Identificação de um novo Antígeno de Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Lumazina Sintase) através da Técnica de IVIAT

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2006

RESUMO

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a thermally dimorphic fungus causing paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), a mycosis that affects 10 million individuals in Latin America. The infection is acquired by inhaling airborne propagules produced by the fungal mycelium which transforms into the pathogenic yeast form, when at the body temperature. P brasiliensis expresses invivo many important virulence genes that may contribute to the overall fungus pathogenesis. We utilized in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT) to identify new P. brasiliensis antigens that could be expressed during the infection process. IVIAT is a modified immunoscreening that circumvents the need for animal models and permits identification of antigens expressed at various stages of infection. We used the IVIAT strategy to identify P. brasiliensis genes putatively induced in vivo. Using this technique we selected immunogenic proteins which should be expressed specifically during human infection and not during growth under standard laboratory conditions. Sera from eleven patients with PCM infection obtained in Goiânia were pooled and after that were adsorbed with whole cells and lysates of the in vitro cultured yeast phase. These sera were probed to induced proteins from a cDNA expression library of the yeast phase of P. brasiliensis constructed in ZAPII. Clones were obtained and characterized. Of special note is a cDNA (Pbls) encoding a 174 amino acid residues protein characterized as lumazine synthase (PbLS) homologue of P.brasiliensis (GenBank: DQ081183).This protein catalyzes the penultimate step in the synthesis of riboflavin in plants, fungi, and microrganisms. In order to produce antibodies against the recombinant PbLS the expression construct pGEX-4T-3-LS was introduced into Escherichia coli cells and the expression and purification of the recombinant protein was obtained. The analysis of the immunological reactivity of the recombinant protein showed that this is recognized by sera of patients with PCM and is not reactive with sera of control individuals. To analyze the expression of the Pbls gene in the two forms of P.brasiliensis we use semiquantitative RT-PCR. The transcripts for LS had been preferentially expressed in the yeast form of fungus. Human pneumocytes infected with P.brasiliensis had been used to investigate the expression of transcripts in an infection model. The Pbls gene was detected in yeast cells infecting human pneumocytes. The lumazine synthase represents an attractive targets for the development of drugs against pathogens, since bacteria, fungus and plants are dependent of the endogenous synthesis of the B2 vitamin. Studies shown that recombinant lumazine synthase is strongly immunogenic and elicits both humoral and cellular immune responses confering protection in mice. Those data make very interesting the study of this protein in P. brasiliensis.

ASSUNTO(S)

expressão in-vivo patogênese lumazine synthase iviat (antígeno induzido in-vivo) pathogenesis fungos; genética; biologia molecular virulência paracoccidioides brasiliensis medicina virulence expression in-vivo paracoccidioides brasiliensis lumazina sintase iviat(in vivo-induced antigen technology)

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

Documentos Relacionados