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Ngoepe TA, Pretorius A, Steyn HC, Van Kleef M. Th1 and Th2 epitopes of Cowdria polymorphic gene 1 of Ehrlichia ruminantium. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 2023; 90:e1-e15. [PMID: 37042556 PMCID: PMC10091069 DOI: 10.4102/ojvr.v90i1.2070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cowdria polymorphic gene 1 (cpg1, Erum2510, ERUM_RS01380) has been shown to induce 30% and 100% protection in sheep immunised by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) prime combined with DNA boost and DNA prime combined with protein boost, respectively, against heartwater infection via needle challenge. To localise its antigenic regions for inclusion in a multi-epitope DNA vaccine against heartwater, Erum2510 was cleaved into five overlapping subfragments. These subfragments were expressed individually in an Escherichia coli host expression system and evaluated for their ability to induce proliferative responses, Th1 and Th2 cytokines (interferon gamma [IFN-γ] and interleukin 4 [IL-4]) via enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and flow cytometry. Recombinant (r)proteins 3 and 4 were shown to induce immunodominant Th1 and Th2 immune responses characterised by the secretion of effector cytokines IFN-γ and IL-4 in addition to differential messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF), IL-2, IL-1, IL-18, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Thirty-seven overlapping synthetic peptides (16 mer) spanning the lengths of these immunodominant rproteins were synthesised and assayed. A peptide pool comprising p9 and p10 derived from rprotein 3 induced a Th1-biased immune response. A peptide pool comprising p28 and p29 derived from rprotein 4 induced a mixed Th1 and Th2 immune response characterised by secretion of IFN-γ and differential mRNA expression of IL-1, IL-2, IL-10, IL-12, iNOS, TGF, TNF and GM-CSF. Only one of the peptides (p29) induced secretion of IL-4. Phenotypic analysis showed significant activation of cluster of differentiation 8+ (CD8+), cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+) and B+ lymphocyte populations. Findings suggest that Erum2510 rproteins and synthetic peptides can induce both cellular and humoral immune responses, thereby implicating their importance in protection against heartwater.Contribution: This study will facilitate the design of an effective multi-epitope DNA vaccine against heartwater that will contribute to control this economically important disease in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tlou A Ngoepe
- Department of Immunology, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa; and, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria,.
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Molepo L, Byrom B, Weyers B, Abdelatif N, Mahan S, Burridge M, Barbet A, Latif A. Development of inactivated heartwater (Ehrlichia ruminantium) vaccine in South Africa. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2022; 13:101942. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Tjale MA, Liebenberg J, Steyn H, Van Kleef M, Pretorius A. Transcriptome analysis of Ehrlichia ruminantium in the ruminant host at the tick bite site and in the tick vector salivary glands. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2020; 12:101646. [PMID: 33508537 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Heartwater is a non-contagious tick-borne disease of domestic and wild ruminants. Data regarding the complex processes involved during pathogen-vector-host interaction during Ehrlichia ruminantium infection is lacking and could be improved with knowledge associated with gene expression changes in both the pathogen and the host. Thus, in the current study, we aimed to identify E. ruminantium genes that are up-regulated when the pathogen enters the host and before the disease is established. Identification of such genes/proteins may aid in future vaccine development strategies against heartwater. RNA-sequencing was used to identify E. ruminantium genes that were exclusively expressed at the tick bite site in sheep skin biopsies (SB) and in adult tick salivary glands (SG). RNA was extracted from pooled samples of the SB or SG collected at different time points during tick attachment and prior to disease manifestation. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) was removed and the samples were sequenced. Several E. ruminantium genes were highly expressed in all the samples while others were exclusively expressed in each. It was concluded that E. ruminantium genes that were exclusively expressed in the SB or both SB and SG when compared to the transcriptome datasets from bovine elementary bodies (BovEBs) from cell culture may be considered as early antigenic targets of host immunity. In silico immunogenic epitope prediction analysis and preliminary characterization of selected genes in vitro using ELIspot assay showed that they could possibly be ideal targets for future vaccine development against heartwater, however, further epitope characterization is still required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mabotse A Tjale
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
| | - Junita Liebenberg
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Helena Steyn
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Mirinda Van Kleef
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Alri Pretorius
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
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A multi-epitope DNA vaccine co-administered with monophosphoryl lipid A adjuvant provides protection against tick transmitted Ehrlichia ruminantium in sheep. Vaccine 2019; 37:4354-4363. [PMID: 31248684 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Previously, a heartwater experimental DNA vaccine provided 100% protection following laboratory challenge with Ehrlichia ruminantium administered by needle but not against an E. ruminantium tick challenge in the field. A multi-epitope DNA vaccine incorporating both CD4+ and CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes epitopes could provide a better alternative. In this study, we investigated the use of multi-epitope DNA vaccines against an E. ruminantium experimental tick challenge in sheep. The multi-epitope DNA vaccines were delivered via the intramuscular route and intradermal route using the gene gun in the presence of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) adjuvant, which was either applied topically to the gene gun inoculation site or co-administered with the vaccine via the intramuscular route. Initially two constructs namely, pSignal plus and pLamp were tested with MPL applied topically only and no protection was obtained in this formulation. However, when pLamp was co-administered with MPL via the intramuscular route in addition to topical application, its protective efficiency improved to protect 60% of the sheep against tick challenge. In this formulation, the vaccine induced enhanced activation of memory T cell responses both before and after challenge with variations amongst the different sheep possibly due to their different genetic backgrounds. In conclusion, this study showed that a heartwater multi-epitope DNA vaccine, co-administered with MPL adjuvant can protect sheep following a laboratory E. ruminantium tick challenge.
