Construction of a baculovirus-silkworm multigene expression system and its application on producing virus-like particles

A new baculovirus-silkworm multigene expression system named Bombyx mori MultiBac is developed and described here, by which multiple expression cassettes can be introduced into the Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) genome efficiently. The system consists of three donor vectors (pCTdual, pRADM and pUCDMIG) and an invasive diaminopimelate (DAP) auxotrophic recipient E. coli containing BmNPV-Bacmid (BmBacmid) with a homologous recombination region, an attTn7 site and a loxp site. Two genes carried by pCTdual are firstly inserted into BmBacmid by homologous recombination, while the other eight genes in pRADM and pUCDMIG are introduced into BmBacmid through Tn7 transposition and cre-loxp recombination. Then the invasive and DAP auxotrophic E. coli carrying recombinant BmBacmid is directly injected into silkworm for expressing heterologous genes in larvae or pupae. Three structural genes of rotavirus and three fluorescent genes have been simultaneously expressed in silkworm larvae using our new system, resulting in the formation of virus-like particles (VLPs) of rotavirus and the color change of larvae. The VLPs were purified from hemolymph by ultracentrifugation using CsCl gradients, with a yield of 12.7 μg per larva. For the great capacity of foreign genes and the low cost of feeding silkworm, this high efficient BmMultiBac expression system provides a suitable platform to produce VLPs or protein complexes.     

Production of Classical Swine Fever Virus Envelope Glycoprotein E2 as Recombinant Polyhedra in Baculovirus-Infected Silkworm Larvae

Although, classical swine fever virus (CSFV) envelope glycoprotein E2 subunit vaccine has been developed using the baculovirus expression system, the expression of viral antigens in baculovirus-infected insect cells is often ineffective. Therefore, an alternative strategy to the traditional baculovirus expression system is needed that is more productive and effective. Here, we report a novel strategy for the large-scale production of a CSFV E2 in the larvae of a baculovirus-infected silkworm, Bombyx mori. We constructed a recombinant B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) that expressed recombinant polyhedra together with the N-terminal 179 amino acids of CSFV E2 (E2ΔC). BmNPV-E2ΔC-infected silkworm larvae expressed native polyhedrin and approximately 44-kDa fusion protein that was detected using both anti-polyhedrin and anti-CSFV E2 antibodies. Electron and confocal microscopy both demonstrated that the recombinant polyhedra contained both the fusion protein and native polyhedrin were morphologically normal and contained CSFV E2ΔC. The CSFV E2ΔC antigen produced in BmNPV-E2ΔC-infected silkworm larvae reached 0.68?mg/ml of hemolymph and 0.53?mg/larva at 6-days post-infection. Six-week-old female BALB/c mice that were immunized with the E2ΔC protein purified from solubilized recombinant polyhedra elicited CSFV E2 antibodies, which indicated that the CSFV E2ΔC protein from recombinant polyhedra was immunogenic. The virus neutralization test showed that the serum from mice that were treated with E2ΔC protein from recombinant polyhedra contained significant levels of virus neutralization activity. These results demonstrate that this strategy can be used for the large-scale production of CSFV E2 antigen.     

Cell-specific expression of enhanced green fluorescence protein under the control of neuropeptide gene promoters in the brain of the silkworm,Bombyx mori,using Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus-derived vectors

Using the larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, we examined the baculovirus expression vector system for the expression of the enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) gene under the control of several gene promoters in vivo. To investigate the gene-delivery efficiency of the baculovirus into various larval tissues, we constructed two recombinant baculoviruses carrying the EGFP gene downstream of the Drosophila melanogaster hsp70 gene promoter from B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) and Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV). After injection of these recombinant baculoviruses into newly ecdysed 5th instar larvae, hsp70::EGFP-BmNPV, but not hsp70::EGFP-AcNPV, caused intense expression of EGFP not only in various non-neural tissues, but also in the neural organs including the brain 5 days postinfection. To investigate the cell-specific expression in the brain, we constructed recombinant C4/B3::EGFP-BmNPV and PTTH::EGFP-BmNPV which carry the EGFP gene under the control of bombyxin B3 and prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) gene promoters, respectively. Injection of these recombinant baculoviruses caused specific expression of EGFP with a high gene-expression efficiency in the neurosecretory cells of the brain depending on the neurohormone gene promoters. Present results indicate that this in vivo gene-expression system mediated by the baculovirus can serve as an efficient system permitting gene delivery into neural tissues in insects.     

