Physiological, morphological, and immunochemical parameters used for the characterization of clinical and environmental isolates of Acanthamoeba.

The factors that characterize Acanthamoeba strains as harmless or potentially pathogenic have not been elucidated. Analysing the in vitro and in vivo parameters of Acanthamoeba samples, including heat tolerance at temperatures close to that of the human body, cytopathic effects, and their ability to cause infections in animals, has been proposed to identify their pathogenic potential. Another promising criterion for differentiating strains is the analysis of their biochemical and immunochemical properties. In this study, a comparative evaluation between clinical and environmental Acanthamoeba isolates was performed on the basis of physiological, morphological, and immunochemical criteria. Crude antigens were used to characterize the protein profiles by electrophoresis and immunize mice to produce polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. The antibodies were characterized using ELISA, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence techniques. The results obtained with polyclonal antibodies suggest the presence of specific proteins for each studied isolate and co-reactive immunochemical profiles among conserved components. Ten monoclonal antibody clones were obtained; mAb3 recognized 3 out of 4 samples studied. The results of this study may help standardize criteria for identifying and characterizing Acanthamoeba strains. Taken together, our results support the view that a set of features may help differentiate Acanthamoeba species and isolates.

Protection against the toxic effects of Loxosceles intermedia spider venom elicited by mimotope peptides.

The venom of Loxosceles intermedia (Li) spiders is responsible for cutaneous lesions and other clinical manifestations. We previously reported that the monoclonal antibody LimAb7 can neutralize the dermonecrotic activity of crude Li venom. In this study, we observed that this antibody recognizes several proteins from the venom dermonecrotic fraction (DNF), including LiD1. Identifying the epitope of such a neutralizing antibody could help designing immunogens for producing therapeutic sera or vaccination approaches. To this aim, two sets of 25- and 15-mer overlapping peptides that cover the complete amino acid sequence of LiD1 were synthesized using the SPOT technique. None of them was recognized by LimAb7, suggesting that the epitope is discontinuous. Then, the screening of four peptide phage-display libraries yielded four possible epitope mimics that, however, did not show any obvious similarity with the LiD1 sequence. These mimotopes, together with a 3D model of LiD1, were used to predict with the MIMOP bioinformatic tool the putative epitope region (residues C197, Y224, W225, T226, D228, K229, R230, T232 and Y248 of LiD1) recognized by LimAb7. This analysis and the results of alanine-scanning experiments highlighted a few residues (such as W225 and D228) that are found in the active site of different SMases D and that may be important for LiD1 enzymatic activity. Finally, the only mimotope NCNKNDHLFACW that interacts with LimAb7 by SPOT and its analog NSNKNDHLFASW were used as immunogens in rabbits. The resulting antibodies could neutralize some of the biological effects induced by crude Li venom, demonstrating a mimotope-induced protection against L. intermedia venom.

Molecular characterization of a neutralizing murine monoclonal antibody against Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against Tityus serrulatus venom were obtained by the fusion of SP2/0 murine myeloma cells and spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with a toxic fraction (TstFG50) of the Tityus venom (this G50 chromatography fraction represents most of the toxicity of the crude venom) conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) with glutaraldehyde. From the initial screening of over 200 hybridoma fusion wells, a panel of 9 anti-TstFG50 secreting hybridomas was established. The capacity of mAbs to neutralize the TstFG50 toxic fraction toxic was determined by in vitro neutralization assays and by inhibition of the binding of 125I-TsVII to its site on rat brain synaptosomes. Only mAbTs1 neutralized 50% of the toxic effects produced by scorpion venom and showed 35% inhibition of the binding of 125I-TsVII at 10(-7) M. To map the epitope recognized by the protective mAbTs1, we prepared a comprehensive series of overlapping 15-mer synthetic peptides covering the amino acid sequences of the four Tityus proteins. MAbTs1 reacted with peptide 26 of TsIV (KKSKDKKADSGYSYW), peptide 30 of TsVII (KKGSSGYSAWPASYS) and peptide 31 of TsNTxP (KKGSSGYSAWPASYS). MAbTs1 was not reactive with any peptide from TsII. The N-terminal lysine residue from the epitope was found to be critical for mAbTs1 binding. The epitope was positioned on the available three-dimensional structure of TsVII together with the recently identified residues from the pharmacophore of beta-scorpion toxins. The neutralizing properties of mAbTs1 might be explained by spatial vicinity of epitope residues with pharmacophore residues.

Localization of epitopes in the toxins of Tityus serrulatus scorpions and neutralizing potential of therapeutic antivenoms.

