A scalable method for biochemical purification of Salmonella flagellin

Advancing foodborne pathogen detection: a review of traditional and innovative optical and electrochemical biosensing approaches

Foodborne diseases are a significant cause of morbidity (600 million cases) and mortality (420,000 deaths) worldwide every year and are mainly associated with pathogens. Besides the direct effects on human health, they have relevant concerns related to financial, logistics, and infrastructure for the food and medical industries. The standard pathogen identification techniques usually require a sample enrichment step, plating, isolation, and biochemical tests. This process involves specific facilities, a long-time analysis procedures, and skilled personnel. Conversely, biosensors are an emerging innovative approach to detecting pathogens in real time due to their portability, specificity, sensitivity, and low fabrication costs. These advantages can be achieved from the synergistic work between nanotechnology, materials science, and biotechnology for coupling biomolecules in nano-matrices to enhance biosensing performance. This review highlights recent advancements in electrochemical and optical biosensing techniques for detecting bacteria and viruses. Key properties, such as detection limits, are examined, as they depend on factors like the design of the biorecognition molecule, the type of transducer, the target's characteristics, and matrix interferences. Sensitivity levels reported range from 1 to 1 × 10⁸ CFU/mL, with detection times spanning 10 min to 8 h. Additionally, the review explores innovative approaches, including biosensors capable of distinguishing between live and dead bacteria, multimodal sensing, and the simultaneous detection of multiple foodborne pathogens - emerging trends in biosensor development.

A simple cost-effective method for purification of Clostridium chauvoei cell-surface proteins for detection of antibodies against blackleg disease vaccine

Cell-surface proteins of Clostridium chauvoei were purified using a simple method. Bacterial cultures were centrifuged and agitated vigorously in phosphate buffered saline with or without further glycine treatment and ammonium sulfate precipitation. Rabbits were immunized subcutaneously with a blackleg disease vaccine twice with a two-week interval. Immunized sera were collected one week after the second injection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed using the proteins purified by the second method as the coating antigen. Bradford assay results showed a higher protein concentration in the second than the first method. Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed multiple bands for the cell-surface proteins of C. chauvoei in the first method and a sharp band equivalent to flagellin protein in the second method. The ELISA results indicated that the purified proteins were capable of detecting antibodies against Blackleg disease vaccine. The purified protein would be an alternative antigen for indirect ELISA in order to monitor the immune response in vaccinated farm animals.

Genetic engineering of Salmonella spp. for novel vaccine strategies and therapeutics

Salmonella enterica is a diverse species that infects both humans and animals. S. enterica subspecies enterica consists of more than 1,500 serovars. Unlike typhoidal Salmonella serovars which are human host-restricted, non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars are associated with foodborne illnesses worldwide and are transmitted via the food chain. Additionally, NTS serovars can cause disease in livestock animals causing significant economic losses. Salmonella is a well-studied model organism that is easy to manipulate and evaluate in animal models of infection. Advances in genetic engineering approaches in recent years have led to the development of Salmonella vaccines for both humans and animals. In this review, we focus on current progress of recombinant live-attenuated Salmonella vaccines, their use as a source of antigens for parenteral vaccines, their use as live-vector vaccines to deliver foreign antigens, and their use as therapeutic cancer vaccines in humans. We also describe development of live-attenuated Salmonella vaccines and live-vector vaccines for use in animals.

Bonded straight and helical flagellar filaments form ultra-low-density glasses

We study how the three-dimensional shape of rigid filaments determines the microscopic dynamics and macroscopic rheology of entangled semidilute Brownian suspensions. To control the filament shape we use bacterial flagella, which are microns-long helical or straight filaments assembled from flagellin monomers. We compare the dynamics of straight rods, helical filaments, and shape-diblock copolymers composed of seamlessly joined straight and helical segments. Caged by their neighbors, straight rods preferentially diffuse along their long axis, but exhibit significantly suppressed rotational diffusion. Entangled helical filaments escape their confining tube by corkscrewing through the dense obstacles created by other filaments. By comparison, the adjoining segments of the rod-helix shape-diblocks suppress both the translation and the corkscrewing dynamics. Consequently, the shape-diblock filaments become permanently jammed at exceedingly low densities. We also measure the rheological properties of semidilute suspensions and relate their mechanical properties to the microscopic dynamics of constituent filaments. In particular, rheology shows that an entangled suspension of shape rod-helix copolymers forms a low-density glass whose elastic modulus can be estimated by accounting for how shear deformations reduce the entropic degrees of freedom of constrained filaments. Our results demonstrate that the three-dimensional shape of rigid filaments can be used to design rheological properties of semidilute fibrous suspensions.

