Rongzhi Wang

The pathogenesis, detection, and prevention of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a Gram-negative motile bacterium that inhabits marine and estuarine environments throughout the world, is a major food-borne pathogen that causes life-threatening diseases in humans after the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood. The global occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus accentuates the importance of investigating its virulence factors and their effects on the human host. This review describes the virulence factors of V. parahaemolyticus reported to date, including hemolysin, urease, two type III secretion systems and two type VI secretion systems, which both cause both cytotoxicity in cultured cells and enterotoxicity in animal models. We describe various types of detection methods, based on virulence factors, that are used for quantitative detection of V. parahaemolyticus in seafood. We also discuss some useful preventive measures and therapeutic strategies for the diseases mediated by V. parahaemolyticus, which can reduce, to some extent, the damage to humans and aquatic animals attributable to V. parahaemolyticus. This review extends our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of V. parahaemolyticus mediated by virulence factors and the diseases it causes in its human host. It should provide new insights for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of V. parahaemolyticus infection.

Development of ELISA and colloidal gold immunoassay for tetrodotoxin detetcion based on monoclonal antibody

A monoclonal hybridoma cell named 5B9 against tetrodotoxin (TTX) was obtained after fusion of myeloma SP2/0 cells with spleen cells isolated from the immunized Balb/c mice. The 5B9 monoclonal antibody (McAb) with high affinity (about 2.55 × 10(9)) is specific to TTX, and this McAb belongs to the immunoglobulin G (IgG) isotype. Finally, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and colloidal gold immunoassay were established based on this McAb. The linear range of ELISA to detect TTX was 5-500 ng/mL, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 4.44 ng/mL. The average CV of intra- and inter-assay was less than 8%, with the samples recovery range of 70.93-99.99%. A competitive format colloidal gold strip was developed for detection of TTX in real samples, and the LOD for TTX is 20 ng/mL, and the assay time of the qualitative test can be finished in less than 10 min without any equipment. The result from test strip revealed that the test strip has a good agreement with those obtained from ELISA.

Detection and identification of Vibrio parahaemolyticus by multiplex PCR and DNA–DNA hybridization on a microarray

In this paper, we developed a rapid and accurate method for the detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains, using multiplex PCR and DNA-DNA hybridization. Multiplex PCR was used to simultaneously amplify three diagnostic genes (tlh, tdh and fla) that serve as molecular markers of V. parahaemolyticus. Biotinylated PCR products were hybridized to primers immobilized on a microarray, and detected by chemiluminesce with avidin-conjugated alkaline phosphatase. With this method, forty-five samples were tested. Eight known virulent strains (tlh(+)/tdh(+)/fla(+)) and four known avirulent strains (tlh(+)/tdh(-)/fla(+)) of the V. parahaemolyticus were successfully detected, and no non-specific hybridization and cross-hybridization reaction were found from fifteen closely-related strains (tlh(-)/tdh(-)/fla(+)) of the Vibrio spp. In addition, all the other eighteen strains of non-Vibrio bacteria (tlh(-)/tdh(-)/fla(-)) gave negative results. The DNA microarray successfully distinguished V. parahaemolyticus from other Vibrio spp. The results demonstrated that this was an efficient and robust method for identifying virulent strains of V. parahaemolyticus.

Screening for a Single-Chain Variable-Fragment Antibody That Can Effectively Neutralize the Cytotoxicity of the Vibrio parahaemolyticus Thermolabile Hemolysin

ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophilic bacterium that is widely distributed in water resources. The bacterium causes lethal food-borne diseases and poses a serious threat to human and animal health all over the world. The major pathogenic factor of V. parahaemolyticus is thermolabile hemolysin (TLH), encoded by the tlh gene, but its toxicity mechanisms are unknown. A high-affinity antibody that can neutralize TLH activity effectively is not available. In this study, we successfully expressed and purified the TLH antigen and discovered a high-affinity antibody to TLH, named scFv-LA3, by phage display screening. Cytotoxicity analysis showed that scFv-LA3 has strong neutralization effects on TLH-induced cell toxicity.

Antibody Engineering for Pursuing a Healthier Future

Since the development of antibody-production techniques, a number of immunoglobulins have been developed on a large scale using conventional methods. Hybridoma technology opened a new horizon in the production of antibodies against target antigens of infectious pathogens, malignant diseases including autoimmune disorders, and numerous potent toxins. However, these clinical humanized or chimeric murine antibodies have several limitations and complexities. Therefore, to overcome these difficulties, recent advances in genetic engineering techniques and phage display technique have allowed the production of highly specific recombinant antibodies. These engineered antibodies have been constructed in the hunt for novel therapeutic drugs equipped with enhanced immunoprotective abilities, such as engaging immune effector functions, effective development of fusion proteins, efficient tumor and tissue penetration, and high-affinity antibodies directed against conserved targets. Advanced antibody engineering techniques have extensive applications in the fields of immunology, biotechnology, diagnostics, and therapeutic medicines. However, there is limited knowledge regarding dynamic antibody development approaches. Therefore, this review extends beyond our understanding of conventional polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. Furthermore, recent advances in antibody engineering techniques together with antibody fragments, display technologies, immunomodulation, and broad applications of antibodies are discussed to enhance innovative antibody production in pursuit of a healthier future for humans.

