Immune Interference in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Intracellular Iron Acquisition through Siderocalin Recognition of Carboxymycobactins

ABSTRACTIron is an essential, elusive, and potentially toxic nutrient for most pathogens, includingMycobacterium tuberculosis. Due to the poor solubility of ferric iron under aerobic conditions, free iron is not found in the host.M. tuberculosisrequires specialized iron acquisition systems to replicate and cause disease. It also depends on a strict control of iron metabolism and intracellular iron levels to prevent iron-mediated toxicity. Under conditions of iron sufficiency,M. tuberculosisrepresses iron acquisition and induces iron storage, suggesting an important role for iron storage proteins in iron homeostasis.M. tuberculosissynthesizes two iron storage proteins, a ferritin (BfrB) and a bacterioferritin (BfrA). The individual contributions of these proteins to the adaptive response ofM. tuberculosisto changes in iron availability are not clear. By generating individual knockout strains ofbfrAandbfrB, the contribution of each one of these proteins to the maintenance of iron homeostasis was determined. The effect of altered iron homeostasis, resulting from impaired iron storage, on the resistance ofM. tuberculosistoin vitroandin vivostresses was examined. The results show that ferritin is required to maintain iron homeostasis, whereas bacterioferritin seems to be dispensable for this function.M. tuberculosislacking ferritin suffers from iron-mediated toxicity, is unable to persist in mice, and, most importantly, is highly susceptible to killing by antibiotics, showing that endogenous oxidative stress can enhance the antibiotic killing of this important pathogen. These results are relevant for the design of new therapeutic strategies againstM. tuberculosis.

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MavN is aLegionella pneumophilavacuole-associated protein required for efficient iron acquisition during intracellular growth

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1511389112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (37) ◽

pp. E5208-E5217 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Dervla T. Isaac ◽

Rita K. Laguna ◽

Nicole Valtz ◽

Ralph R. Isberg

Keyword(s):

Legionella Pneumophila ◽

Transmembrane Protein ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Broth Culture ◽

Growth Defect ◽

Secretion Systems ◽

Intracellular Growth ◽

Iron Starvation ◽

Macrophage Infection ◽

Intracellular Iron

Iron is essential for the growth and virulence of most intravacuolar pathogens. The mechanisms by which microbes bypass host iron restriction to gain access to this metal across the host vacuolar membrane are poorly characterized. In this work, we identify a unique intracellular iron acquisition strategy used byLegionella pneumophila.The bacterial Icm/Dot (intracellular multiplication/defect in organelle trafficking) type IV secretion system targets the bacterial-derived MavN (more regions allowing vacuolar colocalization N) protein to the surface of theLegionella-containing vacuole where this putative transmembrane protein facilitates intravacuolar iron acquisition. TheΔmavNmutant exhibits a transcriptional iron-starvation signature before its growth is arrested during the very early stages of macrophage infection. This intracellular growth defect is rescued only by the addition of excess exogenous iron to the culture medium and not a variety of other metals. Consistent with MavN being a translocated substrate that plays an exclusive role during intracellular growth, the mutant shows no defect for growth in broth culture, even under severe iron-limiting conditions. Putative iron-binding residues within the MavN protein were identified, and point mutations in these residues resulted in defects specific for intracellular growth that are indistinguishable from the ΔmavNmutant. This model of a bacterial protein inserting into host membranes to mediate iron transport provides a paradigm for how intravacuolar pathogens can use virulence-associated secretion systems to manipulate and acquire host iron.

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PPE Surface Proteins Are Required for Heme Utilization by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.01720-16 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Avishek Mitra ◽

Alexander Speer ◽

Kan Lin ◽

Sabine Ehrt ◽

Michael Niederweis

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽

Human Body ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Bacterial Pathogens ◽