Complementary measurement of nontyphoidal Salmonella-specific IgG and IgA antibodies in oral fluid and serum

Objectives

Immuno-epidemiological studies of orally acquired, enteric pathogens such as nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) often focus on serological measures of immunity, ignoring potentially relevant oral mucosal responses. In this study we sought to assess the levels and detectability of both oral fluid and serum IgG and IgA to NTS antigens, in endemic and non-endemic populations.

Methods

IgG and IgA antibodies specific for Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis O antigen and phase 1 flagellin were assessed using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Paired oral fluid and serum samples were collected from groups of 50 UK adults, Kenyan adults and Kenyan infants. Additionally, oral fluid alone was collected from 304 Kenyan individuals across a range of ages.

Results

Antigen-specific IgG and IgA was detectable in the oral fluid of both adults and infants. Oral fluid antibody increased with age, peaking in adulthood for both IgG and IgA but a separate peak was also observed for IgA in infants. Oral fluid and serum responses correlated for IgG but not IgA. Despite standardised collection the relationship between oral fluid volume and antibody levels varied with age and country of origin.

Conclusions

Measurement of NTS-specific oral fluid antibody can be used to complement measurement of serum antibody. For IgA in particular, oral fluid may offer insights into how protective immunity to NTS changes as individuals transition with age, from maternal to acquired systemic and mucosal immunity. This may prove useful in helping to guide future vaccine design.

MUC1 ectodomain is a flagellin-targeting decoy receptor and biomarker operative during Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection

We previously reported that flagellin-expressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) provokes NEU1 sialidase-mediated MUC1 ectodomain (MUC1-ED) desialylation and MUC1-ED shedding from murine lungs in vivo. Here, we asked whether Pa in the lungs of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia might also increase MUC1-ED shedding. The levels of MUC1-ED and Pa-expressed flagellin were dramatically elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) harvested from Pa-infected patients, and each flagellin level, in turn, predicted MUC1-ED shedding in the same patient. Desialylated MUC1-ED was only detected in BALF of Pa-infected patients. Clinical Pa strains increased MUC1-ED shedding from cultured human alveolar epithelia, and FlaA and FlaB flagellin-expressing strains provoked comparable levels of MUC1-ED shedding. A flagellin-deficient isogenic mutant generated dramatically reduced MUC1-ED shedding compared with the flagellin-expressing wild-type strain, and purified FlaA and FlaB recapitulated the effect of intact bacteria. Pa:MUC1-ED complexes were detected in the supernatants of alveolar epithelia exposed to wild-type Pa, but not to the flagellin-deficient Pa strain. Finally, human recombinant MUC1-ED dose-dependently disrupted multiple flagellin-driven processes, including Pa motility, Pa biofilm formation, and Pa adhesion to human alveolar epithelia, while enhancing human neutrophil-mediated Pa phagocytosis. Therefore, shed desialylated MUC1-ED functions as a novel flagellin-targeting, Pa-responsive decoy receptor that participates in the host response to Pa at the airway epithelial surface.

Two homologous Salmonella serogroup C1-specific genes are required for flagellar motility and cell invasion

Background

Salmonella is a major bacterial pathogen associated with a large number of outbreaks of foodborne diseases. Many highly virulent serovars that cause human illness belong to Salmonella serogroup C1, and Salmonella ser. Choleraesuis is a prominent cause of invasive infections in Asia. Comparative genomic analysis in our previous study showed that two homologous genes, SC0368 and SC0595 in Salmonella ser. Choleraesuis were unique to serogroup C1. In this study, two single-deletion mutants (Δ0368 and Δ0595) and one double-deletion mutant (Δ0368Δ0595) were constructed based on the genome. All these mutants and the wild-type strain were subjected to RNA-Seq analysis to reveal functional relationships of the two serogroup C1-specific genes.

Results

Data from RNA-Seq indicated that deletion of SC0368 resulted in defects in motility through repression of σ²⁸ in flagellar regulation Class 3. Consistent with RNA-Seq data, results from transmission electron microcopy (TEM) showed that flagella were not present in △0368 and △0368△0595 mutants resulting in both swimming and swarming defects. Interestingly, the growth rates of two non-motile mutants △0368 and △0368△0595 were significantly greater than the wild-type, which may be associated with up-regulation of genes encoding cytochromes, enhancing bacterial proliferation. Moreover, the △0595 mutant was significantly more invasive in Caco-2 cells as shown by bacterial enumeration assays, and the expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core synthesis-related genes (rfaB, rfaI, rfaQ, rfaY, rfaK, rfaZ) was down-regulated only in the △0368△0595 mutant. In addition, this study also speculated that these two genes might be contributing to serotype conversion for Salmonella C1 serogroup based on their apparent roles in biosynthesis of LPS and the flagella.

