Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Adipates”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 829 records · Page 46Linked to original sources

Preparation, characterization, and immunogenicity of meningococcal lipooligosaccharide-derived oligosaccharide-protein conjugates.

A method was developed for coupling carboxylic acid-containing oligosaccharides (OS) to proteins. An OS was isolated from Neisseria meningitidis group A strain A1 lipooligosaccharide (LOS). This LOS has no human glycolipid-like lacto-N-neotetraose structure and contains multiple immunotypes, including L8, found in group B and C strains. The carboxylic acid at 2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid of the OS was linked through adipic acid dihydrazide to tetanus toxoid. The molar ratio of the OS to tetanus toxoid in three conjugates ranged from 11:1 to 19:1. The antigenicity of the OS was conserved in these conjugates, as measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an inhibition ELISA with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to A1 LOS. These conjugates induced immunoglobulin G antibodies to A1 LOS in mice and rabbits. The immunogenicity of the conjugates in rabbits was enhanced by use of monophosphoryl lipid A plus trehalose dimycolate as an adjuvant. The resulting rabbit antisera cross-reacted with most of 12 prototype LOSs and with LOSs from two group B disease strains, 44/76 and BB431, in an ELISA and in Western blotting (immunoblotting), which revealed a 3.6-kDa reactive band in these LOSs. The rabbit antisera showed bactericidal activity against homologous strain A1 and heterologous strains 44/76 and BB431. These results indicate that conjugates derived from A1 LOS can induce antibodies against many LOS immunotypes from different organism serogroups, including group B. OS-protein conjugates derived from meningococcal LOSs may therefore be candidate vaccines to prevent meningitis caused by meningococci.

Animals↗

Immunogenicity of Vibrio vulnificus capsular polysaccharides and polysaccharide-protein conjugates.

Opaque colony morphology has been correlated to Vibrio vulnificus virulence. However, the number of capsular serotypes expressed by virulent isolates is unknown. In an effort to produce anticapsule sera, capsular polysaccharide (CPS) from three opaque V. vulnificus strains was purified and characterized. Purified CPSs were acidic and contained considerable amounts of hexosamine and trace quantities of protein and nucleic acid. CPS purified from strain C7184 was poorly immunogenic for rabbits and mice, since repeated injection produced little detectable anticapsular antibody. To improve immunogenicity, CPS-protein conjugates were prepared from adipic acid hydrazide derivatives of CPS purified from each strain and carbodiimide as a coupling reagent. The immunogenicity of C7184 CPS was enhanced by conjugation to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, since injection into mice elicited production of anticapsular antibodies, the level of which was dependent on the dose and time since initial immunization. Injection of rabbits with CPS-protein conjugates also produced anticapsular antibodies. Staphylococcus aureus cells armed with each of the three anticapsular antibodies coagglutinated only the homologous opaque strain, indicating the existence of at least three capsular types. Further screening of 32 opaque and translucent V. vulnificus isolates revealed only three cross-reacting strains. These results suggest the presence of numerous V. vulnificus capsular types.

Agglutination Tests↗

Comparison of conjugates composed of lipopolysaccharide from Shigella flexneri type 2a detoxified by two methods and bound to tetanus toxoid.

Shigella flexneri type 2a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was detoxified with acetic acid (O-SP) or with hydrazine (DeALPS). DeALPS, but not O-SP, retained part of its lipid A. Both gave an identical line of precipitation with typing antiserum by double immunodiffusion, and both had low levels of LPS activity by the Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay. O-SP had an M(r) of approximately 17,000. DeALPS had two components of M(r)s approximately 30,00 (major and approximately 10,000 (minor). Adipic acid hydrazide derivatives of O-SP and DeALPS were conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT), purified by gel filtration through CL-6B Sepharose, and designated O-SP-TT and DeALPS-TT, respectively. Saccharide (2.5 micrograms) as O-SP, DeALPS, or their conjugates was injected subcutaneously into 5-week-old mice three times 2 weeks apart. The mice were bled before the second injection and 7 days after the second and third. O-SP alone did not elicit immunoglobulin M (IgM) or IgG LPS antibodies. DeALPS elicited low levels of IgM LPS antibodies after the third injection only. Two of three lots of O-SP-TT induced significant levels of IgM LPS antibodies after the third injection. One O-SP-TT lot elicited IgG LPS antibodies after the second injection, and all three lots elicited significant levels of IgG after the third. DeALPS-TT induced low levels of anti-LPS IgM and IgG only after the third injection. The geometric mean antibody titers of both immunoglobulin classes induced by O-SP-TT were higher than those induced by DeALPS-TT. By these criteria, O-SP provided a more immunogenic saccharide than DeALPS for S. flexneri type 2a conjugates.

