MRI Based Localisation and Quantification of Abscesses following Experimental S. aureus Intravenous Challenge: Application to Vaccine Evaluation.

PURPOSE: To develop and validate a sensitive and specific method of abscess enumeration and quantification in a preclinical model of Staphylococcus aureus infection. METHODS: S. aureus infected murine kidneys were fixed in paraformaldehyde, impregnated with gadolinium, and embedded in agar blocks, which were subjected to 3D magnetic resonance microscopy on a 9.4T MRI scanner. Image analysis techniques were developed, which could identify and quantify abscesses. The result of this imaging was compared with histological examination. The impact of a S. aureus Sortase A vaccination regime was assessed using the technique. RESULTS: Up to 32 murine kidneys could be imaged in a single MRI run, yielding images with voxels of about 25 μm3. S. aureus abscesses could be readily identified in blinded analyses of the kidneys after 3 days of infection, with low inter-observer variability. Comparison with histological sections shows a striking correlation between the two techniques: all presumptive abscesses identified by MRI were confirmed histologically, and histology identified no abscesses not evident on MRI. In view of this, simulations were performed assuming that both MRI reconstruction, and histology examining all sections of the tissue, were fully sensitive and specific at abscess detection. This simulation showed that MRI provided more sensitive and precise estimates of abscess numbers and volume than histology, unless at least 5 histological sections are taken through the long axis of the kidney. We used the MRI technique described to investigate the impact of a S. aureus Sortase A vaccine. CONCLUSION: Post mortem MRI scanning of large batches of fixed organs has application in the preclinical assessment of S. aureus vaccines

Influenza D pseudotyped lentiviruses: production, neutralisation assay and serological surveillance

Influenza D virus (IDV) has been reported in many animal species and potentially humans worldwide. Cattle are considered the major reservoir. There are currently three main lineages based on the haemagglutinin-esterase (HEF) gene: D/OK, D/660 and D/Japan. We performed pilot surveillance for IDV by using pseudotyped lentivirus (PVs) to generate a cell-based test to identify prior-exposure to IDV in animals. The expression plasmids of the HEF genes, D/swine/Italy/2015, D/bovine/France/2014, and D/bovine/Ibaraki/2016, were constructed. The HEF plasmid was co-transfected with lentiviral vector plasmid expressing luciferase, lentiviral Gag-Pol plasmid, and HAT protease plasmid in producer cells (HEK293T/17). Three days post-transfection, supernatants were collected and used for titration on various cell lines and in micro-neutralisation tests. Sera from pigs vaccinated with D/swine/Italy/2015 and D/swine/Oklahoma/2011 were used to undertake a preliminary validation of the micro-neutralisation assay. All pig sera have neutralising activity to influenza D (Italy) pseudotyped lentiviruses. Cow and sheep sera, 145 and 114 specimens, respectively, collected from UK farms were screened using the micro-neutralisation test. We found 97 bovine sera (66.9%) were influenza D antibody positive. Collectively, pseudotyped lentivirus technology opens up opportunities for serological surveillance of influenza D viruses

Immune responses associated with homologous protection conferred by commercial vaccines for control of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli in turkeys

International audienceAbstractAvian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) infections are a serious impediment to sustainable poultry production worldwide. Licensed vaccines are available, but the immunological basis of protection is ill-defined and a need exists to extend cross-serotype efficacy. Here, we analysed innate and adaptive responses induced by commercial vaccines in turkeys. Both a live-attenuated APEC O78 ΔaroA vaccine (Poulvac® E. coli) and a formalin-inactivated APEC O78 bacterin conferred significant protection against homologous intra-airsac challenge in a model of acute colibacillosis. Analysis of expression levels of signature cytokine mRNAs indicated that both vaccines induced a predominantly Th2 response in the spleen. Both vaccines resulted in increased levels of serum O78-specific IgY detected by ELISA and significant splenocyte recall responses to soluble APEC antigens at post-vaccination and post-challenge periods. Supplementing a non-adjuvanted inactivated vaccine with Th2-biasing (Titermax® Gold or aluminium hydroxide) or Th1-biasing (CASAC or CpG motifs) adjuvants, suggested that Th2-biasing adjuvants may give more protection. However, all adjuvants tested augmented humoral responses and protection relative to controls. Our data highlight the importance of both cell-mediated and antibody responses in APEC vaccine-mediated protection toward the control of a key avian endemic disease

