Use of rich BHI medium instead of synthetic TMH medium for gene regulation study in Yersinia pestis.

OBJECTIVE: This study is to verify the use of rich BHI medium to substitute synthetic media for gene regulation studies in Yersinia pestis. METHODS: The transcriptional regulation of rovA by PhoP or via temperature upshift, and that of pla by CRP were investigated when Y. pestis was cultured in BHI. After cultivation under 26 °C, and with temperature shifting from 26 to 37 °C, the wild-type (WT) strain or its phoP or crp null mutant (ΔphoP or Δcrp, respectively) was subject to RNA isolation, and then the promoter activity of rovA or pla in the above strains was detected by the primer extension assay. The rovA promoter-proximal region was cloned into the pRW50 containing a promoterless lacZ gene. The recombinant LacZ reporter plasmid was transformed into WT and ΔphoP to measure the promoter activity of rovA in these two strains with the ß-Galactosidase enzyme assay system. RESULTS: When Y. pestis was cultured in BHI, the transcription of rovA was inhibited by PhoP and upon temperature upshift while that of pla was stimulated by CRP. CONCLUSION: The rich BHI medium without the need for modification to be introduced into the relevant stimulating conditions (which are essential to triggering relevant gene regulatory cascades), can be used in lieu of synthetic TMH media to cultivate Y. pestis for gene regulation studies.

Cellular fatty acids as chemical markers for differentiation of Acinetobacter baumannii and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.

OBJECTIVE: Gas chromatography (GC) was used to investigate the cellular fatty acid (CFA) composition of 141 Acinetobacter baumannii and 32 A. calcoaceticus isolates from different locations in China and to find chemical markers to differentiate these two closely related bacteria. METHODS: Whole cell fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were obtained by saponification, methylation, and extraction for GC analysis, followed by a standardized Microbial Identification System (MIS) analysis. RESULTS: All A. baumannii and A. calcoaceticus strains contained some major fatty acids, namely, 18:1 ω9c, 16:0, Sum In Feature 3, 12:0, 17:1ω8c, 3-OH-12:0, 17:0, Sum In Feature 2, 2-OH-12:0, and 18:0 compounds. Although most of the total CFAs are similar between A. baumannii and A. calcoaceticus strains, the ratios of two pairs of CFAs, i.e., Sum In Feature 3/18:1 ω9c versus 16:0/18:1 ω9c and Sum In Feature 3/18:1 ω9c versus unknown 12.484/18:1 ω9c fatty acids, could differentiate these two closely related bacteria. A. baumannii could be easily classified into two subgroups by plotting some ratios such as Sum In Feature 3/16:0 versus 17:0 and Sum In Feature 3/2-OH-12:0 versus 17:0 fatty acids. CONCLUSION: The ratios of some CFAs could be used as chemical markers to distinguish A. baumannii from A. calcoaceticus.

Different strategies for preparation of non-tagged rV270 protein and its efficacy against Yersinia pestis challenge.

OBJECTIVE: LcrV is an important component for the development of a subunit vaccine against plague. To reduce immunosuppressive activity of LcrV, a recombinant LcrV variant lacking amino acids 271 to 326 (rV270) was prepared by different methods in this study. METHODS: A new strategy that produced non-tagged or authentic rV270 protein was designed by insertion of rV270-thrombin-hexahistidine fusion gene into the vector pET24a, or by insertion of hexahistidine-enterokinase-rV270 or hexahistitine-factor Xa-rV270 fusion gene into the vector pET32a. After Co(2+) affinity chromatography, a purification strategy was developed by cleavage of His tag on column, following Sephacryl S-200HR column filtration chromatography. RESULTS: Removal of His tag by thrombin, enterokinase and factor Xa displayed a yield of 99.5%, 32.4% and 15.3%, respectively. Following Sephacryl S-200HR column filtration chromatography, above 97% purity of rV270 protein was obtained. Purified rV270 that was adsorbed to 25% (v/v) Al(OH)3 adjuvant in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) induced very high titers of antibody to rV270 in BALB/c mice and protected them (100% survival) against subcutaneous challenge with 106 CFU of Y. pestis virulent strain 141. CONCLUSION: The completely authentic rV270 protein can be prepared by using enterokinase or factor Xa, but they exhibited extremely low cleavage activity to the corresponding recognition site. Thrombin cleavage is an efficient strategy to prepare non-tagged rV270 protein and can be easily operated in a large scale due to its relatively low cost and high cleavage efficacy. The recombinant rV270 can be used as a key component to develop a subunit vaccine of plague.

