Monoclonal antibodies neutralize Bacillus cereus Nhe enterotoxin by inhibiting ordered binding of its three exoprotein components.

The Nhe enterotoxin from Bacillus cereus is known to induce cytotoxicity on Vero and CaCo-2 cells by ordered binding of its single components NheA, NheB, and NheC. This study aimed to elucidate functional sites on NheB by identifying the epitopes of the neutralizing monoclonal antibodies 1E11 and 2B11. The binding regions of both antibodies were determined by using recombinant NheB fragments and synthetic peptides. The antigenic site of antibody 1E11 was located within the amino acids 321 to 341 of NheB, whereas reactivity of antibody 2B11 was dependent on the presence of amino acids 122 to 150 and on conformation. Both antibodies were able to bind simultaneously to NheB and did not interfere with target cell binding as shown by immunofluorescence microscopy. A set of neutralization assays revealed that antibody 2B11 most likely interfered with the interaction between NheB and NheC both on the epithelium cell surface and in solution. In contrast, antibody 1E11 inhibited association between NheA and cell-bound NheB in a competitive manner, and effectively neutralized Nhe cytotoxicity on a variety of human cell lines. This distinct mechanism further supports that NheA is the key component during the Nhe mode of action and the C-terminal epitope recognized by antibody 1E11 points to an important functional region of NheB.

Performance characteristics of the Duopath® cereus enterotoxins assay for rapid detection of enterotoxinogenic Bacillus cereus strains.

The Duopath® Cereus Enterotoxins test (Merck KGaA) is a newly developed gold-labeled lateral flow immunoassay for the detection of Bacillus cereus enterotoxins. The test uses monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the L(2) component of hemolysin BL (Hbl) and NheB of the non-hemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe), respectively. The inclusivity and exclusivity of the assay was tested using 44 B. cereus, B. cereus group and Bacillus spp. strains. Apart from the B. mycoides type strain the results were in full agreement with those obtained by other immunological and molecular biological methods. The detection limit of the assay was 6ng/ml for NheB and 20ng/ml for the Hbl-L(2)-component, respectively. Using artificially and naturally contaminated food samples (n=76) the assay was positive after 18-24h enrichment if at least 10(2) enterotoxin producing B. cereus/g were present. After 30h enrichment samples contaminated with as low as 1 enterotoxin producing B. cereus/g gave positive results. In addition, testing of suspected colonies for enterotoxin production is possible. The assay is easy to perform and results can be clearly read without instrumentation.

Cytotoxicity of the Bacillus cereus Nhe enterotoxin requires specific binding order of its three exoprotein components.

This study focuses on the interaction of the three components of the Bacillus cereus Nhe enterotoxin with particular emphasis on the functional roles of NheB and NheC. The results demonstrated that both NheB and NheC were able to bind to Vero cells directly while NheA lacked this ability. It was also shown that Nhe-induced cytotoxicity required a specific binding order of the individual components whereby the presence of NheC in the priming step as well as the presence of NheA in the final incubation step was mandatory. Priming of cells with NheB alone and addition of NheA plus NheC in the second step failed to induce toxic effects. Furthermore, in solution, excess NheC inhibited binding of NheB to Vero cells, whereas priming of cells with excess NheC resulted in full toxicity if unbound NheC was removed before addition of NheB. By using mutated NheC proteins where the two cysteine residues in the predicted beta-tongue were replaced with glycine (NheCcys-) or where the entire hydrophobic stretch was deleted (NheChr-), the predicted hydrophobic beta-tongue of NheC was found essential for binding to cell membranes but not for interaction with NheB in solution. All data presented here are compatible with the following model. The first step in the mode of action of Nhe is associated with binding of NheC and NheB to the cell surface and probably accompanied by conformational changes. These events allow subsequent binding of NheA, leading to cell lysis.

Detection of Bacillus cereus with enteropathogenic potential by multiplex real-time PCR based on SYBR Green I.

In order to meet the growing demand for fast and reliable detection of potentially toxinogenic Bacillus cereus, we developed a multiplex real-time PCR assay based on SYBR Green I with subsequent melting curve analysis. We designed and selected primers specific for genes of toxins responsible for diarrhoea (nheA, hblD and cytK1) and emesis (ces). A panel of 337 Bacillus strains was applied to the novel method on Light Cycler 2.0 with average melting temperature (T(m)) values of 73.85 degrees C (nheA), 87.01 degrees C (hblD), 78.66 degrees C (ces) and 82.19 degrees C (cytK1). An adapted version of the assay was also successfully run on Light Cycler 480 using one third (113 strains) of the total test panel. Verification of PCR results by conventional PCR as well as immunoassays and cytotoxicity tests gave an overall excellent correlation. Distinct melting peaks were only observed in B. cereus and B. cereus group strains but not in other Bacilli and Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. Artificial contamination of three different food matrices with distinct bacterial counts revealed a detection limit of 10(1) CFU/g B. cereus cells after overnight enrichment. Thus, the novel multiplex real-time PCR turned out to be a reliable method for identification of B. cereus with enteropathogenic potential.

