Cells aglow: Nanoaggregate-embedded beads (NAEBs) linked to a pathogen-specific single-domain antibody (sdAb) are used as an ultra-bright surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tag for detection of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by SERS microscopy. The image shows a single S. aureus cell labeled with NAEBs and its corresponding NAEB–SERS spectrum.
An increasing number of antibody-based therapies are being considered for controlling bacterial infections, including Clostridium difficile by targeting toxins A and B. In an effort to develop novel C. difficile immunotherapeutics, we previously isolated several single-domain antibodies (VHHs) capable of toxin A neutralization through recognition of the extreme C-terminal combined repetitive oligopeptides (CROPs) domain, but failed at identifying neutralizing VHHs that bound a similar region on toxin B. Here we report the isolation of a panel of 29 VHHs targeting at least seven unique epitopes on a toxin B immunogen composed of a portion of the central delivery domain and the entire CROPs domain. Despite monovalent affinities as high as KD = 70 pM, none of the VHHs tested were capable of toxin B neutralization; however, modest toxin B inhibition was observed with VHH-VHH dimers and to a much greater extent with VHH-Fc fusions, reaching the neutralizing potency of the recently approved anti-toxin B monoclonal antibody bezlotoxumab in in vitro assays. Epitope binning revealed that several VHH-Fcs bound toxin B at sites distinct from the region recognized by bezlotoxumab, while other VHH-Fcs partially competed with bezlotoxumab for toxin binding. Therefore, the VHHs described here are effective at toxin B neutralization when formatted as bivalent VHH-Fc fusions by targeting toxin B at regions both similar and distinct from the bezlotoxumab binding site.
Multi-modal sensing scheme significantly improves the detection accuracy but can also introduce extra complexity in the overall design of the sensor. We overcome this difficulty by utilizing the plasmonic properties of metallic nanoparticles. In this study, we will present a simple dual optical sensing mechanism which harvests signals of the resonantly excited metallic nanostructure in the form of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and resonant Rayleigh scattering. Silver and gold nanoparticles labeled with appropriate antibodies act as signal transduction units and upon exposure to the targeted pathogen render the targeted species optically active. We demonstrate that detection of a single pathogen cell is easily attainable with the dual detection scheme. Furthermore, we explore the markedly different SERS intensity observed from the use of two very different antibody recognition units during the pathogen labeling process.
A series of vancomycin-modified nanoparticles were developed and employed in magnetic confinement assays to isolate a variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria from aqueous solution. We determined that the orientation/architecture of vancomycin on the surface of the nanoparticles and the overall surface coverage is critical in mediating fast and effective interactions between the nanoparticle and the pathogen cell wall surface and only one orientation/architecture in a series of modified nanoparticles leads to the efficient and reproducible capture of several important pathogenic bacteria. Interestingly, as the nanoparticles increase in diameter (from ∼50 to 2800 nm), it is necessary to incorporate a long linker between the nanoparticle surface and the vancomycin moiety in order for the surface bound probe to efficiently confine Gram-positive bacteria. Finally, we also determined that the time required for efficient labeling and subsequent magnetic confinement significantly decreases as the size of the nanoparticle and the vancomycin surface coverage on the nanoparticle increases. As disease detection technologies transition to "lab-on-a-chip" based platforms it is necessary to develop strategies to effectively and inexpensively preconcentrate cells from large volume to volumes more amenable to these types of microfluidic devices. These small molecule-modified superparamagnetic nanoparticles can provide a means by which this can be accomplished.
Silica-encapsulated Raman-reporter embedded SERS nanoprobes, named nanoaggregate embedded beads (NAEBs), were conjugated to the Salmonella specific tailspike protein (TSP) isolated from the P22 bacteriophage to enable a highly specific and ultrasensitive optical transduction platform. We demonstrate three successful surface conjugation strategies and highlight the detection of a single bacterium using SERS.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-) T cell therapies targeting B-cell restricted antigens CD19, CD20, or CD22 can produce potent clinical responses for some B-cell malignancies, but relapse remains common. Camelid single domain antibodies (sdAbs or nanobodies) are smaller, simpler, and easier to recombine than single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) used in most CARs, but fewer sdAb-CARs have been reported. Thus, we sought to identify a therapeutically active sdAb-CAR targeting human CD22. Immunization of an adult Llama glama with CD22 protein, sdAb-cDNA library construction, and phage panning yielded >20 sdAbs with diverse epitope and binding properties. Expressing CD22-sdAb-CAR in Jurkat cells drove varying CD22-specific reactivity not correlated with antibody affinity. Changing CD28 to CD8-transmembrane design increased CAR persistence and expression in vitro. CD22-sdAb-CAR candidates showed similar CD22-dependent CAR-T expansion in vitro, though only membrane-proximal epitope targeting CD22-sdAb-CARs activated direct cytolytic killing and extended survival in a lymphoma xenograft model. Based on enhanced survival in blinded xenograft studies a lead CD22sdCAR-T was selected; achieving comparable complete responses to a benchmark short-linker m971-scFv CAR-T in high-dose experiments. Finally, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry confirm tissue and cellular level specificity of the lead CD22-sdAb. This presents a complete report on pre-clinical development of a novel CD22sdCAR therapeutic.
