Hybrid Bifunctional Protein Based on OmpF Porin and Highly Active Alkaline Phosphatase

Abstract

To improve the diagnostics of pseudotuberculosis by ELISA, a genetically engineered hybrid bifunctional protein (CmAP/OmpF) was obtained based on the pore-forming protein of the outer membrane of human pathogenic bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (OmpF) and the highly active alkaline phosphatase of marine bacterium Cobetia amphilecti KMM 296 (CmAP). The OmpF module in the fusion protein retains the properties of the diagnostic antigen of the pseudotuberculosis pathogen, and the CmAP module is an enzyme label for detecting porin complexes with specific antibodies. The CmAP/OmpF activity was successfully confirmed by the binding of antibodies to OmpF porin in murine antisera, as well as in the sera of patients with pseudotuberculosis. The use of hybrid complex CmAP/OmpF for the diagnostics of pseudotuberculosis will eliminate the use of enzyme-labeled secondary antibodies, usually necessary for detecting specific antibodies in the blood serum of patients, and thus simplify the procedure and shorten the analysis time.