The use of synthetic peptides in the design of a consensus sequence vaccine for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs pili to mediate adherence to epithelial cell surfaces. Research has shown that the C-terminal region of the pilin monomer contains the epithelial cell binding domain, which is semiconserved in seven different strains of this bacterium. Antibodies to this region of the pilin molecule are also able to block and prevent the infection process. As there is a degree of sequence and structural homology in the C-terminal region and all strains examined have been shown to bind to the same cell surface receptor, we reasoned that it should be possible to produce a synthetic peptide consensus sequence which would provide cross-reactive antiserum from a single peptide immunogen inhibiting the adherence of the known strains of P. aeruginosa. In this article we examine the cross-reactivity of five rabbit polyclonal antisera. One has been raised against the cell-surface receptor binding domain of native PAK strain pilin (residues 128-144) while the others have been raised to analogues of this region. Analysis of the cross-reactivity of these antisera, using competitive ELISA assay, has shown that it is possible to manipulate the amino acid sequence of a peptide immunogen to generate antiserum, which exhibits enhanced cross-reactivity to various strains of P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, when this peptide is conjugated to tetanus toxoid and used to vaccinate mice it provided cross-reactive protection against heterologous challenge with PAO strain bacteria. The results of these experiments are analyzed, and the applicability of our hypothesis and the implications of this approach to the design of a strain-independent consensus vaccine for immunization against Pseudomonas aeruginosa are discussed.

Interaction of the receptor binding domains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pili strains PAK, PAO, KB7 and P1 to a cross-reactive antibody and receptor analog: implications for synthetic vaccine design.

The four synthetic peptide antigens, PAK 128-144, PAO 128-144, KB7 128-144 and P1 126-148, correspond in amino acid sequence to the C-terminal receptor binding regions of four strains (PAK, PAO, KB7, P1) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pilin. The NMR solution structures of the trans forms of the peptides show conserved beta-turns which have been implicated in antibody and receptor recognition. The interactions between these peptides and a cross-reactive monoclonal antibody, PAK-13, have been studied using two-dimensional (1)H NMR spectroscopy in order to map the antigenic determinants recognized by the antibody. Residues for which spectral changes were observed upon antibody binding differed from peptide to peptide but were mostly confined to one or both of the turn regions and to the hydrophobic pockets. Conformational changes in the beta-turns and hydrophobic pockets of these peptides upon antibody binding were also monitored by examination of the pattern of nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) versus transferred nuclear Overhauser effects (TRNOEs) for the free versus the bound peptides. Although TRNOEs developed strongly between side chain resonances in the hydrophobic pockets of the peptides, no additional backbone TRNOEs were observed in the presence of antibody, suggesting no major conformational changes in the secondary structures of the peptides upon binding. This implies a flexible antibody combining site, a feature which is discussed with respect to cross-reactivity, strain specificity, and the design of a synthetic peptide vaccine effective against a broad spectrum of P. aeruginosa strains. The binding of the PAK peptide to a disaccharide receptor analog, (beta GalNAc(1-4)beta Gal), was also studied using (1)H NMR in order to map the "adhesintope" recognized by the receptor. Spectral changes observed in the peptide spectrum with the binding of receptor were similar to those seen for the binding of antibody, suggesting that the epitope recognized by the antibody is structurally coincident with the adhesintope recognized by the receptor. The relevancy of this result is discussed with respect to immunogenicity versus pathogenicity, and the proper design of a vaccine which could prevent the mutational escape of the pathogen away from the host's defence systems.

Interaction of troponin I and troponin C: 19F NMR studies of the binding of the inhibitory troponin I peptide to turkey skeletal troponin C.

We have used 19F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the interaction of the inhibitory region of troponin (TnI) with apo- and calcium(II)-saturated turkey skeletal troponin C (TnC), using the synthetic TnI analogue N alpha-acetyl[19FPhe106]TnI(104-115)amide. Dissociation constants of Kd = (3.7 +/- 3.1) x 10(-5) M for the apo interaction and Kd = (4.8 +/- 1.8) x 10(-5) M for the calcium(II)-saturated interaction were obtained using a 1:1 binding model of peptide to protein. The 19F NMR chemical shifts for the F-phenylalanine of the bound peptide are different from the apo- and calcium-saturated protein, indicating a different environment for the bound peptide. The possibility of 2:1 binding of the peptide to Ca(II)-saturated TnC was tested by calculating the fit of the experimental titration data to a series of theoretical binding curves in which the dissociation constants for the two hypothetical binding sites were varied. We obtained the best fit for 0.056 mM less than or equal to Kd1 less than or equal to 0.071 mM and 0.5 mM less than or equal to Kd2 less than or equal to 2.0 mM. These results allow the possibility of a second peptide binding site on calcium(II)-saturated TnC with an affinity 10- to 20-fold weaker than that of the first site.

