Burkholderia thailandensis strain E555 is a surrogate for the investigation of Burkholderia pseudomallei replication and survival in macrophages.

BACKGROUND: Burkholderia pseudomallei is a human pathogen causing severe infections in tropical and subtropical regions and is classified as a bio-threat agent. B. thailandensis strain E264 has been proposed as less pathogenic surrogate for understanding the interactions of B. pseudomallei with host cells. RESULTS: We show that, unlike B. thailandensis strain E264, the pattern of growth of B. thailandensis strain E555 in macrophages is similar to that of B. pseudomallei. We have genome sequenced B. thailandensis strain E555 and using the annotated sequence identified genes and proteins up-regulated during infection. Changes in gene expression identified more of the known B. pseudomallei virulence factors than changes in protein levels and used together we identified 16% of the currently known B. pseudomallei virulence factors. These findings demonstrate the utility of B. thailandensis strain E555 to study virulence of B. pseudomallei. CONCLUSIONS: A weakness of studies using B. thailandensis as a surrogate for B. pseudomallei is that the strains used replicate at a slower rate in infected cells. We show that the pattern of growth of B. thailandensis strain E555 in macrophages closely mirrors that of B. pseudomallei. Using this infection model we have shown that virulence factors of B. pseudomallei can be identified as genes or proteins whose expression is elevated on the infection of macrophages. This finding confirms the utility of B. thailandensis strain E555 as a surrogate for B. pseudomallei and this strain should be used for future studies on virulence mechanisms.

The failure of different strains of Yersinia pestis to produce lipopolysaccharide O-antigen under different growth conditions is due to mutations in the O-antigen gene cluster.

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from eight strains of Yersinia pestis which had been cultured at 28 degrees C appeared to be devoid of an O-antigen when analysed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. LPS isolated from three of these strains which had been cultured at 37 degrees C also appeared to be devoid of an O-antigen. When the LPS from Y. pestis strain CO92 was purified and analysed by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the observed signals were in the mass range predicted for molecules containing lipid A plus the core oligosaccharide but lacking an O-antigen. The nucleotide sequence of Y. pestis strain CO92 revealed the presence of a putative O-antigen gene cluster. However, frame-shift mutations in the ddhB, gmd, fcl and ushA genes are likely to prevent expression of the O-antigen thus explaining the loss of phenotype.

Expression of heterologous O-antigen in Yersinia pestis KIM does not affect virulence by the intravenous route.

All strains of Yersinia pestis examined have been found to lack an O-antigen. In other members of the Enterobacteriaceae, the rough phenotype often results in attenuation. However, Y. pestis is the aetiological agent of bubonic plague. In evolving from the ancestral enteropathogenic Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and with the development of an arthropod-vectored systemic pathogenesis, smooth LPS production is not necessary for Y. pestis virulence and the metabolic burden has been alleviated by inactivation of the O-antigen biosynthetic operon. To investigate this, Y. pestis strain KIM D27 was transformed with a plasmid carrying the operon encoding the O-antigen of Yersinia enterocolitica O : 3. Expression of the O-antigen could be detected in silver-stained gels. The receptor for bacteriophage phiYeO3-12 has been shown to be O-antigen, and infection by this bacteriophage results in lysis of Y. enterocolitica O : 3. Expression of the O-antigen in Y. pestis conferred sensitivity to lysis by phiYeO3-12. The O-antigen-expressing clone was shown to be as virulent in mice by the intravenous route of challenge as the rough wild-type. Assays showed no alteration in the ability of Y. pestis to resist lysis by cationic antimicrobial peptides, serum or polymyxin.

Conjugation of Y. pestis F1-antigen to gold nanoparticles improves immunogenicity.

The efficacy of 15 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNP) coated with Yersinia pestis F1-antigen, as an immunogen in mice, has been assessed. The nanoparticles were decorated with F1-antigen using N-hydroxysuccinimide and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride coupling chemistry. Mice given AuNP-F1 in alhydrogel generated the greatest IgG antibody response to F1-antigen when compared with mice given AuNP-F1 in PBS or given unconjugated F1-antigen in PBS or alhydrogel. Compared with unconjugated F1-antigen, the IgG2a response was enhanced in mice dosed with AuNP-F1 in PBS (p<0.05) but not in mice immunised with AuNP-F1 in alhydrogel. All treatment groups developed a memory response to F1-antigen, the polarity of which was inflenced by formulation in alhydrogel. The sera raised against F1-antigen coupled to AuNPs was able to competitively bind to rF1-antigen, displacing protective macaque sera.

Monoclonal antibodies against Yersinia pestis lipopolysaccharide detect bacteria cultured at 28 degrees C or 37 degrees C.

Four monoclonal antibodies were generated against Yersinia pestis lipopolysaccharide by immunising mice with a cell surface preparation from Y. pestis strain 1255. In an ELISA the monoclonal antibodies reacted with live whole cells of Y. pestis strain GB cultured at 28 degrees C or 37 degrees C. The lowest detection threshold for Y. pestis strain GB cultured at 28 degrees C was 4 x 10(5) cfu ml(-1) and for bacteria cultured at 37 degrees C was 1 x 10(4) cfu ml(-1). The monoclonal antibodies did not cross react with other pathogenic Yersinia in an ELISA, but showed some cross reactivity in an immuno-blot. The monoclonal antibodies could be used for the detection of Y. pestis cultured at different temperatures and with varying plasmid profiles as the lipopolysaccharide molecule is not temperature regulated and the genes encoding its biosynthesis are located on the bacterial chromosome.

Characterization of the lipopolysaccharide of Yersinia pestis.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extracted from eight strains of Yersinia pestis, which had been cultured at 28 or 37 degrees C, reacted equally well, in Western blots, with four monoclonal antibodies generated against the LPS from a single strain of Y. pestis cultured at 28 degrees C. LPS was extracted and purified from Y. pestis strain GB, which had been cultured at 28 degrees C. When the LPS was analysed by SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry it was found to be devoid of an O-antigen. The LPS possessed activity of 2.7 endotoxin units/ng in the Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay. The LPS stimulated the production of TNFalpha and IL-6 from mouse macrophages, but was less active in these assays than LPS isolated from Escherichia coli strain 0111. Y. pestis LPS, either alone or with cholera toxin B subunit, was used to immunize mice. Either immunization schedule resulted in the development of an antibody response to LPS. However, this response did not provide protection against 100 MLD of Y. pestis strain GB.