[Evaluation of immunization protection efficacy of plague subunit vaccine].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective efficacy of plague subunit vaccine, BALB/c mice, guinea pigs and rabbits were used in this study. METHODS: Groups of mice (10 per group), guinea pigs (14 per group) and rabbits (6 per group) were immunized with F1 + rV270 vaccine, EV76 vaccine and alum adjuvant by intramuscular route, respectively. Serum antibody titres of mice, guinea pigs and rabbits were determined by ELISA and the immunized animals were challenged with 10(6) CFU of Y. pestis strain 141 at the 8th week after the primary immunization. RESULTS: The immunized mice, guinea pigs or rabbits with subunit vaccine developed anti-F1 IgG titre of 41 587.3 +/- 2.1, 11 543.7 +/- 2.1 or 522.4 +/- 22.4 and elicited statistical anti-F1 IgG titre difference among them (F = 17.58, P < 0.01). The immunized mice, guinea pigs or rabbits with subunit vaccine had anti-rV270 IgG titre of 15 748.7 +/- 1.6, 12.6 +/- 1.4 or 1648.0 +/- 5.0 and induced statistical anti-rV270 IgG titre difference among them (F value was 16.34, P < 0.01). There was significant anti-F1 IgG titre difference among mice, guinea pigs and rabbits immunized with EV76 vaccine that developed anti-F1 IgG titre of 913.4 +/- 4.5, 937.0 +/- 2.0 or 342.0 +/- 12.0 (F = 23.67, P < 0.01), whereas the immunized mice, guinea pigs and rabbits with EV76 vaccine developed anti-rV270 IgG titre of 12.0 +/- 1.0, 447.0 +/- 10.0, 40.0 +/- 11.0 and there was no anti-rV270 IgG titre difference between them (F = 2.20, P = 0.1314). The immunized mice with subunit vaccine developed significantly higher anti-F1 IgG titres than immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q value was 30.57 and 19.04, respectively, P < 0.01), and there were no anti-F1 IgG titre differences between the immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q = 0.04, P = 0.8485). The immunized mice with subunit vaccine developed significantly higher anti-rV270 IgG titres than immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q value was 27.10 and 19.49, respectively, P < 0.01), and there were no anti-rV270 IgG titre differences between the immunized guinea pigs and rabbits with the subunit vaccine (q = 0.25, P = 0.6187). The immunized mice with EV76 elicited higher anti-F1 IgG titres than immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q value was 40.67 and 29.10, respectively, P < 0.01), whereas there was no difference of F1 IgG titer between immunized guinea pigs and rabbits (q = 0.06, P = 0.8098). The immunized mice, guinea pigs and rabbits with subunit vaccine provided 100% (10/10), 86% (12/14) and 100% (5/5) protection against 10(6) CFU Y. pestis of challenge, respectively. The immunized mice, guinea pigs and rabbits with EV76 vaccine gave 100% (6/6), 93% (13/14) and 100% (6/6) protection against 10(6) CFU Y. pestis of challenge respectively. CONCLUSION: BALB/c mice is the best small animal model for valuation of protective efficacy of plague subunit vaccine. The guinea pigs showed a high individual variation for this purpose. The rabbits can be used as an alternative model for evaluating plague subunit vaccine.

Genetic variations in the pgm locus among natural isolates of Yersinia pestis.

