Vaccine

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a bacterium for use in vaccinating against tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Currently available drug treatments require a minimum six month course of treatment with a cocktail of drugs to which resistance is increasing. The current vaccine Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) provides inconsistent and limited efficacy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The inventors have found that mutations which disrupt the availability of amino acids to a mycobacterium cause attenuation of the mycobacterium. Mutations in the proC and trpD genes cause decreased virulence of the mycobacterium in a host. The attenuated mycobacteria were found to stimulate protective immunity against normal growth of M. tuberculosis after a challenge infection.

[0004] Accordingly the invention provides:

[0005] a mycobacterium attenuated by a mutation in a gene that expresses a product which promotes synthesis of proline or tryptophan for use in a method of vaccinating a host,

[0006] a culture comprising the mycobacterium and a culture medium which comprises the amino acid synthesised by the product of the mutated gene,

[0007] a method of making the mycobacterium comprising introducing a mutation into the gene of the mycobacterium which promotes synthesis of the amino acid, and

[0008] a method of replicating the mycobacterium comprising culturing the mycobacterium in a culture medium as defined above, under suitable culture conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0009]
FIG. 1 shows the effect of loss of genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis on growth kinetics of M. tuberculosis in culture. Standing cultures were inoculated with equal numbers of H37Rv or mutants metB, proC and trpD and OD600 taken over 0-30 days.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE LISTING

[0010] SEQ ID NO: 1 shows the mutant trpD sequence.

[0011] SEQ ID NO: 2 shows the mutant proC sequence (with hygromycin gene insertion).

[0012] SEQ ID NO: 3 shows the mutt trpD sequence (with a hygromycin gene insertion).

[0013] SEQ ID NO: 4 shows the mutant proC sequence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The invention provides a mycobacterium which does not cause disease, but which when administered to a host causes an anti-mycobacterial immune response.

[0015] The host is a human or animal. The animal is generally a mammal, such as a cow, badger, deer or rodent (e.g. a mouse). The human host may be at risk of a mycobacterial infection, typically for socio-economic reasons or may have a genetic or acquired predisposition to mycobacterial infection. Such a predisposition may be caused by an infection with another pathogen (e.g. HIV). The host is typically a neonate or at least 1 year, such as least 5, 10, 20 or more years old.

[0016] The mycobacterium of the invention is one which in its wild-type form is generally able to cause or contribute to tuberculosis disease. The mycobacterium is typically M. tuberculosis or M. bovis

[0017] The mycobacterium has an attenuated phenotype in vivo, i.e. has decreased virulence in the host. Thus when administered to the host the mycobacterium causes reduced, or no, disease symptoms. Thus the levels of mycobacteria found in the host after administration will generally be lower than the levels of wild-type mycobacteria present during disease (strain H37rv is in this case our example of a wild-type mycobacterium). The mycobacterium may have a decreased replication rate in the host (e.g in the macrophages of the host).

[0018] Typically the mycobacterium will require one or more additional nutrients to grow in culture, i.e. the mycobacterium will be auxotrophic for such a nutrient (in comparison to the wild-type). Generally the mycobacterium is auxotrophic for the amino acid whose synthesis is affected by the mutation. The mycobacterium may also have a decreased rate of growth/replication when cultured in vitro in host cells, such as macrophages.

[0019] The Gene in which the Attenuating Mutation is Present

[0020] The gene which is mutated is one whose product promotes synthesis of tryptophan or proline. The product is typically an enzyme, such as an enzyme in the amino acid biosynthesis pathway. Such an enzyme generally acts on a precursor of one or more amino acids. Thus the gene is typically trpD or proC. Typically the mycobacterium has both of these specific mutations.

[0021] Second and Further Mutations

[0022] The mycobacterium preferably comprises a mutation in one, two or more genes in addition to the mutation in the gene expressing a product which promotes synthesis of proline or tryptophan. This minimises the risk of the mycobacterium reverting to the virulent state, which is clearly important for the use of the mycobacterium as a vaccine.

[0023] Typically the further mutations are in any of the following genes: the pirC, erp, pps, fadD28, mmpL7, hspR, fadD26, pks6, Rv2452c, lipF, drrrC, mmpL2, Rv0204, modA, mmpL4, Rv3081c, cmaA, narG or fbpA gene.

[0024] The Nature of the Mutation

[0025] The mutations introduced into the mycobacterial gene (including the second and further mutations discussed above) may reduce the function of the gene completely or partially. This is generally achieved either by reducing or abolishing synthesis of a product from the gene or by making a mutation that results in synthesis of a product with reduced or no activity. One such activity may be the ability of the product to promote synthesis of the amino acid.

[0026] The mutation may be in a coding or non-coding region of the gene. In order to abolish synthesis of product the entire gene or a part (e.g. 5′, 3′ or middle portion) is typically deleted. The mutation may be an insertion, but is preferably a substitution or deletion. A mutation in the coding sequence of a gene may be used to create a gene that synthesises a polypeptide with reduced activity (e.g. polypeptide that contains only the N-terminal of the wild-type protein).

[0027] The mutations are preferably non-reverting mutations. These are mutations that show essentially no reversion back to the wild-type when the mycobacterium is used as a vaccine. Such mutations include insertions and deletions. Insertions and deletions (and also substitutions) are preferably large, typically at least 10 nucleotides in length, for example from 10 to 1500 nucleotides, such as 500 to 1000 nucleotides.

[0028] The mycobacterium preferably contains only defined mutations, i.e. mutations which are characterised. It is clearly undesirable to use a mycobacterium which has uncharacterised mutations in its genome as a vaccine because there would be a risk that the uncharacterised mutations may confer properties on the bacterium that cause undesirable side-effects.

[0029] The mycobacterium may or may not be resistant to one or more substances which are used for selection. Such a substance is generally one which kills (or at least inhibits the growth) of the wild-type mycobacterium, for example a suitable antibiotic (e.g hygromycin). Thus the mycobacterium may or may not comprise a gene which expresses a product which causes or promotes such resistance.

