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Protein Digestion, Ultrafiltration, and Size Exclusion Chromatography to Optimize the Isolation of Exosomes from Human Blood Plasma and Serum

Exosomes, a type of nanovesicle released from all cell types, can be isolated from any bodily fluid. The contents of exosomes, including proteins and ...

University of Notre Dame

Approximately 2 billion people are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB), and an estimated 1.5 million individuals die annually from TB. Presently, Mycobacterium bovis BCG remains the only licensed TB vaccine; however, previous studies suggest its protective efficacy wanes over time and fails in preventing pulmonary TB. Therefore, a safe and effective vaccine is urgently required to replace BCG or boost BCG immunizations. Our previous studies revealed that mycobacterial proteins are released via exosomes from macrophages infected with M. tuberculosis or pulsed with M. tuberculosis culture filtrate proteins (CFP). In the present study, exosomes purified from macrophages treated with M. tuberculosis CFP were found to induce antigen-specific IFN-γ and IL-2-expressing CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. In exosome-vaccinated mice, there was a similar TH1 immune response but a more limited TH2 response compared to BCG-vaccinated mice. Using a low-dose M. tuberculosis mouse aerosol infection model, exosomes from CFP-treated macrophages were found to both prime a protective immune response as well as boost prior BCG immunization. The protection was equal to or superior to BCG. In conclusion, our findings suggest that exosomes might serve as a novel cell-free vaccine against an M. tuberculosis infection.

Exosomes carrying mycobacterial antigens can protect mice against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Tuberculosis remains a global threat due in part to the long treatment regimen and the increased prevalence of drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains. Therefore, new drug regimens are urgently required to combat this deadly disease. We previously synthesized and evaluated a series of new anti-tuberculosis compounds which belong to the family of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines. This family of compounds showed low nM MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) values against M. tuberculosis in vitro. In this study, a derivative of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines, (N-(4-(4-chlorophenoxy)benzyl)-2,7-dimethylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carboxamide) (ND-09759), was selected as a promising lead compound to determine its protective efficacy using a mouse infection model. Pharmacokinetic analysis of ND-09759 determined that at a dosage of 30 mg/kg mouse body weight (PO) gave a maximum serum drug concentration (Cmax) of 2.9 µg/ml and a half-life of 20.1 h. M. tuberculosis burden in the lungs and spleens was significantly decreased in mice treated once daily 6 days per week for 4-weeks with ND-09759 compared to untreated mice and this antibiotic activity was equivalent to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP), two first-line anti-TB drugs. We observed slightly higher efficacy when using a combination of ND-09759 with either INH or RMP. Finally, the histopathological analysis revealed that infected mice treated with ND-09759 had significantly reduced inflammation relative to untreated mice. In conclusion, our findings indicate ND-09759 might be a potent candidate for the treatment of active TB in combination with current standard anti-TB drugs.

Bactericidal activity of an imidazo[1, 2-a]pyridine using a mouse M. tuberculosis infection model.

As "natural" antigen carriers in the body, exosomes are potential vaccine vectors. A number of animal studies indicate that antigen-containing exosomes can induce a specific immune response which can protect against tumor progression or various infections. Exosomes that carry the protective antigens can be purified from cells that release them including tumor cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages. However, this strategy is restricted to proteins that are naturally targeted to exosomes and is therefore limited in the number of antigens present within exosomes. Therefore, with the goal of developing an exosome-based vaccine that is more flexible in its antigen composition and has the potential to be scalable, we have developed a new approach where recombinant soluble proteins can be packaged into exosomes and released from a transformed cell line. In this study, we determined that a C-terminal fusion of ubiquitin to EGFP, tumor antigenic protein nHer2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins Ag85B and ESAT6 served as an efficient delivery sequence into exosomes when expressed in a human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cell line, a cell line widely used in industrial recombinant protein production. Two stably transgenic HEK293 cell lines were generated using a retroviral vector to express the Ag85B-ESAT6 fusion protein either alone or tagged at the C-terminus with ubiquitin. Both transformants released exosomes containing the fusion proteins. However, the concentration of Ag85B and ESAT6 in exosomes was increased approximately 10-fold when they were coupled to ubiquitin. Moreover, when the exosomes were used for immunization, there was a direct correlation between the amount of fusion protein within the exosomes and the number of Ag85B and ESAT6 specific INFɣ-secreting T lymphocytes in the lung and spleen. This suggests that exosomes containing recombinant antigen can be used to elicit a T cell response. In summary our data indicates that a ubiquitin-based exosomal protein delivery strategy could represent a unique approach to generate antigen-specific exosomes with the potential to be used as novel vaccines. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1315-1324. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Targeting soluble proteins to exosomes using a ubiquitin tag.