Conclusion

A combination of biological and transcriptomic (RNA-Seq) analyses has shown that the SC0368 and SC0595 genes are involved in biosynthesis of flagella and complete LPS, as well as in bacterial growth and virulence. Such information will aid to revealing the role of these specific genes in bacterial physiology and evolution within the serogroup C1.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07759-z.

Advances in the development of Salmonella-based vaccine strategies for protection against Salmonellosis in humans

Salmonella spp. are important human pathogens globally causing millions of cases of typhoid fever and non‐typhoidal salmonellosis annually. There are only a few vaccines licensed for use in humans which all target Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. Vaccine development is hampered by antigenic diversity between the thousands of serovars capable of causing infection in humans. However, a number of attenuated candidate vaccine strains are currently being developed. As facultative intracellular pathogens with multiple systems for transporting effector proteins to host cells, attenuated Salmonella strains can also serve as ideal tools for the delivery of foreign antigens to create multivalent live carrier vaccines for simultaneous immunization against several unrelated pathogens. Further, the ease with which Salmonella can be genetically modified and the extensive knowledge of the virulence mechanisms of this pathogen means that this bacterium has often served as a model organism to test new approaches. In this review we focus on (1) recent advances in live attenuated Salmonella vaccine development, (2) improvements in expression of foreign antigens in carrier vaccines and (3) adaptation of attenuated strains as sources of purified antigens and vesicles that can be used for subunit and conjugate vaccines or together with attenuated vaccine strains in heterologous prime‐boosting immunization strategies. These advances have led to the development of new vaccines against Salmonella which have or will soon be tested in clinical trials.

Overview of the Nontyphoidal and Paratyphoidal Salmonella Vaccine Pipeline: Current Status and Future Prospects

Nontyphoidal Salmonella and Salmonella Paratyphi are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. To date, no vaccine has been licensed against these organisms. The development of effective vaccines remains an urgent priority. In this review, the rationale for and current status of various vaccine candidates against S. Paratyphi and nontyphoidal Salmonella are presented, with a focus on the research findings from the 2019 International Conference on Typhoid and Other Invasive Salmonelloses. Additionally, other vaccine candidates that are currently undergoing clinical development are highlighted. Future approaches, which may include antigens that are genetically conserved across Salmonella and confer broad, non-serotype-specific protection, are also discussed.

Characterization of Flagellar Filaments and Flagellin through Optical Microscopy and Label-Free Nanopore Responsiveness

In this study, we investigated the translocation characteristics of flagellar filaments (Salmonella typhimurium) and flagellin subunits through silicon nitride nanopores in tandem with optical microscopy analysis. Even though untagged flagella are dark to the optical method, the label-free nature of the nanopore sensor allows it to characterize both tagged (Cy3) and pristine forms of flagella (including real-time developments). Flagella were depolymerized to flagellin subunits at ∼65 °C (most commonly reported temperature), ∼70 °C, ∼75 °C, and ∼80 °C to investigate the effect of temperature (T_depol) on depolymerization. The change in conductance (ΔG) profiles corresponding to T_depol ∼65 °C and ∼70 °C were bracketed within the flagellin monomer profile whereas those of ∼75 °C and ∼80 °C extended beyond this profile, suggesting a change to the native protein state. The molecular radius calculated from the excluded electrolyte volume of flagellin through nanopore-based ΔG characteristics for each T_depol of ∼65 °C, ∼70 °C, ∼75 °C, and ∼80 °C yielded ∼4.2 ± 0.2 nm, ∼4.3 ± 0.3 nm, ∼4.1 ± 0.2 nm, and ∼4.7 ± 0.5 nm, respectively. This, along with ΔG (plateaued values) and translocation time profiles, points to the possibility of flagellin misfolding at ∼80 °C.

Maternal Antibodies Elicited by Immunization With an O- Polysaccharide Glycoconjugate Vaccine Protect Infant Mice Against Lethal Salmonella Typhimurium Infection