Animals↗

Local and systemic antibody responses to dextran-cholera toxin B subunit conjugates.

This study was designed to test local and systemic immunity following mucosal immunization with a polysaccharide-protein conjugate. After preparing and characterizing dextran-cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) conjugates, we studied their immunogenicity in mice following systemic or mucosal immunizations. Dextran was chosen as a model polysaccharide antigen and conjugated via adipic acid dihydrazide and N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate to CTB. Mice were immunized either subcutaneously, intranasally, or perorally three times, and cholera toxin was used as an adjuvant for the mucosal immunizations. Three conjugates with different molecular weights for dextran (40,000 and 76,000) or varying dextran/CTB molar ratios were tested. Peroral immunizations with all conjugates evoked local immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody responses against dextran in the small intestine, and intranasal immunizations did the same in the lung. Intranasal immunizations also elicited serum antibody titers that were significantly higher than or equal to those after subcutaneous immunizations. Intranasal immunizations evoked serum IgG antidextran titers which were dependent on the dextran/CTB molar ratio and inversely related to the local IgA response, which was not the case for subcutaneous immunizations. This is the first study of local and systemic immunity following mucosal immunization with a polysaccharide-protein conjugate. The results show that it is possible to evoke a local as well as a systemic antibody response against a polysaccharide by conjugating it to CTB and using an appropriate route of immunization.

Administration, Intranasal↗

Characterization of a recombinant pneumolysin and its use as a protein carrier for pneumococcal type 18C conjugate vaccines.

Pneumolysin from Streptococcus pneumoniae was expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein and purified by affinity and hydroxylapatite chromatography. The purified recombinant pneumolysin (rPL), with a molecular mass of 53 kDa, had a specific activity of 3 x 10(5) hemolytic units per mg of protein on rabbit erythrocytes and reacted identically in immunodiffusion with the antisera against native pneumolysin. The rPL was used as a protein carrier to prepare conjugate vaccine with pneumococcal type 18C polysaccharide (PS18C). The PS18C was directly coupled to rPL by reductive animation or was indirectly coupled to rPL via a spacer molecule, adipic acid dihydrazide. The conjugates were nontoxic for mice and guinea pigs at 100 micrograms per dose. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of both conjugates were tested in mice. A single dose of either of the vaccines elicited a rise in immunoglobulin G antibody production; after two booster injections of the vaccines, statistically significant booster responses (P < 0.001) to both rPL and PS18C were produced. The sera containing the antibodies to rPL were capable of neutralizing the hemolytic activity of rPL to rabbit erythrocytes and the cytotoxicity of rPL to bovine pulmonary endothelial cells. Immunization with the conjugate vaccines conferred statistically significant protection in mice against lethal challenge with type 18C pneumococci.

Animals↗

Comparative immunogenicity of conjugates composed of Escherichia coli O111 O-specific polysaccharide, prepared by treatment with acetic acid or hydrazine, bound to tetanus toxoid by two synthetic schemes.

