Deletion of the putative antioxidant noxR1 does not alter the virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

SETTING: The cloned M. tuberculosis noxR1 gene has been shown to confer resistance to reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) and reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) upon Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of noxR1 in resistance to RNI and virulence of M. tuberculosis. DESIGN: The noxR1 gene was deleted from M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis H37Rv by allelic exchange. The mutants were compared to wild type strains with respect to resistance to chemically generated RNI. The virulence of the M. tuberculosis mutant was investigated in a murine model of infection. RESULTS: The NoxR1 mutants grew normally in Sautons and 7H9 broths. The BCG mutant demonstrated decreased resistance to in vitro generated RNI compared to the wild type. Resistance to RNI could be restored to the mutant by reintroduction of the noxR1 locus on a replicating plasmid. However, deletion of noxR1 from M. tuberculosis H37Rv did not result in decreased resistance to RNI nor a difference in growth and survival of the bacterium during murine infection. CONCLUSION: The noxR1 gene locus in M. bovis BCG bestows ability to resist RNI generated in vitro. In M. tuberculosis H37Rv, however, noxR1 is either not involved in RNI resistance and virulence or is better compensated for by other mechanisms.     

Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv: Delta RD1 is more virulent than M. bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin in long-term murine infection

Region of difference (RD1) genes are present in virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis but not the vaccine strain M. bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The deletion of RD1 from M. tuberculosis produces an attenuation strikingly like that of BCG, which suggests the use of RD1 mutant strains for improvement of the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine. We performed long-term murine infection with M. tuberculosis H37Rv: Delta RD1 and BCG. Mice infected with H37Rv: Delta RD1 gained less weight than did BCG-infected control mice, and, after >1 year, their lungs harbored many more bacteria and displayed significant levels of inflammation. This difference in virulence has important implications for the pursuit of strains lacking RD1 in the development of the TB vaccine.     

Expression, characterization and subcellular localization of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE gene Rv1917c.

SETTING: The PPE gene family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is thought to be of immunological significance. One member, Rv1917c, is highly polymorphic in clinical isolates. OBJECTIVE: To characterize Rv1917c gene polymorphism and expression, and to determine the cellular location and glycosylation status of the encoded protein. DESIGN: Tandem repeat regions of Rv1917c were amplified and sequenced to determine the molecular basis for the gene polymorphism. RT-PCR analysis was utilized to detect expression of Rv1917c mRNA in liquid cultures of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. The gene was cloned as a 3'-terminal green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion, downstream of an acetamide-inducible promoter, and expressed in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG. The expression product was characterized in terms of cellular location and glycosylation status. RESULTS: PCR and sequence data demonstrated that variable numbers of tandem repeats within Rv1917c contribute to gene polymorphism. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that Rv1917c mRNA is expressed in liquid cultures of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Expression of the recombinant protein in M. smegmatis and M. bovis BCG was visualized by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. A protein of the predicted size (166 kDa) was confirmed by Western blotting. Cell fractionation studies demonstrated that the recombinant protein is hydrophobic, suggestive of cell wall-association, while flow cytometric data derived from antibody binding experiments suggested that it is surface exposed. Analysis of the glycosylation status of the expressed protein failed to demonstrate glycosylation. CONCLUSION: Rv1917c mRNA is expressed in M. tuberculosis H37Rv, and Rv1917c gene polymorphism is associated with variable numbers of tandem repeats. The recombinant Rv1917c protein is surface exposed.     

Vaccine and skin testing properties of two avirulent Mycobacterium bovis mutants with and without an additional esat-6 mutation

SETTING: Molecular techniques are now available to develop new live tuberculosis vaccines by producing avirulent strains of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex with known genes deleted. OBJECTIVES: Determine if removal of esat-6 from new live tuberculosis vaccines with known attenuating mutations affects their vaccine efficacy and if it could enable the development of discriminating diagnostic tests. DESIGN: Remove the esat-6 gene by allelic exchange from two illegitimate mutants of Mycobacterium bovis that had previously been shown to have similar vaccine efficacy to BCG in a guinea pig vaccination model. Determine the effect this removal has on virulence, vaccine efficacy and skin test reactivity in guinea pigs. RESULTS: Two double knockout strains of M. bovis were produced and their virulence and vaccine efficacy were compared to their parent strains. Removal of the esat-6 gene had no significant effect on vaccine efficacy. In skin tests, animals inoculated with the double knockout strains reacted to PPD but not ESAT-6, whereas those inoculated with the parent strains had similar skin test reactivity to both PPD and esat-6. CONCLUSION: Removal of esat-6 from new live tuberculosis vaccine candidates has no significant effect on vaccine properties but does enable the use of skin tests to distinguish between vaccination and infection.     

