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Abouelhadid S, Atkins ER, Kay EJ, Passmore IJ, North SJ, Lehri B, Hitchen P, Bakke E, Rahman M, Bossé JT, Li Y, Terra VS, Langford PR, Dell A, Wren BW, Cuccui J. Development of a novel glycoengineering platform for the rapid production of conjugate vaccines. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:159. [PMID: 37596672 PMCID: PMC10436394 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02125-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Conjugate vaccines produced either by chemical or biologically conjugation have been demonstrated to be safe and efficacious in protection against several deadly bacterial diseases. However, conjugate vaccine assembly and production have several shortcomings which hinders their wider availability. Here, we developed a tool, Mobile-element Assisted Glycoconjugation by Insertion on Chromosome, MAGIC, a novel biotechnological platform that overcomes the limitations of the current conjugate vaccine design method(s). As a model, we focused our design on a leading bioconjugation method using N-oligosaccharyltransferase (OTase), PglB. The installation of MAGIC led to at least twofold increase in glycoconjugate yield via MAGIC when compared to conventional N-OTase based bioconjugation method(s). Then, we improved MAGIC to (a) allow rapid installation of glycoengineering component(s), (b) omit the usage of antibiotics, (c) reduce the dependence on protein induction agents. Furthermore, we show the modularity of the MAGIC platform in performing glycoengineering in bacterial species that are less genetically tractable than the commonly used Escherichia coli. The MAGIC system promises a rapid, robust and versatile method to develop vaccines against serious bacterial pathogens. We anticipate the utility of the MAGIC platform could enhance vaccines production due to its compatibility with virtually any bioconjugation method, thus expanding vaccine biopreparedness toolbox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherif Abouelhadid
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Elizabeth R Atkins
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Emily J Kay
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Ian J Passmore
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Simon J North
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Burhan Lehri
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Paul Hitchen
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Eirik Bakke
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Mohammed Rahman
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Janine T Bossé
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, W2 1NY, UK
| | - Yanwen Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, W2 1NY, UK
| | - Vanessa S Terra
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Paul R Langford
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, W2 1NY, UK
| | - Anne Dell
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Jon Cuccui
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
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Passmore IJ, Faulds-Pain A, Abouelhadid S, Harrison MA, Hall CL, Hitchen P, Dell A, Heap JT, Wren BW. A combinatorial DNA assembly approach to biosynthesis of N-linked glycans in E. coli. Glycobiology 2023; 33:138-149. [PMID: 36637423 PMCID: PMC9990991 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwac082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Glycoengineering of recombinant glycans and glycoconjugates is a rapidly evolving field. However, the production and exploitation of glycans has lagged behind that of proteins and nucleic acids. Biosynthetic glycoconjugate production requires the coordinated cooperation of three key components within a bacterial cell: a substrate protein, a coupling oligosaccharyltransferase, and a glycan biosynthesis locus. While the acceptor protein and oligosaccharyltransferase are the products of single genes, the glycan is a product of a multigene metabolic pathway. Typically, the glycan biosynthesis locus is cloned and transferred en bloc from the native organism to a suitable Escherichia coli strain. However, gene expression within these pathways has been optimized by natural selection in the native host and is unlikely to be optimal for heterologous production in an unrelated organism. In recent years, synthetic biology has addressed the challenges in heterologous expression of multigene systems by deconstructing these pathways and rebuilding them from the bottom up. The use of DNA assembly methods allows the convenient assembly of such pathways by combining defined parts with the requisite coding sequences in a single step. In this study, we apply combinatorial assembly to the heterologous biosynthesis of the Campylobacter jejuni N-glycosylation (pgl) pathway in E. coli. We engineered reconstructed biosynthesis clusters that faithfully reproduced the C. jejuni heptasaccharide glycan. Furthermore, following a single round of combinatorial assembly and screening, we identified pathway clones that outperform glycan and glycoconjugate production of the native unmodified pgl cluster. This platform offers a flexible method for optimal engineering of glycan structures in E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Passmore
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infection Biology, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | | | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infection Biology, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Mark A Harrison
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infection Biology, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Catherine L Hall
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infection Biology, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Paul Hitchen
- Imperial College London, Department of Life Sciences, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Anne Dell
- Imperial College London, Department of Life Sciences, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - John T Heap
- University of Nottingham, School of Life Sciences, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Department of Infection Biology, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
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3
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Malogolovkin A, Davies A, Abouelhadid S, Kerviel A, Roy P, Falconar AK. Enhanced Zika virus-like particle development using Baculovirus spp. constructs. J Med Virol 2023; 95:e28252. [PMID: 36271727 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.28252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) is one of several examples of an unprecedented pandemic spread and against which there is currently no suitable vaccine or treatment. Here, we constructed and characterized recombinant baculovirus-derived ZIKV-like particles (Zika VLPs) to study ZIKV-antibody interactions. These VLPs, uniquely consisted of the full-length ZIKV capsid (C), pre-membrane (prM), and envelope (E) proteins with either: a) the viral nonstructural NS2B and NS3 protease unit under one or two different promoters or b) an alternative host-cell furin protease encoding cleavage sequence inserted between the C and prM genes, together with lobster tropomyosin leader and honeybee signal sequences with one promoter for increased extracellular secretion. All these Zika VLPs displayed typical virion morphology in transmission electron microscopic analysis when expressed in both insect (Sf9) and mammalian (HEK293T) cells and no uncleaved prM glycoprotein was detected, as are present on immature virions. The importance of glycosylation of the E glycoprotein was shown by the effects on both polyclonal and monoclonal antibody reactions after these N-linked carbohydrate residues were disrupted by oxidation or enzymatic cleavage. Importantly, the construct which contained the host-cell furin protease cleavage sequence together with a lobster tropomyosin leader and honeybee signal sequences under one promoter produced higher Zika VLP titers and protein concentrations and which can now be tested as a superior construct in multifunctional diagnostic (ELISA and neutralization/antibody-dependent enhancement) assays and immunogenic assessments possibly leading to vaccine trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Malogolovkin
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Andrew Davies
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Adeline Kerviel
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Polly Roy
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Andrew K Falconar
- Departamento de Medicina, Universidad del Norte, Km5 Antigua via Puerto Colombia, Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
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Mauri M, Sannasiddappa TH, Vohra P, Corona-Torres R, Smith AA, Chintoan-Uta C, Bremner A, Terra VS, Abouelhadid S, Stevens MP, Grant AJ, Cuccui J, Wren BW. Multivalent poultry vaccine development using Protein Glycan Coupling Technology. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:193. [PMID: 34600535 PMCID: PMC8487346 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01682-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Poultry is the world's most popular animal-based food and global production has tripled in the past 20 years alone. Low-cost vaccines that can be combined to protect poultry against multiple infections are a current global imperative. Glycoconjugate vaccines, which consist of an immunogenic protein covalently coupled to glycan antigens of the targeted pathogen, have a proven track record in human vaccinology, but have yet to be used for livestock due to prohibitively high manufacturing costs. To overcome this, we use Protein Glycan Coupling Technology (PGCT), which enables the production of glycoconjugates in bacterial cells at considerably reduced costs, to generate a candidate glycan-based live vaccine intended to simultaneously protect against Campylobacter jejuni, avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and Clostridium perfringens. Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning, whereas colibacillosis and necrotic enteritis are widespread and devastating infectious diseases in poultry. RESULTS We demonstrate the functional transfer of C. jejuni protein glycosylation (pgl) locus into the genome of APEC χ7122 serotype O78:H9. The integration caused mild attenuation of the χ7122 strain following oral inoculation of chickens without impairing its ability to colonise the respiratory tract. We exploit the χ7122 pgl integrant as bacterial vectors delivering a glycoprotein decorated with the C. jejuni heptasaccharide glycan antigen. To this end we engineered χ7122 pgl to express glycosylated NetB toxoid from C. perfringens and tested its ability to reduce caecal colonisation of chickens by C. jejuni and protect against intra-air sac challenge with the homologous APEC strain. CONCLUSIONS We generated a candidate glycan-based multivalent live vaccine with the potential to induce protection against key avian and zoonotic pathogens (C. jejuni, APEC, C. perfringens). The live vaccine failed to significantly reduce Campylobacter colonisation under the conditions tested but was protective against homologous APEC challenge. Nevertheless, we present a strategy towards the production of low-cost "live-attenuated multivalent vaccine factories" with the ability to express glycoconjugates in poultry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Mauri
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Thippeswamy H Sannasiddappa
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Prerna Vohra
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Ricardo Corona-Torres
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Alexander A Smith
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Cosmin Chintoan-Uta
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Abi Bremner
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Vanessa S Terra
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Mark P Stevens
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK.