[0030] The attenuating mutation may be constructed by methods well known to those skilled in the art, such as transposon based techniques. One method for introducing a mutation into the gene is based on the use of homologous recombination. Typically such a method comprises contacting the genome of the mycobacterium with a polynucleotide which is able to recombine with a region of the genome that includes all or part of the gene. The sequence of such a polynucleotide generally corresponds to the sequence of the relevant genome region (i.e. the same or homologous) apart from a deletion, insertion or substitution (compared to the genome region) which corresponds to the desired mutation. Allowing recombination between the polynucleotide and the region causes the mutation to be introduced into the genome region.

[0031] Expression of Heterologous Antigens p The mycobacterium may be genetically engineered to express an antigen from another organism (a ‘heterologous antigen’), so that the attenuated bacterium acts as a carrier of the antigen from the other organism. In this way vaccination with the mycobacterium can be used to provide protection against the other organism. A multivalent vaccine may be produced which not only provides immunity against the virulent parent of the attenuated mycobacterium but also provides immunity against the other organism. Furthermore, the mycobacterium may be engineered to express more than one heterologous antigen, in which case the heterologous antigens may be from the same or different organisms.

[0032] The heterologous antigen may be a complete protein or a part of a protein containing an epitope. The antigen may be a bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoan or A human antigen. More especially, the antigenic sequence may be from tetanus, hepatitis A, B or C virus, human rhinovirus such as type 2 or type 14, herpes simplex virus, poliovirus type 2 or 3, foot-and-mouth disease virus, influenza virus, coxsackie virus, HIV, HPV or Chlamydia trachomatis. Useful antigens include E.coli heat labile toxin B subunit (LT-B), E.coli K88 antigens, any protein from B. pertussis (e.g. P.69) and tetanus toxin fagment C. The antigen may be a cancer, malaria, measles, mycobacterium, diptheria, lieshmania, salmonella, treponema, mumps, shigella, neisseria, borrelia, rabies or cholera antigen.

[0033] A DNA construct comprising the promoter operably linked to DNA encoding the heterologous antigen may be made and transferred into the mycobacterium using conventional techniques. Transformants containing the DNA construct may be selected, for example be screening for a selectable marker on the construct. Mycobacteria containing the construct may be grown in vitro before being formulated for administration to the host for vaccination purposes.

[0034] Cultures of the Mycobacterium

[0035] The mycobacterium may be present in the form of a culture which also comprises a culture medium. Such a culture medium will comprise water, and generally also inorganic (such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium, carbonate, phosphate and/or sulphate ions). The culture medium will also comprise nutrients, typically in the form of an assimible carbon source, such as a carbohydrate source or amino acids. In one embodiment the culture medium also comprises one or more nutrients for which tile mycobacterium is auxotrophic. Such as culture medium may thus comprise the amino acid normally (in the wild-type) synthesised or made available by the product of the mutated gene.

[0036] The culture generally comprises at least 100 mycobacterium cells, such as at least 103, 105, 107 or 109 mycobacterium cells.

[0037] The mycobacterium may be in substantially purified or isolated form (in vitro). Typically such a mycobacterium will be comprise at least 80%, such as at least 90, 95, 98 or 99% of the cells (e.g. of the bacterial cells) or dry weight of the mixture. In one embodiment the mycobacterium is present within the cells of the host which are being cultured in vitro. Such cells are typically cells which can be infected by the mycobacterium, such as macrophages or dendritic cells.

[0038] Administration to a Host

[0039] The mycobacterium can be administered to a host to prevent or treat a disease. The disease is typically tuberculosis caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis and/or other TB complex organisms, such as M. bovis. As discussed above in relation to mycobacteria which express heterologous antigens, the disease may be caused by another pathogen. Thus administration of an effective non-toxic dose of the mycobacterium will cause vaccination of the host against infection. Typically the mycobacterium is administered in the form of a vaccine formulation, for example in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.

[0040] The dosage employed will be dependent on various factors including the size and weight of the host and the type of vaccine formulated. However, a dosage comprising an administration of from 102 to 1011, typically 106 to 108, mycobacteria per dose may be convenient for a 70 kg adult human host. Any suitable route of administration may be used, for example oral (including nasal), parenteral, intravenous or subcutaneous.

EXAMPLES

[0041] The following Examples serve to illustrate the invention.

Example 1

[0042] Materials and Methods

[0043] Mice

[0044] Female mice between 8-10 weeks of age were used in all experiments. Experimental animals were maintained in micro-isolator cages (Laboratory Care Precision, UK) until use, when they were transferred to negative pressure flexible film isolators following infection with M.tuberculosis in a Class I/III biohazard safety cabinet.

[0045] Bacterial Strains and Media

[0046] Bacterial strains used in this study are outlined in Table 1. M. tuberculosis H37Rv was grown in Middlebrook 7H9 broth (Difco) containing 0.05% Tween 80 and 10% OADC (Oleic acid albumin dextrose catalase) supplement (Becton Dickinson, UK) or Middlebrook 7H10 agar (Difco) plus 10% OADC supplement. Defined auxotrophic mutants of H37Rv were generated using homologous recombination. These had a disruption in the genes for biosynthesis for either methionine, proline or tryptophan synthesis and an insertion of the hygromycin resistance gene (Parish et al (1999) Microbiology 145, 3497-3503). Media and agar were supplemented with the appropriate individual amino acid proline or tryptophan at 50 μg/ml for auxotroph growth. Auxotrophy or differentiation from wild type H37Rv in vivo was confirmed by plating liquid cultures onto 7H10/OADC plates with and without individual amino acids or hygromycin at 100 μg/ml. In addition colony forming units were counted 4 weeks post autopsy and plating and checked at 6 weeks to control for any lag in growth on plates ex vivo for the mutants.

