The early secreted antigenic target 6 kDa protein (ESAT-6) is a potent T-cell protein antigen synthesized by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its corresponding gene (esat-6) is located in RD1, a 10 kb DNA region deleted in the attenuated tuberculosis vaccine strain Mycobacterium bowis BCG. The promoter region of M. tuberculosis esat-6 was cloned and characterized. A new gene, designated lhp and cotranscribed with esat-6, was identified. Moreover, computer searches in the M. tuberculosis genome identified 13 genes related to the lhplesat-6 operon, defining a novel gene family. The transcription initiation sites of the lhplesat-6 operon were mapped using M. tuberculosis RNA. The corresponding promoter signals were not recognized in Mycobacterium smegmatis, in which transcription of lhplesat-6 is initiated at different locations. The M. tuberculosis lhp gene product was identified as CFP-10, a lowmolecular-mass protein found in the short-term culture filtrate. These results show that the genes encoding CFP-10 and ESAT-6 are transcribed together in M. tuberculosis and that both code for small exported proteins.

In this study, we investigated the potential of a tuberculosis subunit vaccine based on fusion proteins of the immunodominant antigens ESAT-6 and antigen 85B. When the fusion proteins were administered to mice in the adjuvant combination dimethyl dioctadecylammonium bromide-monophosphoryl lipid A, a strong dosedependent immune response was induced to both single components as well as to the fusion proteins. The immune response induced was accompanied by high levels of protective immunity and reached the level of Mycobacterium bovis BCG-induced protection over a broad dose range. The vaccine induced efficient immunological memory, which remained stable 30 weeks postvaccination.Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious disease in the developing world, and the World Health Organization estimates 80 million new cases of tuberculosis in this decade (8). The current vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. bovis Bacillus Calmette-Gúerin (BCG), has been extensively evaluated and demonstrated variable protective efficacies ranging from 0 to 85% in different field trials (13). An improved second-generation vaccine is therefore urgently needed. Alternative strategies in TB vaccine development such as subunit vaccines (2, 16, 23), genetic immunization (17, 27), and attenuated strains of M. tuberculosis (14) are currently being explored in many laboratories. Due to the complexity of the host immune response against tuberculosis and the genetic restriction imposed by major histocompatibility complex molecules, it has become clear that an effective subunit vaccine containing multiple epitopes may be required to ensure a broad coverage of a genetically heterogeneous population. We and others have previously demonstrated that vaccines based on a mixture of culture filtrate antigens can induce levels of protection similar to BCG in mice (2, 16, 23), but so far only a few experimental vaccines based on a single antigen have proved successful in animal models (6,17,27).The strategy being explored in our laboratory is the molecular engineering of recombinant fusion proteins. Compared to mixtures of proteins extracted from cultures or cell lysates, the fusion protein approach offers at least two substantial advantages: (i) it is a more defined product and (ii) it reduces the number of recombinant expression and purification steps. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the potential of a subunit vaccine based on a fusion protein between two immunodominant antigens, Ag85B and the 6-kDa early secretory antigenic target (ESAT-6). In this study, we show that this approach is very promising and promotes an efficient immune response which is highly protective against TB in the mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODSAnimals. Specific-pathogen-free female C57BL/6J (H-2 b ) and B6CBAF1 (H-2 b,k ) mice were purchased from Bomholtgaard (Ry, Denmark). All mice used were 6-to 12 weeks of age and were housed in cages contained within a BL-3 laminar flow safety enclosure. Animals were allowed free access to water and standard mouse chow. Bact...

There is growing evidence for a causal role of the KDM5 family of histone demethylases in human cancer. In particular, KDM5A (JARID1A/RBP2) and KDM5B (JARID1B/PLU1) contribute to cancer cell proliferation, reduce the expression of tumor suppressor genes, promote the development of drug tolerance and maintain tumor-initiating cells. KDM5 enzymes remove tri- and di-methylations of lysine 4 of histone H3 - modifications that occur at the start site of transcription in actively transcribed genes. However, the importance of the histone demethylase activity of KDM5 proteins for cancer cells has not been resolved so far. The currently available approaches suppress or remove the targeted proteins and thereby affect their putative functions as structural components and recruitment factors for other chromatin-associated proteins. Therefore, the development of specific enzymatic inhibitors for KDM5 will promote our understanding of the biological role of their catalytic activity and yield potential novel anticancer therapeutics.

Culture filtrate from Mycobacterium tuberculosiscontains molecules which promote high levels of protective immunity in animal models of subunit vaccination against tuberculosis. We have used two-dimensional electrophoresis for analysis and purification of six novel M. tuberculosis culture filtrate proteins (CFPs): CFP17, CFP20, CFP21, CFP22, CFP25, and CFP28. The proteins were tested for recognition by M. tuberculosis-reactive memory cells from different strains of inbred mice and for their capacity to induce a skin test response in M. tuberculosis-infected guinea pigs. CFP17, CFP20, CFP21 and CFP25 induced both a high gamma interferon release and a strong delayed-type hypersensitivity response, and CFP21 was broadly recognized by different strains of inbred mice. N-terminal sequences were obtained for the six proteins, and the corresponding genes were identified in the Sanger M. tuberculosis genome database. In parallel we established a two-dimensional electrophoresis reference map of short-term culture filtrate components and mapped novel proteins as well as already-known CFP.