Overlapping pentadecapeptides covering the complete amino acid sequence of TsII, TsVII and TsIV toxins from the venom of scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Ts), were prepared by use of the Spot method of multiple peptide synthesis. Horse anti-Ts antisera for therapeutic use were tested for their binding to peptides. All nine antisera tested showed reactivity with several peptides from the three toxins. Three antigenic regions, one in the very N-terminal, the second in the central part and the other in the C-terminal part of the three toxins were frequently, but not constantly recognized, with an intensity that seemed to be related to the neutralizing potency of the tested antivenom. Thus the corresponding peptides (residues 1-15 and 48-62 of TsII; residues 1-15, 16-30 and 48-62 of TsIV and residues 1-15 and 47-61 of TsVII) were synthesized, coupled to KLH and used as antigens to coat the microtitration plates to determine any relationship between their ELISA reactivity with therapeutic horse antivenoms and the neutralizing potential of these antivenoms. The mixture of the N-terminal peptide of TsII, of the N-terminal TsVII peptide and of the C-terminal of TsIV was found to give a linear relationship with the neutralizing titer of horse serum of low neutralizing potency (< or =1 mg/ml). However, high neutralizing antivenoms did not show the expected response in peptide ELISA. This observation is discussed in the context of the occurrence of continuous and discontinuous epitopes on toxins.

Molecular characterization of protective antibodies raised in mice by Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom toxins conjugated to bovine serum albumin.

The possibility of raising a humoral immune response capable of inducing in vivo protection against the lethal effects of Tityus serrulatus (Ts) scorpion venom was evaluated in the mouse model. An immunogen was prepared that consists of a toxic fraction (TstFG(50)) of the Tityus venom (this G(50) chromatography fraction represents most of the toxicity of the crude venom) conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) with glutaraldehyde. TstFG(50) coupled to BSA yielded a thoroughly detoxified immunogen. BALB/c and C57BL/10 mice were immunized with this preparation and all developed an antibody response. In vivo protection assays one week after the last immunization showed that vaccinated mice could resist the challenge by twice the LD(50) of the TstFG(50), a dose which killed all control non-immune mice. The protective effect persisted nine weeks after the end of the immunization protocol. To characterize epitopes of protective antibodies we used the Spot method of multiple peptide synthesis to prepare sets of immobilized 15 mer overlapping peptides, covering the complete amino acid sequences of the main Tityus toxins, TsII and TsVII (both beta-type toxins) and TsIV, an alpha-type toxin that is the major lethal component of the venom. Antibody binding to peptides, revealed one major antigenic region in the C-terminal part of the three toxins and another region in the helical part of TsII and TsIV toxins. It is likely that these epitopes correspond to neutralizing epitopes since they correspond to regions of the toxins that are known to be involved in the active site of the toxins.

Induction of neutralizing antibodies against Tityus serrulatus scorpion toxins by immunization with a mixture of defined synthetic epitopes.

We have used the Spot method of multiple peptide synthesis to prepare sets of immobilized overlapping peptides of uniform size (15 mer), covering the complete amino acid sequences of TsNTxP a non-toxic and immunogenic protein and TsIV, an alpha-type toxin that is the major lethal component of the venom of scorpion Tityus serrulatus. Anti-TsNTxP antibodies binding to peptides, revealed three antigenic regions, one in the N-terminal, the second in the central part and the other in the C-terminal part of TsNTxP. One peptide epitope in the C-terminal part of TsIV was identified with anti-TsIV neutralizing rabbit antibodies. Anti-peptide antibodies were raised against these four peptides all together covalently coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and found to neutralize in vitro the toxic effects of the T. serrulatus venom. Quantities of venom equivalent to 13.5 LD(50) were effectively neutralized by 1ml of the anti-peptide serum. The antigenic specificities of the anti-peptides were compared by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using synthetic peptides and crude venoms from T. serrulatus, T. bahiensis, T. cambridgei, T. stigmurus, Androctonus autralis Hector and Centruroides sculpturatus to coat the microtitration plates. The anti-peptide antibodies had a comparable high reactivity with the crude venom of T. serrulatus, moderate binding to T. bahiensis, T. cambridgei, T. stigmurus and Centruroides sculpturatus venoms but were unable to recognize the venom of Androctonus autralis Hector. These results show that by using peptides derived from the sequence of scorpion toxins, the generation of anti-peptide antibodies able to neutralize the cognate venom appears to be an alternative strategy for the easy preparation of antivenoms.

Sandwich-ELISA detection of venom antigens in envenoming by Phoneutria nigriventer spider.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were developed to detect antigens from Phoneutria nigriventer spider venom. Horse anti-P. nigriventer immunoglobulins were prepared by immunoaffinity chromatography and used to set up a sandwich-type ELISA. The specificity of the assay was demonstrated by its capacity to correctly discriminate between the circulating antigens in mice that were experimentally inoculated with P. nigriventer venom from those in mice inoculated with Lycosa sp. and Loxosceles intermedia spider venoms, Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom and Apis mellifera bee venom. Measurable absorbance signals were obtained with 0.8ng of venom per assay. The ELISA was used to follow the kinetic distribution of antigens in experimentally envenomed mice and to detect antigens in the sera of patients envenomed by P. nigriventer.