG38 Panton-Valentine leukocidin LukS-PV protein, SG62 staphylococcal enterotoxin type A protein, SG39 enterotoxin B protein, and SG43 enterotoxin type C3 protein as potential vaccine candidates. Epitopes were predicted for these proteins using different types of B and T-cell epitope prediction tools, and only those with a non-toxic profile, antigenic, non-allergenic, and immunogenic were selected. The selected epitopes were linked to each other to form a multi-epitope vaccine construct, which was further linked to the PADRE sequence (AKFVAAWTLKAAA) and 50s ribosomal L7/L12 protein to enhance the vaccine's antigenicity. The three-dimensional structure of the vaccine construct was assessed to determine its binding affinity with key Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR-9) and Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR-5) immune cell receptors. Our findings demonstrate that the vaccine exhibits favorable binding interactions with these immune cell receptors, indicating its potential efficacy. Molecular dynamic simulations further confirmed the accessibility of vaccine epitopes to the host immune system, substantiating its ability to elicit protective immune responses. Taken together, this study highlights the promising candidacy of the modeled vaccine construct for future in vivo and in vitro experimental investigations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Naveed
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Sarmad Mahmood
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Tariq Aziz
- Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, Arta, Greece
| | - Arooj Azeem
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Ibrar Hussain
- Punjab Health Facility Management Company, Chakwal, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Waseem
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Ayaz Ali
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Pakistan
| | - Metab Alharbi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulrahman Alshammari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah F Alasmari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Jiang F, Peng C, Cheng P, Wang J, Lian J, Gong W. PP19128R, a Multiepitope Vaccine Designed to Prevent Latent Tuberculosis Infection, Induced Immune Responses In Silico and In Vitro Assays. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11040856. [PMID: 37112768 PMCID: PMC10145841 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11040856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is the primary source of active tuberculosis (ATB), but a preventive vaccine against LTBI is lacking. Methods: In this study, dominant helper T lymphocyte (HTL), cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), and B-cell epitopes were identified from nine antigens related to LTBI and regions of difference (RDs). These epitopes were used to construct a novel multiepitope vaccine (MEV) based on their antigenicity, immunogenicity, sensitization, and toxicity. The immunological characteristics of the MEV were analyzed with immunoinformatics technology and verified by enzyme-linked immunospot assay and Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine assay in vitro. Results: A novel MEV, designated PP19128R, containing 19 HTL epitopes, 12 CTL epitopes, 8 B-cell epitopes, toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists, and helper peptides, was successfully constructed. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the antigenicity, immunogenicity, and solubility of PP19128R were 0.8067, 9.29811, and 0.900675, respectively. The global population coverage of PP19128R in HLA class I and II alleles reached 82.24% and 93.71%, respectively. The binding energies of the PP19128R-TLR2 and PP19128R-TLR4 complexes were -1324.77 kcal/mol and -1278 kcal/mol, respectively. In vitro experiments showed that the PP19128R vaccine significantly increased the number of interferon gamma-positive (IFN-γ+) T lymphocytes and the levels of cytokines, such as IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-10. Furthermore, positive correlations were observed between PP19128R-specific cytokines in ATB patients and individuals with LTBI. Conclusions: The PP19128R vaccine is a promising MEV with excellent antigenicity and immunogenicity and no toxicity or sensitization that can induce robust immune responses in silico and in vitro. This study provides a vaccine candidate for the prevention of LTBI in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Jiang
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100091, China
- The Second Brigade of Cadet, Basic Medical Science Academy of Air Force Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Cong Peng
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Peng Cheng
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Jie Wang
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Jianqi Lian
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Wenping Gong
- Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100091, China
