Polymeric display of immunogenic epitopes from herpes simplex virus and transmissible gastroenteritis virus surface proteins on an enteroadherent fimbria

Animal Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the most common cause of E. coli diarrhea in farm animals. ETEC are characterized by the ability to produce two types of virulence factors: adhesins that promote binding to specific enterocyte receptors for intestinal colonization and enterotoxins responsible for fluid secretion. The best-characterized adhesins are expressed in the context of fimbriae, such as the F4 (also designated K88), F5 (K99), F6 (987P), F17, and F18 fimbriae. Once established in the animal small intestine, ETEC produce enterotoxin(s) that lead to diarrhea. The enterotoxins belong to two major classes: heat-labile toxins that consist of one active and five binding subunits (LT), and heat-stable toxins that are small polypeptides (STa, STb, and EAST1). This review describes the disease and pathogenesis of animal ETEC, the corresponding virulence genes and protein products of these bacteria, their regulation and targets in animal hosts, as well as mechanisms of action. Furthermore, vaccines, inhibitors, probiotics, and the identification of potential new targets by genomics are presented in the context of animal ETEC.

Adhesins of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Strains That Infect Animals

The first described adhesive antigen of Escherichia coli strains isolated from animals was the K88 antigen, expressed by strains from diarrheic pigs. The K88 antigen was visible by electron microscopy as a surface-exposed filament that was thin and flexible and had hemagglutinating properties. Many different fimbriae have been identified in animal enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and have been discussed in this article. The role of these fimbriae in the pathogenesis of ETEC has been best studied with K88, K99, 987P, and F41. Each fimbrial type carries at least one adhesive moiety that is specific for a certain host receptor, determining host species, age, and tissue specificities. ETEC are the most frequently diagnosed pathogens among neonatal and post-weaning piglets that die of diarrhea. Immune electron microscopy of animal ETEC fimbriae usually shows that the minor subunits are located at the fimbrial tips and at discrete sites along the fimbrial threads. Since fimbriae most frequently act like lectins by binding to the carbohydrate moieties of glycoproteins or glycolipids, fimbrial receptors have frequently been studied with red blood cells of various animal species. Identification and characterization of the binding moieties of ETEC fimbrial adhesins should be useful for the design of new prophylactic or therapeutic strategies. Some studies describing potential receptor or adhesin analogues that interfere with fimbria-mediated colonization have been described in the article.

Pili and flagella biology, structure, and biotechnological applications

Bacteria and Archaea expose on their outer surfaces a variety of thread-like proteinaceous organelles with which they interact with their environments. These structures are repetitive assemblies of covalently or non-covalently linked protein subunits, organized into filamentous polymers known as pili ("hair"), flagella ("whips") or injectisomes ("needles"). They serve different roles in cell motility, adhesion and host invasion, protein and DNA secretion and uptake, conductance, or cellular encapsulation. Here we describe the functional, morphological and genetic diversity of these bacterial filamentous protein structures. The organized, multi-copy build-up and/or the natural function of pili and flagella have lead to their biotechnological application as display and secretion tools, as therapeutic targets or as molecular motors. We review the documented and potential technological exploitation of bacterial surface filaments in light of their structural and functional traits.

Comparison of a fimbrial versus an autotransporter display system for viral epitopes on an attenuated Salmonella vaccine vector

Attenuated Salmonella have been used as vectors to deliver foreign antigens as live vaccines. We have previously developed an efficient surface-display system by genetically engineering 987P fimbriae to present transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) C and A epitopes for the induction of anti-TGEV antibodies with a Salmonella vaccine vector. Here, this system was compared with an autotransporter protein surface display system. The TGEV C and A epitopes were fused to the passenger domain of the MisL autotransporter of Salmonella. Expression of both the MisL- and 987P subunit FasA-fusions to the TGEV epitopes were under the control of in vivo-induced promoters. Expression of the TGEV epitopes from the Salmonella typhimurium CS4552 (crp cya asd pgtE) vaccine strain was greater when the epitopes were fused to MisL than when they were fused to the 987P FasA subunit. However, when BALB/c mice were orally immunized with the Salmonella vector expressing the TGEV epitopes from either one of the fusion constructs or both together, the highest level of anti-TGEV antibody was obtained with the 987P-TGEV immunogen-displaying vector. This result suggested that better immune responses towards specific epitopes could be obtained by using a polymeric display system such as fimbriae.

