CFP10, ESAT6, Antigen 85A (Ag85A) and antigen 85B (Ag85B) are the key immunodominant antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In order to construct a eukaryotic vector able to co-express the four genes in one vector, we amplified the target gene fragments encoding the CFP10, ESAT6, Ag85A and Ag85B antigens and inserted them into the multicloning site of the shuttle plasmid vector pcDNA3.1 (+), of which the CFP10 and ESAT6 encoding genes were in frame fused with a linker encoding (Gly4Ser)3 residue, before the fused gene was inserted downstream of CMV promoter with a bovine growth hormone poly A(BGH pA) sequence at the 3'-end; Ag85A and Ag85B encoding genes were fused with a separation of internal ribosome entry site (IRES) sequence before the fused gene cassette was inserted downstream of RSV promoter with a BGH pA sequence at the 3'-end. The final plasmid containing all four genes was confirmed by sequence analysis and designated as pcDNA-CFP10-ESAT6-Ag85A-Ag85B (pcDNA-CEAB). In order to verify the ability of this construct to express target proteins, we then transfected the recombinant plasmid into Human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells and harvested the cell lysates, and the cell lysates were then separated by SDS-PAGE and subjected to Western blot analysis 48 h after transfection. All four of the target proteins were detected in the cell lysates against the respective specific antibodies, suggesting that we have successfully constructed a eukaryotic vector co-expressing the four immunodominant antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which lay a foundation for the further study of the immunogenicity and protective activity of the four antigens.
Acyltransferases ; biosynthesis ; Antigens, Bacterial ; biosynthesis ; Bacterial Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Genetic Vectors ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Immunodominant Epitopes ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Plasmids

Tuberculosis (TB) remains an enormous health burden worldwide.To date,Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) is the unique anti-TB vaccine available for humans,which provides an important but limited protection from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection.It is therefore an urgent need to develop better vaccines and vaccination strategies to prevent the spread of Mtb infection.Heterologous prime-boost vaccination strategies using both BCG and novel anti-TB vaccines have been demonstrated to induce robust immune responses than BCG alone.We have previously demonstrated that a recombinant adenoviral vector Ad5-CEAB co-expressing CFP10,ESAT6,Ag85A and Ag85B of Mtb was able to induce robust antigen-specific immune responses in mice.In the present study,we examined immunological effects of Ad5-CEAB in the mice primed with BCG and boosted with a single dose of the virus via an intranasal route.Results demonstrated that this vaccination strategy could effectively induce strong antigen-specific mucosal and humoral immune responses.These immune responses were characterized with an increased productions of cytokines (IL-12 and IFN-γ),increased concentration of secretary IgA (sIgA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum IgG in mice in comparison with mice in BCG group.These data suggested that the regimen of BCG prime-single dose of Ad5-CEAB boosted strategy was novel for inducing antigen-specific immune responses in response to Mtb antigens in vivo,which warrants for further development of adenoviral-based vaccine against Mtb infection.

Objective:To reveal the differentially expressed genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) by sequencing the transcriptome of bovine alveolar macrophages (BAM) infected with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and analyzing their bioinformations, and to provide theoretical foundation for the research on immune regulation mechanism of anti-infection of Mycobacteriumtuberculosisof macrophages.Methods:The BAM were collected by pulmonary lavage and centrifugation and cultured and divided into infected group and uninfected group.After infection for 12hin infected group, the expression profiles of mRNA and lncRNA in infected group and uninfected group were detected by RNA-Seq, and bioinformatics analysis was carried out.Results:compared with uninfected group, there were 119differentially expressed lncRNAs and 1111differentially expressed mRNA in infected group (P＜0.05) .Gene Ontology functional enrichment analysis showed that the most significant enrichment was immune response (GO:0006955, P＜0.05) , including 125genes, in which 63 were up-regulated and 62 were downregulated, and the expressions of proinflammatory factors interleukin-1 (IL-6) , interleukin-7 (IL-7) , and interleukin-23A (IL-23A) were up-regulated.Cis target gene prediction and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were involved in the regulation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway and ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC transporter) signaling pathway (P＜0.05) .Conclusion:The host cells are stimulated to produce a strong immune response after the BAM are infected by BCG and results in the changes of lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. A novel Chinese medicine formula-01 (NCHF-01) has shown significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of NSCLC, but the mechanism of this formula in the treatment of NSCLC is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanism of NCHF-01 in inhibiting NSCLC. METHODS: Lewis lung cells (LLC) tumor bearing mice were established to detect the tumor inhibitory effect of NCHF-01. The morphological changes of tissues and organs in LLC tumor-bearing mice were detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. NSCLC cells were treated by NCHF-01. The effects of cell viability and proliferation were detected by MTT and crystal violet staining experiment. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle, apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Network pharmacology was used to predict the mechanism of its inhibitory effect of NSCLC. Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect the expression of related proteins. RESULTS: NCHF-01 can inhibit tumor growth in LLC tumor-bearing mice, and has no obvious side effects on other tissues and organs. NCHF-01 could inhibit cell viability and proliferation, induce G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis, and promote the increase of ROS level. Network pharmacological analysis showed that NCHF-01 exerts anti-NSCLC effects through various biological processes such as oxidative stress and central carbon metabolism. NCHF-01 can reduce the protein expression and enzyme activity of the key enzymes 6-phosphate glucose dehydrogenase (G6PD) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). CONCLUSIONS NCHF-01 can inhibit NSCLC through oxidative stress dependent on the PPP.
Animals ; Mice ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pentose Phosphate Pathway ; Oxidative Stress ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Apoptosis