Molecular chaperones facilitate soluble expression of recombinant non-toxic mutant CRM197 of diphtheria toxin in Escherichia coli / 生物工程学报

Diphtheria toxin is an ADP-ribosyltransferase toxic to human cells. Mutation of the active site in its catalytic domain eliminates the toxicity, but retains its immunogenicity. A non-toxic mutant of diphtheria toxin known as CRM197 protein has become an ideal carrier protein for conjugate vaccines. CRM197 can further improve its immunogenicity by cross-linking with other antigens, so it has good potential to find broad applications. Unfortunately, inclusion bodies are easily formed during the expression of recombinant CRM197 protein in Escherichia coli, which greatly reduces its yield. In order to address this problem, pG-KJE8 vector carrying molecular chaperones and plasmid pET28a-CRM197, were co-expressed in Escherichia coli. The results showed that the recombinant CRM197 protein was successfully expressed and appeared largely in inclusion bodies. The molecular chaperones DnaK, DnaJ, GrpE, GroES and GroEL5 expressed can facilitate correct and rapid folding of CRM197. Furthermore, it can also improve the recovery rate of soluble CRM197 protein. The soluble expression of CRM197 was maximized upon addition of 1.0 mmol/L IPTG, 0.5 mg L-arabinose, 5.0 ng/mL tetracycline and induction at 20oC for 16 h. The soluble CRM197 protein shows good immunoreactivity, demonstrating the molecular chaperones expressed from pG-KJE8 facilitated the soluble expression of CRM197 protein in E. coli.

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction to identify and determine the toxigenicity of Corynebacterium spp with zoonotic potential and an overview of human and animal infections

Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Corynebacterium ulcerans and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis constitute a group of potentially toxigenic microorganisms that are related to different infectious processes in animal and human hosts. Currently, there is a lack of information on the prevalence of disease caused by these pathogens, which is partially due to a reduction in the frequency of routine laboratory testing. In this study, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) assay that can simultaneously identify and determine the toxigenicity of these corynebacterial species with zoonotic potential was developed. This assay uses five primer pairs targeting the following genes: rpoB (Corynebacterium spp), 16S rRNA (C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis), pld (C. pseudotuberculosis), dtxR (C. diphtheriae) and tox [diphtheria toxin (DT) ]. In addition to describing this assay, we review the literature regarding the diseases caused by these pathogens. Of the 213 coryneform strains tested, the mPCR results for all toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of C . diphtheriae, C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis were in 100% agreement with the results of standard biochemical tests and PCR-DT. As an alternative to conventional methods, due to its advantages of specificity and speed, the mPCR assay used in this study may successfully be applied for the diagnosis of human and/or animal diseases caused by potentially toxigenic corynebacterial species.

Expression and purification of the immunogenically active fragment B of the Park Williams 8 Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain toxin

The construction of a hexahistidine-tagged version of the B fragment of diphtheria toxin (DTB) represents an important step in the study of the biological properties of DTB because it will permit the production of pure recombinant DTB (rDTB) in less time and with higher yields than currently available. In the present study, the genomic DNA of the Corynebacterium diphtheriae Park Williams 8 (PW8) vaccine strain was used as a template for PCR amplification of the dtb gene. After amplification, the dtb gene was cloned and expressed in competent Escherichia coli M15™ cells using the expression vector pQE-30™. The lysate obtained from transformed E. coli cells containing the rDTB PW8 was clarified by centrifugation and purified by affinity chromatography. The homogeneity of the purified rDTB PW8 was confirmed by immunoblotting using mouse polyclonal anti-diphtheria toxoid antibodies and the immune response induced in animals with rDTB PW8 was evaluated by ELISA and dermonecrotic neutralization assays. The main result of the present study was an alternative and accessible method for the expression and purification of immunogenically reactive rDTB PW8 using commercially available systems. Data also provided preliminary evidence that rabbits immunized with rDTB PW8 are able to mount a neutralizing response against the challenge with toxigenic C. diphtheriae.

