Identification and characterization of Campylobacter jejuni outer membrane proteins

Outer membrane proteins from isolates of Campylobacter jejuni were examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Sarcosinate-insoluble membrane preparations were outer membrane enriched based on increased ketodeoxyoctonate concentrations, the presence of surface-exposed 125I-labeled proteins that were hydrophobic, and similarity to membrane vesicle (bleb) sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles. Most isolates contained a single major band with molecular weight of 41,000 to 45,000. Profiles of C. jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates were indistinguishable, but either could be easily differentiated from Campylobacter fetus and Campylobacter faecalis. The profiles were stable for strains under a variety of growth, incubation and passage conditions. We classified 110 isolates from patients with sporadic campylobacter enteritis into nine subtypes based on differences in outer membrane sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles. Two categories accounted for 76% of the isolates. Complete concordance was observed in subtypes of strains obtained from epidemiologically related cases. Thus, comparison of the major outer membrane proteins of C. jejuni is a useful technique for investigating the transmission of this organism and may provide a basis for immunological characterization of the outer membrane proteins.     

Campylobacter jejuni outer membrane proteins are antigenic for humans.

All Campylobacter jejuni strains have a major outer membrane protein (OMP) that migrates between a molecular weight of 41,000 (41K) and 45K and represents more than 50% of protein present, plus several more minor bands. Using 125I-radiolabeled C. jejuni cells in a radioimmunoprecipitation procedure to assess whether the OMPs were antigenic, we studied serum from rabbits immunized with C. jejuni cells, from humans convalescent after C. jejuni infection, and from appropriate controls. In this assay, the major OMP was the major antigen for both homologously and heterologously immunized rabbits and infected humans but not for controls. Minor bands at 29K and 50K were also antigenic. We tested human and animal sera in a Western blot procedure using anti-immunoglobulin A (IgA), anti-IgG, or anti-IgM conjugates. Homologous and heterologous immune rabbit serum, but not control serum, recognized a large number of membrane proteins between 15K and 91K, including the major OMP. Both Campylobacter spp.-infected and healthy humans showed IgA, IgG, and IgM responses to the major OMP, although the response was more pronounced in the former group. Sera from infected humans recognized several minor bands to a significantly greater extent than control sera did. Our data suggest that there is antigenic similarity between the OMPs of different C. jejuni strains and that some of these OMPs recognized by infected animals and humans have vaccinogenic potential.     

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting of Campylobacter outer membrane proteins.

We characterized outer membrane proteins (OMPs) from selected Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, and C. fetus strains by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DGE), using isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and by immunoblotting with immune rabbit serum. The flagellar band with a molecular mass of 63 kilodaltons (kDa) demonstrated previously by one-dimensional SDS-PAGE was shown by 2DGE to consist of one or several charge trains, depending upon the species, strain, and type of preparation studied; each of the individual peptides was found to be antigenic by immunoblotting. In contrast, in all of the strains studied, the major OMP (43 to 44 kDa) of C.jejuni and C. coli consisted of a single isomeric form which was weakly immunogenic. Several minor proteins (29 to 31 kDa) were found to be strongly immunogenic by immunoblotting. C. fetus strains possessed two major OMPs of 45 to 47 kDa, each of which consisted of either a single isomer or a major isomer comprising at least 90% of the major OMP. Serum-resistant strains of C. fetus possessed an acid-labile 100-kDa glycoprotein (pI, 4.1) which was markedly diminished or absent in serum-sensitive strains. These 2DGE analyses provide information that is useful in taxonomic and epidemiologic studies and for the purification of surface antigens for the development of campylobacter vaccines and may also facilitate the identification of specific virulence factors.     

Identification of a Campylobacter jejuni protein that cross-reacts with cholera toxin

The question of whether Campylobacter jejuni produces a cholera toxin-like toxin (CTLT) has been controversial. The objective of this study was to identify the factor that cross-reacts with CT from C. jejuni. Filtrates of C. jejuni grown in four different liquid media reported to promote CTLT production were tested by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell elongation assay and for reactivity with CT antibody using GM1 ganglioside enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting. Protein sequence was determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI TOF-TOF). Filtrates from seven reference strains reported to produce CTLT and from 80 clinical strains were negative in the CHO cell assay, but those from three reference strains and 16 clinical strains were positive by GM1 ELISA. All strains tested, including C. jejuni NCTC 11168, which does not contain a CT gene homologue, possessed a 53-kDa protein which reacted with CT antibody by immunoblotting. This band was identified as the major outer membrane protein, PorA, of C. jejuni. CT antibody reacted by immunoblotting with a recombinant PorA, but antibody to the recombinant PorA did not react with CT. Our results indicate that C. jejuni does not produce a functional CTLT, but the reactivity of PorA with CT antibody would lead to the erroneous conclusion that C. jejuni produces a functional CTLT.     

