Enhanced priming of adaptive immunity by Mycobacterium smegmatis mutants with high-level protein secretion.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacteria have features that make them attractive as potential vaccine vectors. The nonpathogenic and rapidly growing Mycobacterium smegmatis can express both Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens and heterologous antigens from other pathogens, and it has been used as a viable vector for the development of live vaccines. In order to further improve antigen-specific immunogenicity of M. smegmatis, we screened a random transposon mutant library for mutants displaying enhanced efficiency of protein secretion ("high secretors") and isolated 61 mutants showing enhanced endogenic and transgenic protein secretion. Sequence analysis identified a total of 54 genes involved in optimal secretion of insert proteins, as well as multiple independent transposon insertions localized within the same genom

SUBMITTER: Taylor N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3428392 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature