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Preparation of alginate coated chitosan microparticles for vaccine delivery
Background:
Absorption of antigens onto chitosan microparticles via electrostatic interaction is a common and relatively mild process suitable for mucosal vaccine. In order to increase the stability of antigens and prevent an immediate desorption of antigens from chitosan carriers in gastrointestinal tract, coating onto BSA loaded chitosan microparticles with sodium alginate was performed by layer-by-layer technology to meet the requirement of mucosal vaccine.
Results:
The prepared alginate coated BSA loaded chitosan microparticles had loading efficiency (LE) of 60% and loading capacity (LC) of 6% with mean diameter of about 1 micron. When the weight ratio of alginate/chitosan microparticles was greater than 2, the stable system could be obtained. The rapid charge inversion of BSA loaded chitosan microparticles (from +27mv to -27.8mv) was observed during the coating procedure which indicated the presence of alginate layer on the chitosan microparticles surfaces. According to the results obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the core-shell structure of BSA loaded chitosan microparticles was observed. Meanwhile, in vitro release study indicated that the initial burst release of BSA from alginate coated chitosan microparticles was lower than that observed from uncoated chitosan microparticles (40% in 8h vs. about 84% in 0.5h). SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) assay showed that alginate coating onto chitosan microparticles could effectively protect the BSA from degradation or hydrolysis in acidic condition for at least 2h. The structural integrity of alginate modified chitosan microparticles incubated in PBS for 24h was investigated by FTIR.
Conclusion:
The prepared alginate coated chitosan microparticles, with mean diameter of about 1 micron, was suitable for oral mucosal vaccine. Moreover, alginate coating onto the surface of chitosan microparticles could modulate the release behavior of BSA from alginate coated chitosan microparticles and could effectively protect model protein (BSA) from degradation in acidic medium in vitro for at least 2h. In all, the prepared alginate coated chitosan microparticles might be an effective vehicle for oral administration of antigens.
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Homologous recombination-mediated cloning and manipulation of genomic DNA regions using Gateway and recombineering systems
Background:
Employing genomic DNA clones to characterise gene attributes has several advantages over the use of cDNA clones, including the presence of native transcription and translation regulatory sequences as well as a representation of the complete repertoire of potential splice variants encoded by the gene. However, working with genomic DNA clones has traditionally been tedious due to their large size relative to cDNA clones and the presence, absence or position of particular restriction enzyme sites that may complicate conventional in vitro cloning procedures.
Results:
To enable efficient cloning and manipulation of genomic DNA fragments for the purposes of gene expression and reporter-gene studies we have combined aspects of the Gateway system and a bacteriophage-based homologous recombination (i.e. recombineering) system. To apply the method for characterising plant genes we developed novel Gateway and plant transformation vectors that are of small size and incorporate selectable markers which enable efficient identification of recombinant clones. We demonstrate that the genomic coding region of a gene can be directly cloned into a Gateway Entry vector by recombineering enabling its subsequent transfer to Gateway Expression vectors. We also demonstrate how the coding and regulatory regions of a gene can be directly cloned into a plant transformation vector by recombineering. This construct was then rapidly converted into a novel Gateway Expression vector incorporating cognate 5' and 3' regulatory regions by using recombineering to replace the intervening coding region with the Gateway Destination cassette. Such expression vectors can be applied to characterise gene regulatory regions through development of reporter-gene fusions, using the Gateway Entry clones of GUS and GFP described here, or for ectopic expression of a coding region cloned into a Gateway Entry vector. We exemplify the utility of this approach with the Arabidopsis PAP85 gene and demonstrate that the expression profile of a PAP85::GUS transgene highly corresponds with native PAP85 expression.
Conclusions:
We describe a novel combination of the favourable attributes of the Gateway and recombineering systems to enable efficient cloning and manipulation of genomic DNA clones for more effective characterisation of gene function. Although the system and plasmid vectors described here were developed for applications in plants, the general approach is broadly applicable to gene characterisation studies in many biological systems.
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A novel expression platform for the production of diabetes-associated autoantigen human glutamic acid decarboxylase (hGAD65)
Background:
Human glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (hGAD65) is a key autoantigen in type 1 diabetes, having much potential as an important marker for the prediction and diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, and for the development of novel antigen-specific therapies for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. However, recombinant production of hGAD65 using conventional bacterial or mammalian cell culture-based expression systems or nuclear transformed plants is limited by low yield and low efficiency. Chloroplast transformation of the unicellular eukaryotic alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii may offer a potential solution.
Results:
A DNA cassette encoding full-length hGAD65, under the control of the C. reinhardtii chloroplast rbcL promoter and 5'- and 3'-UTRs, was constructed and introduced into the chloroplast genome of C. reinhardtii by particle bombardment. Integration of hGAD65 DNA into the algal chloroplast genome was confirmed by PCR. Transcriptional expression of hGAD65 was demonstrated by RT-PCR. Immunoblotting verified the expression and accumulation of the recombinant protein. The antigenicity of algal-derived hGAD65 was demonstrated with its immunoreactivity to diabetic sera by ELISA and by its ability to induce proliferation of spleen cells from NOD mice. Recombinant hGAD65 accumulated in transgenic algae, accounts for approximately 0.25-0.3% of its total soluble protein.
Conclusions:
Our results demonstrate the potential value of C. reinhardtii chloroplasts as a novel platform for rapid mass production of immunologically active hGAD65. This demonstration opens the future possibility for using algal chloroplasts as novel bioreactors for the production of many other biologically active mammalian therapeutic proteins.
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Development of a novel ozone- and photo-stable HyPer5 red fluorescent dye for array CGH and microarray gene expression analysis with consistent performance irrespective of environmental conditions
Background:
Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and gene expression profiling have become vital techniques for identifying molecular defects underlying genetic diseases. Regardless of the microarray platform, cyanine dyes (Cy3 and Cy5) are one of the most widely used fluorescent dye pairs for microarray analysis owing to their brightness and ease of incorporation, enabling high level of assay sensitivity. However, combining both dyes on arrays can become problematic during summer months when ozone levels rise to near 25 parts per billion (ppb). Under such conditions, Cy5 is known to rapidly degrade leading to loss of signal from either "homebrew" or commercial arrays. Cy5 can also suffer disproportionately from dye photobleaching resulting in distortion of (Cy5/Cy3) ratios used in copy number analysis. Our laboratory has been active in fluorescent dye research to find a suitable alternative to Cy5 that is stable to ozone and resistant to photo-bleaching. Here, we report on the development of such a dye, called HyPer5, and describe its' exceptional ozone and photostable properties on microarrays.
Results:
Our results show HyPer5 signal to be stable to high ozone levels. Repeated exposure of mouse arrays hybridized with HyPer5-labeled cDNA to 300ppb ozone at 5, 10 and 15 minute intervals resulted in no signal loss from the dye. In comparison, Cy5 arrays showed a dramatic 80% decrease in total signal during the same interval. Photobleaching experiments show HyPer5 to be resistant to light induced damage with 3- fold improvement in dye stability over Cy5. In high resolution array CGH experiments, HyPer5 is demonstrated to detect chromosomal aberrations at loci 2p21-16.3 and 15q26.3-26.2 from three patient sample using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) arrays. The photostability of HyPer5 is further documented by repeat array scanning without loss of detection. Additionally, HyPer5 arrays are shown to preserve sensitivity and data quality from gene expression experiments.
Conclusions:
HyPer5 is a red fluorescent dye that behaves functionally similar to Cy5 except in stability to ozone and light. HyPer5 is demonstrated to be resistant to ozone at up to 300 ppb, levels significantly higher than commonly observed during summer months. Consequently, HyPer5 dye can be used in parallel with Cy3 under any environmental conditions in array experiments.
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Generation of potent neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against cytomegalovirus infection from immune B cells.
Background:
Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) generated as a result of the immune response are likely to be the most effective therapeutic antibodies, particularly in the case of infectious diseases against which the immune response is protective.
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an ubiquitous opportunistic virus that is the most serious pathogenic agent in transplant patients. The available therapeutic armamentarium (e.g. HCMV hyperimmune globulins or antivirals) is associated with severe side effects and the emergence of drug-resistant strains; therefore, neutralizing human mAb may be a decisive alternative in the prevention of primary and re-activated HCMV infections in these patients.