Norepinephrine Augments Salmonella enterica-Induced Enteritis in a Manner Associated with Increased Net Replication but Independent of the Putative Adrenergic Sensor Kinases QseC and QseE

Stress has long been correlated with susceptibility to microbial infection. One explanation for this phenomenon is the ability of pathogens to sense and respond to host stress-related catecholamines, such as norepinephrine (NE). In Gram-negative enteric pathogens, it has been proposed that NE may facilitate growth by mediating iron supply, or it may alter gene expression by activating adrenergic sensor kinases. The aim of this work was to investigate the relative importance of these processes in a model in which NE alters the outcome of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection. A bovine ligated ileal loop model was used to study the effect of NE on enteritis induced by S. Typhimurium and on the bacterial in vivo replication rate. Mutants lacking putative adrenergic receptor genes were assessed in the loop model, in a calf intestinal colonization model, and in vitro. S. Typhimurium-induced enteritis was significantly enhanced by addition of 5 mM NE. This effect was associated with increased net bacterial replication in the same model. Exogenous ferric iron also stimulated bacterial replication in the medium used but not transcription of enteritis-associated loci. The putative adrenergic sensors QseC and QseE were not required for NE-enhanced enteritis, intestinal colonization of calves, or NE-dependent growth in iron-restricted medium and did not influence expression or secretion of enteritis-associated virulence factors. Our findings support a role for stress-related catecholamines in modulating the virulence of enteric bacterial pathogens in vivo but suggest that bacterial adrenergic sensors may not be the vital link in such interkingdom signaling in Salmonella

6-hydroxydopamine-mediated release of norepinephrine increases faecal excretion of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in pigs

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is an animal and zoonotic pathogen of worldwide importance. In pigs, transport and social stress are associated with reactivation and spread of Salmonella Typhimurium infection. The stress-related catecholamine norepinephrine (NE) has been reported to activate growth and virulence factor expression in Salmonella; however the extent to which NE contributes to stress-associated salmonellosis is unclear. We studied the impact of releasing NE from endogenous stores during Salmonella Typhimurium infection of pigs by administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), which selectively destroys noradrenergic nerve terminals. Treatment of pigs with 6-OHDA 7 or 16 days post-oral inoculation with Salmonella Typhimurium produced elevated plasma NE levels and transiently, but significantly, increased faecal excretion of the challenge strain. Oral administration of NE to Salmonella Typhimurium-infected pigs also transiently and significantly increased shedding; however pre-culture of the bacteria with NE did not alter the outcome of infection. Salmonella has been proposed to sense and respond to NE via a homologue of the adrenergic sensor kinase QseC. A ΔqseC mutant of Salmonella Typhimurium was consistently excreted in lower numbers than the parent strain post-oral inoculation of pigs, though not significantly so. 6-OHDA treatment of pigs infected with the ΔqseC mutant also increased faecal excretion of the mutant strain, albeit to a lesser extent than observed upon 6-OHDA treatment of pigs infected with the parent strain. Our data support the notion that stress-related catecholamines modulate the interaction of enteric bacterial pathogens with their hosts

Sequencing and functional annotation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli serogroup O78 strains reveals the evolution of E. coli lineages pathogenic for poultry via distinct mechanisms

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) causes respiratory and systemic disease in poultry. Sequencing of a multilocus sequence type 95 (ST95) serogroup O1 strain previously indicated that APEC resembles E. coli causing extraintestinal human diseases. We sequenced the genomes of two strains of another dominant APEC lineage (ST23 serogroup O78 strains χ7122 and IMT2125) and compared them to each other and to the reannotated APEC O1 sequence. For comparison, we also sequenced a human enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) strain of the same ST23 serogroup O78 lineage. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the APEC O78 strains were more closely related to human ST23 ETEC than to APEC O1, indicating that separation of pathotypes on the basis of their extraintestinal or diarrheagenic nature is not supported by their phylogeny. The accessory genome of APEC ST23 strains exhibited limited conservation of APEC O1 genomic islands and a distinct repertoire of virulence-associated loci. In light of this diversity, we surveyed the phenotype of 2,185 signature-tagged transposon mutants of χ7122 following intra-air sac inoculation of turkeys. This procedure identified novel APEC ST23 genes that play strain- and tissue-specific roles during infection. For example, genes mediating group 4 capsule synthesis were required for the virulence of χ7122 and were conserved in IMT2125 but absent from APEC O1. Our data reveal the genetic diversity of E. coli strains adapted to cause the same avian disease and indicate that the core genome of the ST23 lineage serves as a chassis for the evolution of E. coli strains adapted to cause avian or human disease via acquisition of distinct virulence genes