Comparison of multiplex PCR, enzyme immunoassay and cell culture methods for the detection of enterotoxinogenic Bacillus cereus.

Fast and reliable methods are needed for the detection of pathogenic Bacillus cereus which should provide consistent results. Therefore, we tested a panel of 176 strains, including B. cereus strains, B. cereus group strains and other Bacillus spp. with polymerase chain reaction, immunoassays and cytotoxicity tests and assessed the consistency of the results. A screening multiplex PCR for the detection of hbl, nhe, ces and cytK1 as well as two multiplex PCRs for the differentiation of Hbl genes (hblC, hblD, hblA) and Nhe genes (nheA, nheB, nheC) was applied. All PCRs included an internal amplification control. Component specific antibody based immunoassays were used for the detection of the three components of Hbl and Nhe and the overall cytotoxicity to Vero cells and HEp-2 cells was checked. An overall excellent correlation was obtained for the results of the three, methodically independent assays and no false-negative PCR results were seen for any of the strains tested positive in immunoassays and cytotoxicity tests. The three multiplex PCRs proved to be a facile method for the identification of enterotoxinogenic B. cereus isolates.

Determination of the toxic potential of Bacillus cereus isolates by quantitative enterotoxin analyses.

Haemolysin BL (HBL) and non-haemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe), each consisting of three components, represent the major enterotoxins produced by Bacillus cereus. To evaluate the expression of these toxins, a set of 100 B. cereus strains was examined. Molecular biological characterization showed that 42% of the strains harboured the genes for HBL and 99% for Nhe. The production of all Nhe and HBL components were analyzed using specific antibodies and, in culture supernatants, detectable levels of HBL and Nhe were found for 100% of hbl-positive and 96% of nhe-positive strains. The concentrations of the HBL-L(2) and NheB component ranged from 0.02 to 5.6 microg mL(-1) and from 0.03 to 14.2 microg mL(-1), respectively. Comparison of the amount of NheB produced by food poisoning and food/environmental strains revealed that the median value for all food poisoning strains was significantly higher than for the food/environmental isolates. The data presented in this study provide evidence that specific and quantitative determination of the enterotoxins is necessary to evaluate the toxic potential of B. cereus. In particular, the level of Nhe seems to explain most of the cytotoxic activity of B. cereus isolates and may indicate a highly diarrheic potential.

Production and characterization of antibodies against each of the three subunits of the Bacillus cereus nonhemolytic enterotoxin complex.

The nonhemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe) is one of the two three-component enterotoxins which are responsible for diarrheal food poisoning syndrome caused by Bacillus cereus. To facilitate the detection of this toxin, consisting of the subunits NheA, NheB, and NheC, a complete set of high-affinity antibodies against each of the three components was established and characterized. A rabbit antiserum specific for the C-terminal part (15 amino acids) of NheC was produced using a respective synthetic peptide coupled to a protein carrier for immunization. Using purified B. cereus exoprotein preparations as immunogens, one monoclonal antibody against NheA and several antibodies against NheB were obtained. No cross-reactivity with other proteins produced by different strains of B. cereus was observed. Antibodies against the NheB component were able to neutralize the cytotoxic activity (up to 98%) of Nhe. Based on indirect enzyme immunoassays, the antibodies developed in this study were successfully used in the characterization of the enterotoxic activity of several B. cereus strains. For the first time, it could be shown that strains carrying the nhe genes usually express the complete set of the three components, including NheC. However, the amount of toxin produced varies considerably between the different strains.

Colony immunoblot assay for the detection of hemolysin BL enterotoxin producing Bacillus cereus.

Bacillus cereus strains involved in food poisoning cases of the diarrheal type may produce two different enterotoxin complexes. To facilitate the identification of hemolysin BL-enterotoxin complex (HBL) and/or the nonhemolytic enterotoxin (NHE) producing colonies a colony immunoblot procedure was developed, which allows a fast and easy identification of the respective colonies from blood agar plates. The enterotoxins were transferred from the blood agar medium to a nitrocellulose membrane and the immobilized toxins were probed with monoclonal antibodies. The antibodies 2A3 and 1A8 allowed the specific detection of the B component of HBL and the nheA component of NHE. The assay enabled the reliable identification of HBL expressing colonies and differentiation from NHE producing but HBL negative colonies.

Identification and characterization of a new variant of Shiga toxin 1 in Escherichia coli ONT:H19 of bovine origin.

A new variant of Shiga toxin 1 (Stx1), designated Stx1d, which deviates considerably more than any other known variant from Stx1 encoded by phage 933J, was identified in an Escherichia coli strain, ONT:H19, isolated from bovine feces. The complete stx(1) gene of this strain was amplified and sequenced. Nucleotide sequence homology with stx(1) from phage 933J was only 91%, resulting in the substitution of 20 amino acids in the A subunit and 7 amino acids in the B subunit of the protein. Cell culture supernatant of this strain, which was negative for stx(2) by PCR testing, was cytotoxic to Vero cells and gave positive results in two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for Stx. PCR primers were constructed for the specific detection of the new variant. The findings of this study suggest that Stx1 is not as conserved as thought before and that there might be more variants which cannot be detected by commonly used PCR methods.