Advances in mycobacterial genetics: new promises for old diseases.
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BCG Vaccine↗
Biomedical subjects
W R Jacobs
Publications and source records attributed to W R Jacobs.
Old microbes with new faces: molecular biology and the design of new vaccines.
Rational approaches to the design of live attenuated bacterial and viral recombinant vaccine strains are leading to the manipulation of old vaccines and the generation of new ones. The two basic problems to be solved are attenuation of pathogenic strains, and the stable expression of foreign antigens.
Adenoviridae↗
Identification of expression signals of the mycobacteriophages Bxb1, L1 and TM4 using the Escherichia-Mycobacterium shuttle plasmids pYUB75 and pYUB76 designed to create translational fusions to the lacZ gene.
Mycobacterial expression signals were cloned using specially constructed gene fusion shuttle plasmid probes carrying a truncated Escherichia coli lacZ (beta-galactosidase) gene which lacked a promoter, a ribosome binding site, and an ATG start codon. Libraries of mycobacteriophage Bxb1, L1 and TM4 DNAs were constructed, and introduced by electroporation into Mycobacterium smegmatis and the 'bacille Calmette-Guérin' (BCG). Clones carrying mycobacterial expression sequences were detected by their blue colour or characteristic fluorescence when plated on media containing chromogenic or fluorogenic substrates. Varying degrees of beta-galactosidase expression were observed, and one Bxb1 expression signal was identified where beta-galactosidase expression is repressed in phage lysogens.
Cloning, Molecular↗
Comparison of standard and radionuclide methods for measurement of glomerular filtration rate and effective renal blood flow in female horses.
Comparison of standard and radionuclide methods for measuring glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal blood flow (ERBF) was performed in 8 healthy female horses. Inulin and p-aminohippurate solutions were administered IV as a bolus, followed by sustained administration. Urine and plasma inulin and p-aminohippurate concentrations and urine volume were measured. Glomerular filtration rate and ERBF were calculated on the basis of these measurements. Glomerular filtration rate and ERBF were measured on the basis of plasma clearance of the radiopharmaceuticals, 99mTc-labeled diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) and [131I]-o-iodohippuric acid (131I-OIH), respectively. Mean +/- SEM GFR, using inulin, was 1.83 +/- 0.21 ml/min/kg of body weight. Mean GFR, using 99mTc-DTPA was 1.79 +/- 0.18 ml/min/kg. Mean ERBF, using p-aminohippurate, was 15.13 +/- 1.28 ml/min/kg. Mean ERBF, using 131I-OIH, was 18.42 +/- 1.57 ml/min/kg. Analysis of variance indicated no significant difference between mean values for GFR and ERBF. Radionuclide measurement of GFR and ERBF compared well with standard methods and is an alternative technique to the cumbersome standard methods for determination of GFR and ERBF in horses.
Animals↗
Insertional mutagenesis and illegitimate recombination in mycobacteria.
Mycobacteria, particularly Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium leprae, and Mycobacterium avium, are major pathogens of man. Although insertional mutagenesis has been an invaluable genetic tool for analyzing the mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis, it has not yet been possible to apply it to the mycobacteria. To overcome intrinsic difficulties in directly manipulating the genetics of slow-growing mycobacteria, including M. tuberculosis and bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine strains, we developed a system for random shuttle mutagenesis. A genomic library of Mycobacterium smegmatis was subjected to transposon mutagenesis with Tn5 seq1, a derivative of Tn5, in Escherichia coli and these transposon-containing recombinant plasmids were reintroduced into mycobacterial chromosomes by homologous recombination. This system has allowed us to isolate several random auxotrophic mutants of M. smegmatis. To extend this strategy to M. tuberculosis and BCG, targeted mutagenesis was performed using a cloned BCG methionine gene that was subjected to Tn5 seq1 mutagenesis in E. coli and reintroduced into the mycobacteria. Surprisingly for prokaryotes, both BCG and M. tuberculosis were found to incorporate linear DNA fragments into illegitimate sites throughout the mycobacterial genomes at a frequency of 10(-5) to 10(-4) relative to the number of transformants obtained with autonomously replicating vectors. Thus the efficient illegitimate recombination of linear DNA fragments provides the basis for an insertional mutagenesis system for M. tuberculosis and BCG.
