Anti-oxidation and immune responses in mice upon exposure to manganese superoxide dismutase expressed in silkworm larvae, Bombyx mori L

With manganese superoxide dismutase expressed in silkworm larvae, Bomby mori L, we investigate the effects of silkworm larvae powder containing SOD on the antioxidation and the immune system of mouse. The contents of MDA both in mice plasma or liver organ treated with silkworm larvae powder containing manganese superoxide dismutase were reduced compare to control. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities both in plasma or liver organ of the treated mice were significantly higher than that of both control and bromobenzene treated mice (group-BM), suggesting the silkworm larvae powder containing SOD play a positive role in anti-oxidation in mice. This experiment was also designed to investigate the effects of silkworm larvae powder containing SOD on the immune system of mouse, focused on hemolysin response, hemagglutination against SRBC and the activity of natural killer (NK) cells. All treated mice showed significant increase in hemolysin response to SRBC and demonstrated an activation of NK cell function by the SOD-contained silkworm larvae powder, which suggest a promotion in humoral immunity. The results suggested the SOD expressed in silkworm maybe have potential application in medicine.     

Improvement of recombinant baculovirus infection efficiency to express manganese superoxide dismutase in silkworm larvae through dual promoters of Pph and Pp10

The silkworm, Bombyx mori, has been used as an important bioreactor for the production of recombinant proteins through baculovirus expression system (BES). There are several problems which will probably be the bottleneck for practical and industrial utilization of silkworm bioreactor. Traditionally, the recombinant virus should infect the larvae through individual dorsal injection by a syringe. This is a time- and labor-consuming procedure. This drawback has become a bottleneck for practical and industrial utilization of baculovirus expression system in the silkworm bioreactor. In this paper, we constructed a dual expression baculovirus to express the renovated polyhedron and target manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene under P10 and polyhedron promoters, respectively, through oral infection. The results showed that the direct injection of recombinant rBacmid/BmNPV/SOD DNA with cellfectin reagent infected the silkworm larvae partially. When next batches of larvae were fed orally with hemolymph, which was collected from first batch of injected and infected larvae, the obvious symptom of infection was found and high target SOD was expressed. These results imply it is feasible to express target genes through combination of recombinant bacmid DNA injection and oral feeding by a dual expression bacmid baculovirus.     

Stemospironine,a New Insecticidal Alkaloid of Stemona japonica Miq. Isolation,Structural Determination and Activity

A new alkaloid named stemospironine (I) was isolated together with stemofoline (II) as the main insecticidal constituents of leaves and stems of Stemona japonica Miq. The absolute stereostructure of I has been determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Stemofoline (II) showed a much stronger activity than I against silkworm larvae (Bombyx mori L.) by oral administration.     

Baculoviral infection reduces the expression of four allergen proteins of silkworm pupa

Silkworm (Bombyx mori) larvae are widely used to express exogenous proteins. Moreover, some silkworm pupal proteins can be used as drug‐loading materials for selfexpressed oral tolerance drugs. However, several proteins expressed in silkworm pupae cause severe allergic reactions in humans and animals. Interestingly, some baculovirus vectors have been shown to alter the host gene and its expression in insect cells, but this has not been confirmed in silkworm. Here, we analyzed the effects of infection with an empty B. mori baculovirus (BmNPV) vector on silkworm pupal protein expression. Using a proteomics approach, the allergens thiol peroxiredoxin (Jafrac1), 27‐kDa glycoprotein (p27k), arginine kinase, and paramyosin as well as 32 additional differentially expressed proteins were identified. Downregulation of the messenger RNA expression of the four known allergens was observed after BmNPV infection; subsequent changes in protein expression were confirmed by the western blot analysis using polyclonal antibodies prepared with recombinant proteins of the four allergens. Collectively, these data indicate that the four known allergens of silkworm pupae can be reduced by infection ith an empty BmNPV vector to increase the safety of silkworm pupa‐based exogenous protein expression and drug delivery of oral pharmaceuticals. In addition, the four recombinant allergen proteins may contribute to the diagnosis of allergic diseases of silkworm pupa.     