Mutation in the P36 gene of Mycobacterium bovis provokes attenuation of the bacillus in a mouse model

P36 is a member of a family of secreted proteins distributed throughout the genus Mycobacterium. The central domain of these proteins contains several amino acid PGLTS repeats, which differ considerably between species. P36, also called exported repetitive protein (Erp) in M. tuberculosis, has been shown to be associated with virulence since the disruption of its gene impaired multiplication of both virulent M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG in cultured macrophages and immunocompetent mice. In order to demonstrate that P36 is a putative virulence factor of wild-type Mycobacterium bovis we generated a P36 mutant by gene disruption and we evaluated its replication in spleen and lungs of infected mice. In this study, the mutant strain displays low levels of multiplication in mice, indicating that the P36 gene is important for in vivo growth of M. bovis.     

An esat6 knockout mutant of Mycobacterium bovis produced by homologous recombination will contribute to the development of a live tuberculosis vaccine.

SETTING: Strains of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex are being rationally attenuated in order to develop better tuberculosis vaccines than BCG, and it would be helpful if new vaccines lacked an immunogenic protein which could be used as a skin test reagent for determining infection status. OBJECTIVE: To delete the esat6 gene from a virulent Mycobacterium bovis strain and determine (i) whether this mutant sensitizes guinea pigs to a skin test based on ESAT6 and (ii) what effect this has on the virulence of M. bovis. DESIGN: An homologous recombination technique was used to produce an esat6 knockout mutant of a virulent strain of M. bovis. Guinea pigs were inoculated with either the mutant or parent strain and their reactivity in intradermal skin tests was determined to bovine purified protein derivative (PPD) and recombinant ESAT6 protein. RESULTS: Production of an esat6 knockout strain was demonstrated by Southern blot hybridization and the polymerase chain reaction. Guinea pigs inoculated with either the esat6 knockout strain or its virulent parent had positive skin test reactions to PPD but only animal inoculated with the parent strain had positive skin test reactions to ESAT6. Gross pathology, histopathology and mycobacterial culture of tissues indicated that the knockout strain was less virulent than its parent. CONCLUSION: If an effective live tuberculosis vaccine can be produced by inactivation of virulence genes in M. bovis, then prior or subsequent knockout of the esat6 gene could contribute to the loss of virulence and enable the development of a test to distinguish between vaccinated and infected animals.     

结核分枝杆菌Rv0867c基因的克隆表达及其纯化

目的构建结核分枝杆菌Rv0867c基因的原核表达质粒,获得结核分枝杆菌Rv0867c基因的表达蛋白。方法制备结核分枝杆菌基因组DNA,采用聚合酶链反应(PCR)技术扩增目的基因片段;通过克隆载体pUC19构建质粒载体pUC19-Rv0867c,经序列测定证实正确,双酶切后连接于表达载体pPRO-EXHT,转化入大肠杆菌DH5α中,再经IPTG诱导表达带His标签的Rv0867c融合蛋白;用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)分析重组蛋白的相对分子质量大小及表达形式。结果成功扩增出了结核分枝杆菌Rv0867c基因,构建了具有正确基因序列的表达载体pPRO-EXHT-Rv0867c,转化入大肠杆菌DH5α中,经诱导产生高水平的表达产物。经SDS分析,在80 kD处出现新生蛋白带,凝胶薄层扫描检测表达量约占菌体蛋白的23.7%。该融合蛋白以包涵体的形式存在,用Ni²⁺-NTA纯化柱在变性条件下进行纯化。结论成功克隆了结核分枝杆菌Rv0867c基因并得到了其大肠杆菌表达产物,为进一步研究Rv0867c基因蛋白的活性及其功能,以及结核分枝杆菌快速促生长作用奠定了基础。     

Role of M. tuberculosis RD-1 region encoded secretory proteins in protective response and virulence

