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IntroductionChlamydial infections are spread worldwide and a vaccine is needed to control this pathogen. The goals of this study were to determine if the delivery of an adjuvant associated to the antigen, via a derivatized amphipol, and adjuvant combinations improve vaccine protection.MethodsA novel approach, trapping the Chlamydia muridarum (Cm) native MOMP (nMOMP) with amphipols (A8-35), bearing a covalently conjugated peptide (EP67), was used. Adjuvants incorporated were: EP67 either conjugated to A8-35, which was used to trap nMOMP (nMOMP/EP67-A8-35), or free as a control, added to nMOMP/A8-35 complexes (nMOMP/A8-35+EP67); Montanide ISA 720 to enhance humoral responses, and CpG-1826 to elicit robust cell-mediated immunity (CMI). BALB/c mice were immunized by mucosal and systemic routes. Intranasal immunization with live Cm was used as positive control and three negative controls were included. Mice were challenged intranasally with Cm and changes in body weight, lungs weight and number of Cm-inclusion forming units (IFU) recovered from the lungs were evaluated to establish protection. To assess local responses levels of IFN- γ and Cm-specific IgA were determined in lungs' supernatants.ResultsStructural assays demonstrated that nMOMP secondary structure and thermal stability were maintained when A8-35 was covalently modified. Mice vaccinated with nMOMP/EP67-A8-35 were better protected than animals immunized with nMOMP/A8-35+EP67. Addition of Montanide enhanced Th2 responses and improved protection. Including CpG-1826 further broadened, intensified and switched to Th1-biased immune responses. With delivery of nMOMP and the three adjuvants, as determined by changes in body weight, lungs weight and number of IFU recovered from lungs, protection at 10 days post-challenge was equivalent to that induced by immunization with live Cm.ConclusionsCovalent association of EP67 to A8-35, used to keep nMOMP water-soluble, improves protection over that conferred by free EP67. Adjuvant combinations including EP67+Montanide+CpG-1826, by broadening and intensifying cellular and humoral immune responses, further enhanced protection.

Chlamydia trachomatis is a major bacterial pathogen throughout the world. Although antibiotic therapy can be implemented in the case of early detection, a majority of the infections are asymptomatic, requiring the development of preventive measures. Efforts have focused on the production of a vaccine using the C. trachomatis major outer membrane protein (MOMP). MOMP is purified in its native (n) trimeric form using the zwitterionic detergent Z3-14, but its stability in detergent solutions is limited. Amphipols (APols) are synthetic polymers that can stabilize membrane proteins (MPs) in detergent-free aqueous solutions. Preservation of protein structure and optimization of exposure of the most effective antigenic regions can avoid vaccination with misfolded, poorly protective protein. Previously, we showed that APols maintain nMOMP secondary structure and that nMOMP/APol vaccine formulations elicit better protection than formulations using either recombinant or nMOMP solubilized in Z3-14. To achieve a greater understanding of the structural behavior and stability of nMOMP in APols, we have used several spectroscopic techniques to characterize its secondary structure (circular dichroism), tertiary and quaternary structures (immunochemistry and gel electrophoresis) and aggregation state (light scattering) as a function of temperature and time. We have also recorded NMR spectra of (15)N-labeled nMOMP and find that the exposed loops are detectable in APols but not in detergent. Our analyses show that APols protect nMOMP much better than Z3-14 against denaturation due to continuous heating, repeated freeze/thaw cycles, or extended storage at room temperature. These results indicate that APols can help improve MP-based vaccine formulations.

There is a need to implement a vaccine to protect against Chlamydia trachomatis infections. To test a new vaccine, mice were immunized with the Chlamydia muridarum native major outer membrane protein (nMOMP) solubilized with either amphipol A8-35 or the detergent Z3-14. OVA was used as a negative control, and mice were inoculated intranasally with C. muridarum as positive controls. Animals vaccinated with nMOMP mounted strong Chlamydia-specific humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Mice vaccinated with nMOMP/A8-35 had a higher ratio of Abs to denatured elementary bodies (EB) over live EB, recognized more synthetic MOMP peptides and had higher neutralizing titers than sera from mice immunized with nMOMP/Z3-14. T cell lymphoproliferative responses and levels of IFN-γ were also higher in mice vaccinated with nMOMP/A8-35 than with nMOMP/Z3-14. Following immunization, animals were challenged intravaginally with C. muridarum. On the basis of the number of mice with positive vaginal cultures, length of vaginal shedding, total number of positive vaginal cultures, and number of Chlamydia inclusion forming units recovered, nMOMP/A8-35 elicited a more robust protection than nMOMP/Z3-14. By depleting T cells with Abs, we determined that CD4(+) and not CD8(+) T cells mediated the protection elicited by nMOMP/A8-35. Mice were subsequently mated, and based on the number of pregnant mice and number of embryos, animals that were vaccinated with nMOMP/A8-35 or nMOMP/Z3-14 had fertility rates equivalent to the positive control group immunized with live EB and the fertility controls. In conclusion, increased accessibility of epitopes in the nMOMP/A8-35 preparation may account for the very robust protection against infection and disease elicited by this vaccine.

Author(s): David Stroebel [1]; Yves Choquet [2]; Jean-Luc Popot (corresponding author) [1]; Daniel Picot (corresponding author) [1] Cytochrome b [sub.6] f (plastohydroquinone:plastocyanin oxidoreductase) and its partial homologue cytochrome bc [sub.1] [...]