[0047] Freeze-dried live M. bovis BCG was obtained from the Staten Serum Institute, Denmark and reconstituted in normal saline prior to use.

1TABLE 1StrainGenotypePhenotypeReferenceM.tb H37Rvn/anoneATCC 25618M.tb H37Rv TAME1metB::hygnoneParish 1999M.tb H37Rv TAME2proC::hygproline auxotrophParish 1999M.tb H37Rv TAME3trpD::hygtryptophanParish 1999auxotrophM. bovis BCG DanishStrain 1331n/anoneStaten SerumInstitute

[0048] In Vitro Growth Curves

[0049]

M.tuberculosis
strains were grown in 10 ml of liquid medium until an OD600 of between 0.5 and 0.8 were reached. These cultures were then used as an inoculum to give a theoretical OD600 of 0.012. Twenty 50 ml conical tubes containing 10 ml each of liquid medium were inoculated for each strain and left standing without agitation of 37° C. The OD600 was measured at regular intervals using a fresh tube for each reading.

[0050] Infection of Mice and Tissue Analysis

[0051] Viable stocks of H37Rv and auxotrophs were grown as described above, washed twice in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), resuspended and stored at −70° C. Mice were infected with 1×106 viable mycobacteria in 200 μl normal saline via a lateral tail vein. Where appropriate, infected mice when moribund and terminally ill were killed by cervical dislocation in accordance with humane endpoint protocols under the Animals Scientific Procedures Act, 1986 (UK). Median survival times were calculated for each group and statistical analysis performed using the Log Rank tests of survival.

[0052] For tissue analysis, mice were killed by cervical dislocation and lungs, livers and spleens from individual animals, were collected aseptically and passed through a 100 micron pore size sieve (Falcon) in 7H9 medium containing 0.05% Tween 80. Colony forming units (CFU's) were determined from serial ten-fold dilutions in 7H9 on Middlebrook 7H10 agar plates supplemented with OADC, and where appropriate with amino acid. These were incubated for 3-4 weeks at 37° C. prior to counting. For histological analysis, tissues were fixed in formol buffered saline, paraffin embedded and 1-3 μm sections cut using a Reichert-Jung 2030 microtome. Sections were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin or Ziehl Neelsen and photographed using a Reichert-Jung Polyvar microscope.

[0053] Analysis of Protective Efficacy of Auxotrophic M tuberculosis Against Challenge with H37Rv

[0054] DBA/2 mice were immunised intravenously (i.v.) with 1×106 o BCG or auxotrophic mutants of H37Rv. Six weeks post infection mice were challenged i.v. with 1×106 CFU's of H37Rv. Mice were also taken prior to challenge infection to quantitate the residual tissue burden of the auxotrophs or BCG. After 4 and 8 weeks, mice were killed (n=6 per group at each time point) and tissue bacterial loads from lungs, livers and spleens were analysed by plating either on 7H10 plates or on selective 7H10 plates containing 5 μg/ml Triophen-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide, (Sigma), to differentiate H37Rv from BCG (Vestal and Kubica (1967) Scand. J. Resp. Dis. 48, 142-8). Alternatively tissues were plated on media containing 100 μg/ml hygromycin and where appropriate 50 μg/ml amino acid to distinguish between H37Rv and auxotrophic mutants in individual organs.

[0055] In Vitro Infection of Macrophages.

[0056] Bone marrow-derived macrophages were generated by culturing bone marrow cells harvested from the femurs of adult BALB/c mice in the presence of L cell conditioned medium for 8 days as described previously (Bancroft et al. (1994) Methods of Cell Biology Vol 45, Academic Press). Adherent cells were harvested and plated at a density of 1×106/ml in 24 well plates (NUNC) in Dulbecco's modified Eagles medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% foetal calf serum, 4500 mg glucose/liter, 100 mg sodium pyruvate/L-pyrodoxin. HCl, NaHCO2, and 4 mM glutamine, in the absence of penicillin and streptomycin. Cells were infected with a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of one bacterium per cell (from bacterial stocks made as described above) for 4 hours before washing 6 times in warm tissue culture medium. The infection dose was assayed independently by plating the inoculum. At this time (taken as time=0) or at various intervals over a 14 day period, the number of viable mycobacteria was assessed on 7H10 plates, after lysis of the macrophage monolayer with 1 ml of sterile distilled water containing 0.1% Triton X-100 per well. The relevant amino acid was used to supplement plates where necessary.

[0057] Statistical Analysis

[0058] Statistical analysis was performed for bacterial CFU data using students t test and for survival curves using Kaplan Meier plots and Log Rank tests.

Example 2

[0059] Effects of Auxotrophy on Mycobacterial Growth in Culture

[0060] Our initial experiments compared growth curves for wild type H37Rv versus auxotrophic mutants of M.tuberculosis in liquid media to check whether strains had differing growth rates, which could influence an in vivo phenotype. Cultures were monitored in the presence or absence of the appropriate amino acid supplements, TAME1 is a prototrophic strain, despite the loss of the metB gene, and showed no significant difference to wild type growth rates (FIG. 1A). Since this mutant has no phenotype, we have considered it as a control for the effects of genetic manipulation, particularly the presence of the hyg gene. In the absence of specific amino acid supplementation, TAME2 proC mutant) and TAME3 (trpD mutant) did not grow (data not shown). TAME2 (FIG. 1b) and TAME3 (FIG. 1c) showed comparable growth rates (when grown in appropriately supplemented media) to wild-type H37Rv grown in media without amino acids. Interestingly, when L-proline or L-tryptophan was added to the medium, the wild type showed a distinct decrease in growth rate and in both cases the mutant grew faster. Nevertheless the result demonstrate that the mutants have similar intrinsic growth rates to the wild type strain and thus any in vivo differences seen are likely to be caused by other factors.