A gene fragment corresponding to the region of difference-1 (RD-1) of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome, spanning open reading frames Rv3871 to Rv3879c, is missing in all bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccine strains of M. bovis, indicating that this was perhaps the primary deletion event responsible for attenuation of virulent M. bovis. The RD-1 locus has, therefore, been considered crucial in the pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis. Two most predominant secretory proteins encoded by this region viz. CFP-10 (Rv3874) and ESAT-6 (Rv3875) are being widely evaluated as candidate vaccine(s) and used as antigens in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. However, several recent reports have implicated their putative role in deactivation of the macrophage and dendritic cell functions. A large body of recent literature provides an inkling of various mechanisms these proteins might use to down regulate normal macrophage functions and their possible contribution to virulence of M. tuberculosis. This review re-emphasizes the suggestion about the dual function of these two secreted mycobacterial proteins, viz., they have both T-cell activation and macrophage deactivation functions.     

应用多重聚合酶链反应技术快速鉴定牛分支杆菌卡介苗株

目的 建立快速鉴定牛分支杆菌卡介苗(BCG)菌株的方法。方法 依据最近研究发现的牛分支杆菌BCG菌株不存在命名为缺失区1(deleted region 1，RD1)的基因区，而其他牛分支杆菌菌株和其他结核分支杆菌复合群(MTC)菌种(结核分支杆菌、非洲分支杆菌和田鼠分支杆菌)存在RD1基因区的遗传学信息，应用多重聚合酶链反应(PCR)检测RD1基因区存在与否，以鉴别BCG菌株与其他牛分支杆菌菌株及其他MTC菌种。结果 所试5株BCG疫苗生产用标准菌株和近期国内发生的1例小儿BCG接种后全身播散性感染致死病例的2株BCG分离菌株，均缺失RD1基因区；其他牛分支杆菌菌株，包括3株牛分支杆菌标准菌株、5株分别从结核病牛或鹿分离的牛分支杆菌菌株，1株从结核病患痰标本分离的牛分支杆菌菌株，以及其他MTC菌种，包括结核分支杆菌H37Rv和H37Ra标准菌株、48株从结核病患痰标本分离的结核分支杆菌菌株、3株非洲分支杆菌标准菌株，均存在RD1区。结论子多重PCR技术用于牛分支杆菌BCG菌株的鉴定简便、快速、特异，适于在临床实验室应用。     

Bovine tuberculosis in India: potential basis for zoonosis

Our laboratory has designed a specific nested-PCR (N-PCR) assay, based on the hupB gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Rv2986c) and Mycobacterium bovis (Mb3010c) as a method to differentiate these closely related species. The present paper deciphers the utility of this assay for identification of pathogenic Mycobacteria in clinical samples. Extra-pulmonary clinical samples obtained from cattle and humans were investigated. Pre-dominance of M. tuberculosis (15.7%) and M. bovis (26.8%) was seen in humans and cattle, respectively. However, more importantly, both mycobacterial pathogens (mixed infection) were identified in a number of samples. In humans 8.7% of the samples and 35.7% in cattle were classified as mixed infection. The detection of mixed infection with the mycobacterial pathogenic duo in humans and bovines denotes the prospect of potential transmission of these pathogens from humans to cattle (zoonosis) and vice versa (reverse zoonosis).     

Enhanced protection against tuberculosis by vaccination with recombinant Mycobacterium microti vaccine that induces T cell immunity against region of difference 1 antigens

Mycobacterium microti, the vole bacillus, which was used as a live vaccine against tuberculosis until the 1970s, confers the same protection in humans as does Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). However, because the efficacy of the BCG vaccine varies considerably, we have tried to develop a better vaccine by reintroducing into M. microti the complete region of difference 1 (RD1), which is required for secretion of the potent T cell antigens early secreted antigen target (ESAT)-6 and culture filtrate protein (CFP)-10. The resultant recombinant strain, M. microti OV254::RD1-2F9, induced specific ESAT-6 and CFP-10 immune responses in mice with CD8(+) T lymphocytes that had strong expression of the CD44(hi) activation marker. This vaccine also displayed better efficacy against disseminated disease in the mouse and the guinea pig models of tuberculosis than was seen in animals vaccinated with M. microti alone or with BCG. The M. microti OV254::RD1-2F9 vaccine was less virulent and persistent in mice and than was BCG::RD1-2F9 may represent a safer alternative to BCG::RD1-2F9.     