Blotting, Southern↗
Site-specific integration of mycobacteriophage L5: integration-proficient vectors for Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and bacille Calmette-Guérin.
Mycobacteriophage L5, a temperate phage of mycobacteria, integrates site-specifically into the Mycobacterium smegmatis chromosome. We have identified the int gene and attP site of L5, characterized the chromosomal attachment site (attB), and constructed plasmid vectors that efficiently transform M. smegmatis through stable site-specific integration of the plasmid into the bacterial genome. These integration-proficient plasmids also efficiently transform slow-growing mycobacteria such as the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the vaccine strain bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The ability to easily generate stable recombinants in these slow-growing mycobacteria without the requirement for continual selection is of particular importance for the construction of recombinant BCG vaccines and for the isolation and characterization of mycobacterial pathogenic determinants in animal model systems. Integration vectors of this type should be of general use in a number of additional bacterial systems where temperate phages have been identified.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Purification and characterization of dihydrofolate reductase from wild-type and trimethoprim-resistant Mycobacterium smegmatis.
Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) from extracts of Mycobacterium smegmatis strain mc2(6) and trimethoprim-resistant mutant mc2(26) was purified to homogeneity. In crude extracts, the specific activity of the enzyme from the trimethoprim resistant strain was comparable to that from the sensitive strain. The DHFR from both sources was purified using affinity chromatography on MTX-Sepharose followed by Mono Q FPLC. The enzyme has an apparent molecular mass of 23 kDa from gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and from SDS-PAGE. Amino terminal sequence analysis showed homology with DHFRs from a subset of other gram-positive organisms. The purified enzyme from the trimethoprim-sensitive organism exhibited Km values for H2folate and NADPH of 0.68 +/- 0.2 microM and 21 +/- 4 microM, respectively. The Km values for H2folate and NADPH for the enzyme from the drug-resistant organism were 1.8 +/- 0.4 microM and 5.3 +/- 1.5 microM, respectively. A kcat of 4.5 sec-1 was determined for the DHFR from both sources. The enzyme from both sources was competitively inhibited by pyrimethamine and trimethoprim. The Ki value of trimethoprim, for the enzyme from the drug-resistant organism was about six-fold higher than for the enzyme from drug-sensitive strain. Our data suggest that mutation of DHFR contributes to trimethoprim resistance in the mc2(26) strain of M. smegmatis.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Genetic systems for mycobacteria.
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Bacteriophages↗
Isolation and expression of a gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of the glycopeptidolipid antigens of Mycobacterium avium.
Bacteria within the Mycobacterium avium complex are prominent in the environment and are a source of serious disseminated infections in patients with AIDS. Serovars of the M. avium complex are distinguished from all other mycobacteria and from one another by the presence of highly antigenic glycolipids, the glycopeptidolipids, on their surfaces. A genomic library of DNA from serovar 2 of the M. avium complex was constructed in the Escherichia coli-Mycobacterium shuttle cosmid, pYUB18, and used to clone and express in Mycobacterium smegmatis the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of the oligosaccharide segment of the M. avium serovar 2-specific glycopeptidolipid. The responsible gene cluster was mapped to a 22- to 27-kb functional region of the M. avium genome. The recombinant glycolipid was also isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography and chemically characterized, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry, to demonstrate that the lipopeptide core originated in M. smegmatis, whereas the oligosaccharide segment arose from the cloned M. avium genes. This first-time demonstration of the cloning and expression, in a nonpathogenic mycobacterium, of the genes encoding complex cell wall glycoconjugates from a pathogenic mycobacterium presents a new approach for studying the role of such products in disease processes.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
A novel transposon trap for mycobacteria: isolation and characterization of IS1096.
