(Penny) Chisholm of MIT for offering CT a short visit to her laboratory and for kind suggestions on Prochlorococcus work. We are also grateful to Allison Coe for help provided during CT’s short visit to Chisholm’s lab. We also thank Yuan Li, Pingping Wang, and Pengpeng Li for technical discussions. This work was supported by the 973 this website Program of China (2011CBA00800 and 2013CB733600), Project INK1197 clinical trial of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX2-EW-G-8) and 863 Program of China (2012AA022203D). Electronic supplementary

material Additional file 1: Operons (harboring at least two genes) of Prochlorococcus MED4. (XLSX 63 KB) Additional file 2: UTRs of Prochlorococcus MED4. Sheet 1: 5’UTRs; sheet 2: 3’UTRs. (XLSX 93 KB) Additional file 3: RNA sequencing profiles and gene expression. Sheet 1: summary of RNA-Seq for ten samples; sheet 2: gene annotations from MicrobesOnline [63] and expression classification; sheet 3: expression values SAHA HDAC cell line of the whole genome. (XLSX 645 KB) Additional file 4: Novel ORFs and ncRNAs. (XLSX 14 KB) Additional file 5: Correlation between the gene expression levels and nonsynonymous substitution

rates (Ka) based on light–dark RNA-Seq data[38]. RPKM, reads per kilobase per million mapped reads; number of pairwise protein = 1275, Spearman’s r = -0.69, P < 0.001. (PDF 560 KB) Additional file 6: Gene expression and molecular evolution of the core genome and flexible genome of Prochlorococcus MED4 based on light–dark RNA-Seq data[38]. (a) Box plot of the correlation between gene expression levels and the nonsynonymous substitution Phloretin rates (Ka). The line was drawn through the median. A circle represents an outlier, and an asterisk represents an extreme data point. (b) Nonsynonymous substitution rate comparison between CEG and VEG (Mann–Whitney U Test, two-tailed). A circle represents an outlier, and an asterisk represents an extreme data point. (c)

Comparisons of five expression subclasses between the core genome and flexible genome (Fisher’s exact test, one-tailed). P-value ≤ 0.05 was indicated in figure. HEG, highly expressed genes; MEG, moderately expressed genes; LEG, lowly expressed genes; NEG, non expressed genes; CEG, constantly expressed genes (including four expression subclasses mentioned above); VEG, variably expressed genes. (PDF 435 KB) Additional file 7: Correlation between gene expression levels and mRNA half-lives based on light–dark RNA-Seq data[38]. (a) Correlation between gene expression levels and mRNA half-lives. Red line shows loess-smoothed curve. The exceptions reported by Steglich et al. were indicated with arrows. (b) Box plot of the correlation between gene expression levels and mRNA half-lives (Mann–Whitney U Test, two-tailed). The line was drawn through the median. A circle represents an outlier, and an asterisk represents an extreme data point. (PDF 667 KB) Additional file 8: Gene expression and molecular evolution of the core genome and flexible genome of Prochlorococcus MED4 based on iron-stress microarray data[53].

Vaccine 2007, 25:6842–6844.PubMedCrossRef 13. Andersen P, Doherty TM: The success and failure of BCG – implications for a novel tuberculosis vaccine. Nat Rev Microbiol 2005,

3:656–662.PubMedCrossRef 14. Antas PR, Castello-Branco LR: New vaccines against tuberculosis: lessons learned from BCG immunisation in Brazil. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2008, 102:628–630.PubMedCrossRef 15. Castillo-Rodal AI, Castanon-Arreola M, Hernandez-Pando R, Calva JJ, Sada-Diaz E, Lopez-Vidal Y: Mycobacterium bovis BCG substrains confer different levels of protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis ASP2215 cost infection in a BALB/c model of progressive pulmonary tuberculosis. Infect Immun 2006, 74:1718–1724.PubMedCrossRef 16. Rodriguez-Alvarez M, Mendoza-Hernandez G, Encarnacion S, Calva JJ, Lopez-Vidal Y: Phenotypic differences between BCG vaccines at the proteome level. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2009, selleck chemicals llc 89:126–135.CrossRef 17. Brandt L, Feino Cunha J, Weinreich Olsen A, Chilima B, Hirsch P, Appelberg R, Andersen P: Failure of the Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine: some species of environmental mycobacteria block multiplication of BCG and induction of protective immunity to tuberculosis. Infect Immun 2002, 70:672–678.PubMedCrossRef 18. Colditz GA, Brewer TF, Berkey CS, Wilson