Escherichia coli O111, of various H types and virulence factors, causes enteritis throughout the world, especially in young children. This O type is found rarely in healthy individuals. Serum antibodies to the O-specific polysaccharide of O111 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) protect mice and dogs against infection with this E. coli serotype. The O111 O-specific polysaccharide is composed of a pentasaccharide repeat unit with two colitoses bound to the C-3 and C-6 of glucose in a trisaccharide backbone; this structure is identical to that of Salmonella adelaide (O35), another enteric pathogen. Nonpyrogenic O111 O-specific polysaccharide was prepared by treatment of its LPS with acetic acid (O-SP) or the organic base hydrazine (DeA-LPS). The O-SP had a reduced concentration of colitose. These products were derivatized with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) or thiolated with N-succinimidyl-3(2-pyridyldithio) propionate (SPDP). The four derivatives were covalently bound to tetanus toxoid (TT) by carbodiimide-mediated condensation or with SPDP to form conjugates. Immunization of BALB/c and general-purpose mice by a clinically acceptable route showed that DeA-LPS-TTADH, of the four conjugates, elicited the highest level of LPS antibodies. Possible reasons to explain this differential immunogenicity between the four conjugates are discussed.

Acetates↗

Synthesis, characterization, and immunologic properties of detoxified lipooligosaccharide from nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae conjugated to proteins.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is an important cause of otitis media in children and of pneumonitis in adults with depressed resistance. Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) is a major surface antigen of NTHi and elicits bactericidal and opsonic antibodies. We prepared detoxified LOS (dLOS) protein conjugates from NTHi for use as experimental vaccines. LOS from NTHi 9274 was treated with anhydrous hydrazine and had its toxicity reduced to clinically acceptable levels. dLOS was bound to tetanus toxoid (TT) or high- molecular-weight proteins (HMPs) from NTHi through a linker of adipic acid dihydrazide to form dLOS-TT or dLOS-HMP. The molar ratio of the dLOS to protein carriers ranged from 26:1 to 50:1. The antigenicity of the conjugates was similar to that of the LOS alone as determined by double immunodiffusion. Subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of the conjugates elicited a 28- to 486-fold rise in the level of immunoglobulin G antibodies in mice to the homologous LOS after two or three injections and a 169- to 243-fold rise in the level of immunoglobulin G antibodies in rabbits after two injections. The immunogenicity of the conjugates in mice and rabbits was enhanced by formulation with monophosphoryl lipid A plus trehalose dimycolate. In rabbits, conjugate-induced LOS antibodies induced complement-mediated bactericidal activity against the homologous strain 9274 and prototype strain 3189. These results indicate that a detoxified LOS-protein conjugate is a candidate vaccine for otitis media and pneumonitis caused by NTHi.

Animals↗

Structural and immunological characterization of Burkholderia pseudomallei O-polysaccharide-flagellin protein conjugates.

The O-polysaccharide moiety of Burkholderia pseudomallei 319a lipopolysaccharide was covalently linked to flagellin protein isolated from the same strain. A glycoconjugate incorporating adipic acid dihydrazide as a spacer molecule elicited high-titer immunoglobulin G responses to both the protein and carbohydrate components of the construct. This immunoglobulin G was capable of protecting diabetic rats from challenge with a heterologous B. pseudomallei strain.

Animals↗

Bactericidal antibody responses of juvenile rhesus monkeys immunized with group B Neisseria meningitidis capsular polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines.

Reports on the bactericidal activities of antibodies to group B Neisseria meningitidis capsular polysaccharide (B PS) are conflicting. Using three different complement sources, we analyzed the bactericidal activities of sera of juvenile rhesus monkeys immunized with five conjugate vaccines of B PS synthesized by different schemes, an Escherichia coli K92 conjugate, and a noncovalent complex of B PS with group B meningococcal outer membrane vesicles (B+OMV) (S. J. N. Devi, W. D. Zollinger, P. J. Snoy, J. Y. Tai, P. Costantini, F. Norelli, R. Rappuoli, and C. E. Frasch, Infect. Immun. 65:1045-1052, 1997). With rabbit complement, nearly all preimmune sera showed relatively high bactericidal titers, and all vaccines, except the K92 conjugate, induced a fourfold or greater increase in bactericidal titers in most of the monkeys vaccinated. In contrast, with human complement, most prevaccination sera showed no bactericidal activity and in most of the vaccine groups, little or no increase in bactericidal titer was observed. However, the covalent conjugation of P BS and OMV (B-OMV) administered with and without the Ribi adjuvant induced relatively high bactericidal titers which persisted up to 30 weeks. An analysis of the specificities of bactericidal antibodies revealed that absorption with E. coli K1 cells did not change the bactericidal titer with human complement but reduced the titers observed with the rabbit and monkey complements. A significant increase in anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antibodies was elicited by the B-OMV conjugates, and nearly all of the bactericidal activity with human complement could be inhibited with the purified group B meningococcal L3,7,8 LPS. B-OMV covalently coupled via adipic acid dihydrazide elicited significantly elevated levels (P < or = 0.02) of anti-OMV antibodies compared to those of the noncovalently complexed B+OMV. An initial small-scale evaluation of B PS conjugates in adult human males appears feasible, with careful monitoring, to settle the inconsistent reports of the importance of source of complement in eliciting bacteriolysis. Subsequent analysis of resultant human antibodies for bacteriolysis, opsonophagocytosis, and protective efficacy in animal models may be the first step toward answering safety- and efficacy-related concerns about B PS conjugate vaccines.