In the course of developing strategies to obtain a mutation in the aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (asd) gene of Mycobacterium smegmatis, an efficient transposon trap was constructed which may be generally useful for the identification of transposable elements in mycobacteria. A DNA fragment containing the asd gene was replaced with an aminoglycoside phosphotransferase gene (aph) to generate a delta asd::aph allele. Attempts to replace the wild-type asd gene with the delta asd::aph allele were unsuccessful, suggesting that this deletion was lethal to the growth of M. smegmatis. The plasmid, pYUB215, which contains beta-galactosidase expressed from a mycobacteriophage promoter and delta asd::aph, was integrated into the chromosome of M. smegmatis by a homologous, single-crossover, recombination event. Visual screening for inactivation of the beta-galactosidase gene in the resulting strain allowed the isolation of a novel mycobacterial insertion element from M. smegmatis. This insertion element, which is unique to M. smegmatis, was designated IS1096 and transposes at a frequency of 7.2 x 10(-5) per cell in an apparently random fashion. IS1096 is 2,275 bp in length and contains two open reading frames which are predicted to encode proteins involved in transposition. This insertion element exhibits several characteristics that suggest it may be a useful tool for genetic analysis of mycobacteria, possibly including the study of mechanisms of pathogenesis.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Role of cytosolic Ca in renal tubule damage induced by anoxia.
Cytosolic free Ca (Caf) was measured in three different preparations of freshly prepared proximal tubules from the rabbit kidney during energy deprivation using fura-2. Isolated perfused tubules, tubules immobilized on glass cover slips, and tubules in suspension were subjected to inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation ("chemical hypoxia"); the latter two preparations were also subjected to 40 min of anoxia. During normoxia, Caf ranged from 100 to 180 nM in all three preparations, and chemical hypoxia caused either no change or a small (30-100%) increase in Caf values. Subsequent addition of Ca ionophores increased Caf to 300-500 nM in the first 2 min and to greater than 1 microM after 15 min. In individual experiments, anoxia produced similar responses to those of chemical hypoxia, eliciting no average significant change in Caf, despite clear evidence for impaired respiration and plasma membrane damage after 40 min of anoxia. This lack of change in Caf was unrelated to "Ca buffering" by fura-2 or inactivation of the dye, since Caf increased to 666 +/- 59 nM upon addition of Ca ionophore during anoxia. These data suggest that increased Caf is not a prerequisite for cellular damage during anoxia in proximal renal tubules. Furthermore, no apparent alteration in plasma membrane permeability to Ca occurs before membrane disruption. Decreased ATP seems to initiate a series of Caf-independent events that cause irreversible injury.
Animals↗
Elemental microanalysis of organelles in proximal tubules. I. Alterations in transport and metabolism.
Oxygen deprivation to the kidney causes a multifactorial series of morphological, physiological, and biochemical alterations that occur as a function of time. One of the earliest events involves significant changes in the cellular contents of the physiologically important elements (ions) Na and K. Controversy exists as to the nature of changes in the content of the regulatory ion Ca, in either its free or bound form, and much less is known regarding in situ distribution and amounts of other elements such as Mg, P, S, and Cl during physiological or pathophysiological states. The objective of these studies was to evaluate element compartmentation in proximal renal tubules by using quantitative electron probe x-ray microanalysis, during specific conditions which are at least partially manifested during oxygen deprivation. Cells from control proximal tubule suspensions were compared with those exposed to (1) ouabain, to inhibit (Na+, K+)-ATPase; (2) mitochondrial uncouplers, to rapidly deplete ATP content; or (3) calcium ionophores, to cause a rapid elevation in cytoplasmic free calcium. In parallel with electron probe x-ray microanalysis imaging of subcellular elemental content, total cell potassium and ATP contents, enzyme release, oxygen consumption, cytoplasmic free calcium levels, and ultrastructural alterations were assessed. Results indicated that ATP depletion was, in the short term, more deleterious to renal proximal tubules than any of the tested ionic alterations. Intracellular organelles including mitochondria and nuclei appeared to be readily permeable to Na, K, and Cl, altering their concentrations of these ions in parallel with cytoplasmic concentrations. Lysosomes exhibited evidence of Cl accumulation, consistent with an inwardly directed proton ATPase with accompanying Cl transport. Whereas in the cytoplasm Na, K and Cl appeared to be mostly free, a large fraction of these ions within intracellular organelles seemed bound.
