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Infection and Immunity, February 2004, p. 742-749, Vol. 72, No. 2
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.2.742-749.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Host-Inducible Immunogenic Sphingomyelinase-Like Protein, Lk73.5, of Leptospira interrogans

S. Artiushin,* J. F. Timoney, J. Nally,{dagger} and A. Verma

Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546

Received 9 July 2003/ Returned for modification 16 August 2003/ Accepted 20 October 2003

Leptospira interrogans causes a variety of clinical syndromes in animals and humans. Although much information has accumulated on the importance of leptospiral lipopolysaccharide in protective antibody responses, relatively little is known about proteins that participate in immune responses. Identification of those proteins induced only in the host is particularly difficult. Using a novel double-antibody screen designed to identify clones in a gene library of L. interrogans serovar Pomona expressing host-inducible proteins, we have characterized a gene (lk75.3) encoding a sphingomyelinase-like preprotein of 648 amino acids with cytotoxic activity for equine pulmonary endothelial cells and weak hemolytic activity for equine and rabbit erythrocytes. lk73.5 was found as a single gene copy in all serovars of L. interrogans but not in other Leptospira spp. except L. inadai. The open reading frame (ORF) for Lk73.5 is followed by another partially homologous sequence containing an ORF (sph-like 2) for a 28.7-kDa peptide. Lk73.5 and Sph-like 2 share 95.1 and 97.7% amino acid identity with putative sphingomyelinases Sph2 and Sph1 (N terminus) from L. interrogans serovar Lai (S.-X. Ren, G. Fu, X.-G. Jiangk, R. Zeng, Y.-G. Miao, H. Xu, Y.-X. Zhang, H. Xiong, G. Lu, L.-F. Lu, H.-Q. Jiang, J. Jia, Y.-F. Tu, J.-X. Jiang, W.-Y. Gu, Y.-Q. Zhang, Z. Cai, H.-H. Sheng, H.-F. Yin, Y. Zhang, G.-F. Zhu, M. Wank, H.-L. Huangk, Z. Qian, S.-Y. Wang, Wei Ma, Z.-J. Yao, Y. Shen, B.-Q. Qiang, Q.-C. Xia, X.-K. Guo, A. Danchinq, I. S. Girons, R. L. Somerville, Y.-M. Wen, M.-H. Shik, Z. Chen, J.-G. Xuk, and G.-P. Zhao, Nature 422:88-893, 2003). Substantial homologies to sphingomyelinases from other leptospiras and other bacteria are also present. Lk73.5 was not detected in leptospiras cultured at 30 or 37°C. The recombinant protein reacted strongly with sera from recently infected mares but not with sera from horses vaccinated with commercial pentavalent bacterin. The host-inducible immunogenic Lk73.5 should have value in distinguishing vaccine from infection immune response.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546. Phone: (859) 257-4757, ext. 81111. Fax: (859) 257-5169. E-mail: scarti1{at}pop.uky.edu.

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

{dagger} Present address: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

Infection and Immunity, February 2004, p. 742-749, Vol. 72, No. 2
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.2.742-749.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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