Construction, characterization, and immunogenicity of an attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium pgtE vaccine expressing fimbriae with integrated viral epitopes from the spiC promoter

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is a porcine coronavirus that causes diarrhea, leading to near 100% mortality in neonatal piglets with corresponding devastating economic consequences. For the protection of neonatal and older animals, oral live vaccines present the attractive property of inducing desired mucosal immune responses, including colostral antibodies in sows--an effective means to passively protect suckling piglets. Newly attenuated Salmonella vaccine constructs expressing TGEV S protein epitopes were studied and evaluated for improved humoral immune response to TGEV. The macrophage-inducible Salmonella ssaH and spiC/ssaB promoters were compared for their ability to express the TGEV C and A epitopes in the context of the heterologous 987P fimbriae on Salmonella vaccines. Compared to the ssaH promoter, the Salmonella cya crp vector elicited significantly higher levels of mucosal and systemic antibodies in orally immunized mice when the chimeric fimbriae were expressed from the spiC promoter. The Salmonella spiC promoter construct induced the highest level of chimeric fimbriae after being taken up by the J774A.1 macrophagelike cells. The Salmonella cya crp vaccine vector was shown to incorporate into 987P partially degraded chimeric subunits lacking the TGEV epitopes. In contrast, its isogenic pgtE mutant produced fimbriae consisting exclusively of intact chimeric subunits. Mice immunized orally with the Salmonella pgtE vaccine expressing chimeric fimbriae from the spiC promoter elicited significantly higher systemic and mucosal antibody titers against the TGEV epitopes compared to the parental vaccine. This study indicates that the Salmonella cya crp pgtE vector and the spiC promoter can be used successfully to improve immune responses toward heterologous antigens.

Type IV-like pili formed by the type II secreton: specificity, composition, bundling, polar localization, and surface presentation of peptides

The secreton or type II secretion machinery of gram-negative bacteria includes several type IV pilin-like proteins (the pseudopilins) that are absolutely required for secretion. We previously reported the presence of a bundled pilus composed of the pseudopilin PulG on the surface of agar-grown Escherichia coli K-12 cells expressing the Klebsiella oxytoca pullulanase (Pul) secreton genes at high levels (N. Sauvonnet, G. Vignon, A. P. Pugsley, and P. Gounon, EMBO J. 19:2221-2228, 2000). We show here that PulG is the only pseudopilin in purified pili and that the phenomenon is not restricted to the Pul secreton reconstituted in E. coli or to PulG. For example, high-level expression of the endogenous E. coli gsp secreton genes caused production of bundled pili composed of the pseudopilin GspG, and the Pul secreton was able to form pili composed of PulG-like proteins from secreton systems of other bacteria. PulG derivatives in which the C terminus was extended by the addition of eight different peptides were also assembled into pili and functioned in secretion. Three of the C-terminal peptides were shown to be exposed along the entire length of the assembled pili. Hence, the C terminus of PulG may represent a permissive site for the insertion of immunogenic epitopes or other peptide sequences. One of these PulG variants, with a six-histidine tag at its C terminus, formed nonpolar, nonbundled pili, suggesting that bundle formation and polar localization are not correlated with the ability of PulG to function in secretion. We propose that the PulG pilus is an artifactual manifestation of a periplasmic "pseudopilus" and that cycles of pseudopilus extension and retraction within the periplasm propel pullulanase through secretin channels in the outer membrane. Abnormally long pili that extend beyond the outer membrane are produced only when pilus length control and retraction are deregulated by overproduction of the major pseudopilus subunit (PulG).

Display of proteins on bacteria

Display of heterologous proteins on the surface of microorganisms, enabled by means of recombinant DNA technology, has become an increasingly used strategy in various applications in microbiology, biotechnology and vaccinology. Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, viruses and phages are all being investigated in such applications. This review will focus on the bacterial display systems and applications. Live bacterial vaccine delivery vehicles are being developed through the surface display of foreign antigens on the bacterial surfaces. In this field, 'second generation' vaccine delivery vehicles are at present being generated by the addition of mucosal targeting signals, through co-display of adhesins, in order to achieve targeting of the live bacteria to immunoreactive sites to thereby increase immune responses. Engineered bacteria are further being evaluated as novel microbial biocatalysts with heterologous enzymes immobilized as surface exposed on the bacterial cell surface. A discussion has started whether bacteria can find use as new types of whole-cell diagnostic devices since single-chain antibodies and other type of tailor-made binding proteins can be displayed on bacteria. Bacteria with increased binding capacity for certain metal ions can be created and potential environmental or biosensor applications for such recombinant bacteria as biosorbents are being discussed. Certain bacteria have also been employed for display of various poly-peptide libraries for use as devices in in vitro selection applications. Through various selection principles, individual clones with desired properties can be selected from such libraries. This article explains the basic principles of the different bacterial display systems, and discusses current uses and possible future trends of these emerging technologies.