Animals↗
Development of BCG as a recombinant vaccine vehicle.
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BCG Vaccine↗
Isolation and characterization of efficient plasmid transformation mutants of Mycobacterium smegmatis.
Recent development of vectors and methodologies to introduce recombinant DNA into members of the genus Mycobacterium has provided new approaches for investigating these important bacteria. While most pathogenic mycobacteria are slow-growing, Mycobacterium smegmatis is a fast-growing, non-pathogenic species that has been used for many years as a host for mycobacteriophage propagation and, recently, as a host for the introduction of recombinant DNA. Its use as a cloning host for the analysis of mycobacterial genes has been limited by its inability to be efficiently transformed with plasmid vectors. This work describes the isolation and characterization of mutants of M. smegmatis that can be transformed, using electroporation, at efficiencies 10(4) to 10(5) times greater than those of the parent strain, yielding more than 10(5) transformants per microgram of plasmid DNA. The mutations conferring this efficient plasmid transformation (Ept) phenotype do not affect phage transfection or the integration of DNA into the M. smegmatis chromosome, but seem to be specific for plasmid transformation. Such Ept mutants have been used to characterize plasmid DNA sequences essential for replication of the Mycobacterium fortuitum plasmid pAL5000 in mycobacteria by permitting the transformation of a library of hybrid plasmid constructs. Efficient plasmid transformation of M. smegmatis will facilitate the analysis of mycobacterial gene function, expression and replication and thus aid in the development of BCG as a multivalent recombinant vaccine vector and in the genetic analysis of the virulence determinants of pathogenic mycobacteria.
DNA, Bacterial↗
Cytosolic free calcium regulation in renal tubules from spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Cytosolic free calcium (Caf) was measured in isolated renal cortical tubules from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched control Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats to evaluate whether the onset of hypertension is associated with a change in Caf. At the same time, the cellular mechanism by which differences in Caf occur between these two strains of rats was examined. Caf was significantly lower in renal tubules from 4- to 5-wk (142 +/- 6 vs. 187 +/- 15 nM), 6- to 7-wk (138 +/- 15 vs. 187 +/- 8 nM), and 8- to 9-wk-old (161 +/- 5 vs. 216 +/- 9 nM) SHR compared with age-matched WKY. The lower Caf in SHR tubules was considered to be the result of either an increase in Ca efflux or a reduction in Ca permeability. To the extent that metabolic inhibitors increased Caf but did not alter the difference between SHR and WKY, a primary difference in Caf efflux was excluded. Conversely, when Ca permeability was altered, either with Ca ionophores or incubation in Ca-free medium, Caf changed in the appropriate direction and the difference between SHR and WKY was no longer apparent. These results demonstrate that 1) the previously reported increase in Caf in circulating cells is not a universal feature of hypertension and 2) the lower Caf in renal tubules from SHR appears to be related to a lower Ca permeability. Whether the differences in Caf between SHR and WKY is a permissive factor for the renal contribution to hypertension remains to be elucidated.
Animals↗
Intracellular glutathione in the protection from anoxic injury in renal proximal tubules.
Previous results (Weinberg, J. M., J. A. David, M. Abarzua, and T. Rajan. 1987. J. Clin. Invest. 80:1446-1454) have shown that GSH and glycine (GLY) are cytoprotective during anoxia when added extracellularly. The present studies investigate the role that intracellular GSH plays in this cytoprotection. Proximal renal tubules in suspension prepared with either high (11 +/- 1 nmol/mg protein) or low (6 +/- 1 nmol/mg protein) GSH contents were subjected to 40 min of anoxia and 40 min of reoxygenation. Low GSH tubules were protected from plasma membrane damage during anoxia by exogenous addition of 1 mM GSH or GLY, reducing lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release from 42 +/- 7 to 14 +/- 1 and 10 +/- 1%, respectively. High GSH tubules were equally protected from anoxic damage without exogenous additions. Since the high GSH content approximates the in vivo values, it may be concluded that GSH may be cytoprotective during anoxia in vivo. However, it is not the intracellular GSH itself that is cytoprotective; rather, this protection resides in the ability to produce GLY, which appears to be the cytoprotective agent. Alanine was also shown to have similar cytoprotective properties, although higher concentrations were required. Sulfhydryl reducing agents such as cysteine and dithiothreitol offered less, but significant protection from anoxic damage. Protection by GSH, GLY, or alanine was not associated with higher ATP levels during anoxia. Tubules that were protected from membrane damage during anoxia recovered oxygen consumption and K and ATP contents significantly better during reoxygenation than unprotected tubules.