Desenvolvimento e implementação de métodos laboratoriais aplicados ao diagnóstico fenotípico e genotípico do Corynebacterium diptheriae / Development and implementation of laboratory methods applied to phenotypic and genotypic diagnosis of Corynebacterium diphtheriae

A emergência de cepas de Corynebacterium diphtheriae atoxinogênicas como agentes de endocardite e outras infecções sistêmicas aliada ao aumento do número de adultos susceptíveis à difteria enfatizam a necessidade de métodos alternativos para o diagnóstico laboratorial desta doença, especialmente para laboratórios de rotina clínica. Neste estudo avaliou-se a atividade de DNase de 91 amostras de C. diphtheriae (37 toxinogênicas e 54 atoxinogênicas) e de 564 cepas clínicas de bacilo Gram positivo não diftérico. A atividade de DNase foi detectada em todas as amostras de C. diphtheriae examinadas, previamente identificadas por métodos bioquímicos e pelo sistema API Coryne System. Diferentemente, os resultados do teste de DNase foram negativos em 93.9 porcento das cepas clínicas de bacilo Gram positivo não diftérico. Também foi documentado o valor de uma PCR espécie-específica que tem como alvo o gene dtxR como um método para diferenciação entre C. diphtheriae e colônias similares ao gênero Corynebacterium. Os resultados da PCR-dtxR foram positivos para todas as amostras de C. diphtheriae estudadas e foram concordantes com os obtidos através de metodologia bioquímica padrão. Diferentemente, os resultados da PCR-dtxR foram negativos para 100 porcento das 111 amostras de bacilos Gram positivos não diftéricos estudadas. A partir destes resultados, uma PCR multiplex utilizando três pares de oligonucleotídeos iniciadores foi desenvolvida para a detecção do C. diphtheriae e diferenciação em amostras toxinogênicas ou atoxinogênicas. Dois pares de oligonucleotídeos iniciadores têm como alvo as regiões do gene tox relativas aos domínios A e B da toxina diftérica e um terceiro par direcionado para o gene dtxR. Todas as amostras de C. diphtheriae foram identificadas pela reação de PCR multiplex em concordância com os testes bioquímicos padrão e os ensaios de citotoxicidade celular...

The emergence of non-toxigenic Corynebaterium diphtheriae strains as the causative agent of endocarditis and other systemic infections and the significant rise in the percentage of adults susceptible to diphtheria emphasize the need for new laboratory diagnostic procedures. In this study, we examine techniques as alternative procedures for differentiating C. diphtheriae from Corynebacterium-like colonies for the presumptive identification of this pathogen, especially in the diagnosis laboratory. This study evaluated the DNase activity of 91 C. diphtheriae (37 toxigenic and 54 non-toxigenic) and 564 non-diphtherial Gram-positive rod clinical strains. The DNase activity was detected in all C. diphtheriae strains examined, previously identified by both conventional biochemical methods and API Coryne System. Conversely, DNase test results were negative in 93.9 percent of the 564 non-diphtherial Gram-positive rod clinical strains. We also documented the value of a species-specific PCR assay that targets the dtxR gene as a procedure for differentiating C. diphtheriae from Corynebacterium-like colonies. The results of the PCR-dtxR were all positive for 91 C. diphtheriae strains and completely correlated with the standard biochemical methods and commercial identification system for all strains tested. In other hand, the PCR-dtxR results were negative in 100 percent of the 111 non-diphtherial Gram-positive rod strains. Considering these results, a multiplex PCR using three primers pairs was developed for detection of C. diphtheriae infection and differentiation between toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains. Two primer pairs targeted to domains A and B of tox gene and a third primer pair targeted to a region of dtxR gene. All C. diphtheriae strains were diagnosed by the multiplex PCR in agreement with standard biochemical tests and citotoxicity assay in Vero cells. Thus, these tecniques emerged as viable, cost-effective screening methods for C. diphtheriae laboratory...