One of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in man and economically important animals is bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The emergence of difficult-to-treat infections, primarily caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria, demands for alternatives to antibiotic therapy. Currently, one of the emerging therapeutic alternatives is the use of lytic bacteriophages. In an effort to exploit the target specificity and therapeutic potential of bacteriophages, we examined the utility of bacteriophage tailspike proteins (Tsps). Among the best-characterized Tsps is that from the Podoviridae P22 bacteriophage, which recognizes the lipopolysaccharides of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. In this study, we utilized a truncated, functionally equivalent version of the P22 tailspike protein, P22sTsp, as a prototype to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of Tsps in the GI tract of chickens. Bacterial agglutination assays showed that P22sTsp was capable of agglutinating S. Typhimurium at levels similar to antibodies and incubating the Tsp with chicken GI fluids showed no proteolytic activity against the Tsp. Testing P22sTsp against the three major GI proteases showed that P22sTsp was resistant to trypsin and partially to chymotrypsin, but sensitive to pepsin. However, in formulated form for oral administration, P22sTsp was resistant to all three proteases. When administered orally to chickens, P22sTsp significantly reduced Salmonella colonization in the gut and its further penetration into internal organs. In in vitro assays, P22sTsp effectively retarded Salmonella motility, a factor implicated in bacterial colonization and invasion, suggesting that the in vivo decolonization ability of P22sTsp may, at least in part, be due to its ability to interfere with motility… Our findings show promise in terms of opening novel Tsp-based oral therapeutic approaches against bacterial infections in production animals and potentially in humans.
Raman spectroscopy has demonstrated to be an effective tool in the detection and classification of pathogenic microorganisms. The technique is, however, limited by the inherently low cross-section of the Raman scattering process. Among the many enhanced Raman processes, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique provides the highest sensitivity and can be easily adapted in the bio-sensing applications such as DNA hybridization and protein binding events. In this study, we report the targeted detection of the pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, with novel single domain antibody (sdAb) conjugated SERS nanoprobes. A sdAb specific to protein A of S. aureus cells was conjugated to silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP). Bacteria recognition was achieved through specific binding of the sdAb (conjugated to SERS nanoprobe) to protein A. Binding rendered the nanoparticle-labeled S. aureus cells SERS active. As a result, S. aureus cells could be detected rapidly and with excellent sensitivity by monitoring the SERS vibrational signatures. This work demonstrates that the SERS imaging technique offers excellent sensitivity with a detection limit of a single bacterium.
Prolonged serum half-life is required for the efficacy of most protein therapeutics. One strategy for half-life extension is to exploit the long circulating half-life of serum albumin by incorporating a binding moiety that recognizes albumin. Here, we describe camelid single-domain antibodies (VHHs) that bind the serum albumins of multiple species with moderate to high affinity at both neutral and endosomal pH and significantly extend the serum half-lives of multiple proteins in rats from minutes to days. We serendipitously identified an additional VHH (M75) that is naturally pH-sensitive: at endosomal pH, binding affinity for human serum albumin (HSA) was dramatically weakened and binding to rat serum albumin (RSA) was undetectable. Domain mapping revealed that M75 bound to HSA domain 1 and 2. Moreover, alanine scanning of HSA His residues suggested a critical role for His247, located in HSA domain 2, in M75 binding and its pH dependence. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments were suggestive of proton-linked binding of M75 to HSA, with differing binding enthalpies observed for full-length HSA and an HSA domain 1-domain 2 fusion protein in which surface-exposed His residues were substituted with Ala. M75 conferred moderate half-life extension in rats, from minutes to hours, likely due to rapid dissociation from RSA during FcRn-mediated endosomal recycling in tandem with albumin conformational changes induced by M75 binding that prevented interaction with FcRn. Humanized VHHs maintained in vivo half-life extension capabilities. These VHHs represent a new set of tools for extending protein therapeutic half-life and one (M75) demonstrates a unique pH-sensitive binding interaction that can be exploited to achieve modest in vivo half-life.
