A standardized BioBrick toolbox for the assembly of sequences in mycobacteria.

For more than 25 years, recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG has been genetically engineered for use as a vehicle for antigen expression and immunomodulation, typically through introducing or deleting a gene from BCG genome. However, BCG transformation efficacy is still unpredictable, and cloning and expression of sequences from mycobacteria is difficult to predict due to the lack of standardization. To overcome such limitations, we have employed the BioBrick format to construct a toolbox of several mycobacterial parts, including coding sequences, reporter genes, selective markers, promoters, and other regulatory sequences.

Evaluation of different strategies to promote a protective immune response against leptospirosis using a recombinant LigA and LigB chimera.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution, caused by infection with pathogenic Leptospira species. The vaccines that are currently available are bacterins, with limited human use, that confer short-term, serovar-specific immunity. Lig proteins are considered to be the best vaccine candidates to date.

Recombinant BCG strains expressing chimeric proteins derived from Leptospira protect hamsters against leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis that is responsible for one million human cases per year. Fusing multiple immunogenic antigens represents a promising approach to delivering an effective vaccine against leptospirosis. Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a potential vaccine vector due to its adjuvant properties and safety.

Human and animal leptospirosis in Southern Brazil: A five-year retrospective study.

Background: Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonosis attributed to multiple reservoirs. Climatic conditions influence the transmission of pathogenic leptospires, which require warm and humid conditions for survival. The influence of seasonality in human and animal leptospirosis in the subtropical region of Brazil remains poorly understood.

Immunoprecipitation of Cell Surface Proteins from Gram-negative Bacteria.

The meningococcus () remains an important threat to human healthworldwide. This Gram-negative bacterium causes elevated disabilities and mortality in infectedindividuals. Despite several available vaccines, currently there is no universal vaccine against allcirculating meningococcal strains ( Vogel , 2013 ).

Saccharomyces boulardii improves humoral immune response to DNA vaccines against leptospirosis.

Purpose: Saccharomyces boulardii may improve the immune response by enhancing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, T-cell proliferation and dendritic cell activation. The immunomodulator effect of this probiotic has never been tested with DNA vaccines, which frequently induce low antibody titers. This study evaluated the capacity of Saccharomyces boulardii to improve the humoral and cellular immune responses using DNA vaccines coding for the leptospiral protein fragments LigAni and LigBrep.

Protective potential of recombinant non-purified botulinum neurotoxin serotypes C and D.

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) serotypes C and D are responsible for cattle botulism, a fatal paralytic disease that results in great economic losses in livestock production. Vaccination is the main approach to prevent cattle botulism. However, production of commercially available vaccines (toxoids) involves high risk and presents variation of BoNT production between batches.

Immunogenicity of a Trivalent Recombinant Vaccine Against Clostridium perfringens Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon Toxins in Farm Ruminants.

Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic bacterium that produces several toxins. Of these, the alpha, beta, and epsilon toxins are responsible for causing the most severe C. perfringens-related diseases in farm animals.

Infection with Leptospira kirschneri Serovar Mozdok: First Report from the Southern Hemisphere.

Leptospirosis is a global zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. In this study, we characterized two Leptospira kirschneri serogroup Pomona serovar Mozdok isolates, one obtained from a dog and the other from a patient with severe leptospirosis, 4 years later. Histopathological analysis showed that both isolates caused severe tissue damage when used to infect hamsters.