Immunity promotion and proteomic identification in mice upon exposure to manganese superoxide dismutase expressed in silkworm larvae

With manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD) expressed in silkworm larvae, Bomby mori L, we investigated the effects of silkworm larvae powder containing SOD on the immune system of mouse and employed a proteomics approach to examine this phenomenon. Our data on the effects of continuous treatment with SOD-containing silkworm larvae powder showed that the ConA-stimulated splenocyte proliferation of all three treated groups was higher than that of the control. The results of PFC assay also revealed that antibody production was higher in all three treated groups than controlled mice. We investigated the phagocytosis of mouse macrophages. The SOD treatment led to a dose-dependent increase of phagocytic activity. We identified six proteins that related to immunity of mice. The data showed all these six matched proteins related immunity presented the increase of expression level in plasma of mouse administrated with silkworm powder including SOD compared to that of control. These findings demonstrate that administration of silkworm larvae powder containing SOD results in enhancement of immunity activities in the mouse. The results also suggested that the SOD expressed in silkworm maybe have potential application in medicine.     

Manganese superoxide dismutase expressed in silkworm larvae,Bombyx mori L enhances the NK activity and splenocyte proliferation against Sarcoma 180 tumor cells in vivo

Natural killer cell (NK) is known as a major immune system in body through mediating cell death via several possible pathways, and one of three subpopulations of lymphocytes functioning as scavenger of tumor, virus infected cells etc. Our present results found that the SOD-contained silkworm larvae powder caused an enhancement of the effect on NK cell cytotoxicity, which implied this material modulated the immune system in mice in vivo. The NK cell activities of S180 tumor modeled mice treated with silkworm powder including SOD were enhanced significantly ranging from 30% to 48%, respectively, compare to a distilled water feeding control and silkworm powder without SOD. Meanwhile, the ConA-stimulated splenocyte proliferation of all three treated groups was higher than that of the control both in T cells or B cells. The average tumor weight of S180 modeled mice treated with doses of SOD-contained silkworm powder was lighter than that of water control showing the tumor inhibition rates (IR) reached to 22.51% to 37%, respectively. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that administration of silkworm larvae powder containing SOD results in activation of NK cells and immune T-cell and B-cell, suggesting the silkworm larvae powder containing SOD play a positive role in tumor inhibition.     

Oral administration of a cholera toxin B subunit-insulin fusion protein produced in silkworm protects against autoimmune diabetes

The oral administration of disease-specific autoantigens can induce oral immune tolerance and prevent or delay the onset of autoimmune disease symptoms. Here, we describe the construction of an edible vaccine consisting of a fusion protein composed of cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) and insulin that is produced in silkworm larvae at levels of up to 0.3 mg/ml of hemolymph. The silkworm bioreactor produced this fusion protein vaccine as the pentameric CTB-insulin form, which retained the GM1-ganglioside binding affinity and the native antigenicity of CTB and insulin. Non-obese diabetic mice fed hemolymph containing microgram quantities of the CTB-insulin fusion protein showed a prominent reduction in pancreatic islet inflammation and a delay in the development of symptoms of clinical diabetes. These results demonstrate that the silkworm bioreactor is a feasible production and delivery system for an oral protein vaccine designed to develop immunological tolerance against T-cell-mediated autoimmune diabetes by regulatory T-cell induction.     

以核多角体病毒为载体在家蚕中生产外源蛋白

以家蚕核多角体病毒(BmNPV)为载体,在家蚕幼虫或家蚕培养细胞系中表达的外源基因越来越多,其表达的产物已涉及到医用药物、医疗诊断、疫苗生产、生物防治等诸多领域,文章就BmNPV的特性及其基因组构造,多角体蛋白基因的特性,重组BmNPV的构建及其在家蚕幼虫体内和细胞系中的表达,BmNPV-家蚕表达系统的外源蛋白生产效率及其应用等各个方面作了全面、系统的综述.     

Oral Administration of a Fusion Protein between the Cholera Toxin B Subunit and the 42-Amino Acid Isoform of Amyloid-β Peptide Produced in Silkworm Pupae Protects against Alzheimer's Disease in Mice

A key molecule in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer''s disease (AD) is a 42-amino acid isoform of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42), which is the most toxic element of senile plaques. In this study, to develop an edible, safe, low-cost vaccine for AD, a cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)-Aβ42 fusion protein was successfully expressed in silkworm pupae. We tested the silkworm pupae-derived oral vaccination containing CTB-Aβ42 in a transgenic mouse model of AD. Anti-Aβ42 antibodies were induced in these mice, leading to a decreased Aβ deposition in the brain. We also found that the oral administration of the silk worm pupae vaccine improved the memory and cognition of mice, as assessed using a water maze test. These results suggest that the new edible CTB-Aβ42 silkworm pupae-derived vaccine has potential clinical application in the prevention of AD.     