Rapid microprocedure for isolating detergent-insoluble outer membrane proteins from Haemophilus species.

A rapid microprocedure for isolating detergent (sodium N-lauroyl sarcosinate)-insoluble major outer membrane proteins from Haemophilus species produced results qualitatively identical to those obtained with a commonly used preparative isolation procedure. Proteins isolated by both procedures were compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after staining with Coomassie brilliant blue R-250. The time for outer membrane protein isolation was substantially reduced with the rapid procedure, allowing a larger number of membrane preparations to be obtained rapidly for routine analysis.     

Major outer membrane protein of Campylobacter fetus: physical and immunological characterization.

The outer membrane proteins of Campylobacter fetus have been isolated by extraction of cell envelopes both in Triton X-100 and ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) and in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Each method yielded a major protein component, which migrated identically in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and proved comparable in electrophoretic and molecular weight characteristics to the analagous protein from Escherichia coli. In addition, the surface of SDS-extracted C. fetus cells displayed a subunit structure similar to that observed in E. coli. The major envelope protein isolated with SDS appeared antigenically identical with one of the proteins isolated with Trition-EDTA on the basis of immunodiffusion reactions with specific antisera. Antibodies directed to the major envelope protein were not reactive in agglutination, immobilization, bactericidal, or opsonization reactions. Strains of C. fetus belonging to each of the three O serotypes possessed major envelope proteins comparable in SDS-PAGE but distinguished antigencally in a fashion paralleling the O serotype classification.     

Human antibody response to outer membrane proteins of Campylobacter jejuni during infection.

Two techniques were used to isolate outer membrane proteins from Campylobacter jejuni, EDTA-lysozyme extraction and sodium-N-lauroylsarcosinate (Sarkosyl) solubilization. The protein profiles of the two preparations were similar, with a few additional bands in the EDTA-lysozyme preparations. The major outer membrane protein was 43,000 (43K) daltons, and there were 8 to 10 minor bands ranging from 92K to 14K daltons. There was no difference in the protein profile of a strain causing an infection (strain 17) and the resulting stool isolate (strain 17J). Sera collected before the infection and during the acute and convalescent stages were used with Western blotting and immunoautoradiographic techniques to determine the antigenicity of outer membrane proteins. A number of antigenic proteins were detected before the infection by their reaction with preinfection serum (61K, 51K, 43K, 40K, 34K, and 31K daltons), and three additional bands appeared during the infection when acute and convalescent sera were used (92K, 56K, and 19K daltons). Furthermore, an area of the gel at less than 14.4K daltons that did not stain with Coomassie brilliant blue became visible in the immune blots when the convalescent serum was used.     

Major outer membrane proteins in moderately halophilic eubacteria of genera Chromohalobacter and Halomonas

Outer and inner membrane fractions of Chromohalobacter marismortui and Halomonas elongata were isolated by differential detergent solubilization, and profiles of membrane proteins, especially major outer membrane proteins, were analyzed. These type strains possessed one extremely abundant outer membrane protein which showed similarity in amino-terminal amino acid sequence with the outer membrane porin proteins in other Gram-negative bacteria. Three halophilic eubacterial strains isolated from saline environments were also characterized. Strains 160 and 43 were found to be Chromohalobacter spp. and strain 40 to be a Halomonas sp. by sequence analysis of their 16 S ribosomal RNA genes. Extremely abundant porin proteins with an apparent molecular mass of 49 kDa were found in Chromohalobacter sp.160 and Halomonas sp. 40, but no major outer membrane protein was detected in Chromohalobacter sp. 43, suggesting strain 43 was most likely a naturally defective porin mutant. Porin proteins from Chromohalobacter spp. and Halomonas spp. showed the same migration on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with or without heat-treatment, indicating that these porin proteins did not form a SDS-resistant trimeric structure, which was detected in most of the Gram-negative bacterial porin proteins.     

Mitogenic effects of purified outer membrane proteins from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Three major outer membrane proteins from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 were purified and tested for their ability to stimulate resting murine lymphocytes to proliferate. It was demonstrated that picomole amounts of all three proteins were mitogenic for both intact and T-lymphocyte-depleted populations of spleen cells from C3H/HeJ mice. In contrast, they had no activity against either mature or immature thymocytes. Since the strain of mice used is unable to respond to lipopolysaccharide, we condlude that the three proteins are B-cell mitogens.     