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) are a leading cause of pediatric invasive bacterial infections in sub-Saharan Africa with high associated case fatality rates in children under 5 years old. We have developed glycoconjugate vaccines consisting of the lipid A-removed surface polysaccharide of NTS, core and O-polysaccharide (COPS), and the flagellar monomer protein (FliC) from the homologous serovar as the carrier. We previously established that COPS:FliC was immunogenic and protective in mice immunized as adults or infants; however, the brief period of murine infancy precluded the evaluation of protection against invasive NTS (iNTS) disease in early life. In the present study, we used a mouse model of maternal immunization to investigate transmission of S. Typhimurium COPS:FliC-induced maternal antibodies and protection against lethal iNTS challenge in infant mice. We found that vaccinated dams developed high levels of COPS- and FliC-specific IgG, which were transferred to their offspring. Sera from both vaccinated mothers and their litters mediated complement-dependent bactericidal activity in-vitro. Passively immunized 2-week old infant mice born to vaccinated mothers were fully protected from challenge with an S. Typhimurium blood isolate from sub-Saharan Africa. The pre-clinical findings reported herein demonstrate that anti-COPS:FliC antibodies induced by vaccination are sufficient for protection of murine infants against experimental S. Typhimurium infection. By underscoring the protective role of antibody, our results suggest that maintaining an adequate titer of protective anti-Salmonella antibodies during early life, either through pediatric or maternal COPS:FliC vaccination, may reduce iNTS disease in young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Neuraminidase 1-mediated desialylation of the mucin 1 ectodomain releases a decoy receptor that protects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) expresses an adhesin, flagellin, that engages the mucin 1 (MUC1) ectodomain (ED) expressed on airway epithelia, increasing association of MUC1-ED with neuraminidase 1 (NEU1) and MUC1-ED desialylation. The MUC1-ED desialylation unmasks both cryptic binding sites for Pa and a protease recognition site, permitting its proteolytic release as a hyperadhesive decoy receptor for Pa. We found here that intranasal administration of Pa strain K (PAK) to BALB/c mice increases MUC1-ED shedding into the bronchoalveolar compartment. MUC1-ED levels increased as early as 12 h, peaked at 24-48 h with a 7.8-fold increase, and decreased by 72 h. The a-type flagellin-expressing PAK strain and the b-type flagellin-expressing PAO1 strain stimulated comparable levels of MUC1-ED shedding. A flagellin-deficient PAK mutant provoked dramatically reduced MUC1-ED shedding compared with the WT strain, and purified flagellin recapitulated the WT effect. In lung tissues, Pa increased association of NEU1 and protective protein/cathepsin A with MUC1-ED in reciprocal co-immunoprecipitation assays and stimulated MUC1-ED desialylation. NEU1-selective sialidase inhibition protected against Pa-induced MUC1-ED desialylation and shedding. In Pa-challenged mice, MUC1-ED-enriched bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) inhibited flagellin binding and Pa adhesion to human airway epithelia by up to 44% and flagellin-driven motility by >30%. Finally, Pa co-administration with recombinant human MUC1-ED dramatically diminished lung and BALF bacterial burden, proinflammatory cytokine levels, and pulmonary leukostasis and increased 5-day survival from 0% to 75%. We conclude that Pa flagellin provokes NEU1-mediated airway shedding of MUC1-ED, which functions as a decoy receptor protecting against lethal Pa lung infection.

Development of a broad spectrum glycoconjugate vaccine to prevent wound and disseminated infections with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) are important human pathogens that are associated with a range of infection types, including wound and disseminated infections. Treatment has been complicated by rising rates of antimicrobial resistance. Immunoprophylactic strategies are not constrained by antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. Vaccines against these organisms would be important public health tools, yet they are not available. KP surface O polysaccharides (OPS) are protective antigens in animal models of infection. Similarly, PA flagellin (Fla), the major subunit of the flagellar filament, is required for virulence and is a target of protective antibodies in animal models. We report herein the development of a combined KP and PA glycoconjugate vaccine comprised of the four most common KP OPS types associated with human infections (O1, O2, O3, O5), chemically linked to the two Fla types of PA (FlaA, FlaB). Conjugation of KP OPS to PA Fla enhanced anti-polysaccharide immune responses and produced a formulation that generated antibody titers to the four KP OPS types and both PA Fla antigens in rabbits. Passive transfer of vaccine-induced rabbit antisera reduced the bacterial burden and protected mice against fatal intravenous KP infection. Mice passively transferred with conjugate-induced antisera were also protected against PA infection after thermal injury with a FlaB-expressing isolate, but not a FlaA isolate. Taken together, these promising preclinical results provide important proof-of-concept for a broad spectrum human vaccine to prevent KP and PA infections.

Immunogenicity and Induction of Functional Antibodies in Rabbits Immunized with a Trivalent Typhoid-Invasive Nontyphoidal Salmonella Glycoconjugate Formulation

