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。

Preparation and application of recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis CFP10-ESAT-6 fusion protein

OBJECTIVE: To prepare the recombinant CFP10-ESAT-6 fusion protein, and to study its immunological characteristics, and its potential for serodiagnosis of tuberculosis. METHODS: The lhp-ESAT-6 fusion gene was amplified by Gene SOEing, and then cloned into pQE30 plasmid. The recombinant CFP10-ESAT-6 fusion protein was expressed and purified. Its antigenicity was confirmed by Western blot. Animal models infected with M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv strain and M. bovis BCG respectively were made to evaluate the potential value of the fusion protein in the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis. RESULTS: The sequence of recombinant plasmid pQE30-CFP10-ESAT-6 was identical to the predicted sequence. The recombinant protein (rCFP10-ESAT-6), about 26 000, existed in the cytoplasm of DH5alpha in soluble form and represented 40% of the total bacterial protein. The purity and concentration of the final product was 98% and 1.2 g/L, respectively. Western blot showed that the rCFP10-ESAT-6 had good immunoreactivity with sera from patients with active tuberculosis and rabbits immunized with CFP10 and ESAT-6 respectively. The positive cutoff value was A(490) plus 2 standard deviation from negative guinea pig sera detected by ELISA. Serological reactivity to rCFP10-ESAT-6 was observed in 11 of the serum samples from guinea pigs with tuberculosis and 1 of sera from guinea pigs infected with BCG, while the serological reactivity to PPD was observed in 11 of sera from guinea pigs with tuberculosis and in 11 of sera from guinea pigs infected with BCG. CONCLUSIONS: The rCFP10-ESAT-6 fusion protein was highly expressed in soluble form in E. coli. It had antigenicity of both CFP10 and ESAT-6, and could be used to differentiate infection with M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv strain from immunization with M. bovis BCG. The study provided experimental data for potential application of rCFP10-ESAT-6 in the diagnosis of tuberculosis.