Rapid detection of fumonisin B1 using a colloidal gold immunoassay strip test in corn samples

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is the most common and highest toxic of fumonisins species, exists frequently in corn and corn-based foods, leading to several animal and human diseases. Furthermore, FB1 was reported that it was associated with the human esophageal cancer. In view of the harmful of FB1, it is urgent to develop a feasible and accuracy method for rapid detection of FB1. In this study, a competitive immunoassay for FB1 detection was developed based on colloidal gold-antibody conjugate. The FB1-keyhole limpet hemoeyanin (FB1-KLH) conjugate was embedded in the test line, and goat anti-mouse IgG antibody embedded in the control line. The color density of the test line correlated with the concentration of FB1 in the range from 2.5 to 10 ng/mL, and the visual limit detection of test for FB1 was 2.5 ng/mL. The results indicated that the test strip is specific for FB1, and no cross-reactivity to other toxins. The quantitative detection for FB1 was simple, only needing one step without complicated assay performance and expensive equipment, and the total time of visual evaluation was less than 5 min. Hence, the developed colloidal gold-antibody assay can be used as a feasible method for FB1 rapid and quantitative detection in corn samples.

Development of a Functional Antibody by Using a Green Fluorescent Protein Frame as the Template

ABSTRACT Single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies are widely used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents or biosensors for a majority of human disease. However, the limitations of the present scFv antibody in terms of stability, solubility, and affinity are challenging to produce by traditional antibody screening and expression formats. We describe here a feasible strategy for creating the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based antibody. Complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3), which retains the antigen binding activity, was introduced into the structural loops of superfolder GFP, and the result showed that CDR3-inserted GFP displayed almost the same fluorescence intensity as wild-type GFP, and the purified proteins of CDR3 insertion showed the similar binding activity to antigen as the corresponding scFv. Among of all of the CDRs, CDR3s are responsible for antigen recognition, and only the CDR3a insertion is the best format for producing GFP-based antibody binding to specific antigen. The wide versatility of this system was further verified by introducing CDR3 from other scFvs into loop 9 of GFP. We developed a feasible method for rapidly and effectively producing a high-affinity GFP-based antibody by inserting CDR3s into GFP loops. Further, the affinity can be enhanced by specific amino acids scanning and site-directed mutagenesis. Notably, this method had better versatility for creating antibodies to various antigens using GFP as the scaffold, suggesting that a GFP-based antibody with high affinity and specificity may be useful for disease diagnosis and therapy.

Microsatellites in Pursuit of Microbial Genome Evolution

Microsatellites or short sequence repeats are widespread genetic markers which are hypermutable 1–6 bp long short nucleotide motifs. Significantly, their applications in genetics are extensive due to their ceaseless mutational degree, widespread length variations and hypermutability skills. These features make them useful in determining the driving forces of evolution by using powerful molecular techniques. Consequently, revealing important questions, for example, what is the significance of these abundant sequences in DNA, what are their roles in genomic evolution? The answers of these important questions are hidden in the ways these short motifs contributed in altering the microbial genomes since the origin of life. Even though their size ranges from 1 –to- 6 bases, these repeats are becoming one of the most popular genetic probes in determining their associations and phylogenetic relationships in closely related genomes. Currently, they have been widely used in molecular genetics, biotechnology and evolutionary biology. However, due to limited knowledge; there is a significant gap in research and lack of information concerning hypermutational mechanisms. These mechanisms play a key role in microsatellite loci point mutations and phase variations. This review will extend the understandings of impacts and contributions of microsatellite in genomic evolution and their universal applications in microbiology.

Detection of okadaic acid (OA) using ELISA and colloidal gold immunoassay based on monoclonal antibody

Okadaic Acid (OA), a small seafood-borne toxin secreted by Dinophysis and Prorocentrum dinoflagellates, is generally distributed in various species of shellfish and has caused diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP). In view of OA toxin threat to humans and animals, it is essential to develop a rapid, accurate and sensitive method for the detection and quantification of OA in real samples. In this study, a monoclonal antibody named 10E8 was screened by cells fusion of Sp2/0 with spleen cells isolated from immunized mouse, and the isotype of McAb 10E8 was belonged to IgG1. The resulted McAb 10E8 displayed higher specificity to OA antigen, with the highest affinity of 2.66×109L/moL until now. Indirect competitive ELISA (ic-ELISA) indicated that the linear range to detect OA was 20-750ng/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) was 12pg/mL, and the recovery average was (84.04±5.08)%. The LOD of colloidal gold immunoassay by naked eye and strip reader was 1ng/mL and 100pg/mL, respectively, with an average recovery of (88.0275±4.4225)%. Therefore, the developed ELISA and colloidal gold immunoassay based on this McAb can be used for OA detection in real samples.

Corrigendum: The pathogenesis, detection, and prevention of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

[This corrects the article on p. 144 in vol. 6, PMID: 25798132.].