Expression of UreB and HspA of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> in silkworm pupae and identification of its immunogenicity

For mass production of urease B subunit (UreB) and heat shock protein A subunit (HspA) of Helicobacter pylori with Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) baculovirus expression system (BES) and to determine whether they could be used as an oral vaccine against H. pylori, besides, to determine the time course of expressed recombinant protein and the optimum acquisition time directly through green fluorescence, HspA and enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) genes were cloned into vector pFastBacDual to form donor vector pFastBacDual-(EGFP) (HspA), UreB gene was cloned into vector pFastBacDual to form donor vector pFastBacDual-UreB,then they were transformed into E. coli BmDH10Bac to obtain the recombinant Bacmid-(EGFP) (HspA) and Bacmid-UreB respectively. They were used to transfect BmN cells and generated the recombinant baculovirus BmNPV-(EGFP) (HspA) and BmNPV-UreB. Using these recombinant baculovirus BmNPV-(EGFP) (HspA) and BmNPV-UreB inoculated the silkworm pupae, a recombinant HspA and UreB protein were expressed in silkworm pupae, which were around 13 and 62 kDa in sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and western blot analysis. After oral immunization of mice, serum specific IgG antibodies against HspA and UreB in vaccine group were much higher than that in mock and native silkworm powder control groups. The results indicated that the expressed recombinant HspA and UreB in silkworm pupae would possess good immunogenicity. In addition, when EGFP and HspA proteins were expressed, a direct correlation between the increase in intensity of fluorescence and HspA concentration.     

High level expression of a frog α-amidating enzyme,AE-II,in cultured cells and silkworm larvae using aBombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus expression vector

AXenopus laevis peptidyl C-terminal α-amidating enzyme (AE-II) gene, modified by deletion of a region encoding the putative membrane-spanning domain and the putative C-terminal cytosolic tail, was expressed in BoMo-15 AIIc insect cells and silkworm larvae using aBombyx mori baculovirus expression vector system. The expressed enzyme was identified predominantly in the culture medium and the hemolymph of silkworm larvae, indicating successful secretion of the expressed AE-II. The level of recombinant enzyme in the larval hemolymph at 4 days post-infection (40 μg/ml) was more than 100-fold the peak levels found in the culture medium (250 ng/ml). The enzyme activity in the larval hemolymph at 4 days post-infection was 3700 units/ml.     

Oral immunization with Escherichia coli K-12 of the fifth instar larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, reared on an artificial diet under completely aseptic conditions.

1. Effect of oral administration of live or formalin-treated Escherichia coli (E. coli) K-12 to the fifth instar, days 1 and 3 larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, on induction of antibacterial activity in the haemolymph was investigated using the silkworms reared on an artificial diet under completely aseptic conditions. 2. When live E. coli was administered to the male day 1 larvae, low but significant antibacterial activity of 3.8 mm was detectable in the haemolymph of one individual at 48 hr after immunization. The proportion of the larvae to express antibacterial activity increased thereafter and at 120 hr after immunization, all three individuals showed antibacterial activity. In day 3 male larvae, activity was detectable at 48 and 72 hr after immunization. 3. When formalin-treated E. coli was orally administered to days 1 and 3 male larvae, no activity was detectable at any time post-immunization. 4. In the second experiment, when day 1 larvae, females and males were orally immunized with live E. coli, only females showed antibacterial activity in the haemolymph, beginning from 24 hr after immunization and up to 96 hr. 5. Removal of an antibiotic, chloramphenicol, from ingredients of an artificial diet was required for induction of antibacterial activity with oral administration of live E. coli. 6. When live E. coli that grows at pH 9.0 was selected and used for oral immunization, antibacterial activity was induced both in females and males at 72 hr after immunization and the activity was observed at 96 hr. 7. These results suggest that establishment of oral immunization with live E. coli in the silkworm larvae requires multiplication of E. coli in the midgut lumen and possibly its colonization on the luminal surface.     