| | - Andrew J Grant
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, Cambridgeshire, UK.
| | - Jon Cuccui
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
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Abouelhadid S, North SJ, Hitchen P, Vohra P, Chintoan-Uta C, Stevens M, Dell A, Cuccui J, Wren BW. Quantitative Analyses Reveal Novel Roles for N-Glycosylation in a Major Enteric Bacterial Pathogen. mBio 2019; 10:e00297-19. [PMID: 31015322 PMCID: PMC6478998 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00297-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotes, glycosylation plays a role in proteome stability, protein quality control, and modulating protein function; however, similar studies in bacteria are lacking. Here, we investigate the roles of general protein glycosylation systems in bacteria using the enteropathogen Campylobacter jejuni as a well-defined example. By using a quantitative proteomic strategy, we were able to monitor changes in the C. jejuni proteome when glycosylation is disrupted. We demonstrate that in C. jejuni, N-glycosylation is essential to maintain proteome stability and protein quality control. These findings guided us to investigate the role of N-glycosylation in modulating bacterial cellular activities. In glycosylation-deficient C. jejuni, the multidrug efflux pump and electron transport pathways were significantly impaired. We demonstrate that in vivo, fully glycosylation-deficient C. jejuni bacteria were unable to colonize its natural avian host. These results provide the first evidence of a link between proteome stability and complex functions via a bacterial general glycosylation system.IMPORTANCE Advances in genomics and mass spectrometry have revealed several types of glycosylation systems in bacteria. However, why bacterial proteins are modified remains poorly defined. Here, we investigated the role of general N-linked glycosylation in a major food poisoning bacterium, Campylobacter jejuni The aim of this study is to delineate the direct and indirect effects caused by disrupting this posttranslational modification. To achieve this, we employed a quantitative proteomic strategy to monitor alterations in the C. jejuni proteome. Our quantitative proteomic results linked general protein N-glycosylation to maintaining proteome stability. Functional analyses revealed novel roles for bacterial N-glycosylation in modulating multidrug efflux pump, enhancing nitrate reduction activity, and promoting host-microbe interaction. This work provides insights on the importance of general glycosylation in proteins in maintaining bacterial physiology, thus expanding our knowledge of the emergence of posttranslational modification in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherif Abouelhadid
- Department of Pathogen Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon J North
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Hitchen
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Prerna Vohra
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Cosmin Chintoan-Uta
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Stevens
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Anne Dell
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jon Cuccui
- Department of Pathogen Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Department of Pathogen Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Herbert JA, Kay EJ, Faustini SE, Richter A, Abouelhadid S, Cuccui J, Wren B, Mitchell TJ. Production and efficacy of a low-cost recombinant pneumococcal protein polysaccharide conjugate vaccine. Vaccine 2018; 36:3809-3819. [PMID: 29778517 PMCID: PMC5999350 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.05.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 05/01/2018] [Accepted: 05/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia. Although this is a vaccine preventable disease, S. pneumoniae still causes over 1 million deaths per year, mainly in children under the age of five. The biggest disease burden is in the developing world, which is mainly due to unavailability of vaccines due to their high costs. Protein polysaccharide conjugate vaccines are given routinely in the developed world to children to induce a protective antibody response against S. pneumoniae. One of these vaccines is Prevnar13, which targets 13 of the 95 known capsular types. Current vaccine production requires growth of large amounts of the 13 serotypes, and isolation of the capsular polysaccharide that is then chemically coupled to a protein, such as the diphtheria toxoid CRM197, in a multistep expensive procedure. In this study, we design, purify and produce novel recombinant pneumococcal protein polysaccharide conjugate vaccines in Escherichia coli, which act as mini factories for the low-cost production of conjugate vaccines. Recombinant vaccine efficacy was tested in a murine model of pneumococcal pneumonia; ability to protect against invasive disease was compared to that of Prevnar13. This study provides the first proof of principle that protein polysaccharide conjugate vaccines produced in E. coli can be used to prevent pneumococcal infection. Vaccines produced in this manner may provide a low-cost alternative to the current vaccine production methodology.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Disease Models, Animal