Neonatal Colonisation Expands a Specific Intestinal Antigen-Presenting Cell Subset Prior to CD4 T-Cell Expansion, without Altering T-Cell Repertoire

Interactions between the early-life colonising intestinal microbiota and the developing immune system are critical in determining the nature of immune responses in later life. Studies in neonatal animals in which this interaction can be examined are central to understanding the mechanisms by which the microbiota impacts on immune development and to developing therapies based on manipulation of the microbiome. The inbred piglet model represents a system that is comparable to human neonates and allows for control of the impact of maternal factors. Here we show that colonisation with a defined microbiota produces expansion of mucosal plasma cells and of T-lymphocytes without altering the repertoire of alpha beta T-cells in the intestine. Importantly, this is preceded by microbially-induced expansion of a signal regulatory protein α-positive (SIRPα+) antigen-presenting cell subset, whilst SIRPα−CD11R1+ antigen-presenting cells (APCs) are unaffected by colonisation. The central role of intestinal APCs in the induction and maintenance of mucosal immunity implicates SIRPα+ antigen-presenting cells as orchestrators of early-life mucosal immune development

Identification of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O26:H(−) Genes Required for Intestinal Colonization in Calves

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infections in humans are an important public health problem and are commonly acquired via contact with ruminant feces. The serogroups that are predominantly associated with human infection in the United States and Europe are O157 and O26. Serotypes O157:H7 and O26:H(−) differ in their virulence and tissue tropism in calves and therefore may colonize calves by distinct mechanisms. The mechanisms underlying EHEC intestinal colonization and pathogenesis are poorly understood. Signature-tagged mutagenesis was used to identify 59 genes of EHEC O26:H(−) that are required for the intestinal colonization of calves. Our results indicate important roles for locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE)-encoded type III secreted proteins in intestinal colonization. In addition, colonization is facilitated by cytotoxins, putative type III secreted proteins unlinked to the LEE, a putative fimbrial operon, and numerous genes involved in central metabolism and transport and genes of unknown function. Our data also imply that the elaboration of type I fimbriae by EHEC O26:H(−) is disadvantageous for persistence within the bovine intestines. These observations have important implications for the design of vaccines to control these important zoonotic pathogens

MRI Based Localisation and Quantification of Abscesses following Experimental S. aureus Intravenous Challenge: Application to Vaccine Evaluation.

PURPOSE: To develop and validate a sensitive and specific method of abscess enumeration and quantification in a preclinical model of Staphylococcus aureus infection. METHODS: S. aureus infected murine kidneys were fixed in paraformaldehyde, impregnated with gadolinium, and embedded in agar blocks, which were subjected to 3D magnetic resonance microscopy on a 9.4T MRI scanner. Image analysis techniques were developed, which could identify and quantify abscesses. The result of this imaging was compared with histological examination. The impact of a S. aureus Sortase A vaccination regime was assessed using the technique. RESULTS: Up to 32 murine kidneys could be imaged in a single MRI run, yielding images with voxels of about 25 μm3. S. aureus abscesses could be readily identified in blinded analyses of the kidneys after 3 days of infection, with low inter-observer variability. Comparison with histological sections shows a striking correlation between the two techniques: all presumptive abscesses identified by MRI were confirmed histologically, and histology identified no abscesses not evident on MRI. In view of this, simulations were performed assuming that both MRI reconstruction, and histology examining all sections of the tissue, were fully sensitive and specific at abscess detection. This simulation showed that MRI provided more sensitive and precise estimates of abscess numbers and volume than histology, unless at least 5 histological sections are taken through the long axis of the kidney. We used the MRI technique described to investigate the impact of a S. aureus Sortase A vaccine. CONCLUSION: Post mortem MRI scanning of large batches of fixed organs has application in the preclinical assessment of S. aureus vaccines