Typhoid fever due to Salmonella Typhi and invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections caused by serovars Enteritidis (SE) and Typhimurium (STm) are major pediatric health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. Typhoid has high complication rates, and iNTS infections have high case fatality rates; moreover, emerging antimicrobial resistance is diminishing treatment options. Vi capsule-based typhoid conjugate vaccine (Typbar-TCV™), licensed in India and pre-qualified by the World Health Organization, elicits durable immunity when administered to infants, but no iNTS vaccines are licensed or imminent. We have developed monovalent SE and STm glycoconjugate vaccines based on coupling lipopolysaccharide-derived core-O polysaccharide (COPS) to phase 1 flagellin protein (FliC) from the homologous serovar. Herein, we report the immunogenicity of multivalent formulations of iNTS COPS:FliC conjugates with Typbar-TCV™. Rabbits immunized with the trivalent typhoid-iNTS glycoconjugate vaccine generated high titers of serum IgG antibody to all three polysaccharide antigens for which anti-COPS IgG antibodies were directed primarily against serogroup-specific OPS epitopes. Responses to SE and STm FliC were lower relative to anti-COPS titers. Post-vaccination rabbit sera mediated bactericidal activity in-vitro, and protected mice after passive transfer against challenge with virulent SE or STm Malian blood isolates. These results support accelerated progression to clinical trials.

Deletions in guaBA and htrA but not clpX or rfaL constitute a live-attenuated vaccine strain of Salmonella Newport to protect against serogroup C2-C3 Salmonella in mice

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) are a leading cause of foodborne infections worldwide, and serogroups B, C₁, C_2-C₃ and D are the most common serogroups associated with human disease. While live vaccine candidates that protect against S. Typhimurium (serogroup B) and S. Enteritidis (serogroup D) have been described by us and others, far less effort has been directed towards vaccines that target either serogroup C₁ or C_2-C₃Salmonella. Here we describe a Salmonella Newport-based live-attenuated vaccine (serogroup C_2-C₃). Deletion of the genes clpX or rfaL, previously used in live vaccines to attenuate S. Typhimurium and/or S. Enteritidis, failed to attenuate S. Newport. However, we found that deletion of either guaBA or htrA raised the 50% lethal dose of S. Newport in an intraperitoneal infection model in BALB/c mice. Our live-attenuated vaccine candidate CVD 1966 (S. Newport ΔguaBA ΔhtrA) elicited strong antibody responses against COPS, flagellin and outer membrane proteins when administered intraperitoneally or orally. Following lethal challenge with the parental virulent strain of S. Newport, we observed vaccine efficacies of 53% for immunization via the intraperitoneal route and 47% for immunization via the oral route. Following intraperiteonal immunization, the vaccine also significantly reduced the bacterial burden of challenge organisms in the liver and spleen. Interestingly, reducing the LPS chain length by deleting rfaL did not induce a stronger immune response towards surface antigens, and failed to elicit any protection against lethal homologous challenge. In conclusion, we have developed a live-attenuated Salmonella serogroup C_2-C₃ vaccine that we are further evaluating.

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy against Salmonella C2-C3 infection in mice immunized with a glycoconjugate of S. Newport Core-O polysaccharide linked to the homologous serovar FliC protein

Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) are important human enteric pathogens globally. Among the different serovars associated with human NTS disease, S. Newport (a serogroup C₂-C₃ Salmonella) accounts for a measurable proportion of cases. However, to date there are no licensed human NTS vaccines. NTS lipopolysaccharide-associated O polysaccharides are virulence factors and protective antigens in animal models. As isolated molecules, bacterial polysaccharides are generally poorly immunogenic, a limitation overcome by conjugation to a protein carrier. We report herein the development of a candidate serogroup C₂-C₃ glycoconjugate vaccine based on S. Newport Core-O polysaccharide (COPS) and phase 1 flagellin (FliC). S. Newport COPS and FliC were purified from genetically engineered reagent strains, and conjugated at the polysaccharide reducing end to FliC protein lysines with thioether chemistry. S. Newport COPS:FliC immunization in mice improved anti-polysaccharide immune responses, generated high anti-FliC IgG titers, and mediated robust protection against challenge with both the homologous serovar as well another serogroup C₂-C₃ serovar (S. Muenchen). Analyses of S. Newport COPS:FliC induced sera found that the anti-COPS IgG antibodies were specific for serogroup C₂-C₃ lipopolysaccharide, and could promote bactericidal killing by complement and uptake into phagocytes. These preclinical studies establish the protective capacity of serogroup C₂-C₃ OPS glycoconjugates, and provide a path forward for the development of a multivalent Salmonella vaccine for humans that includes serogroup C₂-C₃.