Calmodulin and troponin C: a comparative study of the interaction of mastoparan and troponin I inhibitory peptide [104-115].

Recent studies using bee and wasp venom peptides have led to the hypothesis that proper complex formation with calmodulin (CaM) requires the presence of a basic amphiphilic helix on the surface of the target protein [Cox, J. A. (1984) Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol. 43, 3000]. We have tested this hypothesis by examining CaM and troponin C (TnC) complex formation with two basic peptides, the wasp venom tetradecapeptide mastoparan and the physiologically relevant synthetic troponin I (TnI) inhibitory peptide [104-115], using far-ultraviolet circular dichroism as a secondary structure probe. Complex formation between mastoparan and either CaM or TnC results in an increase in helical content, whereas the helical content of TnI inhibitory peptide does not increase when bound to either protein. Significantly, mastoparan is 78% alpha-helical in a 50% solution of the helix-inducing solvent trifluoroethanol and has a high helix-forming potential according to the Chou-Fasman rules while TnI inhibitory peptide contains none and is not predicted to have any. We interpret these data as indicating that these peptides exhibit substantially different secondary structures upon binding to CaM or TnC. The ability of mastoparan to regulate the acto-subfragment 1-tropomyosin ATPase has also been examined. Mastoparan and TnI inhibitory peptide inhibited 31% and 45% of the activity, respectively. TnC and CaM promote differing degrees of Ca2+-sensitive release of inhibition by both peptides. Sequence comparison suggests that the basic residues present in both peptides are important for binding. However, we conclude that an alpha-helical structure is not a prerequisite for the binding of target proteins to CaM and TnC.

Ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatographic purification of bovine cardiac and rabbit skeletal muscle troponin subunits.

Bovine cardiac and rabbit skeletal troponin complexes were separated into their respective subunits employing high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) techniques on CM-300 and Q-300 ion-exchangers. Bovine cardiac and rabbit skeletal subunits were separated on the strong anion-exchanger, Q-300, in 8 M urea, 50 mM Tris, 2 mM EGTA, 0.5 mM dithiothreitol, pH 7.5, employing a linear salt gradient and on the weak cation-exchanger, CM-300, in 8 M urea, 50 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 2 mM EGTA, 0.5 mM dithiothreitol, pH 6.5, using a linear salt gradient. To obtain complete purification of all components of troponin both ion-exchangers were required. The initial separation of troponin was carried out on the strong anion-exchanger followed by weak cation-exchange chromatography of the troponin I collected from the strong anion-exchange column. The troponin T subunits obtained from Q-300 chromatography demonstrated heterogeneity (three components: T1, T2 and T3) while the troponin I collected from both sources on the Q-300 column were both resolved into major doublets (I1 and I2) when rechromatographed on the CM-300 column. The three troponin T fractions and two troponin I fractions isolated from ion-exchange HPLC were examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to confirm that the heterogeneity was due to differences in charge and not molecular weight. These results were in agreement with the charge differences observed from retention times on ion-exchange HPLC. When comparing the same troponin subunit from different muscle sources, considerable differences in the content of charged amino acid residues were also observed.

Calcium-dependent inhibitory region of troponin: a proton nuclear magnetic resonance study on the interaction between troponin C and the synthetic peptide N alpha-acetyl[FPhe106]TnI-(104-115) amide.

To investigate the calcium-dependent regulation of muscle contraction, a synthetic analogue of the inhibitory region of troponin I, N alpha-acetyl[FPhe106]TnI-(104-115) amide, has been made by solid-phase peptide synthesis. This region represents the minimum sequence necessary for inhibition of actomyosin ATPase activity in the presence of tropomyosin [Talbot, J.A., & Hodges, R.S. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 2798-2802]. Conformational changes induced by the formation of the synthetic peptide-troponin C complex are followed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Aliphatic (Leu and Val), aromatic (p-fluorophenylalanine), and charged (Arg) residues are perturbed by interaction with troponin C. In troponin C, peptide-protein interaction results in the redistribution of the Phe envelope of troponin C and perturbations in the aliphatic region. The observed effects on the protein resonances are in agreement with proposed interaction of the peptide with the N-terminal region of site III of troponin C. In the absence of calcium, this region of troponin I (104-115) is bound to actin-tropomyosin, inhibiting actomyosin ATPase activity [Talbot, J.A., & Hodges, R.S. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 2798-2802]. Our results suggest that the binding site for this region of troponin I is induced in troponin C in the presence of calcium and the formation of this complex releases actomyosin ATPase inhibition.