Results:
The purpose of this study was to generate neutralizing mAb against HCMV from the immunological repertoire of immune donors. To this aim, we designed an efficient technology relying on two discrete and sequential steps: first, human B-lymphocytes are stimulated with TLR9-agonists and IL-2; second, after both additives are removed, the cells are infected with EBV. Using this strategy we obtained 29 clones secreting IgG neutralizing the HCMV infectivity; four among these were further characterized. All of the mAbs neutralize the infection in different combinations of HCMV strains and target cells, with a potency ~20 fold higher than that of the HCMV hyperimmune globulins, currently used in transplant recipients. Recombinant human monoclonal IgG1 suitable as a prophylactic or therapeutic tool in clinical applications has been generated.
Conclusion:
The technology described has proven to be more reproducible, efficient and rapid than previously reported techniques, and can be adopted at low overall costs by any cell biology laboratory for the development of fully human mAbs for immunotherapeutic uses.
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Differential solubility of curcuminoids in serum and albumin solutions: implications for analytical and therapeutic applications
Background:
Commercially available curcumin preparations contain a mixture of related polyphenols, collectively referred to as curcuminoids. These encompass the primary component curcumin along with its co-purified derivatives demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Curcuminoids have numerous biological activities, including inhibition of cancer related cell proliferation and reduction of amyloid plaque formation associated with Alzheimer disease. Unfortunately, the solubility of curcuminoids in aqueous solutions is exceedingly low. This restricts their systemic availability in orally administered formulations and limits their therapeutic potential.
Results:
Methods are described that achieve high concentrations of soluble curcuminoids in serum. Solid curcuminoids were either mixed directly with serum, or they were predissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and added as aliquots to serum. Both methods resulted in high levels of curcuminoid-solubility in mammalian sera from different species. However, adding aliquots of dimethyl sulfoxide-dissolved curcuminoids to serum proved to be more efficient, producing soluble curcuminoid concentrations of at least 3 mM in human serum. The methods also resulted in the differential solubility of individual curcuminoids in serum. The addition of dimethyl sulfoxide-dissolved curcuminoids to serum preferentially solubilized curcumin, whereas adding solid curcuminoids predominantly solubilized bisdemethoxycurcumin. Either method of solubilization was equally effective in inhibiting dose-dependent HeLa cell proliferation in culture. The maximum concentration of curcuminoids achieved in serum was at least 100-fold higher than that required for inhibiting cell proliferation in culture and 1000-fold higher than the concentration that has been reported to prevent amyloid plaque formation associated with Alzheimer disease. Curcuminoids were also highly soluble in solutions of purified albumin, a major component of serum.
Conclusions:
These results suggest the possibility of alternative therapeutic approaches by injection or infusion of relatively small amounts of curcuminoid-enriched serum. They also provide tools to reproducibly solubilize curcuminoids for analysis in cell culture applications. The differential solubility of curcuminoids achieved by different methods of solubilization offers convenient alternatives to assess the diverse biological effects contributed by curcumin and its derivatives.
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Induction of multiple pleiotropic drug resistance genes in yeast engineered to produce an increased level of anti-malarial drug precursor, artemisinic acid
Background:
Due to the global occurrence of multi-drug-resistant malarial parasites (Plasmodium falciparum), the anti-malarial drug most effective against malaria is artemisinin, a natural product (sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide) extracted from sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua). However, artemisinin is in short supply and unaffordable to most malaria patients. Artemisinin can be semi-synthesized from its precursor artemisinic acid, which can be synthesized from simple sugars using microorganisms genetically engineered with genes from A. annua. In order to develop an industrially competent yeast strain, detailed analyses of microbial physiology and development of gene expression strategies are required.
Results:
Three plant genes coding for amorphadiene synthase, amorphadiene oxidase (AMO or CYP71AV1), and cytochrome P450 reductase, which in concert divert carbon flux from farnesyl diphosphate to artemisinic acid, were expressed from a single plasmid. The artemisinic acid production in the engineered yeast reached 250 ug mL-1 in shake-flask cultures and 1 g L-1 in bio-reactors with the use of Leu2d selection marker and appropriate medium formulation. When plasmid stability was measured, the yeast strain synthesizing amorphadiene alone maintained the plasmid in 84% of the cells, whereas the yeast strain synthesizing artemisinic acid showed poor plasmid stability. Inactivation of AMO by a point-mutation restored the high plasmid stability, indicating that the low plasmid stability is not caused by production of the AMO protein but by artemisinic acid synthesis or accumulation. Semi-quantitative reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR and quantitative real time-PCR consistently showed that pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) genes, belonging to the family of ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter, were massively induced in the yeast strain producing artemisinic acid, relative to the yeast strain producing the hydrocarbon amorphadiene alone. Global transcriptional analysis by yeast microarray further demonstrated that the induction of drug-resistant genes such as ABC transporters and major facilitator superfamily (MSF) genes is the primary cellular stress-response; in addition, oxidative and osmotic stress responses were observed in the engineered yeast.