Adenosine Triphosphate↗
Sodium and bicarbonate reabsorption in microperfused proximal tubules from the denervated rat kidney: relationship to cortical Na-K-ATPase activity.
Although numerous studies have documented the effects of the renal nerves on kidney function, the mechanisms involved in the diuresis have yet to be elucidated. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of acute unilateral renal denervation (DNX) on proximal tubular absorption of fluid and bicarbonate and to determine if acute DNX was associated with changes in Na-K-ATPase activity. Acute DNX caused significant increases in urine flow and absolute and fractional excretions of Na, HCO3 and K compared to the contralateral control kidney (INN) or sham denervated kidneys in normal rats as well as in rats made alkalotic by the I.V. infusion of 150 mM NaHCO3. These effects were seen without significant changes in GFR. When proximal convoluted tubules (PCT) were perfused with bicarbonate-Ringer's solution DNX resulted in a 67% decrease in fluid reabsorption (INN: 3.0 +/- 0.2 vs DNX: 1.0 +/- 0.1 nl/min/mm; p less than 0.001) and a 40% decline in bicarbonate (total CO2) reabsorption (INN: 151.3 +/- 8.8 vs DNX: 94.5 +/- 10.1 pmol/min/mm; p less than 0.01). Acute DNX caused a significant reduction in Na-K-ATPase activity measured in microsomes derived from the outer cortex of the kidney (INN: 13.2 +/- 1.3 vs DNX: 10.9 +/- 0.7 mumol PO4/mg prot/hr; p less than 0.01) while Mg-ATPase was unaffected. Sham denervation had no effect on any of the above parameters. These results indicate that the renal nerves play an important role in the regulation of bicarbonate and fluid reabsorption in the PCT. The diuresis, natriuresis, and bicarbonaturia associated with acute unilateral renal denervation may be the direct result of inhibition of Na-K-ATPase activity.
Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
Genetic transformation of BCG.
Two substrains of BCG, the Pasteur and Japanese, were successfully transformed with E. coli-mycobacteria shuttle plasmids, constructed from the E. coli plasmid, pIJ666 and the M. fortuitum plasmid, pAL5000. Individual plasmids (pYUB13, pYUB14) were obtained that contain selectable antibiotic resistance markers for kanamycin and chloramphenicol resistance that can replicate in both E. coli and BCG. Transformation of two substrains of BCG was successfully accomplished in 8/14 experiments by means of electroporation, and assessed by the growth of kanamycin-resistant colonies. The E. coli plasmid pIJ666 alone was unable to effect transformation. The results suggest that the M. fortuitum sequences required for transformation function as an origin of replication in BCG. The introduction, persistence and the identity of the plasmids were monitored by re-isolation from consecutive subcultures and restriction analysis. The variables associated with transformation, including the age, viability, and glycine pretreatment of BCG cultures, as well as the electroporation parameters on transformation frequencies are analysed. Consecutive transformations of BCG with plasmid DNA isolated from a BCG transformant increased the efficiency from the level of 10(1)-10(2) obtained with the initial library to 10(3)-10(4) colonies/micrograms DNA with functional pYUB plasmids. The hybrid plasmids were genetically stable and maintained expression of kanamycin resistance in continuous subcultures containing kanamycin for 250 generations. The introduction and stable expression of foreign DNA in BCG on a plasmid vector establishes a basis for the construction of polyvalent recombinant BCG vaccine vehicles expressing not only putative protective mycobacterial antigens, but also antigens for other infectious and malignant diseases.
BCG Vaccine↗