Animals↗

Synthesis and characterization of lipooligosaccharide-based conjugates as vaccine candidates for Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis.

Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis is an important cause of otitis media and sinusitis in children and of lower respiratory tract infections in adults. Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) is a major surface antigen of the bacterium and elicits bactericidal antibodies. Treatment of the LOS from strain ATCC 25238 with anhydrous hydrazine reduced its toxicity 20,000-fold, as assayed in the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test. The detoxified LOS (dLOS) was coupled to tetanus toxoid (TT) or high-molecular-weight proteins (HMP) from nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae through a linker of adipic acid dihydrazide to form dLOS-TT or dLOS-HMP. The molar ratios of dLOS to TT and HMP conjugates were 19:1 and 31:1, respectively. The antigenicity of the two conjugates was similar to that of the LOS, as determined by double immunodiffusion. Subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of both conjugates elicited a 50- to 100-fold rise in the geometric mean of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the homologous LOS in mice after three injections and a 350- to 700-fold rise of anti-LOS IgG in rabbits after two injections. The immunogenicity of the conjugate was enhanced by formulation with monophosphoryl lipid A plus trehalose dimycolate. In rabbits, conjugate-induced antisera had complement-mediated bactericidal activity against the homologous strain and heterologous strains of M. catarrhalis. These results indicate that a detoxified LOS-protein conjugate is a candidate for immunization against M. catarrhalis diseases.

Animals↗

Safety and immunogenicity of Vi conjugate vaccines for typhoid fever in adults, teenagers, and 2- to 4-year-old children in Vietnam.

The capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi, Vi, is an essential virulence factor and a protective vaccine for people older than 5 years. The safety and immunogenicity of two investigational Vi conjugate vaccines were evaluated in adults, 5- to 14-year-old children, and 2- to 4-year-old children in Vietnam. The conjugates were prepared with Pseudomonas aeruginosa recombinant exoprotein A (rEPA) as the carrier, using either N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)-propionate (SPDP; Vi-rEPA(1)) or adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH; Vi-rEPA(2)) as linkers. None of the recipients experienced a temperature of >38.5 degrees C or significant local reactions. One injection of Vi-rEPA(2) into adults elicited a geometric mean (GM) increase in anti-Vi immunoglobulin G (IgG) from 9.62 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay units/ml (EU) to 465 EU at 6 weeks; this level fell to 119 EU after 26 weeks. In the 5- to 14-year-old children, anti-Vi IgG levels at 6 weeks elicited by Vi-rEPA(2), Vi-rEPA(1), and Vi were 169, 22.8, and 18.9 EU, respectively (P = 0.0001 for Vi-rEPA(1) and Vi with respect to Vi-rEPA(2)). At 26 weeks, the anti-Vi IgG levels for recipients of Vi-rEPA(2), Vi-rEPA(1), and Vi were 30.0, 10.8, and 13.4 EU, respectively (P < 0.001 for Vi-rEPA(1) and Vi with respect to Vi-rEPA(2)); all were higher than the preinjection levels (P = 0. 0001). Vi-rEPA(2) also elicited the highest anti-Vi IgM and IgA levels of the three vaccines. In the 2- to 4-year-old children at 6 weeks following the first injection, Vi-rEPA(2) elicited an anti-Vi IgG level of 69.9 EU compared to 28.9 EU for Vi-rEPA(1) (P = 0.0001). Reinjection increased Vi antibody levels from 69.9 to 95.4 EU for Vi-rEPA(2) and from 28.9 to 83.0 EU for Vi-rEPA(1). At 26 weeks, anti-Vi IgG levels remained higher than those at preinjection (30.6 versus 0.18 for Vi-rEPA(2) and 12.8 versus 0.33 for Vi-rEPA(1); P = 0.0001 for both). Vi vaccine is recommended for individuals of 5 years of age or older. In the present study, the GM level of anti-Vi IgG elicited by two injections of Vi-rEPA(2) in the 2- to 4-year-old children was higher than that elicited by Vi in the 5- to 14-year-old children (30.6 versus 13.4; P = 0.0001). The safety and immunogenicity of the Vi-rEPA(2) conjugate warrant further investigation.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗

Phase 1 and phase 2 studies of Salmonella enterica serovar paratyphi A O-specific polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugates in adults, teenagers, and 2- to 4-year-old children in Vietnam.

Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A O-specific polysaccharide (O-SP) was activated with 1-cyano-4-dimethylaminopyridinium tetrafluoroborate (CDAP) and bound to tetanus toxoid (TT) with adipic acid dihydrazide as a linker (SPA-TT(1)) or directly (SPA-TT(2)). In mice, these two conjugates elicited high levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in serum with bactericidal activity (E. Konadu, J. Shiloach, D. A. Bryla, J. B. Robbins, and S. C. Szu, Infect. Immun. 64:2709-2715, 1996). The safety and immunogenicity of the two conjugates were then evaluated sequentially in Vietnamese adults, teenagers, and 2- to 4-year-old children. None of the vaccinees experienced significant side effects, and all had preexisting LPS antibodies. At 4 weeks after injection, there were significant increases of the geometric mean IgG and IgM anti-LPS levels in the adults and teenagers: both conjugates elicited a greater than fourfold rise in the IgG anti-LPS level in serum in >/=80% of the volunteers. SPA-TT(2) elicited slightly higher, though not statistically significantly, levels of IgG anti-LPS than did SPA-TT(1) in these age groups. Accordingly, only SPA-TT(2) was evaluated in the 2- to 4-year-old children. On a random basis, one or two injections were administered 6 weeks apart to the children. No significant side effects were observed, and the levels of preexisting anti-LPS in serum were similar in children of all ages. A significant rise in the IgG anti-LPS titer was elicited by the first injection (P = 0.0001); a second injection did not elicit a booster response. Representative sera from all groups had bactericidal activity that could be adsorbed by S. enterica serovar Paratyphi A LPS.

Adolescent↗

Vibrio cholerae O139 conjugate vaccines: synthesis and immunogenicity of V. cholerae O139 capsular polysaccharide conjugates with recombinant diphtheria toxin mutant in mice.

Epidemiologic and experimental data provide evidence that a critical level of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the surface polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O1 (lipopolysaccharide) and of Vibrio cholerae O139 (capsular polysaccharide [CPS]) is associated with immunity to the homologous pathogen. The immunogenicity of polysaccharides, especially in infants, may be enhanced by their covalent attachment to proteins (conjugates). Two synthetic schemes, involving 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and 1-cyano-4-dimethylaminopyridinium tetrafluoroborate (CDAP) as activating agents, were adapted to prepare four conjugates of V. cholerae O139 CPS with the recombinant diphtheria toxin mutant, CRMH21G. Adipic acid dihydrazide was used as a linker. When injected subcutaneously into young outbred mice by a clinically relevant dose and schedule, these conjugates elicited serum CPS antibodies of the IgG and IgM classes with vibriocidal activity to strains of capsulated V. cholerae O139. Treatment of these sera with 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) reduced, but did not eliminate, their vibriocidal activity. These results indicate that the conjugates elicited IgG with vibriocidal activity. Conjugates also elicited high levels of serum diphtheria toxin IgG. Convalescent sera from 20 cholera patients infected with V. cholerae O139 had vibriocidal titers ranging from 100 to 3,200: absorption with the CPS reduced the vibriocidal titer of all sera to < or =50. Treatment with 2-ME reduced the titers of 17 of 20 patients to < or =50. These data show that, like infection with V. cholerae O1, infection with V. cholerae O139 induces vibriocidal antibodies specific to the surface polysaccharide of this bacterium (CPS) that are mostly of IgM class. Based on these data, clinical trials with the V. cholerae O139 CPS conjugates with recombinant diphtheria toxin are planned.