[0061] Effect of Auxotrophic Mutation on the Intracellular Multiplication of M.tuberculosis

[0062] To determine the effect of mutation in genes for amino acid biosynthesis on intracellular survival, murine bone marrow derived macrophages were infected at a multiplicity of infection of approximately 1:1 with either parental wild type H37Rv or mutant strains. At intervals over 14 days cells were lysed and viable bacteria counted. Wild type bacterial counts remained at around 106 CFU/ml over the 12 days of assay (Table 2). Similarly the metB mutant remained stable between 1-3×106 CFU/ml throughout the course of the experiment (Table 2). In contrast, a 25-fold reduction in viable mycobacteria recovered from the macrophages was seen for both the proC mutant (from 2.5×105 to 104 CFU/ml), and for the trpD mutant a 10-fold reduction in numbers was seen from 1.3×105 to 1.3×104 CFU/ml over the 12 days. Culture medium alone (DMEM, supplemented as in materials and methods) could not support the extracellular growth of mycobacteria. These results suggest that disruption of the trpD or proC genes alters the ability of M.tuberculosis to multiply in murine macrophages. The metB mutant controlled for the effects of genetic manipulation and demonstrated that the effect is likely to be due to auxotrophy in the two other candidates.

[0063] Virulence of Auxotrophic M.tuberculosis is SCID Mice

[0064] A requirement of live attenuated vaccines is that they should be safe even when used in immunocompromised hosts. To test for bacterial multiplication in the absence of specific immunity, SCID mice, lacking both T and B cells and previously shown to be highly susceptible to M.tuberculosis infection (North and Izzo. (1993) Am. J. Pathol. 142, 1959) were inoculated with wild type H37Rv or auxotrophic mutants derived in the same strain. Table 3 shows that all mice infected wit H37Rv became moribund and died between days 28 and 29 The mice infected with metB showed a slight increase in length of survival (a median of 42 days). In strong contrast, mice infested with the proC mutant survived significantly longer (p<0.001) with a median time to death of 130 days. Only one death was seen in the group infected with the trpD) mutant (at 241 days) during the course of the experiment which was terminated at 301 days. At this time the trpD infected mice appeared clinically healthy although an autopsy showed histological evidence of granuloma formation in the liver associated with the presence of mycobacteria. Importantly, no lesions or mycobacteria were observed in the lung tissue of these mice on histological analysis.

[0065] Thus a significant reduction in virulence of auxotrophs for proline and tryptophan was seen compared to H37Rv wild type in immunodeficient mice.

[0066] Growth Kinetics of H37Rv Versus Auxotrophic M tuberculosis in Tissues of SCID Mice

[0067] To monitor the effects of auxotrophy on the replication of M.tuberculosis in vivo, SCID mice were infected with either H37Rv, metB, proC or trpD and bacterial burdens assays in the liver, lungs and spleens. Bacterial numbers recovered from all organs of the mice infected with wild type H37Rv rose rapidly to Log107.5 in the liver, Log109 in the spleen and Log,109.2 (an irreversible level of bacteraemia) in the lung by day 22 (Table 4). The three remaining mice in this experimental group died by day 29 confirming the results in Table 3. Bacterial growth was significantly delayed (p<0.01) in the group infected with metB, but followed a similar kinetic or in vivo growth rate as wild type in all three organs, and the three remaining mice in this experimental group were dead by day 45, confirming previous survival data (Table 3).

[0068] In contrast, the rise in bacterial burden was significantly delayed in mice infected with the proC mutant consistent with their increased survival times. Thus at day 20, the proC mutant was significantly attenuated in vivo both in the liver and spleen (p<0.0001) and also in the lungs (p<0.01) compared to wild type H37Rv. Mice infected with proC demonstrated a degree of control over bacterial replication in the liver and spleen but importantly they demonstrated a gradual loss of control in the lung after day 20 (Table 4).

[0069] Mice infected with trpD had consistently lower bacterial burdens compared to either H37Rv or proC at all time points examined, consistent with their prolonged survival. Although bacterial numbers in the liver of SCID mice infected with trpD were maintained around Log105, in both the spleen and lung there was rapid decrease in organ load post infection to around or below the limits of detection (100 bacteria per organ). This was maintained until day 90, the termination of the experiment.

[0070] In summary, proC was attenuated in vivo but capable of replication, particularly in the lungs, after day 35. The trpD mutant was controlled or stabilised in all three organs, remaining around or below the level of detection in both lung and spleen.

[0071] Cellular Infiltration and Granuloma Formation in the Lungs and Liver of SCID Mice Infected with Wild Type and Mutants

[0072] To test whether the difference in progression of disease and bacterial burdens between H37Rv and auxotrophic mutants was accompanied by visible changes in the tissues, the histological response was examined over the course of infection. It has previously shown that SCID mice are capable of granuloma formation in response to mycobacterial infection. The livers of mice infected with wild type H37Rv showed granuloma formation focussed on areas of mycobacterial growth, with both the size and number of lesions and the evidence of mycobacteria reflecting the rapid progression to death by day 29. In the metB mice there was a delay in granuloma formation and size, in keeping with the slight delay in disease progression to death. No granulomas were seen in the liver in either the proC or trpD groups at this time. By day 35 granulomas had become more extensive in the metB group, small and rare in the proC group and none were seen in the trpD group. By day 90 in the proC mice there were a few very small granulomas but no visible mycobacteria in the liver. Only by day 90 were a very few granulomas containing greater than ten inflammatory cells with visible mycobacteria seen in SCID mice infected with trpD.

[0073] Lungs of SCID mice infected with H37Rv, metB, proC or trpD on day 22 were stained with ZN for acid fast bacteria and counterstained to visualise inflammatory responses. In the lungs the histological response to H37Rv was characterised by massive cellular infiltration with thickening of the airway epithelia and 20-30% of the tissue occupied by well demarcated granulomas by day 22. This cellular infiltration was overwhelming by day 29, the time of death. This response was delayed in the metB mutant infections and the lesions were smaller and fewer in number at day 22. Whilst the lung granulomas were less extensive in the metB mice, they were also accompanied by a thickening of the lung epithelium and the presence of visible mycobacteria in the lesions, again reflective of large numbers of mycobacteria in these organs. In stark contrast to the wild type or metB infected mice no visible mycobacteria or lesions were seen in either the proC (albeit there was evidence of thickening of the lung epithelium) or trpD at 22 days or 35 days. In the lungs of the proC infected mice at day 90 a few small discrete granulomas were seen with visible mycobacteria and in the trpD infected mice no bacteria or granulomas were seen at day 90.