ME, Burdick E, Fineberg HV, LY333531 price Mosteller F: Efficacy of BCG vaccine in the prevention of tuberculosis. Meta-analysis of the published literature. JAMA 1994, 271:698–702.PubMedCrossRef 19. Fine PE, Carneiro IA, Milstien JB, Clements CJ: Issues Relating to the Use of BCG in Immunisation Programmes. A discussion document. Geneva: World Health Organisation. Department of Vaccines and Biologicals; 1999:1–45. 20. Trajkovic V, Natarajan K, Sharma P: Immunomodulatory action of mycobacterial secretory proteins. Microbes Infect 2004, 6:513–519.PubMedCrossRef 21. Malen H, Berven FS, Fladmark KE, Wiker HG: Comprehensive analysis of exported proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Proteomics 2007, 7:1702–1718.PubMedCrossRef 22. Hubbard RD, Flory CM, Collins FM: N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase Immunization of mice with mycobacterial

culture filtrate proteins. Clin Exp Immunol 1992, 87:94–98.PubMedCrossRef 23. Andersen P: Effective vaccination of mice against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection with a soluble mixture of secreted mycobacterial proteins. Infect Immun 1994, 62:2536–2544.PubMed 24. Horwitz MA, Harth G, Dillon BJ, Maslesa-Galic S: Recombinant bacillus calmette-guerin (BCG) vaccines expressing the Mycobacterium tuberculosis 30-kDa major secretory protein induce greater protective immunity against tuberculosis than conventional BCG vaccines in a highly susceptible animal model. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2000, 97:13853–13858.PubMedCrossRef 25. Kamath AT, Rochat AF, Valenti MP, Agger EM, Lingnau K, Andersen P, Lambert PH, Siegrist CA: Adult-like anti-mycobacterial T cell and in vivo dendritic cell responses following neonatal immunization with Ag85B-ESAT-6 in the IC31 adjuvant. PLoS One 2008, 3:e3683.PubMedCrossRef 26.

The bacterial cultures were centrifuged at 5,000 × g for 5 minutes. To study the effect of pH, the pelleted IACS-10759 cost bacteria were re-suspended in 1 ml of fresh LB broth (control, pH7.0) or 1 ml of LB broth with pH 3.0, 5.0,

7.2, and 8.4, respectively, and shaken at 250 RPM and 37°C for additional 6 hours, and then collected. To study the effect of osmolarity, the pelleted bacteria were re-suspended in 1 ml of NaCl-free Proteases inhibitor LB broth supplemented with 0, 42.5, 85, 170, 340, and 680 mM sodium chloride, respectively, and then shaken at 250 RPM and 37°C for additional 6 hour, and were collected. Regular LB broth, which contained 170 mM NaCl, was used as the control. To study the effect of butyrate, the pelleted bacteria were re-suspended in 1 ml of fresh LB broth (control) or 1 ml of LB broth containing 10 mM sodium butyrate and shaken at 250 RPM and 37°C for additional 6 hours, and then collected. To study the effect of oxygen ventilation, the pelleted bacteria were re-suspended

in 1.5 ml of fresh LB broth. One group of bacteria was shaken at 250 RPM and 37°C for additional 6 hours with good aeration (control) while another group of bacteria was transferred into 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tubes with their covers closed tightly, and incubated at 37°C without shaking for additional 6 hours. Preparation of culture supernatants and cell extracts from bacterial grownin vitrounder different conditions To prepare protein samples from the pellets Selleckchem KU-60019 of bacterial cultures, the cultures (1 ml) were centrifuged at 5,000 × g and 4°C Aldol condensation for 10 minutes. The pellets were re-suspended in 200 μl of bacterial lysis buffer (8 M urea, 2% chaps, and 10 mM Tris, pH8.0). The bacterial suspension was sonicated for 15 seconds three times with