Animals↗

Group B Streptococcus capsular polysaccharide-cholera toxin B subunit conjugate vaccines prepared by different methods for intranasal immunization.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) type III capsular polysaccharide (CPS III) was conjugated to recombinant cholera toxin B subunit (rCTB) using three different methods which employed (i) cystamine and N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP), (ii) carbodiimide with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) as a spacer, or (iii) reductive amination (RA). The CPS III-rCTB conjugates were divided into large- and small-molecular-weight (M(r)) fractions, and the immunogenicities of the different preparations after intranasal (i.n.) immunization were studied in mice. Both large- and small-M(r) conjugates of CPS III-rCTB(RA) or CPS III-rCTB(ADH) induced high, almost comparable levels of CPS-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum, lungs, and vagina that were generally superior to those obtained with CPS III-rCTB(SPDP) conjugates or a CPS III and rCTB mixture. However, the smaller-M(r) conjugates of CPS III-rCTB(RA) or CPS III-rCTB(ADH) in most cases elicited a lower anti-CPS IgA immune response than the large-M(r) conjugates, and the highest anti-CPS IgA titers in both tissues and serum were obtained with the large-M(r) CPS III-rCTB(RA) conjugate. Serum IgG anti-CPS titers induced by the CPS III-rCTB(RA) conjugate had high levels of specific IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 antibodies. Based on the effectiveness of RA for coupling CPS III to rCTB, RA was also tested for conjugating GBS CPS Ia with rCTB. As for the CPS III-rCTB conjugates, the immunogenicity of CPS Ia was greatly increased by conjugation to rCTB. Intranasal immunization with a combination of CPS Ia-rCTB and CPS III-rCTB conjugates was shown to induce anti-CPS Ia and III immune responses in serum and lungs that were fully comparable with the responses to immunization with the monovalent CPS Ia-rCTB or CPS III-rCTB conjugates. These results suggest that the GBS CPS III-rCTB and CPS Ia-rCTB conjugates prepared by the RA method may be used in bivalent and possibly also in multivalent mucosal GBS conjugate vaccines.

Administration, Intranasal↗

Preparation, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy, in a murine model, of a conjugate vaccine composed of the polysaccharide moiety of the lipopolysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O139 bound to tetanus toxoid.

The epidemic and pandemic potential of Vibrio cholerae O139 is such that a vaccine against this newly emerged serogroup of V. cholerae is required. A conjugate made of the polysaccharide moiety (O-specific polysaccharide plus core) of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of V. cholerae O139 (pmLPS) was prepared by derivatization of the pmLPS with adipic acid dihydrazide and coupling to tetanus toxoid (TT) by carbodiimide-mediated condensation. The immunologic properties of the conjugate were tested using BALB/c mice injected subcutaneously three times at 2 weeks interval and then a fourth time 4 weeks later. Mice were bled 7 days after each injection and then once each month for the following 6 months. LPS and TT antibody levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using immunoplates coated with either O139 LPS or TT. Both pmLPS and pmLPS-TT conjugate elicited low levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM), peaking 5 weeks after the first immunization. The conjugate elicited high levels of IgG antibodies, peaking 3 months after the first immunization and declining slowly during the following 5 months. TT alone, or as a component of conjugate, induced mostly IgG antibodies. Antibodies elicited by the conjugate recognized both capsular polysaccharide and LPS from V. cholerae O139 and were vibriocidal. They were also protective in the neonatal mouse model of cholera infection. The conjugation of the O139 pmLPS, therefore, enhanced its immunogenicity and conferred T-dependent properties to this polysaccharide.