Surface Proteins ◽

Resonance Spectroscopy ◽

Heme Uptake ◽

Human Host ◽

Essential Nutrient ◽

Growth Experiments

ABSTRACT Iron is essential for replication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but iron is efficiently sequestered in the human host during infection. Heme constitutes the largest iron reservoir in the human body and is utilized by many bacterial pathogens as an iron source. While heme acquisition is well studied in other bacterial pathogens, little is known in M. tuberculosis. To identify proteins involved in heme utilization by M. tuberculosis, a transposon mutant library was screened for resistance to the toxic heme analog gallium(III)-porphyrin (Ga-PIX). Inactivation of the ppe36, ppe62, and rv0265c genes resulted in resistance to Ga-PIX. Growth experiments using isogenic M. tuberculosis deletion mutants showed that PPE36 is essential for heme utilization by M. tuberculosis, while the functions of PPE62 and Rv0265c are partially redundant. None of the genes restored growth of the heterologous M. tuberculosis mutants, indicating that the proteins encoded by the genes have separate functions. PPE36, PPE62, and Rv0265c bind heme as shown by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and are associated with membranes. Both PPE36 and PPE62 proteins are cell surface accessible, while the Rv0265c protein is probably located in the periplasm. PPE36 and PPE62 are, to our knowledge, the first proline-proline-glutamate (PPE) proteins of M. tuberculosis that bind small molecules and are involved in nutrient acquisition. The absence of a virulence defect of the ppe36 deletion mutant indicates that the different iron acquisition pathways of M. tuberculosis may substitute for each other during growth and persistence in mice. The emerging model of heme utilization by M. tuberculosis as derived from this study is substantially different from those of other bacteria. IMPORTANCE Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is a devastating disease affecting eight million people each year. Iron is an essential nutrient for replication of M. tuberculosis in the human host. More than 70% of iron in the human body is bound in heme. Not surprisingly, many bacterial pathogens, including M. tuberculosis, are able to acquire iron from heme. However, the mechanism of heme uptake by M. tuberculosis is poorly understood. We have identified two novel surface proteins that bind heme and are required for heme utilization by M. tuberculosis. These findings constitute a major advancement of our understanding of iron acquisition by M. tuberculosis and show that M. tuberculosis has evolved heme uptake systems different from the paradigms established by other bacteria. IMPORTANCE Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is a devastating disease affecting eight million people each year. Iron is an essential nutrient for replication of M. tuberculosis in the human host. More than 70% of iron in the human body is bound in heme. Not surprisingly, many bacterial pathogens, including M. tuberculosis, are able to acquire iron from heme. However, the mechanism of heme uptake by M. tuberculosis is poorly understood. We have identified two novel surface proteins that bind heme and are required for heme utilization by M. tuberculosis. These findings constitute a major advancement of our understanding of iron acquisition by M. tuberculosis and show that M. tuberculosis has evolved heme uptake systems different from the paradigms established by other bacteria.

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Host glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase-mediated iron acquisition is hijacked by intraphagosomal Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences ◽

10.1007/s00018-021-04110-3 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 79 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anil Patidar ◽

Himanshu Malhotra ◽

Surbhi Chaudhary ◽

Manoj Kumar ◽

Rahul Dilawari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽

Iron Acquisition

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Transcriptional regulation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis hupB gene expression

Microbiology ◽

10.1099/mic.0.079640-0 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 160 (8) ◽

pp. 1637-1647 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Satya Deo Pandey ◽

Mitali Choudhury ◽

Manjula Sritharan

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽

Iron Homeostasis ◽

Iron Concentration ◽

Dna Interaction ◽

Intracellular Iron ◽

Mobility Shift ◽

Dna Footprinting ◽

Sequence Of Events ◽

Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assays

The influence of iron levels on the transcription of the hupB gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the focus of this study. Studies in our laboratory showed HupB to be co-expressed with the two siderophores in low-iron organisms. Mycobactin biosynthesis is repressed by the IdeR–Fe2+ complex that binds the IdeR box in the mbtB promoter. Recently, we demonstrated the positive regulatory effect of HupB on mycobactin biosynthesis by demonstrating its binding to a 10 bp HupB box in the mbtB promoter. Earlier, we observed that HupB, expressed maximally in low-iron media (0.02 µg Fe ml−1; 0.36 µM Fe) was still detectable at 8 µg Fe ml−1 (144 µM Fe) when the siderophores were absent and complete repression was seen only at 12 µg Fe ml−1 (216 µM Fe). In this study, we observed elevated levels of hupB transcripts in iron-limited organisms. IdeR, and not FurA, functioned as the iron regulator, by binding to two IdeR boxes in the hupB promoter. Interestingly, the 10 bp HupB box, first reported in the mbtB promoter, was identified in the hupB promoter. Using DNA footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we demonstrated the functionality of the HupB box and the two IdeR boxes. The high hupB transcript levels expressed by the organism and the in vitro protein–DNA interaction studies led us to hypothesize the sequence of events occurring in response to changes in the intracellular iron concentration, emphasizing the roles played by IdeR and HupB in iron homeostasis.

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Dopamine Is a Siderophore-Like Iron Chelator That PromotesSalmonella entericaSerovar Typhimurium Virulence in Mice

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.02624-18 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Stefanie Dichtl ◽

Egon Demetz ◽

David Haschka ◽

Piotr Tymoszuk ◽

Verena Petzer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Growth ◽

Iron Uptake ◽

Iron Homeostasis ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Lipocalin 2 ◽