an interval of 30 seconds, centrifuged at 5,000 × g and 4°C for 10 minutes, and then transferred into new tubes for Western analysis. To prepare secreted protein samples, 0.5 ml of ice-pre-cooled 25% TCA was added into the supernatants of the bacterial cultures (1 ml). The mixture was incubated at 4°C for 15 minutes, and then centrifuged at 15,000 × g and 4°C for 10 minutes to precipitate soluble proteins. The pellets were washed with acetone twice, dried in air for 30 minutes, and then re-suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for Western analysis [45,48]. The protein concentrations of the pellet and soluble proteins were determined by Bradford Method on a micro-plate reader with absorbance at 495 nm using a standard curve of BSA concentrations. In vivostudies Female BALB/c and SCID mice (6–8 weeks old) were obtained from Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). Mice were kept in sterilized, filter-topped cages, handled in laminar hoods, and fed autoclaved food and water under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions at our animal facilities.

In fact, it was included as such in the Signaling Census database [28, 29]. Although sensory domains of histidine kinases are extremely

diverse, members of the same family domain typically recognize the same (or very close) substrates [39]. Therefore, we anticipated that the analysis of the two sensory domains in our histidine kinase could help us to predict its putative function. The first one showed homology to transmembrane sensory domains like PutP (Na+/proline symporter-like, in COG Evofosfamide research buy database) and SSF (sodium/solute symporter family, in Pfam database). It was preceded by a signal peptide and predicted to form twelve transmembrane helices. The second one, predicted to be cytoplasmatic, showed two PAS subdomains followed by a C-terminal PAC subdomain. In summary, the putative cognate histidine kinase of EupR was predicted to be a hybrid histidine kinase with both transmembrane and cytoplasmic sensor domains, suggesting that it could sense both external and internal conditions, and integrate them. Moreover, our in silico analysis supports the hypothesis that it may be the sensor partner of EupR. Discussion In this work, we have characterized the Tn1732-induced OSI-906 purchase salt-sensitive mutant CHR95 of C. salexigens, which showed a multiple affected phenotype: (i) inability to grow with glucose at high salinity, but not affection in the synthesis of compatible solutes, (ii) a slow growth with glucose at low and

optimal salinity, (iii) a reduced uptake and metabolism of glucose, (iv) a deregulated ectoine uptake at any salinity, and specially at low salinity, but unaffected ectoine metabolism, and (v) sensitivity to manganese.

This pleiotropic phenotype was due to deletion of three genes by the insertion of Tn1732, acs, encoding a putative acetyl-CoA synthase, mntR, encoding a manganese-dependent transcriptional Ibrutinib in vivo regulator of the DtxR/MntR family, and eupR, encoding a two-component response regulator of the NarL/FixJ family of transcriptional regulators. Transposon Tn1732 is a derivative of Tn1721, which in turn is a member of the Tn21 subgroup of the Tn3 family [40]. It has been widely used for generalized insertion mutagenesis in strains of Halomonas and selleck inhibitor Chromohalobacter, yielding single mutants [41]. However, as any Tn1721-derivative, it may cause deletions and inversions [42]. Thus, deletion of the region comprising acs-eupR-mntR upon Tn1732 insertion in CHR95 is not surprising. In fact, in the same mutagenesis experiment in which CHR95 was isolated, we also isolated the salt-sensitive mutant CHR62, showing a deletion of the ectABC genes [21, 22]. Whereas the sensitivity of strain CHR95 to manganese was correlated with the absence of mntR, its inability to grow with glucose at high salt, and the reduced transport and metabolism of glucose at low and optimal salinity (leading to a slow growth with this carbon source) may be related to deletion of the acs and/or eupR genes.