Enhanced immune responses to viral epitopes by combining macrophage-inducible expression with multimeric display on a Salmonella vector

In this study, the immunogenicity of chimeric 987P fimbriae on a Salmonella vaccine strain was improved by optimizing fimbrial expression. The constitutive tetA promoter and the in vivo activated nirB and pagC promoters were evaluated for their use to express two epitopes of the transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) spike protein carried by fimbriae which were displayed on a Salmonella vaccine strain. Constructs with the pagC promoter were shown to drive increased expression of chimeric 987P fimbriae in macrophages as well as in Mg(2+)-poor media, mimicking a major environmental signal found in Salmonella-containing endocytic vacuoles of macrophages. Mice immunized orally with a Salmonella vaccine strain which expressed chimeric fimbriae from the pagC promoter elicited significantly higher mucosal and systemic immune responses to both the 987P fimbriae and the TGEV epitopes than mice immunized with the same strain hosting a tetA or nirB promoter-driven expression plasmid. Moreover, only the Salmonella vaccine strains harboring a plasmid with the pagC promoter, with or without an additional tetA promoter in tandem, elicited neutralizing antibodies to TGEV. This indicated that the pagC promoter can be used successfully to improve epitope-display by chimeric fimbriae on Salmonella vaccine strains for the induction of a desired immune response.

Fimbriae-assisted bacterial surface display of heterologous peptides

The display of peptide segments on the surface of bacteria offers many new and exciting applications in biotechnology and medical research. Fimbria-assisted display of heterologous sequences is a paradigm for chimeric organelle display on bacteria. Fimbriae are particularly attractive candidates for epitope display for several reasons: (1) they are present in extremely high numbers at the cell surface, (2) they are strong immunogens, (3) they possess inherent adhesive properties, and (4) they can be easily purified. The majority of work dealing with fimbria-assisted peptide display has been focused on the development of recombinant vaccines. A number of different fimbrial types have been used to display immune-relevant sectors of various foreign proteins. Chimeric fimbrial vaccines can be used in the context of purified proteins, however the potential also exists to exploit this technology for the development of live recombinant vaccines. Work has also been performed demonstrating the amenability of fimbriae towards the powerful technology of random peptide display. This review summarises the current state of research in this field.

Mucosal and systemic immune responses to chimeric fimbriae expressed by Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium vaccine strains

Recombinant live oral vaccines expressing pathogen-derived antigens offer a unique set of attractive properties. Among these are the simplicity of administration, the capacity to induce mucosal and systemic immunity, and the advantage of permitting genetic manipulation for optimal antigen presentation. In this study, the benefit of having a heterologous antigen expressed on the surface of a live vector rather than intracellularly was evaluated. Accordingly, the immune response of mice immunized with a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strain expressing the Escherichia coli 987P fimbrial antigen on its surface (Fas(+)) was compared with the expression in the periplasmic compartment (Fas(-)). Orally immunized BALB/c mice showed that 987P fimbriated Salmonella serovar Typhimurium CS3263 (aroA asd) with pCS151 (fas(+) asd(+)) elicited a significantly higher level of 987P-specific systemic immunoglobulin G (IgG) and mucosal IgA than serovar Typhimurium CS3263 with pCS152 (fasD mutant, asd(+)) expressing 987P periplasmic antigen. Further studies were aimed at determining whether the 987P fimbriae expressed by serovar Typhimurium chi4550 (cya crp asd) could be used as carriers of foreign epitopes. For this, the vaccine strain was genetically engineered to express chimeric fimbriae carrying the transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) C (379-388) and A (521-531) epitopes of the spike protein inserted into the 987P major fimbrial subunit FasA. BALB/c mice administered orally serovar Typhimurium chi4550 expressing the chimeric fimbriae from the tet promoter in pCS154 (fas(+) asd(+)) produced systemic antibodies against both fimbria and the TGEV C epitope but not against the TGEV A epitope. To improve the immunogenicity of the chimeric fimbriae, the in vivo inducible nirB promoter was inserted into pCS154, upstream of the fas genes, to create pCS155. In comparison with the previously used vaccine, BALB/c mice immunized orally with serovar Typhimurium chi4550/pCS155 demonstrated significantly higher levels of serum IgG and mucosal IgA against 987P fimbria. Moreover, mucosal IgA against the TGEV C epitope was only detected with serovar Typhimurium chi4550/pCS155. The induced antibodies also recognized the epitopes in the context of the full-length TGEV spike protein. Hence, immune responses to heterologous chimeric fimbriae on Salmonella vaccine vectors can be optimized by using promoters known to be activated in vivo.