Here we exploit the natural properties of a synthetic nanoparticle (NP) scaffold as a subunit vaccine against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). Two EHEC-specific immunogenic antigens, namely, LomW and EscC, either alone or in combination, were covalently linked on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and used to immunize mice prior to challenge with EHEC O157:H7 strain 86-24. LomW is a putative outer membrane protein encoded in bacteriophage BP-933W, while EscC is a structural type III secretion system protein which forms a ring in the outer membrane. The resulting AuNP preparations, AuNP-LomW and AuNP-EscC, showed that the nanoparticles were able to incorporate the antigens, forming stable formulations that retained robust immunogenicity in vivo after subcutaneous immunization. When administered subcutaneously, AuNP-LomW or AuNP-EscC or a combination containing equivalent amounts of both candidates resulted in higher IgG titers in serum and secretory IgA titers in feces. The serum IgG titers correlated with a significant reduction in EHEC intestinal colonization after 3 days postinoculation. In addition, we showed that serum from antigen-coated AuNP-immunized mice resulted in a reduction of adherence to human intestinal epithelial cells for EHEC, as well as for two other E. coli pathotypes (enteropathogenic E. coli [EPEC], encoding EscC, and enteroaggregative E. coli [EAEC], encoding LomW). Further, the serum had antigen-specific bactericidal properties, engaging the classical complement pathway. Overall, our results demonstrate the immunogenicity and stability of a novel nanovaccine against EHEC. These results also strengthen the prospect of development of a synthetic nanoparticle vaccine conjugated to E. coli antigens as a promising platform against other enteric pathogens. IMPORTANCE Enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 is a human pathogen and the causative agent of diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis, which can progress to hemolytic uremic syndrome. These complications represent a serious global public health problem that requires laborious public health interventions and safety control measures to combat recurrent outbreaks worldwide. Today, there are no effective interventions for the control of EHEC infections, and, in fact, the use of antibiotics is counterindicated for EHEC disease. Therefore, a viable alternative for the prevention of human infections is the development of vaccines; however, no such vaccines are approved for human use. In this study, we developed a novel gold nanoparticle platform which acts as a scaffold for the delivery of various antigens, representing a nanovaccine technology which can be applied to several disease models.

Melioidosis is a complex human disease associated with a wide range of complications caused by the Gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei . The global burden of melioidosis is estimated to have 165,000 cases per year and 89,000 fatal outcomes.

Burkholderia mallei (Bm) is a facultative intracellular pathogen and the etiological agent of glanders, a highly infectious zoonotic disease occurring in equines and humans. The intrinsic resistance to antibiotics, lack of specific therapy, high mortality, and history as a biothreat agent, prompt the need of a safe and effective vaccine. However, the limited knowledge of protective Bm-specific antigens has hampered the development of a vaccine. Further, the use of antigen-delivery systems that enhance antigen immunogenicity and elicit robust antigen-specific immune responses has been limited and could improve vaccines against Bm. Nanovaccines, in particular gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), have been investigated as a strategy to broaden the repertoire of vaccine-mediated immunity and as a tool to produce multivalent vaccines. To synthesize a nano-glycoconjugate vaccine, six predicted highly immunogenic antigens identified by a genome-wide bio- and immuno-informatic analysis were purified and coupled to AuNPs along with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from B. thailandensis. Mice immunized intranasally with individual AuNP-protein-LPS conjugates, showed variable degrees of protection against intranasal Bm infection, while an optimized combination formulation (containing protein antigens OmpW, OpcP, and Hemagglutinin, along with LPS) showed complete protection against lethality in a mouse model of inhalational glanders. Animals immunized with different nano-glycoconjugates showed robust antigen-specific antibody responses. Moreover, serum from animals immunized with the optimized nano-glycoconjugate formulation showed sustained antibody responses with increased serum-mediated inhibition of adherence and opsonophagocytic activity in vitro. This study provides the basis for the rational design and construction of a multicomponent vaccine platform against Bm.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, an endemic disease in tropical areas around the world. Cumulative human cases have demonstrated that melioidosis is prevalent and increasingly recognized in the American continent. Even though the first reports of melioidosis in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands date back to the late 1940s, the potential of the disease as a public health concern in the region has not been fully appreciated. Unfortunately, recent studies predicting the global distribution of the disease and the demonstration of melioidosis endemicity in Puerto Rico have not increased recognition of the disease by health professionals in this region. Furthermore, a lack of both diagnostic capacity and awareness of the disease has resulted in a limited number of studies that have attempted to accurately determine its prevalence and geographical distribution. In this review, a summary of reported cases in the countries of this region are presented, as well as recommendations to increase the diagnosis and awareness of the disease as an important public health problem in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.

Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bpm) is a Gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of melioidosis. Despite advances in our understanding of the disease, Bpm poses a significant health risk, especially in endemic regions, where treatment requires prolonged antibiotic therapy. Even though the respiratory and percutaneous routes are well documented and considered the main ways to acquire the pathogen, the gastrointestinal tract is believed to be an underreported and underrecognized route of infection. In the present study, we describe the development of in vitro and in vivo models to study Bpm gastrointestinal infection. Further, we report that the Type 6 Secretion System (T6SS) and type 1 fimbriae are important virulence factors required for gastrointestinal infection. Using a human intestinal epithelial cell line and mouse primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), we demonstrated that Bpm adheres, invades, and forms multinucleated giant cells, ultimately leading to cell toxicity. We demonstrated that mannose-sensitive type 1 fimbria is involved in the initial adherence of Bpm to IECs, although the impact on full virulence was limited. Finally, we also showed that Bpm requires a functional T6SS for full virulence, bacterial dissemination, and for lethality in mice infected by the intragastric route. Overall, we showed that Bpm is an enteric pathogen, that type 1 fimbria is important for Bpm intestinal adherence and identify a new role for T6SS as a key virulence factor in gastrointestinal infection. These studies highlight the importance of gastrointestinal melioidosis as an understudied route of infection and open a new avenue for the pathogenesis of Bpm.

Pathogens are able to breach the intestinal barrier, and different bacterial species can display different abilities to colonize hosts and induce inflammation. Inflammatory response studies induced by enteropathogens as Escherichia coli are interesting since it has acquired diverse genetic mobile elements, leading to different E. coli pathotypes. Diarrheagenic E. coli secrete toxins, effectors and virulence factors that exploit the host cell functions to facilitate the bacterial colonization. Many bacterial proteins are delivered to the host cell for subverting the inflammatory response. Hereby, we have highlighted the specific processes used by E. coli pathotypes, by that subvert the inflammatory pathways. These mechanisms include an arrangement of pro- and anti-inflammatory responses to favor the appropriate environmental niche for the bacterial survival and growth.

Melioidosis is a disease caused by the Gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei ( Bpm ), commonly found in soil and water of endemic areas. Naturally acquired human melioidosis infections can result from either exposure through percutaneous inoculation, inhalation, or ingestion of soil-contaminated food or water. Our prior studies recognized Bpm as an effective enteric pathogen, capable of establishing acute or chronic gastrointestinal infections following oral inoculation. However, the specific mechanisms and virulence factors involved in the pathogenesis of Bpm during intestinal infection are unknown. In our current study, we standardized an in vitro intestinal infection model using primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and demonstrated that Bpm requires a functional T6SS for full virulence. Further, we performed dual RNA-seq analysis on Bpm -infected IECs to evaluate differentially expressed host and bacterial genes in the presence or absence of a T6SS. Our results showed a dysregulation in the TNF-α signaling via NF-κB pathway in the absence of the T6SS, with some of the genes involved in inflammatory processes and cell death also affected. Analysis of the bacterial transcriptome identified virulence factors and regulatory proteins playing a role during infection, with association to the T6SS. By using a Bpm transposon mutant library and isogenic mutants, we showed that deletion of the bicA gene, encoding a putative T3SS/T6SS regulator, ablated intracellular survival and plaque formation by Bpm and impacted survival and virulence when using murine models of acute and chronic gastrointestinal infection. Overall, these results highlight the importance of the type 6 secretion system in the gastrointestinal pathogenesis of Bpm .

Inflammatory response is key for the host defense against diarrheagenic Escherichia coli and contributes to the pathogenesis of the disease but there is not a comparative study among different diarrheagenic pathotypes. We analyzed the inflammatory response induced by five diarrheagenic pathotypes in a HT-29 cell infection model. The model was unified to reproduce the pathogenesis of each pathotype. To compare the inflammatory responses we evaluated: (i) nuclear NF-κB and ERK1/2 translocation by confocal microscopy; (ii) kinetics of activation by each pathway detecting p65 and ERK1/2 phosphorylation by Western blotting; (iii) pathways modulation through bacterial infections with or without co-stimulation with TNF-α or EGF; (iv) cytokine profile induced by each pathotype with and without inhibitors of each pathway. EHEC but mainly EPEC inhibited translocation and activation of p65 and ERK1/2 pathways, as well as cytokines secretion; inhibition of p65 and ERK1/2 phosphorylation prevailed in the presence of TNF-α and EGF, respectively. Intracellular strains, EIEC/Shigella flexneri, caused a strong translocation, activation, and cytokines secretion but they could not inhibit TNF-α and EGF stimulation. ETEC and mainly EAEC caused a moderate translocation, but a differential activation, and high cytokines secretion; interestingly TNF-α and EGF stimulation did no modify p65 and ERK1/2 activation. The use of inhibitors of NF-κB and/or ERK1/2 showed that NF-κB is crucial for cytokine induction by the different pathotypes; only partially depended on ERK1/2 activation. Thus, in spite of their differences, the pathotypes can also be divided in three groups according to their inflammatory response as those (i) that inject effectors to cause A/E lesion, which are able to inhibit NF-κB and ERK1/2 pathways, and cytokine secretion; (ii) with fimbrial adherence and toxin secretion with a moderate inhibition of both pathways but high cytokines secretion through autocrine cytokine regulation; and (iii) the intracellular bacteria that induce the highest pathways activation and cytokines secretion by using different activation mechanisms. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of how the different pathogenesis schemes of E. coli pathotypes manipulate inflammatory signaling pathways, which leads to a specific proinflammatory cytokine secretion in a cell model infection that reproduce the hallmarks of infection of each pathotype.