Immunogenicity and protective role of antigenic regions from five outer membrane proteins of Flavobacterium columnare in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella

Flavobacterium columnare causes columnaris disease in freshwater fi sh. In the present study, the antigenic regions of fi ve outer membrane proteins(OMPs), including zinc metalloprotease, prolyl oligopeptidase, thermolysin, collagenase and chondroitin AC lyase, were bioinformatically analyzed, fused together, and then expressed as a recombinant fusion protein in Escherichia coli. The expressed protein of 95.6 k Da, as estimated by 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was consistent with the molecular weight deduced from the amino acid sequence. The purifi ed recombinant protein was used to vaccinate the grass carp, C tenopharyngodon idella. Following vaccination of the fi sh their Ig M antibody levels were examined, as was the expression of I g M, Ig D and Ig Z immunoglobulin genes and other genes such as MHC Iα and MHC I I β, which are also involved in adaptive immunity. Interleukin genes( IL), including I L- 1β, IL- 8 and I L- 10, and type I and type II interferon(I FN) genes were also examined. At 3 and 4 weeks post-vaccination(wpv), signifi cant increases in Ig M antibody levels were observed in the fi sh vaccinated with the recombinant fusion protein, and an increase in the expression levels of I g M, Ig D and Ig Z genes was also detected following the vaccinations, thus indicating that an adaptive immune response was induced by the vaccinations. Early increases in the expression levels of IL and IFN genes were also observed in the vaccinated fi sh. At four wpv, the fi sh were challenged with F. column a re, and the vaccinated fi sh showed a good level of protection against this pathogen, with 39% relative percent survival(RPS) compared with the control group. It can be concluded, therefore, that the fi ve OMPs, in the form of a recombinant fusion protein vaccine, induced an immune response in fi sh and protection against F. columnare.

Immunogenic proteins and their vaccine development potential evaluation in outer membrane proteins(OMPs)of Flavobacterium columnare

Flavobacterium columnare is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes columnaris disease in freshwater fish worldwide.Many studies have focused on the identification of protective antigens to aid in the development of novel vaccines against the disease.In this study,an immunoblotting approach was employed to identify immunogenic outer membrane proteins(OMPs)from F.columnare in two-dimensional electrophoresis(2-DE)map gels using antibacterial sera obtained from grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella),and anti-grass carp-recombinant Ig(rIg)monoclonal antibodies.Five unique immunogenic proteins,including the gliding motility lipoprotein GldJ(GldJ),hypothetical protein FCOL_13420(Fco1),lipoprotein(Lip),F0F1 ATP synthase subunit beta(F0f1)and outer membrane efflux protein precursor(Omep),were characterized.Over-expression of these proteins in Escherichia coli DE3,and their immunogenicity and protective efficacy were evaluated in grass carp.The relative percent survival(RPS)of the groups immunized separately with recombinant GldJ,Lip and Omep was 72%,64%and 68%,respectively when compared to control fish.Up-regulation of immuno-related genes and specific antibodies were detected in immunized fish and sera of immunized fish inhibited the growth of F.columnare.The results suggest that GldJ,Lip and Omep are major protective antigens and may be considered as novel candidates in the development of vaccines against columnaris disease in fish.