An analysis of the periodic distribution of amino acid residues in transmembrane alpha-helices found that most of them show a periodic residue distribution characteristic of an alpha-helix. Studying the 469 putative transmembrane segments using correlation matrix analysis also provided data on the residue distribution between protein/protein and protein/lipid interfaces in transmembrane alpha-helix bundles. The propensity scale, derived from this data, may be used for predicting the secondary structure and rotational orientation of transmembrane alpha-helices.

Amphipols are short-chain amphipathic polymers designed to keep membrane proteins soluble in aqueous solutions. We have evaluated the effects of the interaction of amphipols with sarcoplasmic reticulum [Ca.sup.2+]-ATPase in either a membrane-bound or a soluble form. If the addition of amphipols to detergent-solubilized ATPase was followed by removal of detergent, soluble complexes formed, but these complexes retained poor ATPase activity, were not very stable upon long incubation periods, and at high concentrations they experienced aggregation. Nevertheless, adding excess detergent to diluted detergent-free ATPase/amphipol complexes incubated for short periods immediately restored full activity to these complexes, showing that amphipol had protected solubilized ATPase from the rapid and irreversible inactivation that otherwise follows detergent removal. Amphipols also protected solubilized ATPase from the rapid and irreversible inactivation observed in detergent solutions if the ATPase [Ca.sup.2+] binding sites remain vacant. Moreover, in the presence of [Ca.sup.2+], amphipol/detergent mixtures stabilized concentrated ATPase against inactivation and aggregation, whether in the presence or absence of lipids, for much longer periods of time (days) than detergent alone. Our observations suggest that mixtures of amphipols and detergents are promising media for handling solubilized [Ca.sup.2+]-ATPase under conditions that would otherwise lead to its irreversible denaturation and/or aggregation.

The respiratory chain in the inner mitochondrial membrane contains three large multi-enzyme complexes that together establish the proton gradient for ATP synthesis, and assemble into a supercomplex. A 19-Å 3D map of the 1.7-MDa amphipol-solubilized supercomplex I1III2IV1 from bovine heart obtained by single-particle electron cryo-microscopy reveals an amphipol belt replacing the membrane lipid bilayer. A precise fit of the X-ray structures of complex I, the complex III dimer, and monomeric complex IV indicates distances of 13 nm between the ubiquinol-binding sites of complexes I and III, and of 10-11 nm between the cytochrome c binding sites of complexes III and IV. The arrangement of respiratory chain complexes suggests two possible pathways for efficient electron transfer through the supercomplex, of which the shorter branch through the complex III monomer proximal to complex I may be preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosystems I and II (PSI and II) are reaction centres that capture light energy in order to drive oxygenic photosynthesis; however, they can only do so by interacting with the multisubunit cytochrome b6f complex. This complex receives electrons from PSII and passes them to PSI, pumping protons across the membrane and powering the Q-cycle. Unlike the mitochondrial and bacterial homologue cytochrome bc1, cytochrome b6f can switch to a cyclic mode of electron transfer around PSI using an unknown pathway. Here we present the X-ray structure at 3.1?Å of cytochrome b6f from the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The structure bears similarities to cytochrome bc1 but also exhibits some unique features, such as binding chlorophyll, ß-carotene and an unexpected haem sharing a quinone site. This haem is atypical as it is covalently bound by one thioether linkage and has no axial amino acid ligand. This haem may be the missing link in oxygenic photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘functional’ state of the acetylcholine receptor protein has been followed during reconstitution with the fluorescent agonist [1-(5-dimethylaminonaphthalene)-sulfonamido]-n-hexanoic acid-β-N-trimethylammonium bromide ethyl ester (Dns-C6-Cho) and rapid-mixing techniques. Under appropriate conditions, a majority of the acetylcholine receptor sites can be recovered in a low-affinity state(s) for Dns-C6-Cho, similar to that found with the native membrane-bound receptor. This state can be slowly interconverted to a high-affinity state after rapid mixing with the agonist, and the non- competitive channel blockers, like the local anesthetics, still regulate this transition in an allosteric manner. Several experimental conditions commonly used for the solubilization of the receptor and for its purification in the presence of sodium cholate result in the failure of reconstitution: the soluble receptor protein is stabilized in a low-affinity state which can no longer be interconverted to a high-affinity state in the presence of agonists or local anesthetics. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that if the concentration of lipids remains elevated in the presence of sodium chotate, a soluble (9 S) low-affinity form of the receptor protein can be obtained which shows most of the characteristic properties of the membrane-bound receptor and in particular the slow interconversion to the high-affinity state and the effect of local anesthetics on this transition; furthermore, in these conditions the soluble protein can be manipulated ad libitum and submitted, for instance, to column filtrations and sucrose gradient centrifugations in the presence of detergent, without losing its characteristic conformational and allosteric transitions. After elimination of the detergent this form yields a reconstituted receptor which presents binding properties identical to those of the native membrane-bound receptor and leads to the formation of vesicles which exhibit carbamylcholine-sensitive ion fluxes. A necessary and sufficient condition for functional reconstitution is therefore the conservation, in the presence of lipids, of the allosteric properties of the receptor protein in its detergent-soluble form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]