Expression, purification and characterization of human GM-CSF using silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori) as a bioreactor

To date, many recombinant proteins have been expressed in Bombyx mori cells or silkworm larvae, apart from in pupae. Silkworm pupae may be more suitable for the expression of heterologous proteins as a bioreactor. If maintained at an appropriate temperature, silkworm pupae could be inoculated with recombinant baculovirus for the expression of a protein of interest. In this study, human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor was successfully expressed in silkworm pupae using B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus, purified and characterized with respect to its physico-chemical properties. The target protein expressed had an apparent molecular mass of 29 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.1. The protein was purified using three chromatographic steps with a final recovery of 10.3%. Finally, approximately 3.5mg of the protein was obtained with a biological activity of up to 8.4 x 10(6) cfu mg(-1). The results of this study suggest that silkworm pupae represent a convenient and low-cost bioreactor for the expression of heterologous proteins.     

Functional analysis of four Gloverin-like genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

To identify genes involved in the innate immunity of the silkworm Bombyx mori, we constructed a cDNA library from the fat body of Escherichia coli-challenged B. mori larvae. Based on the expressed sequence tag (EST) data and whole genome shotgun sequence analysis, we found four Gloverin-like genes, BmGlov1-4, in the Bombyx genome. Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis showed that BmGlov1-4 were induced in the larval fat body after an immune challenge by the injection of E. coli; however, less induction was observed after the injection of a yeast Candida albicans. In silico sequence analysis revealed the presence of a motif homologous to NF-kappaB binding site in the upstream region of each BmGlov gene. Moreover, we expressed recombinant BmGlov1-4 proteins using the baculovirus expression system, and found that all the recombinant BmGlov1-4 significantly inhibited the growth of E. coli.     

Enhanced production of secretory beta1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 2 fusion protein into hemolymph of Bombyx mori larvae using recombinant BmNPV bacmid integrated signal sequence

The enhanced secretion of beta1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 2 (beta3GnT2) fusion protein into the hemolymph of Bombyx mori larvae was studied using a recombinant B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) bacmid integrating seven signal sequences. When the BmNPV bacmid encoding the signal sequences from the silkworm B. mori bombyxin (bx) and B. mori prophenoloxidase-activating enzyme (ppae) was injected into silkworm larvae, 56.1 and 51.5mU/ml beta3GnT, respectively, were secreted into the hemolymph of silkworm larvae. For bx, 97.3% of the total beta3GnT activity was secreted into hemolymph, and only 1.1% remained in the intestines of silkworm larvae. For ppae, 90.8% of the total beta3GnT activity was secreted to the hemolymph, but 7.8% remained in the intestines of silkworm larvae. Using the BmNPV bacmid encoding bx, the amount of secreted beta3GnT was 91mug per larva, which was 2.5% of the total amount of protein in the hemolymph.     

人白细胞介素-11基因在家蚕培养细胞和虫体内的表达

将缺少编码信号肽序列的人白细胞介素－11（hIL-11)546核苷酸cDNA,重组于质粒pBacPAK8构建重组转移载体pBacIL-11,与经线性化修饰的家蚕核型多角体病毒（BmBacPAK)DNA共转染家蚕培养细胞株BmN,获得了插入hIL-11基因的重组病毒。Southern杂交表明重组病毒基因组中含有hIL-11基因片段,RNA斑点杂交表明hIL-11基因得到了转录。重组病毒感BmN细胞株、家蚕幼虫和蛹,在细胞培养上清、细胞抽提物、幼虫和蛹的体液样品中,SDS－PAGE电泳分析都能检测得到表达产物的特异性条带;采用IL－11依赖细胞株B9－11和MTT法测定表达产物的生物活性,表明rIL-11基因分别在培养细胞和蚕体内得到了高效表达。     