Immunogenicity and efficacy following sequential parenterally-administered doses of Salmonella Enteritidis COPS:FliC glycoconjugates in infant and adult mice

In sub-Saharan Africa, invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections with serovars S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium and I 4,[5],12:i:- are widespread in children < 5 years old. Development of an efficacious vaccine would provide an important public health tool to prevent iNTS disease in this population. Glycoconjugates of S. Enteritidis core and O-polysaccharide (COPS) coupled to the homologous serovar phase 1 flagellin protein (FliC) were previously shown to be immunogenic and protected adult mice against death following challenge with a virulent Malian S. Enteritidis blood isolate. This study extends these observations to immunization of mice in early life and also assesses protection with partial and full regimens. Anti-COPS and anti-FliC serum IgG titers were assessed in infant and adult mice after immunization with 1, 2 or 3 doses of S. Enteritidis COPS:FliC alone or co-formulated with aluminum hydroxide or monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) adjuvants. S. Enteritidis COPS:FliC was immunogenic in both age groups, although the immune responses were quantitatively lower in infants. Kinetics of antibody production were similar for the native and adjuvanted formulations after three doses; conjugates formulated with MPL elicited significantly increased anti-COPS IgG titers in adult but not infant mice. Nevertheless, robust protection against S. Enteritidis challenge was seen for all three formulations when three doses were given either during infancy or as adults. We further found that significant protection could be achieved with two COPS:FliC doses, despite elicitation of modest serum anti-COPS IgG antibody titers. These findings guide potential immunization strategies that may be translated to develop a human pediatric iNTS vaccine for sub-Saharan Africa.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica (NTS) serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium (including monophasic variant I 4,[5],12:i:-) are significant causes of invasive bacterial disease amongst infants and toddlers in sub-Saharan Africa, and currently, there are no approved NTS vaccines. We have demonstrated previously that immunization with S. Enteritidis core and O-polysaccharide (COPS) conjugated to the flagellin protein (FliC) from the homologous serovar protected adult mice from fatal infection with a Malian S. Enteritidis blood isolate. The target population for iNTS vaccines in sub-Saharan Africa, however, are young infants. In the current study, we evaluated S. Enteritidis COPS:FliC vaccination during murine infancy or adulthood. We found that COPS:FliC was immunogenic in both adult and infant mice and that co-formulation with adjuvant impacted the magnitude and quality of the immune response. Despite these differences, all vaccine formulations protected against experimental challenge in both age groups. Furthermore, robust efficacy was attainable after only two COPS:FliC doses, coinciding with the appearance of COPS-specific antibodies. The results from this study suggest that S. Enteritidis COPS:FliC is a promising pediatric vaccine candidate for use in sub-Saharan Africa and may help inform potential immunization strategies for iNTS COPS:FliC conjugate vaccines.

Construction and evaluation of type III secretion system mutants of the catfish pathogen Edwardsiella piscicida

Catfish is the largest aquaculture industry in the United States. Edwardsiellosis is considered one of the most significant problems affecting this industry. Edwardsiella piscicida is a newly described species within the genus Edwardsiella, and it was previously classified as Edwardsiella tarda. It causes gastrointestinal septicaemia, primarily in summer months, in farmed channel catfish in the south-eastern United States. In the current study, we adapted gene deletion methods used for Edwardsiella to E. piscicida strain C07-087, which was isolated from a disease outbreak in a catfish production pond. Four genes encoding structural proteins in the type III secretion system (T3SS) apparatus of E. piscicida were deleted by homologous recombination and allelic exchange to produce in-frame deletion mutants (EpΔssaV, EpΔesaM, EpΔyscR and EpΔescT). The mutants were phenotypically characterized, and virulence and vaccine efficacy were evaluated. Three of the mutants, EpΔssaV, EpΔyscR and EpΔesaM, were significantly attenuated compared to the parent strain (p < .05), but EpΔescT strain was not. Vaccination of catfish with the four mutant strains (EpΔssaV, EpΔesaM, EpΔyscR and EpΔescT) provided significant protection when subsequently challenged with wild-type strain. In conclusion, we report methods for gene deletion in E. piscicida and development of vaccine candidates derived from a virulent catfish isolate.

Salmonella Typhi Bactericidal Antibodies Reduce Disease Severity but Do Not Protect against Typhoid Fever in a Controlled Human Infection Model

Effective vaccines against Salmonella Typhi, a major cause of febrile illness in tropical regions, can have a significant effect as a disease control measure. Earlier work has shown that immunization with either of two Salmonella Typhi vaccines, licensed Ty21a or candidate M01ZH09, did not provide full immunity in a controlled human infection model. Here, we describe the human humoral immune responses to these oral vaccines and their functional role in protection after challenge with S. Typhi. Serum, obtained from healthy volunteers before and after vaccination with Ty21a or M01ZH09 or placebo and before and after oral challenge with wild-type S. Typhi, was assessed for bactericidal activity. Single-dose vaccination with M01ZH09 induced an increase in serum bactericidal antibodies (p = 0.001) while three doses of Ty21a did not. No association between bactericidal activity and protection against typhoid after challenge was seen in either vaccine arm. Bactericidal activity after vaccination correlated significantly with delayed disease onset (p = 0.013), lower bacterial burden (p = 0.006), and decreased disease severity scores (p = 0.021). Depletion of antibodies directed against lipopolysaccharide significantly reduced bactericidal activity (p = 0.009). We conclude that antibodies induced after ingestion of oral live-attenuated typhoid vaccines or after challenge with wild-type S. Typhi exhibit bactericidal activity. This bactericidal activity is mediated by anti-O:LPS antibodies and significantly reduces clinical symptoms but does not provide sterile immunity. This directs future vaccine studies toward other antigens or mechanisms of protection against typhoid.