A panel of six imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carboxamides (IAPs) were shown to have low-micromolar activity against Mycobacterium avium strains. Compound ND-10885 (compound 2) showed significant activity in the lung, spleen, and liver in a mouse M. avium infection model. A combined regimen consisting of ND-10885 (compound 2) and rifampin was additive in its anti-M. avium activity in the lung. Our data indicate that IAPs represent a new class of antibiotics that are active against M. avium and could potentially serve as an effective addition to a combined treatment regimen.

Imidazo[1,2-a]Pyridine-3-Carboxamides Are Active Antimicrobial Agents against Mycobacterium avium Infection In Vivo.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected macrophages and dendritic cells are limited in their ability to present antigen to CD4+ T cells suggesting that other mechanism of antigen presentation are driving the robust T cell response observed during an M. tuberculosis infection. These mechanisms could include antigens present in apoptotic bodies, necrotic debris, exosomes or even release of non-vesicular antigen from infected cells. However, there is limited data to support any of these mechanisms as important in driving T cell activation in vivo. In the present study we use Rab27a-deficient mice which show diminished trafficking of mycobacterial components to exosomes as well as M. tuberculosis strains that express recombinant proteins which traffic or fail to traffic to exosomes. We observed that exosomes released during a mouse M. tuberculosis infection contribute significantly to its T cell response. These finding imply that exosomes function to promote T cell immunity during a bacterial infection and are an important source of extracellular antigen.

Exosomes function in antigen presentation during an in vivo Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Infectious diseases that are caused by pathogenic microbes such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi remain the top major cause of death across the world, particularly in low income countries, and may be transmitted from person to person, or from insects or animals. In general, infectious diseases may be treated with antimicrobial agents including antibiotics, antiviral, antifungal or antiparasitic medications. The therapeutic application of antimicrobial drugs in the 20th century substantially contributed to the global control of infectious diseases worldwide. However, pathogenic microbes have evolved various mechanisms to render the antimicrobial drugs less effective. This has resulted in an increasing number of people infected with pathogenic microbes that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs, and in some cases leading to untreatable infections. Therefore, new antimicrobial drugs are urgently needed to prevent possible recurrence and emergence of previously treatable infectious diseases. In the past decades, protein kinase inhibitors have become an attractive area in the development of novel antimicrobial drugs. In the current review, we will describe the recent efforts in the development of microbial and host protein kinase-targeting inhibitors as potential antimicrobial drugs against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

Protein Kinase Inhibitors as Potential Antimicrobial Drugs Against Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV.

Intratracheal injection is a traditional technique used in small animal studies of highly contagious airborne pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, current techniques of intratracheal injection generally involve procedures that pose a risk of incident injury and infection for researchers, and may also cause collateral damage to experimental animals during the installation process. Here we describe an intratracheal injection method that was enabled by a three dimensional printing of a custom platform. This updated technique improved the overall ergonomics of intratracheal injection in mice, minimizing the risk of human injury and implementing the 3R (replacement, reduction and refinement) principle in mouse infection studies.

Yong Cheng

Department of Biological Sciences,
Eck Institute for Global Health,
Department of Biological Sciences, Eck Institute for Global Health

University of Notre Dame

Protein Digestion, Ultrafiltration, and Size Exclusion Chromatography to Optimize the Isolation of Exosomes from Human Blood Plasma and Serum

Yong Cheng

Department of Biological Sciences,Eck Institute for Global Health,Department of Biological Sciences, Eck Institute for Global Health

University of Notre Dame

Protein Digestion, Ultrafiltration, and Size Exclusion Chromatography to Optimize the Isolation of Exosomes from Human Blood Plasma and Serum

Department of Biological Sciences,
Eck Institute for Global Health,
Department of Biological Sciences, Eck Institute for Global Health