A PCR-based screening method was used to study the genetic variations of the pgm locus among natural isolates of Yersinia pestis from China. Our results indicate that genetic variations in the pgm locus are well correlated with biovars of Y. pestis and plague foci, suggesting that the pgm locus plays a role in Y. pestis adaptation to its environment. The gene encoding two-component regulatory system sensor kinase became a pseudogene in all strains of biovar Orientalis due to a thymidine deletion, while it is intact in all the strains of the other biovars. Only strains from Foci H and L are the same as Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in that they have an intact transmembrane helix in the sensor kinase protein, which is lost in all the other strains because of the 18 bp in-frame deletion. The IS100 element that flanks the 39 terminus of the pgm locus was inserted into the chromosome during the within-species microevolution of Y. pestis, which is absent in strains from Foci G, H and L and also in Y. pseudotuberculosis. This fact indicates that the strains from these three foci are of an older lineage of Chinese Y. pestis. It is this IS100 element's absence that maintained high stability of the pgm locus in the Y. pestis strains from these three foci. The IS285 element insertion in the pigmentation segment and the IS100 element insertion in the downstream flanking region of the pgm locus are only present in strains from Foci H and L. The flanking region outside the 59 terminus of the upstream IS100 element is identical in the strains from these two foci, which is different in the other strains. All of these unique characteristics suggest that they are of a special lineage of Chinese Y. pestis.

[Optimization of the conditions for protein chip preparation].

OBJECTIVE: To define the optimal conditions for preparing protein chips on aldehyde-coated slides. METHODS: The proteins were diluted in PBS containing 40% glycerol and spotted on aldehyde-coated slides. After the spots were dried for 1 hour at room temperature, the slides were stored at 4 degrees Celsius;. Following block and rinse, the slides were used for immunoassay and the results detected with a scanner. Several key factors that might influence the results were tested, including the number of spots, concentration of protein in the spotting solution, time of immobilization and the blocking reagent. RESULTS: Pre-spotting of 10 to 15 spots achieved good homogeneity of the subsequent spots on aldehyde-coated slides. The protein immobilized at 4 degrees Celsius; for 24 to 48 h showed higher fluorescence intensity and clearer images, and the slides blocked with 3% BSA produced the lowest background signal. The concentration of protein in the spotting solution significantly affected the fluorescence intensity. CONCLUSION: To ensure good results in preparing protein chips on aldehyde slides, pre-spotting of 10-15 spots can be necessary followed by immobilization at 4 degrees Celsius; for 24-48 h and 3% BSA blocking.

[In vitro selection and affinity function of the aptamers to Bacillus anthracis spores by SELEX].

To obtain oligonucleotide aptamers, specifically binding to Bacillus anthracis spores, and to find the relationship between the structures and the affinities, and to determine whether the aptamers can be used as a novel molecule for spore detection, a synthetic 35 mer random DNA library was subjected to 18 rounds of selection by using SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) protocol against spores of Bacillus anthracis vaccine strain A. 16R. The selected aptamers were cloned and sequenced. Software packages CLUSTALX (1.8) and DNASIS v2.5 were employed to analyze the conserved sequences and second structures of the aptamers, respectively. Affinities of aptamers to the spores were visualized by biotin streptavidin horseradish peroxidase system. DAB was used to visualize signals, as an assay method. A membrane-based hybrid sandwich assay was developed for detecting Bacillus anthracic spores by using a 5'-biotinylated ssDNA aptamers and anti-spore antibodies. PCR amplification band pattern of the first round selection was different from that of the ninth round. The binding assay demonstrated that the affinity of the eighteenth round pool increased thirty-seven folds more than that of the first round pool. The affinities of the aptamers were different: the highest A at 450 nm was 1.20, and the lowest was 0.20. The secondary structure analysis revealed possible stem-loop and hairpin structures for binding to the spores. The colorimetry on the immuno-membrane got the best signal with a ratio of 16 microgram aptamer to 4x10(7) spores. A set of aptamers with considerable binding affinity to Bacillus anthracis spores was successfully selected from the initial random ssDNA pool. The stem-loop and hairpin at 5' end of the aptamers worked as the main motif in the interaction between oligonucleotides and spores, while the neighbor bases of the triple structure might affect the stability. Therefore ssDNA aptamers seem to be a type of potential diagnostic molecule.