Identification of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli by gel electrophoresis of the outer membrane proteins.

Analysis of the electrophoretic profiles of the outer membrane proteins could be used to differentiate Campylobacter jejuni (16 strains) from Campylobacter coli (10 strains). This observation was confirmed by the study of DNA homology obtained by a quantitative filter hybridization method. The hippurate hydrolysis test gave a poor correlation with the results of differentiation obtained by DNA homology studies and outer membrane protein profile.     

Binding of outer membrane preparations of Campylobacter jejuni to INT 457 cell membranes and extracellular matrix proteins

Binding of outer membrane (OM) preparations of the thermophilic Campylobacter species C. jejuni to epithelial cell membranes and extracellular matrix proteins were studied in an in vitro model system using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The OM preparations exhibited significant binding to INT 407 intestinal cell membranes. The process of adhesion was modulated by enzymatic, chemical or immunological pretreatment of the bacteria. Following oxidation of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with sodium meta-periodate, the OM preparations essentially retained their binding properties. After pretreatment with proteinase K, the OM preparations lost their binding capacity and the apparent molecular mass of the major OM protein shifted from 42 to 24 kDa. Preincubation of C. jejuni bacteria with C. jejuni-specific antiserum reduced adhesion significantly; preincubation with LPS-specific monoclonal antibodies only to a minimal extent. The OM preparations also bound significantly to the extracellular matrix proteins collagen and fibronectin; however, they bound virtually no bovine serum albumin or horse serum.     

Global analysis of outer membrane proteins from Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai

Recombinant leptospiral outer membrane proteins (OMPs) can elicit immunity to leptospirosis in a hamster infection model. Previously characterized OMPs appear highly conserved, and thus their potential to stimulate heterologous immunity is of critical importance. In this study we undertook a global analysis of leptospiral OMPs, which were obtained by Triton X-114 extraction and phase partitioning. Outer membrane fractions were isolated from Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai grown at 20, 30, and 37 degrees C with or without 10% fetal calf serum and, finally, in iron-depleted medium. The OMPs were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Gel patterns from each of the five conditions were compared via image analysis, and 37 gel-purified proteins were tryptically digested and characterized by mass spectrometry (MS). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight MS was used to rapidly identify leptospiral OMPs present in sequence databases. Proteins identified by this approach included the outer membrane lipoproteins LipL32, LipL36, LipL41, and LipL48. No known proteins from any cellular location other than the outer membrane were identified. Tandem electrospray MS was used to obtain peptide sequence information from eight novel proteins designated pL18, pL21, pL22, pL24, pL45, pL47/49, pL50, and pL55. The expression of LipL36 and pL50 was not apparent at temperatures above 30 degrees C or under iron-depleted conditions. The expression of pL24 was also downregulated after iron depletion. The leptospiral major OMP LipL32 was observed to undergo substantial cleavage under all conditions except iron depletion. Additionally, significant downregulation of these mass forms was observed under iron limitation at 30 degrees C, but not at 30 degrees C alone, suggesting that LipL32 processing is dependent on iron-regulated extracellular proteases. However, separate cleavage products responded differently to changes in growth temperature and medium constituents, indicating that more than one process may be involved in LipL32 processing. Furthermore, under iron-depleted conditions there was no concomitant increase in the levels of the intact form of LipL32. The temperature- and iron-regulated expression of LipL36 and the iron-dependent cleavage of LipL32 were confirmed by immunoblotting with specific antisera. Global analysis of the cellular location and expression of leptospiral proteins will be useful in the annotation of genomic sequence data and in providing insight into the biology of Leptospira.     

Floating cholera toxin into epithelial cells: functional association with caveolae-like detergent-insoluble membrane microdomains

In polarized cells, signal transduction by cholera toxin (CT) requires apical endocytosis and retrograde transport into Golgi cisternae and likely endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (Lencer et al., J. Cell Biol. 131, 951-962 (1995)). We have recently found that the toxin's apical membrane receptor ganglioside GM1 acts specifically in this signal transduction pathway, likely by coupling CT with caveolae or caveolae-related membrane domains (lipid rafts) (Wolf et al., J. Cell Biol. 141, 917-927 (1998)). Work in progress shows that 1) cholesterol depletion uncouples the CT-GM1 receptor complex from signal transduction, a characteristic of lipid rafts; 2) the GM1 acyl chains rather than the carbohydrate head groups appear to account for the structural basis of ganglioside specificity in toxin trafficking; and 3) intestinal epithelial cells obtained from normal adult humans exhibit lipid rafts which differentiate between CT-GM1 and LTIIb-GD1a complexes and which contain caveolin 1.     