[0074] Survival of Immunocompetent Mice Infected with Auxotrophic Mutants

[0075] To determine whether the loss of genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis affected the growth rate of M.tuberculosis in the immunocompetent host, DBA/2 mice were infected with either wild type H37Rv or auxotrophs metB, proC or trpD. Mice infected with wild type died between 78 and 100 days post infection (median 83.5 days). In contrast {fraction (2/5)} mice infected with metB survived for over 350 days (Table 5). All proC or trpD infected mice survived for the duration of the experiment, which was terminated at 350 days. In a parallel experiment conducted in susceptible 129SvEv mice, H37Rv infected mice survived for a median of 240 days and there were no deaths in the other groups. This demonstrated that this strain was more resistant than DBA/2. Thus although H37Rv was virulent in DBA/2 mice, metB as somewhat attenuated and mice infected with proC and trpD appeared to be unaffected by the infection suggesting these mutants were significantly attenuated in vivo.

[0076] Growth Kinetics of H37Rv Versus Auxotrophic M.tuberculosis in Tissues of Immunocompetent Mice

[0077] Having determined that immunocompetent mice infected with auxotrophic mutants survived as long as uninfected controls, we monitored mycobacterial growth in their tissues. The course of infection in both the H37Rv and metB infected mice was remarkably similar in all organs and statistical analysis revealed no differences in tissue burdens at any time. Thus bacteria were stable or controlled in the liver and spleen and notably increased in the lungs from Log105 to log107.4 for H37Rv and Log106.9 for metB over 90 days (Table 6). In contrast to the control of high levels of infection seen in wild type or metB infected mice the numbers recovered from the livers of proC infected mice were significantly lower, by two logs, at day 14 (P<<0.0001). Over the course of the experiments these rose by approximately ten fold to equal the number recovered from mice infections with M.tuberculosis, the numbers of bacteria recovered from trpD infected mice fell ten fold over the 90 days, further evidence of attenuation.

[0078] In the spleens of mice infected with wild type H37Rv or metB bacterial numbers were stable. After an initially low recovery of proC at day 14 numbers rose to the levels recovered from wild type infected mice by day 30. In the spleen as in the lung the numbers of trpD dropped over the 60 days by three logs.

[0079] The lung CFU's reflect the spleen data. In marked contrast to the course of infection in DBA mice infected with H37Rv (or metB) at day 14 no bacteria were recovered from the lungs of proC infected mice. However by day 45 some of the mice had recoverable bacteria in the lungs and significant numbers were present in all mice in the group. In contrast, in mice infected with trpD significant numbers were recovered at the first time point (14 days) but after this time numbers remained below the levels of detection suggesting clearance occurred in this organ. Thus loss of the ability to synthesise proline or tryptophan rendered these auxotrophs less virulent than H37Rv and trpD was more severely attenuated compared to proC.

[0080] Granuloma Formation in the Lungs and Livers of Immunocompetent Mice Infected with Wild Type or Auxotrophic Mutants

[0081] Granuloma formation is a key component of the adaptive response to mycobacterial infection and also dependent on tissue burden and virulence of the mycobacterial infection. Therefore we addressed the question of whether the persistence of mycobacteria affected the growth and development of granulomas in the tissues. Granulomas in the livers of mice infected with H37Rv at day 30 consisted of between 10-20 cells and occasional visible mycobacteria were seenthese persisted until day 90. Mice infected with metB had more numerous granulomas at day 30, although at this time these were less focused with few or no visible mycobacteria. These became more focused throughout the course of infection and by 90 days most granulomas consisted of about 10 cells still with no visible mycobacteria. In mice infected with proC only a few very small (<5 cells) granulomas were seen at day 30. By day 45 there were still very few granulomas with about 10-15 cells, and by day 90 there was little evidence of any pathology in the liver. TrpD infected mice only developed a small number of granulomas by day 90, none were seen at days 30 and 60.

[0082] Analysis of the lung tissue showed that by 30 days of infection the mice infected with wild type M. tuberculosis had signs of thickening of the lung airways associated with pneumonia. By day 58 there were visible granulomas which contained mycobacteria. By day 90 the granulomatous areas spread over 20% of the tissue with clefts of lymphocytes and evidence of a neutrophil influx. This was classified as stage 3 (Rhoades, Frank and Orme, (1997) Tuber. Lung Dis. 78(1), 57-66) and mycobacteria could clearly be seen with necrosis in some areas. Histological changes in the lungs of metB infected mice followed a similar but delayed course. By day 30 there was some thickening evident which progressed to early granulomas as by day 45. There was an increase in size and visible mycobacteria by day 58 and there was extensive granulomatous involvement by day 90. By day 90 these differences between mutants and H37Rv were very clear. In contrast no obvious inflammatory responses or mycobacteria were visible in the lungs of mice infected with proC or trpD at any time during the course of the experiment.

[0083] Protective Efficacy of Auxotrophic Mutants Against Challenge with Virulent M.tuberculosis.

