Luke T, Bennett RS, Gerhardt DM, Burdette T, Postnikova E, et al.
The Journal of infectious diseases •
Transchromosomic bovines (Tc-bovines) adaptively produce fully human polyclonal immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies after exposure to immunogenic antigen(s). The National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research and collaborators rapidly produced and then evaluated anti-Ebola virus IgG immunoglobulins (collectively termed SAB-139) purified from Tc-bovine plasma after sequential hyperimmunization with an Ebola virus Makona isolate glycoprotein nanoparticle vaccine. SAB-139 was characterized by several in vitro production, research, and clinical level assays using wild-type Makona-C05 or recombinant virus/antigens from different Ebola virus variants. SAB-139 potently activates natural killer cells, monocytes, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and has high-binding avidity demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance. SAB-139 has similar concentrations of galactose-α-1,3-galactose carbohydrates compared with human-derived intravenous Ig, and the IgG1 subclass antibody is predominant. All rhesus macaques infected with Ebola virus/H.sapiens-tc/GIN/2014/Makona-C05 and treated with sufficient SAB-139 at 1 day (n = 6) or 3 days (n = 6) postinfection survived versus 0% of controls. This study demonstrates that Tc-bovines can produce pathogen-specific human Ig to prevent and/or treat patients when an emerging infectious disease either threatens to or becomes an epidemic.
Chateau A, Lunderberg JM, Oh SY, Abshire T, Friedlander A, et al.
Journal of bacteriology •
, the causative agent of anthrax disease, elaborates a secondary cell wall polysaccharide (SCWP) that is essential for bacterial growth and cell division. SCWP is comprised of trisaccharide repeats with the structure, [→4)-β-ManNAc-(1→4)-β-GlcNAc(3-α-Gal)-(1→6)-α-GlcNAc(3-α-Gal, 4-β-Gal)-(1→] The genes whose products promote the galactosylation of SCWP are not yet known. We show here that the expression of , encoding a UDP-glucose 4-epimerase necessary for the synthesis of UDP-galactose, is required for SCWP galactosylation. The mutant assembles surface (S) layer and S layer-associated proteins that associate with ketal-pyruvylated SCWP via their S layer homology domains similarly to wild-type , but the mutant displays a defect in γ-phage murein hydrolase binding to SCWP. Furthermore, deletion of diminishes the capsulation of with poly-d-γ-glutamic acid (PDGA) and causes a reduction in bacterial virulence. These data suggest that SCWP galactosylation is required for the physiologic assembly of the cell wall envelope and for the pathogenesis of anthrax disease. Unlike virulent isolates, strain CDC684 synthesizes secondary cell wall polysaccharide (SCWP) trisaccharide repeats without galactosyl modification, exhibits diminished growth in broth cultures, and is severely attenuated in an animal model of anthrax. To examine whether SCWP galactosylation is a requirement for anthrax disease, we generated variants of strains Sterne 34F2 and Ames lacking UDP-glucose 4-epimerase by mutating the genes and We identified as necessary for SCWP galactosylation. Deletion of decreased the poly-d-γ-glutamic acid (PDGA) capsulation of the vegetative form of and increased the bacterial inoculum required to produce lethal disease in mice, indicating that SCWP galactosylation is indeed a determinant of anthrax disease.