Fusion proteins containing the A2 domain of cholera toxin assemble with B polypeptides of cholera toxin to form immunoreactive and functional holotoxin-like chimeras.

Cholera enterotoxin (CT) is produced by Vibrio cholerae and excreted into the culture medium as an extracellular protein. CT consists of one A polypeptide and five B polypeptides associated by noncovalent bonds, and CT-B interacts with CT-A primarily via the A2 domain. Treatment of CT with trypsin cleaves CT-A into A1 and A2 fragments that are linked by a disulfide bond. CT-B binds to ganglioside GM1, which functions as the plasma membrane receptor for CT, and the enzymatic activity of A1 causes the toxic effects of CT on target cells. We constructed translational fusions that joined foreign proteins via their carboxyl termini to the A2 domain of CT-A, and we studied the interactions of the fusion proteins with CT-B. The A2 domain was necessary and sufficient to enable bacterial alkaline phosphatase (BAP), maltose-binding protein (MBP) or beta-lactamase (BLA) to associate with CT-B to form stable, immunoreactive, holotoxin-like chimeras. Each holotoxin-like chimera was able to bind to ganglioside GM1. Holotoxin-like chimeras containing the BAP-A2 and BLA-A2 fusion proteins had BAP activity and BLA activity, respectively. We constructed BAP-A2 mutants with altered carboxyl-terminal sequences and tested their ability to assemble into holotoxin-like chimeras. Although the carboxyl-terminal QDEL sequence of the BAP-A2 fusion protein was not required for interaction with CT-B, most BAP-A2 mutants with altered carboxyl termini did not form holotoxin-like chimeras. When holotoxin-like chimeras containing BAP-A2, MBP-A2, or BLA-A2 were synthesized in V. cholerae, they were found predominantly in the periplasm. The toxin secretory apparatus of V. cholerae was not able, therefore, to translocate these holotoxin-like chimeras across the outer membrane.     

Antibodies directed against ribosomal P proteins cross-react with phospholipids

Anti-ribosomal P protein (anti-P) antibodies are marker antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Their association with psychiatric or neurological manifestations has been proposed, but remains controversial. Anti-phospholipid antibodies are the hallmark of a syndrome that may comprise a number of neurological manifestations. Thus, anti-P and anti-phospholipid antibodies have both been associated with central nervous system involvement and their co-existence in the same sera was reported. We verified the ability of purified anti-P antibodies to bind different phospholipids and phospholipid-binding proteins in solid-phase assays. Anti-P antibodies from five of eight patients bound cardiolipin (CL) when saturated with fetal calf serum (FCS); in three cases anti-CL antibodies were also detected in the flow-through. No anti-P eluate, nor any corresponding flow-through, bound beta(2)-glycoprotein I alone or prothrombin. Moreover, no anti-P eluate bound CL when the plates were blocked with bovine serum albumin in the absence of FCS. Anti-P antibodies with anti-CL activity bound both ssDNA and dsDNA and also nucleosomes in three patients. Our data indicate a great heterogeneity of anti-P antibodies that appear to be overlapped partially with the other autoantibody populations detected frequently in SLE.     

Hypersensitivity to Shigella outer membrane proteins in mice

Mice sensitized with living Sh. flexneri 3a or with outer membrane proteins (OMP) derived from these bacteria showed Arthus and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) when injected in the footpad with OMP. The delayed reactivity to OMP was transferable to normal mice by spleen cells obtained from donor animals which were previously sensitized with living bacteria.     

Differential binding kinetics of cholera toxin to intestinal microvillus membrane during development

A complete randomized block design was used to compare the binding kinetics of cholera toxin to developing rat enterocyte microvillus membranes prepared from newborn, 2-week-old, 4-week-old, and adult animals. Saturation-binding isotherms were generated on 16 independent samples (four blocks) under steady-state and reversible conditions. Scatchard analyses suggested positive cooperative binding to a single class of receptors, and the isotherms were analyzed by both the Hill-Waud and Michaelis-Menten functions. Receptor density varied significantly with age (P = 0.013). An abrupt rise in receptor density occurred after the neonatal period and normalized in the adult animal. The half-dissociation constant also varied significantly with age (P = 0.019). Microvillus membranes from suckling animals had a slightly higher apparent affinity than those from weaned animals. Neither receptor concentration nor membrane purity confounded these observations. Whereas age-related changes in apparent affinity correlated with cellular responses, changes in receptor density did not. This study suggests that developmental changes in membrane structure which influence binding affinity but not receptor density may, in part, contribute to the increased sensitivity of suckling rats to cholera toxin exposure.     