Conclusion:
The data presented here suggest that the engineered yeast producing artemisinic acid suffers oxidative and drug-associated stresses. The use of plant-derived transporters and optimizing AMO activity may improve the yield of artemisinic acid production in the engineered yeast.
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Recombinant amyloid beta-peptide production by coexpression with an affibody ligand
Background:
Oligomeric and fibrillar aggregates of the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The characterization of Abeta assemblies is essential for the elucidation of the mechanisms of Abeta neurotoxicity, but requires large quantities of pure peptide. Here we describe a novel approach to the recombinant production of Abeta. The method is based on the coexpression of the affibody protein ZAbeta3, a selected affinity ligand derived from the Z domain three-helix bundle scaffold. ZAbeta3 binds to the amyloidogenic central and C-terminal part of Abeta with nanomolar affinity and consequently inhibits aggregation.
Results:
Coexpression of ZAbeta3 affords the overexpression of both major Abeta isoforms, Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42), yielding 4 or 3 mg, respectively, of pure 15N-labeled peptide per liter of culture. The method does not rely on a protein fusion or tag and thus does not require a cleavage reaction. The purified peptides were characterized by NMR, circular dichroism, SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography, and their aggregation propensities were assessed by thioflavin T fluorescence and electron microscopy. The data coincide with those reported previously for monomeric, largely unstructured Abeta. ZAbeta3 coexpression moreover permits the recombinant production of Abeta(1-42) carrying the Arctic (E22G) mutation, which causes early onset familial AD. Abeta(1-42)E22G is obtained in predominantly monomeric form and suitable, e.g., for NMR studies.
Conclusions:
The coexpression of an engineered aggregation-inhibiting binding protein offers a novel route to the recombinant production of amyloidogenic Abeta peptides that can be advantageously employed to study the molecular basis of AD. The presented expression system is the first for which expression and purification of the aggregation-prone Arctic variant (E22G) of Abeta(1-42) is reported.
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Application of the dual-luciferase reporter assay to the analysis of promoter activity in zebrafish embryos
Background:
The dual-luciferase assay has been widely used in cell lines to determine rapidly but accurately the activity of a given promoter. Although this strategy has proved very useful, it does not allow the promoter and gene function to be analyzed in the context of the whole organism.
Results:
Here, we present a rapid and sensitive assay based on the classical dual-luciferase reporter technique which can be used as a new tool to characterize the minimum promoter region of a gene as well as the in vivo response of inducible promoters to different stimuli. We illustrate the usefulness of this system for studying both constitutive (telomerase) and inducible (NF-kappaB-dependent) promoters. The flexibility of this assay is demonstrated by induction of the NF-kappaB-dependent promoters using simultaneous microinjection of different pathogen-associated molecular patterns as well as with the use of morpholino-gene mediated knockdown.
Conclusions:
This assay has several advantages compared with the classical in vitro (cell lines) and in vivo (transgenic mice) approaches. Among others, the assay allows a rapid and quantitative measurement of the effects of particular genes or drugs in a given promoter in the context of a whole organism and it can also be used in high throughput screening experiments.
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Isolation and characterization of a T7-like lytic phage for Pseudomonas fluorescens
Background:
Despite the proven relevance of Pseudomonas fluorescens as a spoilage microorganism in milk, fresh meats and refrigerated food products and the recognized potential of bacteriophages as sanitation agents, so far no phages specific for P. fluorescens isolates from dairy industry have been closely characterized in view of their lytic efficiency. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a lytic phage capable to infect a variety of P. fluorescens strains isolated from Portuguese and United States dairy industries.