Production of porcine parvovirus virus-like particles using silkworm larvae

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is a significant causative agent of porcine reproductive failure, causing serious economic losses in the swine industry. PPV is a nonenveloped virus, and its capsid is assembled from three viral proteins (VP1, VP2, and VP3). The major capsid protein, VP2, is the main target for PPV neutralizing antibodies and vaccine development. In this study, PPV-VP2 protein was expressed in silkworm larvae, and its antigenicity and production were compared with those in B. mori cells (Bm5). The recombinant VP2 protein was expressed successfully in silkworm larvae and Bm5 cells with a size of approximately 64 kDa. The formation of virus-like particles (VLPs) by recombinant PPV-VP2 was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy. The recombinant PPV-VP2 protein assembled into spherical particles with diameters ranging from 20 to 22 nm. The antigenicity of PPV-VLPs was comparatively analyzed between Bm5 cells and silkworm larvae by ELISA, hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition assays. Consequently, it was confirmed that the PPV-VLPs produced in the silkworm larvae were more antigenic than VLPs produced in Bm5 cells. Therefore, it is expected that economical and effective vaccine development will be possible by mass production of PPV-VLPs in silkworm larvae.     

拯救细胞系恢复重组家蚕核型多角体病毒包涵体实现外源蛋白在家蚕中产业化生产

构建家蚕Bombyx mori肌动蛋白（BmA3）启动子驱动的家蚕核型多角体病毒（BmNPV）多角体基因（ph）和OpNPV极早期启动子（IE1）驱动的zeocin抗性筛选基因转座供体载体,与鳞翅目辅助转座质粒pie2piggyBac共转染家蚕卵巢细胞BmN,经200μg/ml zeocin抗生素筛选一个月,成功获得持续表达BmNPV多角体蛋白的稳定细胞系BmN-A3ph。多角体缺陷型重组病毒BmBac-GF P感染拯救细胞系BmN- A3ph, 细胞成功装配出病毒包涵体颗粒,其包装效率约为野生型病毒感染正常BmN细胞的8%。用拯救型包涵体病毒颗粒喂食家蚕幼虫进行复感染,结果表明稳定细胞系所包装的包涵体病毒与野生型病毒一样能够通过口服途径感染宿主,却并不在宿主体内形成包涵体,从而保证外源基因高效表达。拯救型包涵体病毒可望解决传统注射感染效率较低问题,通过喂食感染可促进杆状病毒介导的家蚕生物反应器产业化进程。     

Expression of Protein Complex Comprising the Human Prorenin and (Pro)Renin Receptor in Silkworm Larvae Using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombyx mori</Emphasis> Nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) Bacmids for Improving Biological Function

Three forms of recombinant protein complexes comprising the human prorenin (hPro) and (pro)renin receptor (hPRR) (hPRR/prorenin) were successfully expressed in the silkworm larvae using Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) bacmids. They were localized in the fat body cells and formed a prorenin-bound hPRR complex. The expressed levels of hPro and hPRR were similar judging from Western blotting. The hPRR/prorenin complex containing 40 μg of hPRR (yield, 43%) and 30 μg of hPro (yield, 34%) was purified from 15 silkworm larvae by a series of purification using anti-FLAG and Strep-Tactin affinity chromatography. The renin activity of the purified hPRR/prorenin complex was 3.8-fold that of the mixture of hPRR and hPro expressed individually in vitro judging from the renin assay. These results show that the unstable transmembrane protein, hPRR, was coexpressed stably with ligand, hPro, and formed a stable protein, hPRR/prorenin complex that showed a high catalytic active form.     

Determination of Caffeic Acid in the Digestive Juice of Silkworm Larvae and Its Antibacterial Activity against the Pathogenic Streptococcus faecalis AD–4

Caffeic acid (CA) was identified as an antibacterial substance in the digestive juice of silkworm larvae. Concentrations of CA in the digestive juice decreased from 460 ppm to 3 ppm as the starvation period of the larvae was prolonged from 1 hr to 12 hr. The specimens of digestive juice (ca. pH 10.0) containing 460 ppm and 222 ppm of CA had antibacterial activity against Streptococcus faecalis AD–4, a pathogenic intestinal bacterium affecting silkworm larvae, and an alkaline medium (pH 10.0) containing 500 ppm of authentic CA also exhibited antibacterial activity.

These findings suggest that CA plays an important role in the defense mechanism of silkworm larvae against the bacterial infection.     

