Optimizing culture conditions for the production of endo-&#946-1,4-glucanase by Aspergillus awamori strain Vietnam Type Culture Collection (VTCC)-F099

In the present study, twenty six strains of Aspergillus awamori from the Vietnam Type Culture Collection (Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vietnam University Hanoi) were used for the endoglucanase production by growing at 37°C in the growth medium. Result showed that A. awamori strain VTCC-F099 produced the highest level of endo β-1,4-glucanase in the growth medium, pH 6.5, at 30°C for 96 h, agitated at 200 rpm. The optimal concentration of the inducer CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) for the endoglucanase production by A. awamori VTCC-F099 was 2%. Among tested carbon sources (coconut fiber, coffee shell, corncob, dried tangerine skin, peanut shell, rice bran, saw dust, sugar-cane bagasse as organic wasters and glucose, lactose sucrose as pure carbon sources), corncob showed the highest endoglucanase production by A. awamori VTCC-F099 at the concentration of 3%. Ammonium acetate was the best among nitrogen source (casein, peptone, fish powder, soybean powder as organic sources and CH3COONH4, NH4NO3, (NH4)2SO4, urea as inorganic sources) for the endoglucanase production by A. awamori VTCC-F099 at the concentration of 0.3%.Key words: Aspergillus awamori, carboxymethyl cellulose, endoglucanase production, optimization of culture conditions

Cloning, high-level expression, purification and characterization of a staphylokinase variant, SakøC, from Staphylococcus aureus QT08 in Escherichia coli BL21

The staphylokinase (Sak) is emerging as an important thrombolytic agent for the treatment of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Hence in this study, we reported the cloning, high-level expression, purification and characterization of the Sak variant SakøC from Staphylococcus aureus QT08 in Escherichia coli Bl21. The sak gene of 489 bp encoding a protein (163 amino acids) with a predicted molecular mass of 18.5 kDa and pI 7.28 showed 99.8 to 99.6% identity with corresponding sequences from S. aureus strains deposited in GenBank (AF332619, X00127, EF122253 and M57455). The DNA sequence (411 bp) encoding the mature Sak (15.5 kDa) truncated 27 N-terminal amino acids was expressed in E. coli BL21/pESak under the control of the strong promoter tac in the presence of isopropyl-β-D-1-thiogalactopynoside (IPTG) as inducer. The expression level of rSak was estimated at about 42% of the total cellular proteins by densitometry scanning, which is the highest expression level of rSak expressed in any E. coli system. The recombinant staphylokinase was purified by Ni2+- ProBondTM column to a single homogeneous 16-kDa band on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with a specific activity of 15175 U/mg protein, a recovery yield of 58% and a purification factor of 2.56. The optimal pH and temperature for the rSak activity was 9 and 37°C, respectively. rSak was stable over a temperature range of 25 to 50°C and at pH range of 7 to 9. Metal ions and detergents also showed an inhibitory effect on rSak, especially Zn2+ and Cu2+ which completely inhibited the enzymatic activity.Key words: Staphylococcus aureus QT08, staphylokinase, cloning, high-level expression, purification, characterization

Characterization of an extracellular lipase and its chaperone from Ralstonia eutropha H16

Lipase enzymes catalyze the reversible hydrolysis of triacylglycerol to fatty acids and glycerol at the lipid–water interface. The metabolically versatile Ralstonia eutropha strain H16 is capable of utilizing various molecules containing long carbon chains such as plant oil, organic acids, or Tween as its sole carbon source for growth. Global gene expression analysis revealed an upregulation of two putative lipase genes during growth on trioleate. Through analysis of growth and activity using strains with gene deletions and complementations, the extracellular lipase (encoded by the lipA gene, locus tag H16_A1322) and lipase-specific chaperone (encoded by the lipB gene, locus tag H16_A1323) produced by R. eutropha H16 was identified. Increase in gene dosage of lipA not only resulted in an increase of the extracellular lipase activity, but also reduced the lag phase during growth on palm oil. LipA is a non-specific lipase that can completely hydrolyze triacylglycerol into its corresponding free fatty acids and glycerol. Although LipA is active over a temperature range from 10 °C to 70 °C, it exhibited optimal activity at 50 °C. While R. eutropha H16 prefers a growth pH of 6.8, its extracellular lipase LipA is most active between pH 7 and 8. Cofactors are not required for lipase activity; however, EDTA and EGTA inhibited LipA activity by 83 %. Metal ions Mg[superscript 2+], Ca[superscript 2+], and Mn[superscript 2+] were found to stimulate LipA activity and relieve chelator inhibition. Certain detergents are found to improve solubility of the lipid substrate or increase lipase-lipid aggregation, as a result SDS and Triton X-100 were able to increase lipase activity by 20 % to 500 %. R. eutropha extracellular LipA activity can be hyper-increased, making the overexpression strain a potential candidate for commercial lipase production or in fermentations using plant oils as the sole carbon source.Malaysia-MIT Biotechnology Partnership Programm

Modelling virus and antibody dynamics during dengue virus infection suggests a role for antibody in virus clearance

Dengue is an infection of increasing global importance, yet uncertainty remains regarding critical aspects of its virology, immunology and epidemiology. One unanswered question is how infection is controlled and cleared during a dengue infection. Antibody is thought to play a role, but little past work has examined the kinetics of both virus and antibody during natural infections. We present data on multiple virus and antibody titres measurements recorded sequentially during infection from 53 Vietnamese dengue patients. We fit mechanistic mathematical models of the dynamics of viral replication and the host immune response to these data. These models fit the data well. The model with antibody removing virus fits the data best, but with a role suggested for ADCC or other infected cell clearance mechanisms. Our analysis therefore shows that the observed viral and antibody kinetics are consistent with antibody playing a key role in controlling viral replication. This work gives quantitative insight into the relationship between antibody levels and the efficiency of viral clearance. It will inform the future development of mechanistic models of how vaccines and antivirals might modify the course of natural dengue infection