- Escherichia coli/genetics
- Escherichia coli/metabolism
- Female
- Mice
- Pneumococcal Vaccines/administration & dosage
- Pneumococcal Vaccines/economics
- Pneumococcal Vaccines/immunology
- Pneumococcal Vaccines/isolation & purification
- Pneumonia, Pneumococcal/immunology
- Pneumonia, Pneumococcal/prevention & control
- Polysaccharides, Bacterial/immunology
- Streptococcus pneumoniae/immunology
- Technology, Pharmaceutical/economics
- Technology, Pharmaceutical/methods
- Treatment Outcome
- Vaccines, Conjugate/administration & dosage
- Vaccines, Conjugate/economics
- Vaccines, Conjugate/immunology
- Vaccines, Conjugate/isolation & purification
- Vaccines, Synthetic/administration & dosage
- Vaccines, Synthetic/economics
- Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
- Vaccines, Synthetic/isolation & purification
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny A Herbert
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, UK
| | - Emily J Kay
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Sian E Faustini
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, UK; Department of Immunology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - Alex Richter
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, UK; Department of Immunology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK; University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Jon Cuccui
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Brendan Wren
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Timothy J Mitchell
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, UK.
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7
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Cuccui J, Terra VS, Bossé JT, Naegeli A, Abouelhadid S, Li Y, Lin CW, Vohra P, Tucker AW, Rycroft AN, Maskell DJ, Aebi M, Langford PR, Wren BW. The N-linking glycosylation system from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is required for adhesion and has potential use in glycoengineering. Open Biol 2017; 7:rsob.160212. [PMID: 28077594 PMCID: PMC5303269 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.160212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is a mucosal respiratory pathogen causing contagious porcine pleuropneumonia. Pathogenesis studies have demonstrated a major role for the capsule, exotoxins and outer membrane proteins. Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae can also glycosylate proteins, using a cytoplasmic N-linked glycosylating enzyme designated NGT, but its transcriptional arrangement and role in virulence remains unknown. We investigated the NGT locus and demonstrated that the putative transcriptional unit consists of rimO, ngt and a glycosyltransferase termed agt. From this information we used the A. pleuropneumoniae glycosylation locus to decorate an acceptor protein, within Escherichia coli, with a hexose polymer that reacted with an anti-dextran antibody. Mass spectrometry analysis of a truncated protein revealed that this operon could add up to 29 repeat units to the appropriate sequon. We demonstrated the importance of NGT in virulence, by creating deletion mutants and testing them in a novel respiratory cell line adhesion model. This study demonstrates the importance of the NGT glycosylation system for pathogenesis and its potential biotechnological application for glycoengineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Cuccui
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Vanessa S Terra
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Janine T Bossé
- Section of Paediatrics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Andreas Naegeli
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Yanwen Li
- Section of Paediatrics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Chia-Wei Lin
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Prerna Vohra
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Alexander W Tucker
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Andrew N Rycroft
- The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Campus, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK
| | - Duncan J Maskell
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Markus Aebi
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Paul R Langford
- Section of Paediatrics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
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8