[0084] Having determined that the auxotrophs proC and trpD were significantly attenuated we tested whether they had protective efficacy, compared with BCG, against challenge with H37Rv. DBA/2 mice were infected with either proC, trpD or 106 BCG i.e. and challenged with wild type H37Rv six weeks later. Mice were also taken at time of challenge to estimate the residual tissue burdens of BCG or auxotroph (Table 7). After 4 weeks quatitation of CFU's in the liver and spleen showed that both auxotrophs conferred protection apparently equal to that seen with BCG (Table 7). The number of wild type versus auxotroph M.tuberculosis at each time point post challenge were quantitated using differential plating methods as described in materials and methods-one month: proC—lung log104.4; liver log105.2; spleen log104.6; trpD-lung log101.5; liver log104.2; spleen log10O. At 2 months the residual tissue burdens of the innocula were proC—lung log104.2; liver log105.2; spleen log104.8; trpD—lung log10O; liver log103.1; spleen log101.7. These strongly reflected the data shown in Table 6 for survival of auxotrophs in otherwise unchallenged mice.

[0085] In the liver, all three vaccinations significantly reduced the numbers recovered after challenge compared to infected controls. This represented an 85% reduction in H37Rv recovered from mice vaccinated with either BCG (p<0.0008) or trpD (p<0.0001) and 80% reduction for proC vaccination (p<0.0024). In the spleen the numbers of H37Rv recovered were also significantly reduced in vaccinated mice, 67% for BCG vaccination (p<0.001 3); 60%/o for trpD (p<0.02) and 70% for proC vaccination (p<0.0039). At this time point no significant reduction in burden was seen in the lungs of mice previously infected with either BCG or auxotrophic M. tuberculosis.

[0086] However after two months highly significant levels of protection were found in the lung for both mutants in excess of the 67% for BCG vaccination (p<0.01). A 73% reduction in tissue burden was seen for proC (p<0.009) and as high as 86% reduction was seen in mice infected with trpD prior to challenge. Evidence of protection was seen in the liver at this time but not in the spleen.

[0087] Of the three auxotrophs described here unexpectedly the mutant containing a disrupted gene for metB was a prototrophic strain having no requirement for exogenous methionine in axenic culture. One possible explanation is the presence of another gene or enzyme which can complement or compensate for the loss of metB activity. With appropriate amino acid supplementation trpD and proC had similar intrinsic growth rates to H37Rv and thus differences seen in the ensuing experiments were likely to be caused by bacterial location within the cell or external availability of exogenous amino acid. As such methionine and tryptophan, but not proline which is synthesised by a special pathway, represent essential amino acids not yet synthesised in mammalian systems. Since the metB mutant was not auxotrophic, and unlikely to have a phenotype this was considered as a control for the effects of genetic manipulation.

[0088] Interestingly, despite this metB showed the same kinetics of growth in macrophages as H37Rv. Both proC and trpD were attenuated however in this model of in vitro infection. It has been shown that leuD auxotrophs of both M. tuberculosis were restricted in their growth in macrophages, maybe due to sequestration after phagocytosis in an intracellular compartment from which they cannot obtain leucine. In this case leucine was provided as a supplementation to the media employed for macrophage culture. In our case external availability of amino acid in the media was considered of potential relevance—it contained 30 μg/ml methionine, 16 μg/ml tryptophan but no proline. The relevance of this to the in vivo situation is not known, since we do not know what concentrations of amino acids are available in the internal environment of the macrophage, particularly within the phagolysosome.

[0089] Attenuated strains are generally more potent that non-living vaccines in stimulating cell mediated immune responses effective against intracellular pathogens, indeed BCG was originally employed as a vaccine not only on the basis of its safety but because of its relatedness to M tuberculosis. Nowadays a requirement of an attenuated strain of M. tuberculosis is that it would not survive long enough to cause pathology or disease even in immunodeficient individuals, who are particularly at risk from M. tuberculosis. Thus to test these auxotrophic mutants for their potential for vaccine candidates we selected only immunocompetent mice but also mice with severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID). H37Rv is extremely virulent in these mice and metB proved to be also albeit with a slight delay in death. Both proC and trpD were significantly attenuated in SCID mice with trpD being very severely attenuated, survival times exceeding 300 days for the majority of mice. These findings ate similar to leuD which has been shown not only unable to replicate in macrophages but also to cause no deaths in SCID mice. In addition these prolonged survival times for SCID mice infected with trpD compare very favourably with those described for the course of infection with BCG in SCID mice which generally succumb by 8-10 weeks. From this it could be concluded that trpD may be safe to use in immunodeficient individuals.

[0090] The proC mutant showed evidence of retardation in the lung but loss of control in this organ contributed significantly to progression to death in mice infected with H37Rv or metB. There was, in contrast, evidence of long term control in the liver for both mutants. Importantly, trpD was controlled or stabilised in all three organs significantly remaining around or below the level of detection in the lung and spleen.

[0091] We and others have previously shown that SCID mice even in the absence of T cells are able to form granulomas and that this operates as a key part of the early response to infection. Extraordinarily, even in SCID mice there were minimal histological changes up until the termination of the experiment at day 90, in the lung tissue of mice infected with proC and none in mice infected with trpD. Thus virulence in the SCID mouse is associated with clear changes, development of granulomas and cellular infiltration, and attenuation reduces pathology in the lung to a minimum.

[0092] We then tested our mutants for survival and growth in immunocompetent mice. DBA/2 mice are known to be more susceptible to infection with M. tuberculosis than the major histocompatibility complex compatible BALB/c mice. They tend to be more susceptible in the lung developing more lung pathology but express equal ability to express immunity in the liver and spleen. In our hands it was found that infection with H37Rv led to death in 50% DBA/2's within 100 days similar to previous reports. This allowed us to demonstrate the prolonged survival, over 300 days, or mice infected with either proC or trpD. When immunocompetent mice were infected with the mutants even mice infected with metB survived longer than H37Rv suggesting some sort of attenuation. The kinetics of in vivo bacterial growth for metB, however, closely resembled those of H37Rv. This reflected previous date for an auxotroph of BCG mutated for met 2, a homologue of the spb gene in cyanobacteria which grew in Vivo in BALB/c mice almost to the level of BCG, and conferred protection equal to BCG itself.