Development of a glycoconjugate vaccine to prevent invasive Salmonella Typhimurium infections in sub-Saharan Africa

Invasive infections associated with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars Enteritidis (SE), Typhimurium (STm) and monophasic variant 1,4,[5],12:i:- are a major health problem in infants and young children in sub-Saharan Africa, and currently, there are no approved human NTS vaccines. NTS O-polysaccharides and flagellin proteins are protective antigens in animal models of invasive NTS infection. Conjugates of SE core and O-polysaccharide (COPS) chemically linked to SE flagellin have enhanced the anti-COPS immune response and protected mice against fatal challenge with a Malian SE blood isolate. We report herein the development of a STm glycoconjugate vaccine comprised of STm COPS conjugated to the homologous serovar phase 1 flagellin protein (FliC) with assessment of the role of COPS O-acetyls for functional immunity. Sun-type COPS conjugates linked through the polysaccharide reducing end to FliC were more immunogenic and protective in mice challenged with a Malian STm blood isolate than multipoint lattice conjugates (>95% vaccine efficacy [VE] versus 30-43% VE). Immunization with de-O-acetylated STm-COPS conjugated to CRM197 provided significant but reduced protection against STm challenge compared to mice immunized with native STm-COPS:CRM197 (63-74% VE versus 100% VE). Although OPS O-acetyls were highly immunogenic, post-vaccination sera that contained various O-acetyl epitope-specific antibody profiles displayed similar in vitro bactericidal activity when equivalent titers of anti-COPS IgG were assayed. In-silico molecular modeling further indicated that STm OPS forms a single dominant conformation, irrespective of O-acetylation, in which O-acetyls extend outward and are highly solvent exposed. These preclinical results establish important quality attributes for an STm vaccine that could be co-formulated with an SE-COPS:FliC glycoconjugate as a bivalent NTS vaccine for use in sub-Saharan Africa.

Modeling the Potential for Vaccination to Diminish the Burden of Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella Disease in Young Children in Mali, West Africa

Background

In sub-Saharan Africa, systematic surveillance of young children with suspected invasive bacterial disease (e.g., septicemia, meningitis) has revealed non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) to be a major pathogen exhibiting high case fatality (~20%). Where infant vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae has been introduced to prevent invasive disease caused by these pathogens, as in Bamako, Mali, their burden has decreased markedly. In parallel, NTS has become the predominant invasive bacterial pathogen in children aged <5 years. While NTS is believed to be acquired orally via contaminated food/water, epidemiologic studies have failed to identify the reservoir of infection or vehicles of transmission. This has precluded targeting food chain interventions to diminish disease transmission but conversely has fostered the development of vaccines to prevent invasive NTS (iNTS) disease. We developed a mathematical model to estimate the potential impact of NTS vaccination programs in Bamako.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A Markov chain transmission model was developed utilizing age-specific Bamako demographic data and hospital surveillance data for iNTS disease in children aged <5 years and assuming vaccine coverage and efficacy similar to the existing, successfully implemented, Hib vaccine. Annual iNTS hospitalizations and deaths in children <5 years, with and without a Salmonella Enteritidis/Salmonella Typhimurium vaccine, were the model’s outcomes of interest. Per the model, high coverage/high efficacy iNTS vaccination programs would drastically diminish iNTS disease except among infants age <8 weeks.

Conclusions/Significance

The public health impact of NTS vaccination shifts as disease burden, vaccine coverage, and serovar distribution vary. Our model shows that implementing an iNTS vaccine through an analogous strategy to the Hib vaccination program in Bamako would markedly reduce cases and deaths due to iNTS among the pediatric population. The model can be adjusted for use elsewhere in Africa where NTS epidemiologic patterns, serovar prevalence, and immunization schedules differ from Bamako.