Zhang et al. reported stable MglAQ82L expressed from the att site, however our constructed mutants (which integrated at the chromosomal site) failed to accumulate SU5402 order stable MglA protein [18]. Time-lapse microscopy failed to detect any movement on 1.5% agarose for Quisinostat cost either strain; motility in MC was nearly identical with the parent. Loss of transcript did not appear to account for the problem because, as shown in Figure 4, the levels of mglA transcript for both the Q82A and Q82R were found to be elevated. The apparent increase in mRNA level by qRT-PCR and, paradoxically, the decreased expression of MglA may be due to alterations in the predicted secondary structure of mgl RNA resulting

from codon 82 modifications. All activating mutation strains were assayed for their localization. We did not detect MglA in the Q82 mutants, consistent with the Western blot showed in Figure 6D. In the G21V and L22V, we observed localization as previously seen in Figure 3D, which depicts the L22V localization pattern. The localization pattern for P80A was indistinguishable from the WT (WT shown in Figure 3A). Mutations that are predicted to affect surface residues alter or decrease MglA function and may affect protein-protein interactions Based on the three-dimensional model of MglA (Figure

1), we predicted that residues Asp52, Thr54, Leu117, Leu120 and Leu124 might be surface exposed. Asp52 and Thr54 lie within a region that corresponds with a GAP (GTPase Activating Protein) effector-binding region of eukaryotic GTPases [36]. Leu117, Leu120 and Leu124 are three of the leucines that comprise a short stretch between Sotrastaurin Leu117 and Leu145 that resembles a leucine repeat (Lx6L) [37] that are likely to reside on a single face of an α-helix. These hydrophobic residues Fenbendazole and their neighbors would either be buried in the interior of the protein or would indicate a potential binding site for

an interacting protein with a similar hydrophobic face. The residues in this leucine-rich repeat (LRR) were indicated in orange in Figure 1 and are highlighted in Figure 7A. The role of each of these residues in gliding and development was investigated. Figure 7 Mutations predicted to alter surface residues abolish function of MglA. Residues predicted to exist on the surface of MglA either failed to complement the deletion phenotype or partially restored the activity of both motility systems. Strains in this panel include MxH2408 (D52A), MxH2406 (T54A), MxH2339 (L117/120A) and MxH2279 (L124K). See Figure 2 legend. Residues D52 and T54 were found to be critical for the function of MglA. Both mutants produced stable MglA protein that had significantly reduced function. Although some gliding flares (including isolated cells) were apparent at the colony edge of each mutant strain (Figure 7C), swarming was abolished (Figure 7B).

The final product of IMP metabolism is urate.

There were no changes in the blood urate concentration between the groups either before or after the match (Figure 3C). None of the above metabolites showed changes in response to Arg supplementation when we compared the pre- and post-match levels (Figure 3). Figure 3 Glucose increases in response to exercise in a supplementation-independent manner (A). Neither supplementation nor exercise affects urea (B) or urate (C) after intense exercise. Control, n = 23 (PG, ●); Arginine, n = 16 (RG, Δ). (*) denotes that the average ± SE is different from the pre-exercise values. Blood cells The six minutes Cilengitide research buy of exercise induced an increase in leukocytes of approximately 75% in both groups. This elevated level did not decrease in the ten minutes EX 527 manufacturer following the experiment and was similar between the groups (Figure 4A). To avoid misinterpretations due to volemic variations, we also evaluated the red blood cell counts. The packed cell volume was not altered by exercise (Figure 4B). We did not detect any differences in the red blood cell count, volume or hemoglobin content in response to either exercise

or supplementation. Figure NF-��B inhibitor 4 White blood cell counts increase (A) after intense exercise without changes in packed cell volume (B). Control, n = 23 (PG, ●); Arginine, n = 16 (RG, Δ). (*) denotes that the average ± SE is different from the pre-exercise values. The absolute pre-exercise WBC counts are 5.9 ± 0.2 cells × 109/L for the PG and 6.4 ± 0.5 cells × 109/L for the RG; the packed cell volumes are 47.5 ± 0.6% for the PG and 46.6 ± 0.6% for the RG. Differential white blood cell analyses showed a distinct response to both exercise and Arg supplementation. The basophil counts rose two-fold in the PG but did not change in the RG (Figure 5A). The eosinophil counts were significantly