Production of scFv-displaying BmNPV in silkworm larvae and its efficient purification

Baculovirus-display technology utilizing the gp64 envelope protein has been developed. A simple and efficient process to separate the virus from the majority of the protein contaminants may be needed for the future demand of pure and functional baculovirus vectors ideal for vaccine- and gene-delivery applications. In the present study, using Bombyx mori (silkworm) larvae as a host, scFv (single-chain variable fragment)-surface displaying recombinant baculovirus production and its purification from silkworm larval haemolymph by SEC (size-exclusion chromatography) were demonstrated. The amounts of scFv were 4-8 μg/ml in the haemolymph. The scFv-gp64 fusion protein was confirmed to be incorporated into the cell membrane and the BmNPV (B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus) surface by immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting. rBmNPV (recombinant BmNPV) was purified to higher purity by SEC using Sephacryl S-1000 column chromatography than by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. The recovery of purified rBmNPV was 22.2%, and the virus purity in the SEC fraction was increased 269-fold compared with its purity in haemolymph. Judging from the results of ELISA, approx. 0.9% of the total baculovirus-particle proteins were occupied by scFv on their surface. A BmNPV-based silkworm-larval system is suitable for large-scale production of baculovirus-surface-displayed proteins or peptides in comparison with a cell-culture system. The present study will be useful for future BmNPV-application studies for gene delivery and vaccine trials.     

Construction of the Bac-to-Bac System of Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedroviru

To construct the Bac-to-Bac expression system of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus(BmNPV),a transfer vector was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli(E.coli)mini-F replicon and a lacZ:attTN7:lacZ cassette within the upstream and downstream regions of the BmNPV polyhedrin gene.B.mori larvae were cotransfected with wild-type BmNPV genomic DNA and the transfer vector through subcutaneous injection to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination in vivo.The genomic DNA of budded viruses extracted from the hemolymph of the transfected larvae was used to transform E.coli DH10B.Recombinant bacmids were screened by kanamycin resistance,PCR and restriction enzyme(REN)digestion.One of the bacmid colonies,BmBacJS13,which had similar REN profiles to that of wild-type BmNPV,was selected for further research.To investigate the infectivity of BmBacJS13,the polyhedrin gene was introduced into the bacmid and the resultant recombinant(BmBacJS13-ph)was transfected to BmN cells.The budded viruses were collected from the supernatant of the transfected cells and used for infecting BmN cells.Growth curve analysis indicated that BmBacJS13-ph had a similar growth curve to that of wild-type BmNPV.Bio-assays indicated that BmBacJS13-ph was also infectious to B.mori larvae.     

Construction of the Bac-to-Bac System of Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedroviru

To construct the Bac-to-Bac expression system of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), a transfer vector was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli (E. coli) mini-F replicon and a lacZ: attTN7: lacZ cassette within the upstream and downstream regions of the BmNPV polyhedrin gene. B. mori larvae were cotransfected with wild-type BmNPV genomic DNA and the transfer vector through subcutaneous injection to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination in vivo. The genomic DNA of budded viruses extracted from the hemolymph of the transfected larvae was used to transform E. coli DH10B. Recombinant bacmids were screened by kanamycin resistance, PCR and restriction enzyme (REN) digestion. One of the bacmid colonies, BmBacJS13, which had similar REN profiles to that of wild-type BmNPV, was selected for further research. To investigate the infectivity of BmBacJS13, the polyhedrin gene was introduced into the bacmid and the resultant recombinant (BmBacJS13-ph) was transfected to BmN cells. The budded viruses were collected from the supernatant of the transfected cells and used for infecting BmN cells. Growth curve analysis indicated that BmBacJS13-ph had a similar growth curve to that of wild-type BmNPV. Bio-assays indicated that BmBacJS13-ph was also infectious to B. mori larvae.     

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.     