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Thema N, Tshilwane S, Pretorius A, Son L, Smith R, Steyn H, Liebenberg J, van Kleef M. Identification and characterisation of conserved epitopes of E. ruminantium that activate Th1 CD4+ T cells: Towards the development of a multi-epitope vaccine. Mol Immunol 2019; 107:106-114. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Thema N, Tshilwane S, Son L, Smith R, Faber F, Steyn H, van Kleef M, Liebenberg J, Pretorius A. Ehrlichia ruminantium antigens and peptides induce cytotoxic T cell responses in vitro. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2019; 207:1-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2018.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 10/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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Bragazzi NL, Gianfredi V, Villarini M, Rosselli R, Nasr A, Hussein A, Martini M, Behzadifar M. Vaccines Meet Big Data: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects. From the Classical 3Is ("Isolate-Inactivate-Inject") Vaccinology 1.0 to Vaccinology 3.0, Vaccinomics, and Beyond: A Historical Overview. Front Public Health 2018; 6:62. [PMID: 29556492 PMCID: PMC5845111 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines are public health interventions aimed at preventing infections-related mortality, morbidity, and disability. While vaccines have been successfully designed for those infectious diseases preventable by preexisting neutralizing specific antibodies, for other communicable diseases, additional immunological mechanisms should be elicited to achieve a full protection. “New vaccines” are particularly urgent in the nowadays society, in which economic growth, globalization, and immigration are leading to the emergence/reemergence of old and new infectious agents at the animal–human interface. Conventional vaccinology (the so-called “vaccinology 1.0”) was officially born in 1796 thanks to the contribution of Edward Jenner. Entering the twenty-first century, vaccinology has shifted from a classical discipline in which serendipity and the Pasteurian principle of the three Is (isolate, inactivate, and inject) played a major role to a science, characterized by a rational design and plan (“vaccinology 3.0”). This shift has been possible thanks to Big Data, characterized by different dimensions, such as high volume, velocity, and variety of data. Big Data sources include new cutting-edge, high-throughput technologies, electronic registries, social media, and social networks, among others. The current mini-review aims at exploring the potential roles as well as pitfalls and challenges of Big Data in shaping the future vaccinology, moving toward a tailored and personalized vaccine design and administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
- Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), School of Public Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Vincenza Gianfredi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Unit of Public Health, School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Milena Villarini
- Unit of Public Health, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | | | - Ahmed Nasr
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Pathology University Milan Bicocca, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy
| | - Amr Hussein
- Medical Faculty, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Mariano Martini
- Section of History of Medicine and Ethics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Masoud Behzadifar
- Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Tjale MA, Pretorius A, Josemans A, Kleef MV, Liebenberg J. Transcriptomic analysis of Ehrlichia ruminantium during the developmental stages in bovine and tick cell culture. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2017; 9:126-134. [PMID: 29017825 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The use of bioinformatics tools to search for possible vaccine candidates has been successful in recent years. In an attempt to search for additional vaccine candidates or improve the current heartwater vaccine design, a genome-wide transcriptional profile of E. ruminantium (Welgevonden strain) replicating in bovine endothelial cells (BA886) and Ixodes scapularis embryonic tick cells (IDE8) was performed. The RNA was collected from the infective extracellular form, the elementary bodies (EBs) and vegetative intracellular form, reticulate bodies (RBs) and was used for transcriptome sequencing. Several genes previously implicated with adhesion, attachment and pathogenicity were exclusively up-regulated in the EBs from bovine and tick cells. Similarly, genes involved in adaptation or survival of E. ruminantium in the host cells were up-regulated in the RBs from bovine cells. Thus, it was concluded that those genes expressed in the EBs might be important for infection of mammalian and tick host cells and these may be targets for both cell and humoral mediated immune responses. Alternatively, those exclusively expressed in the RBs may be important for survival in the host cells. Exported or secreted proteins exclusively expressed at this stage are ideal targets for the stimulation of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) immune responses in the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mabotse A Tjale
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
| | - Alri Pretorius
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Antoinette Josemans
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Mirinda Van Kleef
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Junita Liebenberg
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
