Construction of cholera toxin B subunit-producing Vibrio cholerae strains using the Mariner-FRT transposon delivery system.
The most widely used oral whole-cell-recombinant B subunit cholera vaccine contains the nontoxic cholera toxin B subunit (CTXB) and either heat- or formalin-killed Vibrio cholerae O1 strains. Vibrio cholerae O1 strains in the vaccine provide antibacterial immunity, and CTXB contributes to the vaccine's efficacy by stimulating production of anti-CTXB antibody. Various attempts have been made to increase CTXB production. In this study, the mariner-FRT transposon delivery system developed by Chiang and Mekalanos was used to place the ctxB gene under the control of a strong chromosomal promoter in a nontoxigenic V. cholerae El Tor strain, M7922. The expression level of CTXB in transposon insertion mutant clones was screened by ganglioside-dependent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Among CTXB-producing V. cholerae clones that were isolated, M7922-C1 produced the highest amount of CTXB (3.17+/-1.69 microg mL(-1)). M7922-C1 harbors a single insertion of ctxB into VC0972, which encodes a putative porin protein. Although the level of CTXB expression in this strain was not exceptionally high, this study indicates the possibility of using this delivery system to construct vaccine strains that overexpress specific antigens.
Rhie
Gi-Eun
GE
Division of High-risk Pathogen Research, Center for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Seoul, Korea. gerhie@nih.go.kr
Jung
Hae-Mi
HM
Park
Jungchan
J
Kim
Bong-Su
BS
Mekalanos
John J
JJ
D002772:Cholera Toxin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D041241:Vibrio cholerae O1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D002772:Cholera Toxin