Monoclonal antibody binding to the major outer membrane protein of Campylobacter coli

Campylobacter species are major enteric pathogens causing diarrhea illness in humans and animals. Immunological tests are needed for accurate and rapid identification of C. coli, in conjunction with the use of standard biochemical tests. We initiated the creation of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) using whole C. coli cells as antigen. Four positive clones were identified, namely MAb2G6, MAb3B9, MAb4A10 and MAb5B9. Dot-blot assay and ELISA revealed that only MAb2G6 did not cross react with C. jejuni and other Campylobacter isolates. As demonstrated by dot-blot assay, MAb2G6 reacted with all 23 C. coli isolates tested but did not react with 29 isolates of C. jejuni, 3 other Campylobacter spp. isolates and 19 non-Campylobacter isolates, with the lowest detection limit was in the range of 10³ to 10⁴ bacteria. Western blots and dot blots showed that the antigen of MAb2G6 was a native protein, with immunoprecipitation assay showed that MAb2G6 bound to a protein band of approximately 43 kDa in size, corresponding to major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of C. coli revealed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Immunofluorescence assay (IFA) showed that MOMP of C. coli was indeed the antigen of MAb2G6, with immunogold-electron microscopy demonstrated that MAb2G6 conjugated with immunogold particles bound to all over the surface of C. coli cells. MAb2G6 also showed potential usage in direct detection of C. coli in faecal samples.     

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with major outer membrane proteins of Brucella melitensis to measure immune response to Brucella species.

We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system to measure human immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM response to the major outer membrane proteins of Brucella melitensis. The ELISA was more sensitive in detecting antibody than a standard microagglutination (MA) test with B. abortus antigen. Of 101 sera from persons with suspected brucellosis, 79 (78.2%) gave ELISA IgM titers greater than or equal to the B. abortus MA titer without 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME), which measures both IgM and IgG. Of the 101 sera, 97% gave ELISA IgG titers greater than or equal to the MA with 2ME titer. A total of 58 sera, drawn from 11 human patients from 1 to 29 weeks after onset of brucellosis, gave higher geometric mean titers for the ELISA IgG test than for the MA with 2ME test. These 58 sera also gave ELISA IgM geometric mean titers that were greater than or within one doubling dilution of the geometric mean titers of MA without 2ME. In addition to detecting antibody response to B. abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis, the ELISA was sensitive to antibody response to human and canine infections with B. canis. The B. canis antibody response is not detected by the MA test with B. abortus antigen. The ELISA, with a standard preparation of major outer membrane proteins of B. melitensis as antigen, appears to be useful in measuring antibody response in humans to infections by all species of Brucella known to infect humans.     

Recombinant cholera toxin B subunit and gene fusion proteins for oral vaccination

The B subunit portion of cholera toxin (CTB) is a safe and effective oral immunizing agent in humans, affording protection against both cholera and diarrhoea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli producing heat-labile toxin (LT) (Clemens et al., 1986; 1988). CTB may also be used as a carrier of various "foreign" antigens suitable for oral administration. To facilitate large-scale production of CTB for vaccine development purposes, we have constructed recombinant overexpression systems for CTB proteins in which the CTB gene is under the control of strong foreign (non-cholera) promoters and in which it is also possible to fuse oligonucleotides to the CTB gene and thereby achieve overexpression of hybrid proteins (Sanchez and Holmgren, 1989; Sanchez et al., 1988). We here expand these findings by describing overexpression of CTB by a constitutive tacP promoter as well as by the T7 RNA-polymerase promoter, and also by describing gene fusions leading to overexpression of several hybrid proteins between heat-stable E. coli enterotoxin (STa)-related peptides to either the amino or carboxy ends of CTB. Each of the hybrid proteins, when tested as immunogens in rabbits, stimulated significant anti-STa as well as anti-CTB antibody formation, although the anti-STa antibody levels attained (c.a. 1-15 micrograms/ml specific anti-STa immunoglobulin) were too low to give more than partial neutralization of STa intestinal challenge in baby mice. The hybrid proteins also had a near-native conformation, as apparent from their oligomeric nature and their strong reactivity with both a neutralizing antibody against the B subunit and a neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) against STa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)