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Kuleš J, Horvatić A, Guillemin N, Galan A, Mrljak V, Bhide M. New approaches and omics tools for mining of vaccine candidates against vector-borne diseases. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2017; 12:2680-94. [PMID: 27384976 DOI: 10.1039/c6mb00268d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) present a major threat to human and animal health, as well as place a substantial burden on livestock production. As a way of sustainable VBD control, focus is set on vaccine development. Advances in genomics and other "omics" over the past two decades have given rise to a "third generation" of vaccines based on technologies such as reverse vaccinology, functional genomics, immunomics, structural vaccinology and the systems biology approach. The application of omics approaches is shortening the time required to develop the vaccines and increasing the probability of discovery of potential vaccine candidates. Herein, we review the development of new generation vaccines for VBDs, and discuss technological advancement and overall challenges in the vaccine development pipeline. Special emphasis is placed on the development of anti-tick vaccines that can quell both vectors and pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josipa Kuleš
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Anita Horvatić
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Nicolas Guillemin
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Asier Galan
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Vladimir Mrljak
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Mangesh Bhide
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. and Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Kosice, Slovakia and Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovakia Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
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Ehrlichioses: An Important One Health Opportunity. Vet Sci 2016; 3:vetsci3030020. [PMID: 29056728 PMCID: PMC5606584 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci3030020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ehrlichioses are caused by obligately intracellular bacteria that are maintained subclinically in a persistently infected vertebrate host and a tick vector. The most severe life-threatening illnesses, such as human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis and heartwater, occur in incidental hosts. Ehrlichia have a developmental cycle involving an infectious, nonreplicating, dense core cell and a noninfectious, replicating reticulate cell. Ehrlichiae secrete proteins that bind to host cytoplasmic proteins and nuclear chromatin, manipulating the host cell environment to their advantage. Severe disease in immunocompetent hosts is mediated in large part by immunologic and inflammatory mechanisms, including overproduction of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), which is produced by CD8 T lymphocytes, and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Immune components that contribute to control of ehrlichial infection include CD4 and CD8 T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-12, and antibodies. Some immune components, such as TNF-α, perforin, and CD8 T cells, play both pathogenic and protective roles. In contrast with the immunocompetent host, which may die with few detectable organisms owing to the overly strong immune response, immunodeficient hosts die with overwhelming infection and large quantities of organisms in the tissues. Vaccine development is challenging because of antigenic diversity of E. ruminantium, the necessity of avoiding an immunopathologic response, and incomplete knowledge of the protective antigens.
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Thema N, Pretorius A, Tshilwane SI, Liebenberg J, Steyn H, Van Kleef M. Cellular immune responses induced <i>in vitro</i> by <i>Ehrlichia ruminantium</i> secreted proteins and identification of vaccine candidate peptides. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 83:e1-e11. [PMID: 27608502 PMCID: PMC6238801 DOI: 10.4102/ojvr.v83i1.1170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2016] [Revised: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Secreted proteins are reported to induce cell-mediated immunity characterised by the production of interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ. In this study three open reading frames (ORFs) (Erum8060, Erum7760, Erum5000) encoding secreted proteins were selected from the Ehrlichia ruminantium (Welgevonden) genome sequence using bioinformatics tools to determine whether they induce a cellular immune response in vitro with mononuclear cells from needle and tick infected animals. The whole recombinant protein of the three ORFs as well as four adjacent fragments of the Erum5000 protein (Erum5000A, Erum5000B, Erum5000C, Erum5000D) were successfully expressed in a bacterial expression system which was confirmed by immunoblots using anti-His antibodies and sheep sera. These recombinant proteins were assayed with immune sheep and cattle peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), spleen and lymph node (LN) cells to determine whether they induce recall cellular immune responses in vitro. Significant proliferative responses and IFN-γ production were evident for all recombinant proteins, especially Erum5000A, in both ruminant species tested. Thus overlapping peptides spanning Erum5000A were synthesised and peptides that induce proliferation of memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and production of IFN-γ were identified. These results illustrate that a Th1 type immune response was elicited and these recombinant proteins and peptides may therefore be promising candidates for development of a heartwater vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nontobeko Thema
- New Generation Vaccines Programme, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria.