Genetic variants of MICB and PLCE1 and associations with non-severe dengue

BACKGROUND: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified susceptibility loci for dengue shock syndrome (DSS) at MICB rs3132468 and PLCE1 rs3740360. The aim of this study was to define the extent to which MICB (rs3132468) and PLCE1 (rs3740360) were associated with less severe clinical phenotypes of pediatric and adult dengue. METHODS: 3961 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases and 5968 controls were genotyped at MICB rs3132468 and PLCE1 rs3740360. Per-allele odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for each patient cohort. Pooled analyses were performed for adults and paediatrics respectively using a fixed effects model. RESULTS: Pooled analysis of the paediatric and adult cohorts indicated a significant association between MICB rs3132468 and dengue cases without shock (OR  =  1.15; 95%CI: 1.07 - 1.24; P  =  0.0012). Similarly, pooled analysis of pediatric and adult cohorts indicated a significant association between dengue cases without shock and PLCE1 rs3740360 (OR  =  0.92; 95%CI: 0.85 - 0.99; P  =  0.018). We also note significant association between both SNPs (OR  =  1.48; P  =  0.0075 for MICB rs3132468 and OR  =  0.75, P  =  0.041 for PLCE1 rs3740360) and dengue in infants. DISCUSSION: This study confirms that the MICB rs3132468 and PLCE1 rs3740360 risk genotypes are not only associated with DSS, but are also associated with less severe clinical phenotypes of dengue, as well as with dengue in infants. These findings have implications for our understanding of dengue pathogenesis

Methods to discriminate primary from secondary dengue during acute symptomatic infection

Background: Dengue virus infection results in a broad spectrum of clinical outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic infection through to severe dengue. Although prior infection with another viral serotype, i.e. secondary dengue, is known to be an important factor influencing disease severity, current methods to determine primary versus secondary immune status during the acute illness do not consider the rapidly evolving immune response, and their accuracy has rarely been evaluated against an independent gold standard. Methods: Two hundred and ninety-three confirmed dengue patients were classified as experiencing primary, secondary or indeterminate infections using plaque reduction neutralisation tests performed 6 months after resolution of the acute illness. We developed and validated regression models to differentiate primary from secondary dengue on multiple acute illness days, using Panbio Indirect IgG and in-house capture IgG and IgM ELISA measurements performed on over 1000 serial samples obtained during acute illness. Results: Cut-offs derived for the various parameters demonstrated progressive change (positively or negatively) by day of illness. Using these time varying cut-offs it was possible to determine whether an infection was primary or secondary on single specimens, with acceptable performance. The model using Panbio Indirect IgG responses and including an interaction with illness day showed the best performance throughout, although with some decline in performance later in infection. Models based on in-house capture IgG levels, and the IgM/IgG ratio, also performed well, though conversely performance improved later in infection. Conclusions: For all assays, the best fitting models estimated a different cut-off value for different days of illness, confirming how rapidly the immune response changes during acute dengue. The optimal choice of assay will vary depending on circumstance. Although the Panbio Indirect IgG model performs best early on, the IgM/IgG capture ratio may be preferred later in the illness course

Methods to discriminate primary from secondary dengue during acute symptomatic infection

Background: Dengue virus infection results in a broad spectrum of clinical outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic infection through to severe dengue. Although prior infection with another viral serotype, i.e. secondary dengue, is known to be an important factor influencing disease severity, current methods to determine primary versus secondary immune status during the acute illness do not consider the rapidly evolving immune response, and their accuracy has rarely been evaluated against an independent gold standard. Methods: Two hundred and ninety-three confirmed dengue patients were classified as experiencing primary, secondary or indeterminate infections using plaque reduction neutralisation tests performed 6 months after resolution of the acute illness. We developed and validated regression models to differentiate primary from secondary dengue on multiple acute illness days, using Panbio Indirect IgG and in-house capture IgG and IgM ELISA measurements performed on over 1000 serial samples obtained during acute illness. Results: Cut-offs derived for the various parameters demonstrated progressive change (positively or negatively) by day of illness. Using these time varying cut-offs it was possible to determine whether an infection was primary or secondary on single specimens, with acceptable performance. The model using Panbio Indirect IgG responses and including an interaction with illness day showed the best performance throughout, although with some decline in performance later in infection. Models based on in-house capture IgG levels, and the IgM/IgG ratio, also performed well, though conversely performance improved later in infection. Conclusions: For all assays, the best fitting models estimated a different cut-off value for different days of illness, confirming how rapidly the immune response changes during acute dengue. The optimal choice of assay will vary depending on circumstance. Although the Panbio Indirect IgG model performs best early on, the IgM/IgG capture ratio may be preferred later in the illness course.</p

Comparative susceptibility of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti to dengue virus infection after feeding on blood of viremic humans: Implications for public health

Aedes albopictus is secondary to Aedes aegypti as a vector of dengue viruses (DENVs) in settings of endemicity, but it plays an important role in areas of dengue emergence. This study compared the susceptibility of these 2 species to DENV infection by performing 232 direct blood-feeding experiments on 118 viremic patients with dengue in Vietnam. Field-derived A. albopictus acquired DENV infections as readily as A. aegypti after blood feeding. Once infected, A. albopictus permitted higher concentrations of DENV RNA to accumulate in abdominal tissues, compared with A. aegypti. However, the odds of A. albopictus having infectious saliva were lower than the odds observed for A. aegypti (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, .52-.93). These results quantitate the susceptibility of A. albopictus to DENV infection and will assist parameterization of models for predicting disease risk in settings where A. albopictus is present