One of the most important branches of genetic engineering is the expression of recombinant proteins using biological expression systems. Nowadays, different expression systems are used for the production of recombinant proteins including bacteria, yeasts, molds, mammals, plants, and insects. Yeast expression systems such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) and Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) are more popular. P. pastoris expression system is one of the most popular and standard tools for the production of recombinant protein in molecular biology. Overall, the benefits of protein production by P. pastoris system include appropriate folding (in the endoplasmic reticulum) and secretion (by Kex2 as signal peptidase) of recombinant proteins to the external environment of the cell. Moreover, in the P. pastoris expression system due to its limited production of endogenous secretory proteins, the purification of recombinant protein is easy. It is also considered a unique host for the expression of subunit vaccines which could significantly affect the growing market of medical biotechnology. Although P. pastoris expression systems are impressive and easy to use with well-defined process protocols, some degree of process optimization is required to achieve maximum production of the target proteins. Methanol and sorbitol concentration, Mut forms, temperature and incubation time have to be adjusted to obtain optimal conditions, which might vary among different strains and externally expressed protein. Eventually, optimal conditions for the production of a recombinant protein in P. pastoris expression system differ according to the target protein.

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Numerous studies have demonstrated that targeting immunogens to FcγR on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) can selectively uptake and increase cellular immunity in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate immunogenicity of a novel multistage tuberculosis vaccine, a combination of an early and a dormant immunogenic protein, ESAT6 and HspX, fused to Fcγ2a fragment of mouse IgG2a to target all forms of tuberculosis. Codon-optimized genes consisting of ESAT6, a linker, and HspX fused either to mouse Fcγ2a (ESAT6:HspX:mFcγ2a) or 6× His-tag (ESAT6:HspX:His) were synthesized. The resulting proteins were then produced in Pichia pastoris. The fusion proteins were separately emulsified in dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide(DDA)-trehalose-6,6-dibehenate(TDB) adjuvant, and their immunogenicity with and without bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) was assessed in C57BL/6 mice. Th1, Th2, Th17, and T-reg cytokine patterns were evaluated using the ELISA method. Both multistage vaccines induced very strong IL-12 and IFN-γ secretion from splenic cells; the Fc-tagged subunit vaccine induced a more effective Th1 immune response (IFN-γ, 910 pg/mL, and IL-12, 854 pg/mL) with a very low increase in IL-17 (∼0.1 pg/mL) and IL-4 (37 pg/mL) and a mild increase in TGF-β (543 pg/mL) compared to the BCG or ESAT6:HspX:His primed and boosted groups. The production of IFN-γ to ESAT6:HspX:Fcγ2a was very consistent and showed an increasing trend for IL-12 compared to the BCG or ESAT6:HspX:His primed and boosted groups. Fcγ2a used as a delivery vehicle supported the idea of selective uptake, inducing cross-presentation and forming a proper anti-tuberculosis response in context of Th1/Th2 and Th17/T-reg balances, which is important for protection and prevention of damage.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health threat despite chemotherapy and Bacilli Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination. Therefore, a safer and more effective vaccine against TB is urgently needed. This study evaluated the immunogenicity of a recombinant fusion protein consisting of early secreted antigenic target protein 6 kDa (ESAT-6), culture filtrate protein 10 kDa (CFP-10) and the Fc-domain of mouse IgG2a as a novel subunit vaccine. The recombinant expression vectors (pPICZαA-ESAT-6:CFP-10:Fcγ2a and pPICZαA-ESAT-6:CFP-10:His) were transferred into Pichia pastoris. After SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting, the immunogenicity of the recombinant proteins was evaluated in mice. When both recombinant proteins (ESAT-6:CFP-10:Fcγ2a and ESAT-6:CFP-10:His) were used for vaccination, Th1-type cellular responses were induced producing high levels of IFN-γ and IL-12. However, the Fc-tagged recombinant protein induced more effective Th1-type cellular responses with a small increase in IL-4 as compared to the BCG and ESAT-6:CFP-10:His groups. Moreover, mice primed with BCG and then supplemented with ESAT-6:CFP-10:Fcγ2a produced the highest levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in immunized groups. The findings indicate that when Fcγ2a is fused to the ESAT-6:CFP-10 complex, as a delivery vehicle, there could be an increase in the immunogenicity of this type of subunit vaccine. Therefore, additional investigations are necessary for the development of appropriate Fc-based tuberculosis vaccines.