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Comparative Proteomic Profiling of Ehrlichia ruminantium Pathogenic Strain and Its High-Passaged Attenuated Strain Reveals Virulence and Attenuation-Associated Proteins. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0145328. [PMID: 26691135 PMCID: PMC4686967 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The obligate intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia ruminantium (ER) causes heartwater, a fatal tick-borne disease in livestock. In the field, ER strains present different levels of virulence, limiting vaccine efficacy, for which the molecular basis remains unknown. Moreover, there are no genetic tools currently available for ER manipulation, thus limiting the knowledge of the genes/proteins that are essential for ER pathogenesis and biology. As such, to identify proteins and/or mechanisms involved in ER virulence, we performed the first exhaustive comparative proteomic analysis between a virulent strain (ERGvir) and its high-passaged attenuated strain (ERGatt). Despite their different behaviors in vivo and in vitro, our results from 1DE-nanoLC-MS/MS showed that ERGvir and ERGatt share 80% of their proteins; this core proteome includes chaperones, proteins involved in metabolism, protein-DNA-RNA biosynthesis and processing, and bacterial effectors. Conventional 2DE revealed that 85% of the identified proteins are proteoforms, suggesting that post-translational modifications (namely glycosylation) are important in ER biology. Strain-specific proteins were also identified: while ERGatt has an increased number and overexpression of proteins involved in cell division, metabolism, transport and protein processing, ERGvir shows an overexpression of proteins and proteoforms (DIGE experiments) involved in pathogenesis such as Lpd, AnkA, VirB9 and B10, providing molecular evidence for its increased virulence in vivo and in vitro. Overall, our work reveals that ERGvir and ERGatt proteomes are streamlined to fulfill their biological function (maximum virulence for ERGvir and replicative capacity for ERGatt), and we provide both pioneering data and novel insights into the pathogenesis of this obligate intracellular bacterium.
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A review of reverse vaccinology approaches for the development of vaccines against ticks and tick borne diseases. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2015; 7:573-85. [PMID: 26723274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The field of reverse vaccinology developed as an outcome of the genome sequence revolution. Following the introduction of live vaccinations in the western world by Edward Jenner in 1798 and the coining of the phrase 'vaccine', in 1881 Pasteur developed a rational design for vaccines. Pasteur proposed that in order to make a vaccine that one should 'isolate, inactivate and inject the microorganism' and these basic rules of vaccinology were largely followed for the next 100 years leading to the elimination of several highly infectious diseases. However, new technologies were needed to conquer many pathogens which could not be eliminated using these traditional technologies. Thus increasingly, computers were used to mine genome sequences to rationally design recombinant vaccines. Several vaccines for bacterial and viral diseases (i.e. meningococcus and HIV) have been developed, however the on-going challenge for parasite vaccines has been due to their comparatively larger genomes. Understanding the immune response is important in reverse vaccinology studies as this knowledge will influence how the genome mining is to be conducted. Vaccine candidates for anaplasmosis, cowdriosis, theileriosis, leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and the cattle tick have been identified using reverse vaccinology approaches. Some challenges for parasite vaccine development include the ability to address antigenic variability as well the understanding of the complex interplay between antibody, mucosal and/or T cell immune responses. To understand the complex parasite interactions with the livestock host, there is the limitation where algorithms for epitope mining using the human genome cannot directly be adapted for bovine, for example the prediction of peptide binding to major histocompatibility complex motifs. As the number of genomes for both hosts and parasites increase, the development of new algorithms for pan-genomic mining will continue to impact the future of parasite and ricketsial (and other tick borne pathogens) disease vaccine development.