[0093] Mice infected with either proC or trpD demonstrated significant long term survival. The data is for growth in vivo was most striking in the lung in that whereas metB remained at similar numbers to H37Rv over the 90 days, proC was originally detected at very low levels, maintained for 30-40 days and increased over the course of infection. In contrast trpD was controlled after an early time point and then throughout the 90 days. This was reflected in the histological analysis at day 90 where no overt changes were seen in the lungs of mice infected with either proC or trpD compared with H37Rv infection where granulomas were clearly visible. These granulomas were discretely spread over the lung area and seemed to coalesce in later stages of infection. It is thought that in the mouse, as in humans, tuberculosis is a chronic disease of the lungs, the only organ in which the organism causes excessive pathology. This is true in the mouse model regardless of whether the infection is initiated via the respiratory or intravenous route. Of interest is the fact that the mutants had very different kinetics not only between each other but also in different organs and the data strongly supports the theory that the lung is the key organ for demonstrating virulence of isolates.

[0094] The choice of DBA/2 was maintained in the testing of these mutants as vaccine candidates. Vaccination clearly provides this strain with a capacity to reduce the level of infection in their lungs. However vaccinated DBA/2 mice remain more susceptible than BALB/c mice developing more lung pathology and dying much earlier. These mice retain a similarly increased an equal ability to express immunity in the liver and spleen indicating an equal systemic level of vaccine induced immunity. We were able to show significant protection in all organs, with liver burdens significantly reduced at both 4 and 8 weeks after challenge. The numbers of H37Rv harvested from the spleen were only significantly reduced one month after challenge but importantly in the lung they were significantly reduced 2 months after challenge with greater levels of protection in this organ than seen with BCG. This compares very favourably with other auxotrophs of M.tuberculosis, leuD, which confer less protection than BCG, and purC which produces equal protection in the lung but not in the spleen.

[0095] Uniquely we also made observations as to the residual tissue burden of mutants, both at the time of challenge and one and two months after, these strongly reflecting the kinetics that we had seen in mice without the overlay of challenge infection. Of real interest was that the latter point the trpD derived from the immunisation was reduced below detectable levels in the lung an organ in which the highest degree of protection against H37Rv was obtained. To induce optimal protection attenuated strains of M.tuberculosis need to both persist for some time, to home to an appropriate organ to engender immunity and be sufficiently metabolically active to synthesise relevant antigens for an extended period of time. The acquired phase of immunity is driven in response to mycobacterial infection by T cells and in terms of in vivo infection in mice on onset of control in immunocompetent mice correlates with effective granuloma formation observed in the liver at about 4 to 6 weeks.

[0096] Our data for auxotrophs of M tuberculosis contrasts with that of Jackson et al. (1999) Infection and Immunity 67(6), 2867-73, for the mutant of M.tuberculosis purC which was eliminated from the liver. In our study proC rose one log to equal the numbers found in the H37Rv infected mice by the termination of the experiment although the trpD did fall by one log it never fell below detectable limits in this organ. Thus both these mutants persisted in the liver. This persistence may be one possible mechanism for the higher levels of protection, equivalent to BCG that we were able to see in later experiments. However, importantly we did get trpD clearance from the lung and the spleen even on challenge with H37Rv.

[0097] The study attempted to identify dissemination, persistence, pathology and protection responses to infection with auxotrophs of M.tuberculosis. These mutants engendered statistically equivalent or better reduction in bacterial loads in the lung on challenge with H37Rv compared with levels attained with BCG. What has been shown in this study is that auxotrophy is capable of severely attenuating M.tuberculosis and providing protection against challenge infection, with one mutant trpD appearing less virulent than BCG in the lung and in addition strongly protective,

2TABLE 2Effect of auxotrophic mutation on the intracellular multiplicationof M. tuberculosisBacterial counts from bone marrow derived macrophages infectedwith parental strain WT; metB; proC or trpD. Results are the meansof three different measurements per time point taken over 11 days.Day post infectionWTmetBproCtrpD0150 × 104 335 × 10425 × 10413 × 104 168 × 104335 × 10453 × 1047 × 104268 × 104305 × 10425 × 1043 × 1045100 × 104 305 × 10418 × 1045 × 104848 × 104 83 × 104 3 × 1042 × 1041166 × 104121 × 104 1 × 1041 × 104

[0098]

3

TABLE 3

Virulence of auxotrophic M. tuberculosis in SCID mice

Mice were infected intravenously with 1 × 106 of H37Rv; or

mutants metB, proC, trpD and survival monitored over 11 months.

Each group contained 6 mice and results are representative of two

separate experiments. Counts for the innocula were; WT 3 × 106;

metB 1 × 106; proC 1 × 106; trpD 3 × 106. Numbers represent the

percentage of mice in each group surviving at intervals post infection.

Day post infection
H37Rv
metB
proC
trpD

1
100
100
100
100

28
83
100
100
100

29
0
100
100
100

39

83
100
100

40

67
100
100

42

33
100
100

47

0
100
100

120

67
100

127

50
100

132

33
100

143

17
100

156

0
100

241

83

301

83

[0099] Table 4: Effect of Mutation on the Survival and Multiplication in the Lung, Liver and of SCID Mice

[0100] Mice were infected with 1×106 wild type H37Rv; or auxotrophs of M.tuberculosis; metB, proC, trpD. CFUs were assayed at various intervals on 7H10 with or without appropriate amino acid supplementation. Innocula of all in vivo infections (t=0) were similarly checked to ensure parity of infection between groups of mice, the results were Log106.2 for H37Rv; metB Log105.8; proC Log106.1 and trpD Log106. The results represent means and standard errors for three mice per group and significance was measured using student's t test. Results are representative of two separate experiments.

