T cell expression cloning of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene encoding a protective antigen associated with the early control of infection.

Abstract

Infection of C57BL/6 mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis results in the development of a progressive disease during the first 2 wk after challenge. Thereafter, the disease is controlled by the emergence of protective T cells. We have used this infection model in conjunction with direct T cell expression cloning to identify Ags involved with the early control of the disease. A protective M. tuberculosis-specific CD4 T cell line derived from mice at 3 wk postchallenge was used to directly screen an M. tuberculosis genomic expression library. This screen resulted in the identification of a genomic clone comprising two putative adjacent genes with predicted open reading frames of 10 and 41 kDa, MTB10 and MTB41, respectively (the products of Rv0916c and Rv0915c, respectively, in the TubercuList H37Rv database). MTB10 and MTB41 belong to the PE and PPE family of proteins recently identified to comprise 10% of the M. tuberculosis genome. Evaluation of the recombinant proteins revealed that MTB41, but not MTB10, is the Ag recognized by the cell line and by M. tuberculosis-sensitized human PBMC. Moreover, C57BL/6 mice immunized with MTB41 DNA developed both CD4- (predominantly Th1) and CD8-specific T cell responses to rMTB41 protein. More importantly, immunization of C57BL/6 mice with MTB41 DNA induced protection against infection with M. tuberculosis comparable to that induced by bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Thus, the use of a proven protective T cell line in conjunction with the T cell expression cloning approach resulted in the identification of a candidate Ag for a subunit vaccine against tuberculosis.

• Authors: Y A Skeiky, P J Ovendale, S Jen, M R Alderson, D C Dillon, S Smith, C B Wilson, I M Orme, S G Reed, A Campos-Neto
• Journal: Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) (J Immunol) Vol. 165 Issue 12 Pg. 7140-9 (Dec 15 2000) ISSN: 0022-1767 [Print] United States
• PMID: 11120845 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Antigens, Bacterial
• BCG Vaccine
• Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
• PE7 protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• PPE14 protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Vaccines, DNA

Topics

• Animals
• Antigens, Bacterial (administration & dosage, biosynthesis, genetics, immunology)
• BCG Vaccine (administration & dosage, genetics, immunology)
• CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes (cytology, immunology)
• Cell Culture Techniques
• Cell Line
• Cells, Cultured
• Cloning, Molecular (methods)
• Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte (immunology)
• Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial (immunology)
• Genomic Library
• Humans
• Injections, Intramuscular
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (genetics, immunology)
• Spleen (cytology, immunology)
• T-Lymphocytes (metabolism, microbiology)
• Tuberculosis (genetics, immunology, prevention & control)
• Vaccines, DNA (administration & dosage, immunology)