重组结核分枝杆菌CFP10-ESAT-6融合蛋白的制备及应用研究

目的 制备重组培养滤液蛋白10和6000早期分泌性抗原靶的融合蛋白(rCFPlO-ESAT-6)，研究其免疫学特性，评价其在结核病血清学诊断中的价值。方法 用基因拼接(Gene SOEing)法扩增lhp-ESAT-6融合基因、并克隆人pQE30质粒，表达、纯化rCFPl0-ESAT-6蛋白，通过Western blot分析其抗原性。建立豚鼠BCG免疫模型和结核分枝杆菌强毒株(H37Rv)感染模型，建立以融合蛋白为抗原的酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)法，检测豚鼠血清中的抗结核分枝杆菌抗体，并与以纯化蛋白衍生物(PPD)为抗原的ELISA法比较。结果 重组质粒pQE30-CFPl0-ESAT-6靶基因的测序结果与预计序列(lhp-linker-ESAT-6)完全一致。融合蛋白在DH5α菌中以可溶性非包涵体形式存在，表达量占菌体总蛋白的40％，分子质量为26000，纯化后的蛋白纯度为98％，浓度为1.2g／L。Western blot分析表明，融合蛋白与活动性肺结核患血清、兔抗CFP10血清和兔抗ESAT-6血清都能发生特异性免疫反应。以10只生理盐水处理豚鼠血清的平均吸光度(A)值 2s为正常界限值，以融合蛋白为抗原，11份H37Rv感染豚鼠血清全部呈阳性反应，11份BCG免疫豚鼠血清仅1份呈阳性反应；以PPD为抗原，11份H37Rv感染豚鼠血清全部呈阳性反应，11份BCG免疫豚鼠血清也全部呈阳性反应。结论 pQE30-CFPl0-ESAT-6 DH5α菌能高效表达rCFPl0-ESAT-6融合蛋白，该蛋白兼具CFPl0和ESAT-6两种蛋白的抗原性，能特异性区分豚鼠因H37Rv感染和BCG免疫后产生的抗结核分枝杆菌抗体。本研究为rCFPl0-ESAT-6融合蛋白在结核病血清学诊断中的应用奠定了基础。     

The RD1 virulence locus of Mycobacterium tuberculosis regulates DNA transfer in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Conjugal DNA transfer occurs by an atypical mechanism in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The transfer system is chromosomally encoded and requires recipient recombination functions for both chromosome and plasmid transfer. Cis-acting sequences have been identified that confer mobility on nontransferable plasmids, but these are larger and have different properties to canonical oriT sites found in bacterial plasmids. To identify trans-acting factors required for mediating DNA transfer, a library of transposon insertion mutants was generated in the donor strain, and individual mutants were screened for their effect on transfer. From this screen, a collection of insertion mutants was isolated that increased conjugation frequencies relative to wild type. Remarkably, the mutations map to a 25-kb region of the M. smegmatis chromosome that is syntenous with the RD1 region of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is considered to be the primary attenuating deletion in the related vaccine strain Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin. The genes of the RD1 region encode a secretory apparatus responsible for exporting Cfp10- and Esat-6, both potent antigens and virulence factors. In crosses using two M. smegmatis donors, we show that wild-type cells can suppress the elevated transfer phenotype of mutant donors, which is consistent with the secretion of a factor that suppresses conjugation. Most importantly, the RD1 region of M. tuberculosis complements the conjugation phenotype of the RD1 mutants in M. smegmatis. Our results indicate that the M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis RD1 regions are functionally equivalent and provide a unique perspective on the role of this critical secretion apparatus.     

Imaging of pulmonary granulomas using a photon imager

To clarify the location of pulmonary granulomas in vivo, we prepared a Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv mutant in which the gene for a green fluorescent protein (GFP) (GFP-H37Rv) was introduced. Five weeks after aerosol infection with GFP-H37Rv, the infected lungs from guinea pigs and mice were subjected to imaging using a photon imager. Pulmonary granulomas more than 1 mm in diameter were localized clearly by the photon imager. Therefore, if a method for binding a dye (GFP, fluorescein isothiocyanate [FITC], etc.) specifically to M. tuberculosis can be developed, it will be possible to visualize granulomas using a photon imager.