different between the groups after the end of exercise (Figure 5B). However, neutrophils appeared not to respond significantly in either the PG or RG (Figure 5C). The exercise led to a 2.2-fold increase in the lymphocyte count. This increase was significantly reduced by Arg supplementation (Figure 6A). almost Figure 5 Granulocyte counts in response to exercise and supplementation. Basophils (A); eosinophils (B); neutrophils (C). Control, n = 23 (PG, ●); Arginine, n = 16 (RG, Δ). (*) denotes that the average ± SE is different from the pre-exercise values; (#) denotes a difference between the experimental groups. The absolute pre-exercise values for basophils are 2.6 ± 0.4 × 107 cells /L for the PG and 1.9 ± 0.9 × 107 cells /L for the RG; for eosinophils, 1.8 ± 0.3 × 108 cells /L for the PG and 2.0 ± 0.5 × 108 cells /L for the RG; and for neutrophils, 3.1 ± 0.2 × 109 cells /L for the PG and 2.7 ± 0.4 × 109 cells /L for the RG. Figure 6 Exercise induces an increase in lymphocytes in an arginine supplementation-dependent manner. Control, n = 23 (PG, ●); Arginine, n = 16 (RG, Δ).

Lmo-InlA-mur-lux infected A/J mice displayed high IFN-γ levels (Figure 5F) whereas C57BL/6J mice showed low serum concentrations for all of these cytokines and the CCL2 chemokine (Figure 5E-H). Thus, the elevated susceptibility of C3HeB/FeJ mice and their inability to control Listeria replication correlated with an exaggerated production of pro-inflammatory mediators. Serum levels of IL-10 were also high in

Lmo-InlA-mur-lux infected C3HeB/FeJ mice (data not shown). However, this apparently did not result in downregulation of pro-inflammatory responses. Figure 5 Chemokine and cytokine Geneticin production of different mouse inbred strains after oral CP673451 in vitro infection with Lmo-EGD-lux and Lmo-InlA-mur-lux. Female C3HeB/FeJ (A), A/J OlaHsd (B), BALB/cJ (C) and C57BL/6J mice (D) were orally infected with 5 × 109 CFU Lmo-EGD-lux or Lmo-InlA-mur-lux. Blood samples were collected at 3 and 5 d.p.i. and cytokine and chemokine levels were determined using Luminex bead assays. 3d and https://www.selleckchem.com/products/yap-tead-inhibitor-1-peptide-17.html 5d indicate Lmo-EGD-lux infected animals at 3 and 5 d.p.i., respectively; 3d mur and 5d mur indicate Lmo-InlA-mur-lux infected animals at these timepoints (n = 8). For each timepoint, chemokine and cytokine concentrations were determined in triplicate for each inbred mouse and L. monocytogenes strain. Data represent means

± SEM. (E-H) Comparison of chemokine and cytokine production across Lmo-InlA-mur-lux infected mice from the different inbred mouse strains at 5 d.p.i.. Shown are statistical significant differences of indicated cytokine and chemokine levels in the peripheral blood between groups of mice of the analysed inbred mouse strains. Data represent means ± SEM; *p < 0.05, non-parametric Mann–Whitney-U-test. One out of two representative experiments Temsirolimus price is shown (A-H). Oral infection with murinised Lmo-InlA-mur-lux is associated with increased induction of interferon-β An important factor which determines the virulence of Listeria monocytogenes is

the amount of type I interferons produced in the host during infection. High levels of interferon-β (IFN-β) have been demonstrated to be associated with host susceptibility to Listeria infection and mice deficient for IFN-β signalling components such as the type I interferon receptor (Ifnar) gene or the interferon regulatory factor 3 (Irf3) gene are more resistant to lethal L. monocytogenes infection [20–25]. Furthermore, variations in the induction of IFN-β responses in the host by different Listeria strains have been linked with differences in strain virulence [26–29]. To analyse and compare kinetics of Ifnb1 induction after intragastric infection challenge with Lmo-InlA-mur-lux and Lmo-EGD-lux we developed a dual luciferase detection model.