A surveillance program at Gabriel Touré Hospital in Mali observed a high burden of invasive disease caused by non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS). This surveillance program was originally instituted to measure the amount of invasive disease (e.g., septicemia, meningitis) caused by two bacteria that invade the respiratory tract: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). While documenting the burden of these pathogens, the surveillance program also found that serotypes of iNTS, mainly Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis, were common causes of severe invasive disease. As the number of cases of Hib and pneumococcus markedly decreased following the introduction of relevant vaccines, the relative threat of iNTS increased. Little is known about the reservoir of iNTS, whether it resides in humans, animals, or the environment, or how it is spread to susceptible children. Without this knowledge, it is not possible to employ certain disease control methods useful in interrupting the transmission of other pathogens. Therefore, vaccination remains the one promising control strategy for this disease. Our research modeled the potential effects of introducing an iNTS vaccine. The findings are of great importance to Mali and other developing countries where young children are at a high risk of developing iNTS disease.

Functional Activity of Antibodies Directed towards Flagellin Proteins of Non-Typhoidal Salmonella

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis are major causes of invasive bacterial infections in children under 5 years old in sub-Saharan Africa, with case fatality rates of ~20%. There are no licensed NTS vaccines for humans. Vaccines that induce antibodies against a Salmonella Typhi surface antigen, Vi polysaccharide, significantly protect humans against typhoid fever, establishing that immune responses to Salmonella surface antigens can be protective. Flagella proteins, abundant surface antigens in Salmonella serovars that cause human disease, are also powerful immunogens, but the functional capacity of elicited anti-flagellar antibodies and their role in facilitating bacterial clearance has been unclear. We examined the ability of anti-flagellar antibodies to mediate microbial killing by immune system components in-vitro and assessed their role in protecting mice against invasive Salmonella infection. Polyclonal (hyperimmune sera) and monoclonal antibodies raised against phase 1 flagellin proteins of S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium facilitated bacterial uptake and killing of the homologous serovar pathogen by phagocytes. Polyclonal anti-flagellar antibodies accompanied by complement also achieved direct bacterial killing. Serum bactericidal activity was restricted to Salmonella serovars expressing the same flagellin used as immunogen. Notably, individual anti-flagellin monoclonal antibodies with complement were not bactericidal, but this biological activity was restored when different monoclonal anti-flagellin antibodies were combined. Passive transfer immunization with a monoclonal IgG antibody specific for phase 1 flagellin from S. Typhimurium protected mice against lethal challenge with a representative African invasive S. Typhimurium strain. These findings have relevance for the use of flagellin proteins in NTS vaccines, and confirm the role of anti-flagellin antibodies as mediators of protective immunity.

Simple method for purification of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli fimbriae

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are endemic pathogens in the developing world. They frequently cause illness in travelers, and are among the most prevalent causes of diarrheal disease in children. Pathogenic ETEC strains employ fimbriae as adhesion factors to bind the luminal surface of the intestinal epithelium and establish infection. Accordingly, there is marked interest in immunoprophylactic strategies targeting fimbriae to protect against ETEC infections. Multiple strategies have been reported for purification of ETEC fimbriae, however none is ideal. Purification has typically involved the use of highly virulent wild-type strains. We report here a simple and improved method to purify ETEC fimbriae, which was applied to obtain two different Class 5 fimbriae types of clinical relevance (CFA/I and CS4) expressed recombinantly in E. coli production strains. Following removal from cells by shearing, fimbriae proteins were purified by orthogonal purification steps employing ultracentrifugation, precipitation, and ion-exchange membrane chromatography. Purified fimbriae demonstrated the anticipated size and morphology by electron microscopy analysis, contained negligible levels of residual host cell proteins, nucleic acid, and endotoxin, and were recognized by convalescent human anti-sera.

Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 bacterial ghosts retain crucial surface properties and express chlamydial antigen: an imaging study of a delivery system for the ocular surface

To target chronic inflammatory ocular surface diseases, a drug delivery platform is needed that is safe, possesses immunomodulatory properties, and can be used either for drug delivery, or as a foreign antigen carrier. A new therapeutic approach that we have previously proposed uses nonliving bacterial ghosts (BGs) as a carrier-delivery system which can be engineered to carry foreign antigens and/or be loaded with therapeutic drugs. The parent strain chosen for development of our BG delivery system is the probiotic Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN), whose intrinsic properties trigger the innate immune system with the flagella and fimbriae used to attach and stimulate epithelial cells. In previous studies, we have shown that EcN BGs are safe for the ocular surface route, but evidence that EcN BGs retain flagella and fimbriae after transformation, has never been visually confirmed. In this study, we used different visualization techniques to determine whether flagella and fimbriae are retained on EcN BGs engineered either for drug delivery or as a foreign antigen carrier. We have also shown by immunoelectron microscopy that EcN retains two foreign antigens after processing to become EcN BGs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that BGs derived from EcN and expressing a foreign antigen attachment to conjunctival epithelial cells in vitro without causing reduced cell viability. These results are an important step in constructing a delivery system based on a nonliving probiotic that is suitable for use in ocular surface diseases pairing immunomodulation and targeted delivery.