Results:
Several phages were isolated which showed a different host spectrum and efficiency of lysis. One of the phages, phage ϕIBB-PF7A, was studied in detail due to its efficient lysis of a wide spectrum of P. fluorescens strains and ribotypes. Phage ϕIBB-PF7A with a head diameter of about 63 nm and a tail size of about 13 × 8 nm belongs morphologically to the Podoviridae family and resembles a typical T7-like phage, as analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The phage growth cycle with a detected latent period of 15 min, an eclipse period of 10 min, a burst size of 153 plaque forming units per infected cell, its genome size of approximately 42 kbp, and the size and N-terminal sequence of one of the protein bands, which gave similarity to the major capsid protein 10A, are consistent with this classification.
Conclusion:
The isolated T7-like phage, phage ϕIBB-PF7A, is fast and efficient in lysing different P. fluorescens strains and may be a good candidate to be used as a sanitation agent to control the prevalence of spoilage causing P. fluorescens strains in dairy and food related environments.
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Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms subjected to phage phiIBB-PF7A
Background:
Pseudomonas fluorescens is an important food spoilage organism, usually found in the form of biofilms. Bacterial biofilms are inherently resistant to a variety of antimicrobial agents, therefore alternative methods to biofilm control, such as bacteriophages (phages) have been suggested. Phage behavior on biofilms is still poorly investigated and needs further understanding. Here we describe the application of phage ϕIBB-PF7, a newly isolated phage, to control P. fluorescens biofilms. The biofilms were formed under static or dynamic conditions and with or without renewal of medium.
Results:
Conditions for biofilm formation influenced the feature of the biofilm and the morphology of P. fluorescens. Biomass removal due to phage activity varied between 63 and 91% depending on the biofilm age and the conditions under which the biofilm had been formed and phages applied. Removal of the biofilm by phage treatment was faster in younger biofilms, but the same number of surviving cells was detected in all tested biofilms, after only 4 h of treatment, even in older biofilms. Under static conditions, a 3 log higher number of phage progeny remained either inside the biofilm matrix or attached to the substratum surface than under dynamic conditions, pointing to the importance of experimental conditions for the efficacy of phage entrapment into the biofilm.
Conclusion:
Phage ϕIBB-PF7A is highly efficient in removing P. fluorescens biofilms within a short time interval. The conditions of biofilm formation and applied during phage infection are critical for the efficacy of the sanitation process. The integration of phages into the biofilm matrix and their entrapment to the surface may be further beneficial factors when phage treatment is considered alone or in addition to chemical biocides in industrial environments where P. fluorescens causes serious spoilage.
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Development of a strategy to functionalize a dextrin-based hydrogel for animal cell cultures using a starch-binding module fused to RGD sequence
Background:
Several approaches can be used to functionalize biomaterials, such as hydrogels, for biomedical applications. One of the molecules often used to improve cells adhesion is the peptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD). The RGD sequence, present in several proteins from the extra-cellular matrix (ECM), is a ligand for integrin-mediated cell adhesion; this sequence was recognized as a major functional group responsible for cellular adhesion. In this work a bi-functional recombinant protein, containing a starch binding module (SBM) and RGD sequence was used to functionalize a dextrin-based hydrogel. The SBM, which belongs to an α-amylase from Bacillus sp. TS-23, has starch (and dextrin, depolymerized starch) affinity, acting as a binding molecule to adsorb the RGD sequence to the hydrogel surface.
Results:
The recombinant proteins SBM and RGD-SBM were cloned, expressed, purified and tested in in vitro assays. The evaluation of cell attachment, spreading and proliferation on the dextrin-based hydrogel surface activated with recombinant proteins were performed using mouse embryo fibroblasts 3T3. A polystyrene cell culture plate was used as control. The results showed that the RGD-SBM recombinant protein improved, by more than 30%, the adhesion of fibroblasts to dextrin-based hydrogel. In fact, cell spreading on the hydrogel surface was observed only in the presence of the RGD-SBM.
Conclusion:
The fusion protein RGD-SBM provides an efficient way to functionalize the dextrin-based hydrogel. Many proteins in nature that hold a RGD sequence are not cell adhesive, probably due to the conformation/accessibility of the peptide. We therefore emphasise the successful expression of a bi-functional protein with potential for different applications.
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