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Popara M, Villar M, de la Fuente J. Proteomics characterization of tick-host-pathogen interactions. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1247:513-27. [PMID: 25399117 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2004-4_34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Ticks are blood-feeding arthropod ectoparasites of wild and domestic animals that transmit disease-causing pathogens to humans and animals worldwide and a good model for the characterization of tick-host-pathogen interactions. Tick-host-pathogen interactions consist of dynamic processes involving genetic traits of hosts, pathogens, and ticks that mediate their development and survival. Proteomics provides information on the protein content of cells and tissues that may differ from results at the transcriptomics level and may be relevant for basic biological studies and vaccine antigen discovery. In this chapter, we describe various methods for protein extraction and for proteomics analysis in ticks based on one-dimensional gel electrophoresis to characterize tick-host-pathogen interactions. Particularly relevant for this characterization is the use of blood-fed ticks. Therefore, we put special emphasis on working with replete ticks collected after feeding on vertebrate hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Popara
- SaBio. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
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Resende DM, Rezende AM, Oliveira NJD, Batista ICA, Corrêa-Oliveira R, Reis AB, Ruiz JC. An assessment on epitope prediction methods for protozoa genomes. BMC Bioinformatics 2012; 13:309. [PMID: 23170965 PMCID: PMC3543197 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-13-309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2012] [Accepted: 11/11/2012] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Epitope prediction using computational methods represents one of the most promising approaches to vaccine development. Reduction of time, cost, and the availability of completely sequenced genomes are key points and highly motivating regarding the use of reverse vaccinology. Parasites of genus Leishmania are widely spread and they are the etiologic agents of leishmaniasis. Currently, there is no efficient vaccine against this pathogen and the drug treatment is highly toxic. The lack of sufficiently large datasets of experimentally validated parasites epitopes represents a serious limitation, especially for trypanomatids genomes. In this work we highlight the predictive performances of several algorithms that were evaluated through the development of a MySQL database built with the purpose of: a) evaluating individual algorithms prediction performances and their combination for CD8+ T cell epitopes, B-cell epitopes and subcellular localization by means of AUC (Area Under Curve) performance and a threshold dependent method that employs a confusion matrix; b) integrating data from experimentally validated and in silico predicted epitopes; and c) integrating the subcellular localization predictions and experimental data. NetCTL, NetMHC, BepiPred, BCPred12, and AAP12 algorithms were used for in silico epitope prediction and WoLF PSORT, Sigcleave and TargetP for in silico subcellular localization prediction against trypanosomatid genomes. Results A database-driven epitope prediction method was developed with built-in functions that were capable of: a) removing experimental data redundancy; b) parsing algorithms predictions and storage experimental validated and predict data; and c) evaluating algorithm performances. Results show that a better performance is achieved when the combined prediction is considered. This is particularly true for B cell epitope predictors, where the combined prediction of AAP12 and BCPred12 reached an AUC value of 0.77. For T CD8+ epitope predictors, the combined prediction of NetCTL and NetMHC reached an AUC value of 0.64. Finally, regarding the subcellular localization prediction, the best performance is achieved when the combined prediction of Sigcleave, TargetP and WoLF PSORT is used. Conclusions Our study indicates that the combination of B cells epitope predictors is the best tool for predicting epitopes on protozoan parasites proteins. Regarding subcellular localization, the best result was obtained when the three algorithms predictions were combined. The developed pipeline is available upon request to authors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela M Resende
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas-CiPharma, Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG 35400-000, Brazil
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Marcelino I, de Almeida AM, Ventosa M, Pruneau L, Meyer DF, Martinez D, Lefrançois T, Vachiéry N, Coelho AV. Tick-borne diseases in cattle: applications of proteomics to develop new generation vaccines. J Proteomics 2012; 75:4232-50. [PMID: 22480908 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2012.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2012] [Revised: 03/13/2012] [Accepted: 03/15/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) affect 80% of the world's cattle population, hampering livestock production throughout the world. Livestock industry is important to rural populations not only as food supply, but also as a source of income. Tick control is usually achieved by using acaricides which are expensive, deleterious to the environment and can induce chemical resistance of vectors; the development of more effective and sustainable control methods is therefore required. Theileriosis, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and heartwater are the most important TBDs in cattle. Immunization strategies are currently available but with variable efficacy. To develop a new generation of vaccines which are more efficient, cheaper and safer, it is first necessary to better understand the mechanisms by which these parasites are transmitted, multiply and cause disease; this becomes especially difficult due to their complex life cycles, in vitro culture conditions and the lack of genetic tools to manipulate them. Proteomics and other complementary post-genomic tools such as transcriptomics and metabolomics in a systems biology context are becoming key tools to increase knowledge on the biology of infectious diseases. Herein, we present an overview of the so called "Omics" studies currently available on these tick-borne pathogens, giving emphasis to proteomics and how it may help to discover new vaccine candidates to control TBDs.
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Liebenberg J, Pretorius A, Faber F, Collins N, Allsopp B, van Kleef M. Identification of Ehrlichia ruminantium proteins that activate cellular immune responses using a reverse vaccinology strategy. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2012; 145:340-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2011.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2011] [Revised: 11/08/2011] [Accepted: 12/05/2011] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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