Development of a novel subunit vaccine that protects cotton rats against both human respiratory syncytial virus and human parainfluenza virus type 3.

A cotton rat model of experimental human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3) infection was used to examine the efficacy of FRHNP, a novel chimeric glycoprotein which contains the extracellular regions of the fusion glycoprotein of RSV and the attachment glycoprotein of PIV-3, as a single subunit vaccine against these two viruses. This work was prompted by previous cotton rat studies that demonstrated that the major protective antigens of the two viruses were these glycoproteins. FRHNP was expressed in insect cells using a recombinant baculovirus. Vaccination with FRHNP resulted in induction of both RSV and PIV-3 neutralizing antibody and doses of 200 ng completely protected rats from either RSV or PIV-3 challenge. These results demonstrate that in the cotton rat animal model a single chimeric glycoprotein can be an effective vaccine against both RSV and PIV-3.

Isolation and expression of a cDNA clone encoding a bovine UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase.

NH2-terminal amino acid sequence obtained from a UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase (GalNAc-transferase) isolated from bovine colostrum was used for the construction of synthetic oligonucleotide primers. Subsequent polymerase chain reaction and library screenings of a bovine intestine cDNA library produced seven positive clones. The largest clone had a 2294-base pair insert that contained an open reading frame coding for a protein composed of 559 amino acids with a predicted polypeptide molecular mass of 64,173 Da. The cloned molecule has no significant sequence homology to previously reported cloned glycosyltransferases, but appears to have a similar domain structure. It is a type II membrane protein with a 23-amino acid putative transmembrane region starting 8 amino acids from the NH2 terminus. The transmembrane segment of the molecule is immediately followed by a sequence rich in proline residues. The molecule contains three consensus sequences for N-linked glycosylation and five predicted sites for O-glycosylation. Northern blot analysis of poly(A+) mRNA isolated from Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells, bovine mammary tissue, and eight human tissues demonstrated the expression of two transcripts differing in size by approximately 1 kilobase. The cloned DNA was expressed in insect cells using a baculovirus vector. This resulted in an almost 100-fold increase in GalNAc-transferase activity in lysates prepared from cells infected with virus containing the GalNAc-transferase gene compared to cells infected with virus containing DNA coding for an unrelated molecule or uninfected cells. Immunoprecipitation from lysates prepared from infected cells labeled in vivo with [35S] methionine showed a large increase in the recovery of an approximately 67-kDa protein.

Comparison of soluble and secreted forms of human parainfluenza virus type 3 glycoproteins expressed from mammalian and insect cells as subunit vaccines.

Human parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3) is one of the leading causes of paediatric viral respiratory disease. The PIV-3 genome encodes two envelope glycoproteins, F and HN, which are the major targets for the host antibody response. We have expressed secreted forms of the F and HN proteins and a novel chimeric FHN glycoprotein in insect cells using recombinant baculovirus vectors and secreted forms of the F and FHN glycoproteins in stably transformed Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Comparison of the mammalian cell- and insect cell-expressed F and FHN proteins by SDS-PAGE showed that the CHO cell-expressed proteins are several kilodaltons larger in size than the baculovirus-produced proteins. A partial characterization of the oligosaccharide structures of the F and FHN proteins revealed that the size difference is due to the different oligosaccharide structures added to these proteins by the two cell lines. The F, HN and FHN proteins were immunoaffinity-purified from the culture medium of baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells and the F and FHN proteins were immunoaffinity-purified from the culture medium of CHO cells. A comparison of the immunogenicity and efficacy of the mammalian cell- and insect cell-produced FHN proteins was tested in cotton rats. The CHO cell- and baculovirus-produced FHN proteins were found to induce similar levels of PIV-3-specific ELISA-positive and neutralizing antibodies and both proteins provided near complete protection when animals were vaccinated with low doses of the FHN protein.

Protection of cotton rats against human parainfluenza virus type 3 by vaccination with a chimeric FHN subunit glycoprotein.

A cotton rat model of experimental human parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3) infection was used to examine the efficacy of FHN, a novel chimeric glycoprotein which contains the extracellular regions of the fusion (F) and haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoproteins of PIV-3. The FHN protein was expressed in insect cells using a baculovirus vector system. FHN vaccination resulted in induction of neutralizing antibodies, was completely protective at doses of 100 ng, and was superior to vaccination with secreted forms F and HN proteins, or mixtures of the F and HN glycoproteins. In addition, FHN immunization induced lymphoproliferative responses in mice which were directed against both the F and HN glycoproteins. Fusion of the F and HN proteins into a single chimeric glycoprotein appeared to enhance the protective immune response compared to that elicited by the individual glycoproteins or mixtures of the two glycoproteins.

Alpha-factor leader sequence-directed transport of Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase in the secretory pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The construction of two fused genes is described. One involves the in-frame fusion of the yeast prepro-alpha-factor coding sequence, and the Escherichia coli lac Z gene. The second gene fusion utilizes a 103 bp yeast invertase NH2-terminal coding sequence at the fusion junction of the hybrid gene described above. The gene fusions, under the control of the alpha-factor promoter, expressed active beta-galactosidase in alpha haploid yeast cells. The activity could be regulated in a temperature-sensitive sir3 mutant. The incorporation of the invertase coding sequence at the MF alpha 1-lacZ fusion junction provided significantly higher levels of beta-galactosidase activity. A substantial quantity of the hybrid proteins generated from the gene fusions was primarily localized in the intracellular membranes of yeast cells, while a processed form could be secreted into the periplasm.

Sporulation-regulated genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have characterized 46 hybrid phage which hybridize preferentially to mRNA from sporulating cells. Cross-hybridization experiments demonstrate that 27 distinct SPR (Sporulation regulated) sequences are represented among these phage. The SPR genes can be grouped into three classes: early, middle, and late. The early class shows an accumulation of transcripts soon after transfer to sporulation medium and continues to accumulate RNA throughout sporulation. Transcripts of the middle class increase in level at about the time of DNA synthesis, rise rapidly in abundance until meiosis II, then accumulate more slowly for at least the next 3 h. Late gene transcripts begin to accumulate at about the time of meiosis I, increase 10- to 20-fold in the next 2 h, then remain constant in late sporulating cells.