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Cuccui J, Terra VS, Bossé JT, Naegeli A, Abouelhadid S, Li Y, Lin CW, Vohra P, Tucker AW, Rycroft AN, Maskell DJ, Aebi M, Langford PR, Wren BW. The N-linking glycosylation system from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is required for adhesion and has potential use in glycoengineering. Open Biol 2017. [PMID: 28077594 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.160212.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is a mucosal respiratory pathogen causing contagious porcine pleuropneumonia. Pathogenesis studies have demonstrated a major role for the capsule, exotoxins and outer membrane proteins. Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae can also glycosylate proteins, using a cytoplasmic N-linked glycosylating enzyme designated NGT, but its transcriptional arrangement and role in virulence remains unknown. We investigated the NGT locus and demonstrated that the putative transcriptional unit consists of rimO, ngt and a glycosyltransferase termed agt. From this information we used the A. pleuropneumoniae glycosylation locus to decorate an acceptor protein, within Escherichia coli, with a hexose polymer that reacted with an anti-dextran antibody. Mass spectrometry analysis of a truncated protein revealed that this operon could add up to 29 repeat units to the appropriate sequon. We demonstrated the importance of NGT in virulence, by creating deletion mutants and testing them in a novel respiratory cell line adhesion model. This study demonstrates the importance of the NGT glycosylation system for pathogenesis and its potential biotechnological application for glycoengineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Cuccui
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Vanessa S Terra
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Janine T Bossé
- Section of Paediatrics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Andreas Naegeli
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Yanwen Li
- Section of Paediatrics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Chia-Wei Lin
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Prerna Vohra
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Alexander W Tucker
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Andrew N Rycroft
- The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Campus, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK
| | - Duncan J Maskell
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Markus Aebi
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Paul R Langford
- Section of Paediatrics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
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Mills DC, Jervis AJ, Abouelhadid S, Yates LE, Cuccui J, Linton D, Wren BW. Functional analysis of N-linking oligosaccharyl transferase enzymes encoded by deep-sea vent proteobacteria. Glycobiology 2015; 26:398-409. [PMID: 26610891 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwv111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial N-linking oligosaccharyl transferases (OTase enzymes) transfer lipid-linked glycans to selected proteins in the periplasm and were first described in the intestinal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, a member of the ε-proteobacteria-subdivision of bacteria. More recently, orthologues from other ε-proteobacterial Campylobacter and Helicobacter species and a δ-proteobacterium, Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, have been described, suggesting that these two subdivisions of bacteria may be a source of further N-linked protein glycosylation systems. Whole-genome sequencing of both ε- and δ-proteobacteria from deep-sea vent habitats, a rich source of species from these subdivisions, revealed putative ORFs encoding OTase enzymes and associated adjacent glycosyltransferases similar to the C. jejuni N-linked glycosylation locus. We expressed putative OTase ORFs from the deep-sea vent species Nitratiruptor tergarcus, Sulfurovum lithotrophicum and Deferribacter desulfuricans in Escherichia coli and showed that they were able to functionally complement the C. jejuni OTase, CjPglB. The enzymes were shown to possess relaxed glycan specificity, transferring diverse glycan structures and demonstrated different glycosylation sequon specificities. Additionally, a permissive D. desulfuricans acceptor protein was identified, and we provide evidence that the N-linked glycan synthesized by N. tergarcus and S. lithotrophicum contains an acetylated sugar at the reducing end. This work demonstrates that deep-sea vent bacteria encode functional N-glycosylation machineries and are a potential source of biotechnologically important OTase enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic C Mills
- Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Adrian J Jervis
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Laura E Yates
- Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Jon Cuccui
- Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Dennis Linton
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
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Terra VS, Mills DC, Yates LE, Abouelhadid S, Cuccui J, Wren BW. Recent developments in bacterial protein glycan coupling technology and glycoconjugate vaccine design. J Med Microbiol 2012; 61:919-926. [DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.039438-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa S. Terra
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Dominic C. Mills
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Laura E. Yates
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Sherif Abouelhadid
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Jon Cuccui
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Brendan W. Wren
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
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