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Diagnosis of Human Leptospirosis: Comparison of Microscopic Agglutination Test with Recombinant LigA/B Antigen-Based In-House IgM Dot ELISA Dipstick Test and Latex Agglutination Test Using Bayesian Latent Class Model and MAT as Gold Standard. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:diagnostics12061455. [PMID: 35741265 PMCID: PMC9221883 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12061455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Leptospirosis is a spirochaetal infection that possesses a broad host range affecting almost all mammals. In the present study, the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was compared with recombinant LigA/B antigen-based point-of-care diagnostics such as the in-house IgM dot ELISA dipstick test (IgM- DEDT) and the latex agglutination test (LAT) for the serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis. The comparison of the MAT with these two point–of-care diagnostics was performed using the MAT as the gold standard test and using Bayesian latent class modelling (BLCM), which considers all diagnostic tests as imperfect. The N-terminal conserved region of the LigA/B protein spanning the first to fifth big tandem repeat domains (rLigA/BCon1-5) was employed as a serodiagnostic marker in both of the bedside assays. A total of 340 serum samples collected from humans involved in high risk occupations were screened using the MAT, IgM DEDT and LAT. During the early phase of leptospirosis, BLCM analysis showed that the IgM DEDT and LAT had similar sensitivities (99.6 (96.0–100)) and (99.5 (95.2–100)), respectively, while the single acute phase MAT had the lowest sensitivity (83.3 (72.8–91.3)). Both the IgM DEDT and the LAT may be superior to the single acute phase MAT in terms of sensitivity during the early phase of infection and may be suitable for the early diagnosis of leptospirosis. However, BLCM analysis revealed that the use of both acute and convalescent samples substantially increased the sensitivity of the final MAT (98.2% (93.0–99.8%)) as a test to diagnose human leptospirosis. Both the IgM DEDT and LAT can be employed as bedside spot tests in remote locations where the MAT is not easily accessible.
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Sakyi PO, Broni E, Amewu RK, Miller WA, Wilson MD, Kwofie SK. Homology Modeling, de Novo Design of Ligands, and Molecular Docking Identify Potential Inhibitors of Leishmania donovani 24-Sterol Methyltransferase. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:859981. [PMID: 35719359 PMCID: PMC9201040 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.859981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The therapeutic challenges pertaining to leishmaniasis due to reported chemoresistance and toxicity necessitate the need to explore novel pathways to identify plausible inhibitory molecules. Leishmania donovani 24-sterol methyltransferase (LdSMT) is vital for the synthesis of ergosterols, the main constituents of Leishmania cellular membranes. So far, mammals have not been shown to possess SMT or ergosterols, making the pathway a prime candidate for drug discovery. The structural model of LdSMT was elucidated using homology modeling to identify potential novel 24-SMT inhibitors via virtual screening, scaffold hopping, and de-novo fragment-based design. Altogether, six potential novel inhibitors were identified with binding energies ranging from −7.0 to −8.4 kcal/mol with e-LEA3D using 22,26-azasterol and S1–S4 obtained from scaffold hopping via the ChEMBL, DrugBank, PubChem, ChemSpider, and ZINC15 databases. These ligands showed comparable binding energy to 22,26-azasterol (−7.6 kcal/mol), the main inhibitor of LdSMT. Moreover, all the compounds had plausible ligand efficiency-dependent lipophilicity (LELP) scores above 3. The binding mechanism identified Tyr92 to be critical for binding, and this was corroborated via molecular dynamics simulations and molecular mechanics Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) calculations. The ligand A1 was predicted to possess antileishmanial properties with a probability of activity (Pa) of 0.362 and a probability of inactivity (Pi) of 0.066, while A5 and A6 possessed dermatological properties with Pa values of 0.205 and 0.249 and Pi values of 0.162 and 0.120, respectively. Structural similarity search via DrugBank identified vabicaserin, daledalin, zanapezil, imipramine, and cefradine with antileishmanial properties suggesting that the de-novo compounds could be explored as potential antileishmanial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick O. Sakyi
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana
| | - Emmanuel Broni
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic & Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Richard K. Amewu
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Whelton A. Miller
- Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, United States
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Michael D. Wilson
- Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, United States
| | - Samuel Kojo Kwofie
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic & Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- *Correspondence: Samuel Kojo Kwofie,
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