Briefly, serial dilutions of the viral material was allowed to adsorb on the AV529 cell monolayers at 36°C ± 1°C, 5% ± 2% after which the volume of infection media was adjusted to a suitable volume to allow for incubation at 36°C ± 1°C, 5% ± 2% for 48 hours. After the 48 hour incubation step, the cell monolayers were fixed and stained with a crystal violet (Sigma) and methanol stain and the visible MK-1775 price plaques were enumerated by eye and used

to assign a titre in log10 pfu/ml. The assigned mean infectious titre from 30 independent assays was 1.41 × 107 pfu/ml. Cell culture and infection AV529-19 cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 (Sigma) supplemented with 1% (v/v) Penicillin/Streptomycin (Sigma), 1% heat inactivated ultra-low IgG-FBS (Invitrogen), 1% L-glutamine (Sigma), and maintained in a 37°C incubator in 5% CO2. Prior to each assay, cells were plated one day in advance in 96-well tissue culture plates (Becton Dickinson) ACP-196 molecular weight at a density of 4×104 cells per well in a volume of 200 μl. Next day, plates were visually inspected under a microscope to confirm the cell monolayer was 80-100% confluent.

Serial dilutions of the HSV529 test samples as well as the HSV529 in-house reference control were prepared in culture media. The media from each well was removed, and 50 μl of each viral dilution was added to each well (four replicates were used for each dilution). Afterwards, 50 μl media was dispensed into each infected well for a total volume of 100 μl. 5-FU price Afterwards, 100 μl media was added to the uninfected and negative control wells. The plates were placed at 36 ± 1°C, 5% CO2 incubator for 16 hours. RNA isolation Total RNA was isolated

using total RNA purification 96-well kit (Norgen Biotek). The purified RNA was treated with TURBO DNA-free kit (Applied MS-275 concentration Biosystems) according to manufacture’s instruction. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) The RT-qPCR was performed by targeting the HSV-2 immediate early (ICP27), early (TK) and late (gD2) genes. For ICP27, the forward and reverse primers were 5′- GCC ACT CTC TTC CGA CAC -3′ and 5′- CAA GAA CAT CAC ACG GAA C-3′, respectively. For TK, the forward and reverse primers were 5′-TGG ATT ACG ATC AGT CGC C -3′ and 5′-ACA CCA CAC GAC AAC AAT GC-3′, respectively. For gD2, the forward and reverse primers were 5′-TCA GCG AGG ATA ACC TGG GA-3 and 5′-GGG AGA GCG TAC TTG CAG GA-3, respectively. The ICP27, TK, and gD2 primers have been previously described and tested in other studies. [14–16]. All the primers were purchased from Life Biotechnologies. One step RT-qPCR was performed using SYBR Green PCR master mix (Applied Biosystems), MultiScribe Reverse Transcriptase (50 U/μl, Applied Biosystems), RNase Inhibitor (20 U/μl, Applied Biosystems), 1 pmol of each forward and reverse primer, and 2 μl isolated RNA in a total volume of 25 μl.

Once Go6983 in the Fedratinib chemical structure periplasm, the unfolded OMP is bound by chaperones that help direct the OMP to the OM for proper folding and membrane insertion [6–8]. Until recently, these latter steps of periplasmic OMP trafficking and OM assembly have remained largely uncharacterized. In 2003, however, Tommassen and coworkers identified an essential β-barrel OMP whose function is dedicated to the proper OM-assembly of most known OMPs [9]. This protein, now known as BamA [10, 11], is evolutionarily well-conserved since putative orthologs can be found in all known diderm bacteria, as well as in dual-membraned eukaryotic organelles, such as mitochondria and

chloroplasts [7, 12–15]. The functional importance of BamA was illustrated when researchers discovered that BamA was essential for the viability of both N. meningitidis and E. coli, and that its depletion resulted in dramatically decreased levels of properly-inserted OMPs in the OM of both organisms [9, 16, 17]. In E. coli, combined genetic and biochemical studies have now revealed that BamA exists in a multiprotein OM complex, termed the beta-barrel Sirolimus in vitro assembly machine (BAM) [10, 11]. This complex is