应用脂质体介导技术改变重组杆状病毒感染方法

昆虫重组杆状病毒表达系统是有效的真核表达系统之一,广泛应用于重组蛋白的生产。目前常采用将重组病毒直接注射入家蚕体内的方法进行感染表达,在实际操作过程中很容易造成病毒对环境的污染,具有潜在的危险性。为了严格控制作业环境重组病毒的扩散和潜在污染,开发安全、有效的感染方法显得非常必要。本研究直接将病毒基因组DNA导入家蚕体内取得同样的感染效果,探讨了利用阳离子脂质体介导下的避免病毒污染和提高感染效果的感染方法。     

HaSNPV几丁质酶基因在大肠杆菌和昆虫细胞中的表达及其产物对Bt杀虫剂的增效作用

为了探索杆状病毒几丁质酶对微生物杀虫剂的增效作用及其利用途径 ,分别在大肠杆菌和昆虫细胞中表达棉铃虫单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒 (HaSNPV)几丁质酶 .用PCR方法扩增出不含N端信号肽编码序列的几丁质酶基因片段 ,并分别克隆至原核表达载体pET2 8a和重组到杆状病毒BactoBac表达系统 ,在大肠杆菌 (E .coli)BL2 1和粉纹夜蛾 (Trichoplusiani)细胞系Tn 5B1 4中分别进行了表达 .在大肠杆菌中表达量约占细菌总蛋白 15 % ,在昆虫细胞中表达量约占细胞总蛋白10 % .将含有几丁质酶的大肠杆菌和昆虫细胞表达产物添加到苏云金杆菌 (Bt)菌液中一起喂食 2龄家蚕 .结果显示 ,HaSNPV几丁质酶基因的 2种表达产物和Bt杀虫剂的混合物使处理的家蚕的致死时间较对照处理均明显缩短 .昆虫细胞和大肠杆菌表达产物与Bt混合物处理的LT50 分别从 93 5h和 95 1h缩短到 5 6 2h及 6 7 2h ,并且供试家蚕的生长速度明显缓慢 .研究结果表明 ,重组的HaSNPV几丁质酶有望作为Bt杀虫剂的增效剂     

Expression and one-step purification of bovine interleukin-21 (IL-21) in silkworms using a hybrid baculovirus expression system

A hybrid baculovirus, a hybrid of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus and the Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus, was used for the large-scale production of bovine interleukin-21 (IL-21) in silkworms. A recombinant hybrid baculovirus containing the full length of the cDNA of bovine interleukin-21 was constructed and used to infect silkworm larvae or silkmoth pupae. After the infection of the virus, bovine mature IL-21 was produced in the haemolymph or pupal cell lysates. A one-step purification of bovine mature IL-21 from haemolymph using a cation exchange column gave 0.5 mg. IL-21 from 30 ml haemolymph. The bovine IL-21 produced by silkworms strongly induced NK cell proliferation using a human NK cell-line, NK0, and enhanced the lymphokine activated killer (LAK) activity of bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells.     

大肠杆菌及聚肌胞核苷酸对柞蚕、家蚕蛹诱导产生溶菌酶、抗菌肽及凝集素的动力学

大肠杆菌D₃₁诱导柞蚕蛹产生抗菌多肽。同时,溶菌酶和凝集素活性都比诱导前有明显增高.其活力高峰、抗菌多肽在第7天左右、溶菌酶在第5天,而凝集素在第3天即达最高水平。不同品种的柞蚕蛹,经诱导产生的三种活性物质其活力差异不明显,但741、河四和小混品种中的抗菌多肽P_9A及P_9B组成比例较高。上述三种活性物质的诱导变化与性别有关,雄性高于雌性。比较了柞蚕蛹和家蚕经细菌诱导后上述三种活性物质的变化,家蚕凝集素活力很低,诱导后活力增高不明显。抗菌活力及溶菌酶活力的提高程度柞蚕也高于家蚕。聚肌胞核苷酸(Poly I:C)也能诱导两种蚕产生抗菌多肽及溶菌酶,但活力提高的显著程度都不及大肠杆菌诱导,凝集素活力变化也不显著。     

Spread of recombinant Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus in various tissues of silkworm Bombyx mori determined by real-time PCR