4Daypost infectionH37RvmetBproCtrpD4.1 Lung CFUs105.87 ± 0.423.68 ± 0.7 3.24 ± 0.760.77 ± 0.94229.18 ± 0.026.41 ± 0.55 2.6 ± 1.620.67 ± 0.82358.43 ± 0.294.47 ± 0.2 1.67 ± 0.41706.65 ± 0.122.17 ± 1.34907.59 ± 0.2 2.7 ± 0 4.2 Liver CFUs106.08 ± 0.094.1 ± 1.55.16 ± 0.294.19 ± 1.05227.51 ± 0.347.05 ± 0.245.61 ± 0.25 5.2 ± 0.15358.68 ± 0.196.17 ± 0.224.85 ± 0.09706.75 ± 0.96 5.6 ± 0.19907.32 ± 0.015.77 ± 0.324.3 Spleen CFUs107.09 ± 0.225.17 ± 1.125.19 ± 0.964.84 ± 0.75228.99 ± 0.458.11 ± 0.055.36 ± 0.471.03 ± 1.27359.21 ± 0.185.63 ± 0.122.47 ± 0.29706.73 ± 0.153.32 ± 0.36907.25 ± 0.013.21 ± 0.55

[0101]

5

TABLE 5

Survival of immunocompetent mice infected with auxotrophs

DBA mice were infected intravenously with 1 × 106 of H37Rv or

mutants of H37Rv, metB, proC, trpD and survival monitored over

eleven months. The results are representative of two separate

experiments with 5/6 mice per group.

Day post infection
H37Rv
metB
proC
trpD

1
100
100
100
100

79
83
100
100
100

80
67
100
100
100

82
50
100
100
100

85
33
100
100
100

94
17
100
100
100

100
0
100
100
100

145

80
100
100

196

60
100
100

222

40
100
100

350

40
100
100

[0102]

6

TABLE 6

Effect of mutation on the survival and multiplication in the lung,

liver and spleen of DBA mice

Mice were infected with 1 × 106 wild type or auxotrophs of

M. tuberculosis. Innocula of all in vivo infections (t = 0) were

checked to ensure parity of infection between groups of mice, the

results were Log10 6.69 for H37Rv; metB 6.54; proC Log10 6.48 and

trpD Log10 6.6. CFUs were assayed at various intervals on 7H10

with or without appropriate amino acid supplementation. The results

represent means and standard errors for three mice per group and

signficance was measured using students t test. The results are

representative of two separate experiments.

Day

post infection
H37Rv
metB
proC
trpD

7.1 Lung CFUs

14
5.32 ± 0.06
5.09 ± 0.02
0 ± 0
3.58 ± 0.5

30
5.98 ± 0.01
5.91 ± 0.02
2.1 ± 1.05
0 ± 0

45
6.21 ± 0.21
6.16 ± 0.06
2.97 ± 1.49
0 ± 0

58
6.48 ± 0.07
6.59 ± 0.22
4.84 ± 0.06
0 ± 0

90
7.37 ± 0.22
6.90 ± 0.16
5.10 ± 0.11
2 ± 0

7.2 Liver CFUs

14
6.31 ± 0.21
6.58 ± 0.16
5.01 ± 0.61
5.72 ± 0.05

30
5.93 ± 0.06
6.41 ± 0.26
5.64 ± 0.02
5.08 ± 0.06

45
5.66 ± 0.07
5.73 ± 0.1
5.45 ± 0.1
5.19 ± 0.06

58
5.41 ± 0.02
5.57 ± 0.11
5.67 ± 0.06
4.48 ± 0.08

90
5.20 ± 0.06
5.36 ± 0.16
5.58 ± 0.11
4.70 ± 0.17

7.3 Spleen CFUs

14
5.71 ± 0.25
5.76 ± 0.08
1.60 ± 1.6
4.48 ± 0.09

30
5.25 ± 0.04
5.59 ± 0.12
5.29 ± 0.08
3.82 ± 0.12

45
5.27 ± 0.09
5.58 ± 0.06
5.33 ± 0.12
3.06 ± 0.11

58
5.52 ± 0.12
5.64 ± 0.08
5.72 ± 0.04
3.36 ± 0.06

90
5.64 ± 0.2
5.54 ± 0.09
5.77 ± 0.08
3.15 ± 0.02

[0103]

7

TABLE 7

Protective efficacy of auxotrophs of H37Rv against challenge with

virulent H37Rv M. tuberculosis in DBA mice

Mice were inoculated i.v. with 1 × 106 M. tuberculosis auxotrophs or BCG or given

saline alone as controls, and challenged i.v. at 6 weeks with 1 × 105 H37Rv. mice were

in groups of 6 per time point per treatment. CFUs from lungs, livers and spleens on

immunised and M. tuberculosis challenged mice. At the time of challenge the residual

burden of innocula was determined:- BCG (liver Log10 3.057; lung Log10 0.767;

spleen 3.24); proC (Liver Log10 5.84; Lung Log10 4.44; Spleen Log10 5.64) and trpD (

Liver Log10 4.52; Lung Log10 0; Spleen Log10 2.89. Animals were killed at 4 or 8 weeks

post challenge and homogenates of lungs, liver and spleens were serially diluted on

differential plates, to distinguish between innoculum and challenge. Results represent

mean +/− standard error for six mice per group. Statistical significance was measured

using students t test. Data divided by 1 × 104

Month post

challenge
Saline
BCG
proC
trpD

LUNG
1
66.33 ± 11.02
43.8 ± 11.56
117.3 ± 8.38
44.5 ± 6.49

2
2340 ± 535
771.7 ± 48.12
631.7 ± 57.18
328.3 ± 54.7

LIVER
1
46.67 ± 6.49
6.94 ± 0.7
9.53 ± 1.58
7.04 ± 1.67

2
23.77 ± 9.2
5.02 ± 0.57
8.21 ± 1.15
5.44 ± 1.13

SPLEEN
1
7.967 ± 1.19
2.58 ± 0.46
2.54 ± 0.84
3.18 ± 1.26

2
15.97 ± 4.46
16.65 ± 3.21
19.98 ± 6.54
1.41 ± 2.6

[0104]

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