composed of the OM-imbedded BamA protein and four OM-anchored accessory lipoproteins, termed BamB, BamC, BamD, and BamE (previously known as YfgL, NlpB, YfiO, and SmpA respectively) [10, 18–20]. More recent studies have revealed that all of the BAM components are important at some level for OMP assembly and/or for the stability of the BAM complex. The BamB lipoprotein interacts directly with BamA within the complex, and this association is independent of the other BAM lipoproteins [19, 21]. BamB is thought to be an important scaffolding protein for

the BAM complex, and although BamB deletion mutants are viable, they have reduced levels of various OMPs [20, 22–26]. bamC- and bamE-null strains have relatively mild OMP assembly defects; however, they both show moderate OM permeability defects, and biochemical second studies show that their presence in the complex is important for the BamA-BamD interaction [18, 19, 21, 25]. The BamD protein, however, is essential for cell viability, and depletion of BamD causes a phenotype similar to that observed in BamA mutants [21, 25]. Additionally, BamD is the most evolutionarily conserved lipoprotein in the BAM complex. Like BamA, BamD orthologs are predicted to be present in all diderm bacteria [6, 15, 21], and they are proposed to contain conserved tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains which have been shown to function in protein-protein interactions [27–29]. BAM complexes have now been characterized from other Gram-negative bacteria, such as N. meningitidis and Caulobacter crescentus [30, 31]. In N.

Murine intranasal and intracerebral challenge assays have been validated and used to demonstrate the protection of pertussis vaccine for many years [30–32]. The results obtained from the intranasal and intracerebral

challenge tests strongly suggest that rPrn functions as a protective antigen. These observations are consistent with previous reports that a click here higher Th1-type response was associated with a stronger level of protection against B. pertussis [29]. In this study, the bacterial loads were only evaluated on day 7 in lungs of the mince after the www.selleckchem.com/products/prn1371.html intranasal challenge. However, a time course of infection would probably provide more information on the protective properties of the proteins studied. So far, twelve, two and four different variants have been reported in Prn, Fim2 and Fim3, respectively [17, 18, 33]. At present, the prevalent allele combinations of B. pertussis isolates are prn2/fim3B [18]. The

strains used in this study and the strains used for vaccine production are prn1/fim3A or prn6/fim3A. As the difference occurred between B. pertussis vaccine strains and circulating isolates in many countries [16–18, 33], it has been proposed that the strain variation may have effect on the vaccine efficacy [16]. In this case, engineering strategies will remedy antigenic shifts by performing genetic mutation on the antigen encoding genes, which is an advantage of using recombinant proteins compared with the ones purified from B. pertussis. Because of the similarity in the molecular weight, it is extremely difficult to purify separately Fim2 and Fim3 proteins Pregnenolone ABT-263 purchase from B. pertussis. Therefore, antibody responses against Fim2

or Fim3 were only measured in ELISA using a mixture of Fim2 and Fim3 proteins as coating antigen in clinical vaccine trials [8, 34]. The exact role of Fim2 and Fim3 in protection against pertussis is not fully known. In this study, recombinant Fim2 and Fim3 were expressed and purified separately. For the first times, their functions in protection against pertussis were assessed separately in mice model. The study demonstrated that higher antibody titres and cellular immune response characteristic of increased production of IL-2 were induced in mice immunized with rFim2 and rFim3. Although monoclonal anti-Fim2 and anti-Fim3 antibodies were used in the study, it remains to be shown whether there is cross-reacting response between Fim2 and Fim3. It is known that IL-2, TNF-α and IFN-γ are characteristic cytokines for Th1 response, and IL-4 and IL-10 for Th2 response [29]. In this study, we have only measured serum concentrations of IL-2, TNF-α and IL-4. It is interesting to study concentrations of other cytokines such as IFN-γ in sera collected from mice after immunization and infection. Further, serum IL-4 was not measurable in all mice tested in this study.