Development of a Cholera Toxin Cta2/B Based Staphylococcus
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DEVELOPMENT OF A CHOLERA TOXIN CTA2/B BASED STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS VACCINE TO PREVENT BOVINE MASTITIS by Neha Misra A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biomolecular Sciences Boise State University December 2017 © 2017 Neha Misra ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COLLEGE DEFENSE COMMITTEE AND FINAL READING APPROVALS of the dissertation submitted by Neha Misra Dissertation Title: Development of a Cholera Toxin Cta2/B-Based Staphylococcus Aureus Vaccine to Prevent Bovine Mastitis Date of Final Oral Examination: 24 October 2017 The following individuals read and discussed the dissertation submitted by student Neha Misra, and they evaluated her presentation and response to questions during the final oral examination. They found that the student passed the final oral examination. Juliette Tinker, Ph.D. Chair, Supervisory Committee Kenneth A. Cornell, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee Julia Thom Oxford, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee Mark A. McGuire, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee Larry Fox, Ph.D. External examiner The final reading approval of the thesis was granted by Juliette Tinker, Ph.D., Chair of the Supervisory Committee. The dissertation was approved by the Graduate College. DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, who have been my inspiration. To my little sister, who never stopped encouraging me and to my husband for his endless support and love. iv " The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." Albert Einstein (1879-1955) v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My experience at Boise State University and especially Tinker’s lab has been nothing short of amazing. Since my first day on August 19th, 2013 I have felt at home at BSU. Today I would like to thank everyone who helped me in any form during my incredible journey toward obtaining a Ph.D. First and foremost, I would like to convey sincere gratitude and thanks to my advisor, Dr. Juliette Tinker for giving me the opportunity to work in her lab and for her continuous support, patience and motivation. I am truly blessed to have her as my advisor/mentor; she has a passion for science and research, which has induced effects on her students. She gave me full freedom and flexibility to design my own experiments, using new ideas. Her knowledge and guidance helped me in my research as well as thesis writing. She has not only encouraged me academically, but also emotionally through the rough road to finish this thesis. Her teachings go beyond academics; she taught me to be humble and generous even after being knowledgeable and talented. I would like to thank all my committee members Dr. Ken Cornell, Dr. Julie Oxford and Dr. Mark McGuire, for their expert suggestions, guidance and encouragement all these years. I want to give special thanks to Dr. Wingett for her support, career advice and encouragement. This thesis would not be as glorious without the help of Rebecca Hermann and her contributions in training me in flow cytometry. She not only helped me in my experiment but was also never tired of my endless questions. I also want to give special thanks to Dr. Shin Pu for his contributions with all mass spectrometry vi experiments and his patience in making me understand the results. I want to give a very special thanks to all present and past members of Tinker’s lab. Especially Tyler Wines for being a great friend and for all scientific discussions. Special thanks to Orion Thomson Vogel, Delaney Sauer, Eli Luna, Kristina Chapman, Colton Knopp, and Hannah Weaver for technical support. I want to also thank Rosey Whiting for being a great friend. Additionally, I would also like to thank Emily Price, Laura Rogers, Connor Richmond, Kimberly Brown and Liwen Yang. This acknowledgement page is incomplete without acknowledging my good friend Beth Gee. Her role in my Ph.D. and this program goes far beyond her duties as a program coordinator; she supported me and cheered for me at every milestone and success I achieved during this Ph.D. Last but not the least. I want to thank my loving and supportive husband, Hemant for his constant support, encouragement and suggestions. And I thank my parents, Dr. Suman Mishra and Anupama Mishra and my sister Meghna for their unconditional love and support. This thesis would not have been possible without them. vii ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen causing chronic and invasive disease worldwide. This bacterium is a leading cause of community and hospital acquired infections in humans, and is also known to infect wild and domestic animals. Bovine mastitis, or inflammation of the udder, is one of the most economically relevant diseases of the dairy industry, with a high incidence worldwide. S. aureus is a major etiological agent causing this disease. S. aureus mastitis is highly contagious and difficult or impossible to treat. Management practices at dairy farms, that include good sanitation and antibiotic use, have been partially successful in reducing the occurrence of this disease, however, a complete prevention or elimination is still to be achieved. Despite efforts over more than two decades, an effective vaccine for S. aureus mastitis, that can protect against heterologous strains of this bacterium, is not yet available. These efforts however, have improved our understanding of the pathogenicity, virulence factor expression and immune responses to this bacterium. Studies have indicated that there is significant intraspecies variability, and an effective vaccine against S. aureus will require the incorporation of multiple conserved and relevant antigens. Additionally, the route of vaccine administration and use of adjuvants to aid in antigen delivery and enhancement of immune responses will also be critical. S. aureus contains a broad array of virulence factors required for colonization and disease, including: adhesins, toxins, a polysaccharide capsule, enzymes and immune evasion molecules, that are required for adhesion, invasion and colonization. Some viii virulence factors are highly conserved and centrally important for bacterial survival and sustenance, making them good vaccine targets. The iron-regulated surface determinant A (IsdA) and clumping factor A (ClfA) are two such conserved S. aureus extracellular- matrix adhesins that are promising vaccine antigens. However, an effective S. aureus vaccine for the prevention or reduction of mastitis will need to induce mucosal and systemic, as well as cellular and humoral, immune responses to these antigens. Bacterial enterotoxins are well characterized vaccine adjuvants that act by enhancing the mucosal delivery of antigens and promoting both systemic and mucosal humoral responses. Cholera toxin (CT), from Vibrio cholerae is a gold-standard vaccine adjuvant that can promote both humoral and cellular immune responses to co-administered antigens when delivered to mucosal surfaces. The work presented here is based upon the overarching hypothesis that a mucosal, enterotoxin-based vaccine containing multiple relevant antigens will protect cows against S. aureus mastitis. To construct this vaccine, three immediate aims were developed. First, to ensure the incorporation of relevant antigens, the variability, genetic conservation and immunogenicity of the IsdA protein during bovine infection was determined. Second, a cholera toxin adjuvant based vaccine containing IsdA and a second antigen, ClfA (IsdA-CTA2/B +ClfA-CTA2/B) was used to vaccinate cows to determine immunogenicity. Lastly, a new immunoproteomics approach was used to identify immunogenic antigens for future incorporation into a multivalent vaccine. The results from these studies, as presented in chapters 2-4, indicate that: 1) the IsdA adhesin is expressed and conserved in bovine strains of S. aureus, 2) IsdA-CTA2/B + ClfA-CTA2/B can stimulate significant immune responses in vaccinated animals after intranasal ix administration and 3) immunoproteomics using milk antibodies can be used to identify new potential S. aureus vaccine antigens. The studies presented here will contribute to the advancement and understanding of staphylococcal vaccines in general, and specifically to those that will prevent bovine mastitis. x TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................xv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... xxii CHAPTER ONE: CHARACTERIZATION OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS INFECTION AND ITS PREVENTION BY VACCINE ....................................................1 Background and Introduction ..................................................................................1 Staphylococcus Aureus “the super bug” ......................................................1 Virulence and Pathogenicity of S. aureus ....................................................3 S. aureus Vaccine Antigens and Vaccines .................................................10