Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains were collected from young diarrheic calves in farms and field. Strains that expressed the K99 (F5) antigen were identified by agglutination tests using reference antibodies to K99 antigen and electron microscopy. The K99 antigen from a selected field strain (SAR-14) was heat-extracted and fractionated on a Sepharose CL-4B column. Further purification was carried out by sodium deoxycholate treatment and/or ion-exchange chromatography. Monoclonal antibodies to purified K99 antigen were produced by the hybridoma technique, and a specific clone, NEK99-5.6.12, was selected for propagation in tissue culture. The antibodies, thus obtained, were affinity-purified, characterized and coated onto Giemsastained Cowan-I strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The antibody-coated S. aureus were used in a coagglutination test to detect K99+ E. coli isolated from feces of diarrheic calves. The specificity of the test was validated against reference monoclonal antibodies used in co-agglutination tests, as well as in ELISA. Specificity of the monoclonal antibodies was also tested against various Gram negative bacteria. The developed antibodies specifically detected purified K99 antigen in immunoblots, as well as K99+ E. coli in ELISA and co-agglutination tests. The co-agglutination test was specific and convenient for large-scale screening of K99+ E. coli isolates.
Agglutination Tests/methods/*veterinary ; Animals ; *Animals, Newborn ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/*immunology ; Antigens, Surface/immunology/isolation & purification ; Bacterial Toxins/immunology/isolation & purification ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/*immunology/*microbiology ; Chromatography, Gel/veterinary ; Chromatography, Ion Exchange/veterinary ; Chromatography, Liquid/veterinary ; Diarrhea/immunology/*veterinary ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel/veterinary ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Escherichia coli/*immunology ; Escherichia coli Infections/immunology/*veterinary ; Immunoblotting/veterinary ; Staphylococcus aureus

Cows infected with Escherichia (E.) coli usually experience severe clinical symptoms, including damage to mammary tissues, reduced milk yield, and altered milk composition. In order to investigate the host response to E. coli infection and discover novel markers for mastitis treatment, mammary tissue samples were collected from healthy cows and bovines with naturally occurring severe E. coli mastitis. Changes of mammary tissue proteins were examined using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and label-free proteomic approaches. A total of 95 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Of these, 56 proteins were categorized according to molecular function, cellular component, and biological processes. The most frequent biological processes influenced by the proteins were response to stress, transport, and establishment of localization. Furthermore, a network analysis of the proteins with altered expression in mammary tissues demonstrated that these factors are predominantly involved with binding and structural molecule activities. Vimentin and alpha-enolase were central "functional hubs" in the network. Based on results from the present study, disease-induced alterations of protein expression in mammary glands and potential markers for the effective treatment of E. coli mastitis were identified. These data have also helped elucidate defense mechanisms that protect the mammary glands and promote the pathogenesis of E. coli mastitis.
Animals ; Cattle ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional/veterinary ; Escherichia coli/*physiology ; Escherichia coli Infections/genetics/immunology/microbiology/*veterinary ; Female ; Mammary Glands, Animal/*immunology/pathology ; Mastitis, Bovine/*genetics/immunology/microbiology ; Proteome/*genetics/metabolism ; *Proteomics

Verocytotoxic Escherichia (E.) coli strains are responsible for swine oedema disease, which is an enterotoxaemia that causes economic losses in the pig industry. The production of a vaccine for oral administration in transgenic seeds could be an efficient system to stimulate local immunity. This study was conducted to transform tobacco plants for the seed-specific expression of antigenic proteins from a porcine verocytotoxic E. coli strain. Parameters related to an immunological response and possible adverse effects on the oral administration of obtained tobacco seeds were evaluated in a mouse model. Tobacco was transformed via Agrobacteium tumefaciens with chimeric constructs containing structural parts of the major subunit FedA of the F18 adhesive fimbriae and VT2e B-subunit genes under control of a seed specific GLOB promoter. We showed that the foreign Vt2e-B and F18 genes were stably accumulated in storage tissue by the immunostaining method. In addition, Balb-C mice receiving transgenic tobacco seeds via the oral route showed a significant increase in IgA-positive plasma cell presence in tunica propria when compared to the control group with no observed adverse effects. Our findings encourage future studies focusing on swine for evaluation of the protective effects of transformed tobacco seeds against E. coli infection.
Administration, Oral ; Agrobacterium tumefaciens ; Animals ; Antigens, Bacterial/genetics/metabolism ; Bacterial Vaccines/administration & dosage/adverse effects/*pharmacology ; Edema Disease of Swine/*immunology/microbiology ; Escherichia coli Infections/immunology/microbiology/*veterinary ; Escherichia coli Proteins/*genetics/metabolism ; Female ; Fimbriae Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Genetic Engineering ; Intestines/immunology/microbiology/pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Models, Animal ; Plants, Genetically Modified/*genetics/metabolism ; Seeds/genetics/metabolism ; Shiga Toxin 2/genetics/metabolism ; Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli/genetics/immunology/*pathogenicity ; Swine ; Tobacco/*genetics/metabolism ; Virulence Factors/genetics/metabolism