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of BmNOX in two strains of Bombyx mori with contrasting viral resistance phenotype

We recently documented the identification of a 26.5 kDa protein named BmNox in the gut fluid of Nistari strain of Bombyx mori, which possessed antiviral activity against BmNPV in vitro. In this report, we report the characterization of the full‐length gene encoding BmNOX and the levels of expression of this gene in select tissues of silkworm larvae from a BmNPV‐susceptible and a BmNPV‐resistant strain to the defense capability in Bombyx mori larvae challenged with BmNPV. We also evaluated the BmNox expression in various stages of larval life of a resistant and a susceptible strain of Bombyx mori selected from among a panel of strains of silkworm. Nistari, a multivoltine strain of silkworm, expressed BmNOX during all five larval stages, and were highly resistant to BmNPV infection. In sharp contrast, CSR₂, a bivoltine strain, showed weaker expression of BmNOX in the anterior midgut in larval life and was highly susceptible to BmNPV infection. BmNOX is a secretory protein with dual expression in gut fluid and mid gut tissue. BmNOX is expressed heavily in the posterior mid gut, with weaker expression in the fore‐ and mid‐gut regions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Curcumin analogue UBS109 prevents bone loss in breast cancer bone metastasis mouse model: involvement in osteoblastogenesis and osteoclastogenesis

Bone metastasis of breast cancer typically leads to osteolysis, which causes severe pathological bone fractures and hypercalcemia. Bone homeostasis is skillfully regulated through osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Bone loss with bone metastasis of breast cancer may be due to both activation of osteoclastic bone resorption and suppression of osteoblastic bone formation. This study was undertaken to determine whether the novel curcumin analogue UBS109 has preventive effects on bone loss induced by breast cancer cell bone metastasis. Nude mice were inoculated with breast cancer MDA-MB-231 bone metastatic cells (10⁶ cells/mouse) into the head of the right and left tibia. One week after inoculation, the mice were treated with control (vehicle), oral administration (p.o.) of UBS109 (50 or 150 mg/kg body weight), or intraperitoneal administration (i.p.) of UBS109 (10 or 20 mg/kg body weight) once daily for 5 days per week for 7 weeks. After UBS109 administration for 7 weeks, hind limbs were assessed using an X-ray diagnosis system and hematoxylin and eosion staining to determine osteolytic destruction. Bone marrow cells obtained from the femurs and tibias were cultured to estimate osteoblastic mineralization and osteoclastogenesis ex vivo and in vitro. Remarkable bone loss was demonstrated in the tibias of mice inoculated with breast cancer MDA-MB-231 bone metastatic cells. This bone loss was prevented by p.o. administration of UBS109 (50 and 150 mg/kg body weight) and i.p. treatment of UBS109 (10 and 20 mg/kg) in vivo. Culture of bone marrow cells obtained from the bone tissues of mice with breast cancer cell bone metastasis showed suppressed osteoblastic mineralization and stimulated osteoclastogenesis ex vivo. These changes were not seen after culture of the bone marrow cells obtained from mice treated with UBS109. Moreover, UBS109 was found to stimulate osteoblastic mineralization and suppress lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow cells obtained from normal nude mice in vitro. These findings suggest that the novel curcumin analogue UBS109 prevents breast cancer cell bone metastasis-induced bone loss by stimulating osteoblastic mineralization and suppressing osteoclastogenesis.     

Antiviral activity of selected medicinal plants and marine seaweeds on the grasserie infected larvae of silkworm,Bombyx mori

Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) is the most harmful virus responsible for the manifestation of grasserie disease in the larvae of silkworm, Bombyx mori. It causes a huge economic loss in the sericulture industry. An attempt was made in the present investigation for the screening of antiviral activity using medicinal plants such as Lantana camara, Phyllanthus amarus and marine seaweeds such as Sargassum wightii, Turbinaria ornata against BmNPV. Crude extracts were prepared using different solvents, such as hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. The silkworm feeding bioassay study was carried out with the crude extracts to investigate the presence of anti-BmNPV activity after inoculating fifth instar larvae of silkworm with occlusion bodies (OBs) of BmNPV. Each extract was tested for their anti-BmNPV activity using various concentrations of crude extracts ranging from 200 μg to 1000 μg. Among the crude extracts tested, methanol and aqueous extracts of P. amarus showed significant anti-BmNPV activity.     

Comparison of recombinant protein expression in a baculovirus system in insect cells (Sf9) and silkworm

Using a hybrid baculovirus system, we compared the expression of 45 recombinant proteins from six categories using two models: silkworm (larvae and pupae) and an Sf9 cell line. A total of 45 proteins were successfully expressed; preparation of hybrid baculovirus was unsuccessful for one protein, and two proteins were not expressed. A similar pattern of expression was seen in both silkworm and Sf9 cells, with double and multiple bands found in immunoblotting of the precipitate of both hosts. Degraded proteins were seen only in the silkworm system (particularly in the larvae). Production was more efficient in silkworms; a single silkworm produced about 70 times more protein than 10(6) Sf9 cells in 2 ml of culture medium.