A cassette harboring luciferase reporter driven by Bombyx mori A3 promoter was transferred to the bacmid AcDeltaEGT to generate the recombinant virus AcNPVA3Luc (where Ac represents Autographa californica, NPV represents nucleopolyhedrovirus, and A3Luc represents the firefly luciferase reporter cassette driven by the A3 promoter). Recombinant baculovirus was injected into the hemocoele of newly ecdysed fifth instar larvae of the silkworm. The infection of virus in various silkworm tissues was determined by real-time PCR. The profile of viral infection showed that the copy number of recombinant AcNPV (rAcNPV) increased the fastest in the hemocyte, followed by the fat body, Malpighian tubule, middle gut, and silk gland. Detecting in nonpermissive strain silkworm showed that there was no significant difference in the entry of rAcNPV into all tested tissues. The difference in viral infection reflected mainly the big difference in replication of rAcNPV in various tissues of silkworm larvae. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR showed that it was due to the different expression of genes involved in viral DNA replication.     

转座子介导的多角体基因表达及提高病毒粒子的感染效率

现行的杆状病毒表达外源基因的方法是将外源基因取代病毒中的多角体基因,因而得到的重组杆状病毒感染活体时不能经口感染,只能进行针刺注射,效率低且易引起活体感染其他疾病。将家蚕核型多角体病毒(Bombyx mor inucleopolyhedrovirus,BmNPV)中的多角体基因(polyhedrin,poly)及其启动子片段克隆到转座子载体pigA3GFP中,将其与辅助质粒pHA3PIG利用脂质体介导法导入家蚕细胞中,经过多次筛选获得稳定的转基因家蚕细胞。之后先将BmPAK6(含LacZ)及BmGFP(含GFP)重组病毒分别感染转基因细胞,再将得到的重组病毒经口感染5龄家蚕幼虫。结果显示,重组杆状病毒可以经口感染家蚕幼虫。这些研究表明来自于转基因家蚕细胞的poly基因表达产物可以提高重组杆状病毒经口感染家蚕率,为解决杆状病毒表达系统中重组病毒不能经口感染家蚕幼虫的问题提供新思路。     

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.     

Silkworm, Bombyx mori larvae expressed the spider silk protein through a novel Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV baculovirus

Abstract:  The silkworm has become an ideal multicellular eukaryotic model system for basic research. The major advantages of expressing foreign genes in silkworm larvae are the low cost of feeding, the extremely high levels of expression achievable compared with expression in cell lines and increased safety because the baculovirus is noninfectious to vertebrates. In this study, we used a recently developed Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) bacmid to express the spider flagelliform silk gene in silkworm larvae. The recombinant bacmid baculoviruses (rBacmid/BmNPV/Flag) were introduced into the first-day larvae of the fifth instar by subcutaneous injection. The worms presented symptoms typical of NPV infection from 72 h after injection compared with control. The haemolymph was collected from the infected larvae 120 h post-infection and the recombinant 6× His-tagged Flag protein was purified by the Ni-NTA spin kit under denaturing conditions with 8  m urea. A 37.0-kDa protein was visualized both in rBacmid/BmNPV/Flag-infected haemolymph and eluting fraction. The results showed that the Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV baculovirus expression system is an efficient tool to express the target gene in silkworm larvae, which takes only 7–10 days for generating recombinant baculovirus, compared with the traditional homologous recombination method, which needs at least 40 days for multiple rounds of purification and amplification of viruses.     

Construction of a BmNPV polyhedrin-plus Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system for application in silkworm, Bombyx mori

The baculovirus expression vector system is one of the most powerful and versatile eukaryotic expression systems available. However, as the recombinant baculovirus is usually generated by replacing the foreign gene into the polyhedrin locus, the resulting polyhedrin-negative virus is less infectious to the host larvae when administered via oral ingestion. This limits the large-scale production of the recombinant protein, as the host larvae can only be inoculated through dorsal injection, which is a laborious task. In this paper, we describe a new Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus polyhedrin-plus Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system for application in silkworm, B. mori. In this system, the foreign gene and the polyhedrin are co-expressed, and polyhedra are produced as in the wild-type virus, and thus the recombinant baculovirus can be used directly via oral infection. It effectively improves the efficiency of the baculovirus expression system and also widens the application of baculovirus in other fields, such as the development of new biological insecticides.