Animals↗

Conjugates of group A and W135 capsular polysaccharides of neisseria meningitidis bound to recombinant Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin C1: preparation, physicochemical characterization, and immunological properties in mice.

Neisseria meningitidis groups A (GAM) and W135 capsular polysaccharides (CPs) were bound to recombinant Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin C1 (rSEC). The CPs were activated with 1-cyano-4-dimethylaminopyridinium tetrafluoroborate and then bound to adipic acid dihydrazide derivatives of rSEC. Syntheses were conducted with native GAM CP (GAMP), W135 CP (W135P), and ultrasonicated or hydrazine-treated W135P at various concentrations of reactants, pHs, and ionic strengths. The conjugates were characterized by compositional and serologic analyses, high-performance size-exclusion chromatography with multi-angle laser light scattering detection, and immunogenicity in 5- to 6-week-old mice. Conjugates injected subcutaneously in phosphate-buffered saline elicited immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses against their respective CPs and rSEC, whereas GAMP and W135P alone did not induce detectable CP antibodies. The O-acetyl content of W135P was low, and its removal had no adverse effect upon the conjugate's immunogenicity. Reduction of the molecular size of W135P by treatment with hydrazine improved the immunogenicity of W135P-rSEC. IgG anti-CP elicited by the conjugates showed complement-dependent bactericidal activity against their respective organisms, and IgG anti-rSEC neutralized the T-cell proliferative activity of native SEC. A bivalent formulation of GAMP-rSEC and W135P-rSEC elicited IgG anti-CP at comparable levels to those induced by the conjugates administered separately.

Animals↗

Transmissible plasmid coding early enzymes of naphthalene oxidation in Pseudomonas putida.

The capacity of Pseudomonas putida PpG7 (ATCC 17,485) to grow on naphthalene, phenotype Nah(+), is lost spontaneously, and the frequency is increased by treatment with mitomycin C. The Nah(+) growth character can be transferred to cured or heterologous fluorescent pseudomonads lacking this capacity by conjugation, or between phage pf16-sensitive strains by transduction. After mutagenesis, strains can be selected with increased donor capacity in conjugation. Clones which use naphthalene grow on salicylate and carry catechol 2,3-oxygenase, the initial enzyme of the aromatic alpha-keto acid pathway, whereas cured strains grow neither on salicylate nor naphthalene and lack catechol 2,3-oxygenase, but retain catechol 1,2-oxygenase and the aromatic beta-keto adipate pathway enzymes.

Bacteriophages↗

Physiological function of the Pseudomonas putida PpG6 (Pseudomonas oleovorans) alkane hydroxylase: monoterminal oxidation of alkanes and fatty acids.

Pseudomonas putida PpG6 is able to utilize purified n-alkanes of six to ten carbon atoms for growth. It can also grow on the primary terminal oxidation products of these alkanes and on 1-dodecanol but not on the corresponding 2-ketones or 1,6-hexanediol, adipic acid, or pimelic acid. Revertible point mutants can be isolated which have simultaneously lost the ability to grow on all five n-alkane growth substrates but which can still grow on octanol or nonanol. An acetate-negative mutant defective in isocitrate lysase activity is unable to grow on even-numbered alkanes and fatty acids. Analysis of double mutants defective in acetate and propionate or in acetate and glutarate metabolism shows that alkane carbon is assimilated only via acetyl-coenzyme A and propionyl-coenzyme A. These results support the following conclusions: (i) The n-alkane growth specificity of P. putida PpG6 is due to the substrate specificity of whole-cell alkane hydroxylation; (ii) there is a single alkane hydroxylase enzyme complex; (iii) the physiological role of this complex is to initiate the monoterminal oxidation of alkane chains; and (iv) straight-chain fatty acids from butyric through nonanoic are degraded exclusively by beta-oxidation from the carboxyl end of the molecule.

Alkanes↗