Intracellular Iron ◽

Content Type ◽

Hepcidin Expression

ABSTRACTWe have recently shown that the catecholamine dopamine regulates cellular iron homeostasis in macrophages. As iron is an essential nutrient for microbes, and intracellular iron availability affects the growth of intracellular bacteria, we studied whether dopamine administration impacts the course ofSalmonellainfections. Dopamine was found to promote the growth ofSalmonellaboth in culture and within bone marrow-derived macrophages, which was dependent on increased bacterial iron acquisition. Dopamine administration to mice infected withSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium resulted in significantly increased bacterial burdens in liver and spleen, as well as reduced survival. The promotion of bacterial growth by dopamine was independent of the siderophore-binding host peptide lipocalin-2. Rather, dopamine enhancement of iron uptake requires both the histidine sensor kinase QseC and bacterial iron transporters, in particular SitABCD, and may also involve the increased expression of bacterial iron uptake genes. Deletion or pharmacological blockade of QseC reduced but did not abolish the growth-promoting effects of dopamine. Dopamine also modulated systemic iron homeostasis by increasing hepcidin expression and depleting macrophages of the iron exporter ferroportin, which enhanced intracellular bacterial growth.Salmonellalacking all central iron uptake pathways failed to benefit from dopamine treatment. These observations are potentially relevant to critically ill patients, in whom the pharmacological administration of catecholamines to improve circulatory performance may exacerbate the course of infection with siderophilic bacteria.IMPORTANCEHere we show that dopamine increases bacterial iron incorporation and promotesSalmonellaTyphimurium growth bothin vitroandin vivo. These observations suggest the potential hazards of pharmacological catecholamine administration in patients with bacterial sepsis but also suggest that the inhibition of bacterial iron acquisition might provide a useful approach to antimicrobial therapy.

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Ferricrocin, a Siderophore Involved in Intra- and Transcellular Iron Distribution in Aspergillus fumigatus

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00479-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 75 (12) ◽

pp. 4194-4196 ◽

Cited By ~ 73

Author(s):

Anja Wallner ◽

Michael Blatzer ◽

Markus Schrettl ◽

Bettina Sarg ◽

Herbert Lindner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Iron Starvation ◽

Intracellular Iron ◽

Iron Storage ◽

Essential Metal ◽

Iron Distribution ◽

Iron Transporter

ABSTRACT Iron is an essential metal for virtually all organisms. Iron acquisition is well characterized for various organisms, whereas intracellular iron distribution is poorly understood. In contrast to bacteria, plants, and animals, most fungi lack ferritin-mediated iron storage but possess an intracellular siderophore shown to be involved in iron storage. Here we demonstrate that deficiency in the intracellular siderophore ferricrocin causes iron starvation in conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus, demonstrating that ferricrocin is also involved in intra- and transcellular iron distribution. Thus, ferricrocin represents the first intracellular iron transporter identified in any organism.

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Pharmacokinetic andIn VivoEfficacy Studies of the Mycobactin Biosynthesis Inhibitor Salicyl-AMS in Mice

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy ◽

10.1128/aac.00918-13 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 57 (10) ◽

pp. 5138-5140 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Shichun Lun ◽

Haidan Guo ◽

John Adamson ◽

Justin S. Cisar ◽

Tony D. Davis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽

Single Dose ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Mouse Lung ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Content Type ◽

Biosynthesis Inhibitor ◽

Parameter Values

ABSTRACTMycobactin biosynthesis inMycobacterium tuberculosisfacilitates iron acquisition, which is required for growth and virulence. The mycobactin biosynthesis inhibitor salicyl-AMS [5′-O-(N-salicylsulfamoyl)adenosine] inhibitsM. tuberculosisgrowthin vitrounder iron-limited conditions. Here, we conducted a single-dose pharmacokinetic study and a monotherapy study of salicyl-AMS with mice. Intraperitoneal injection yielded much better pharmacokinetic parameter values than oral administration did. Monotherapy of salicyl-AMS at 5.6 or 16.7 mg/kg significantly inhibitedM. tuberculosisgrowth in the mouse lung, providing the firstin vivoproof of concept for this novel antibacterial strategy.

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Iron Acquisition in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.00922-15 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 198 (5) ◽

pp. 857-866 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Joyce Wang ◽

Jalal Moolji ◽

Alex Dufort ◽

Alfredo Staffa ◽

Pilar Domenech ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Avium ◽

Iron Uptake ◽

Genomic Island ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Laboratory Data ◽

Uptake System ◽

Intracellular Iron ◽

Content Type ◽

Iron Uptake System ◽

Environmental Bacterium

ABSTRACTMycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisis a host-adapted pathogen that evolved from the environmental bacteriumM. aviumsubsp.hominissuisthrough gene loss and gene acquisition. Growth ofM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisin the laboratory is enhanced by supplementation of the media with the iron-binding siderophore mycobactin J. Here we examined the production of mycobactins by related organisms and searched for an alternative iron uptake system inM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosis. Through thin-layer chromatography and radiolabeled iron-uptake studies, we showed thatM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisis impaired for both mycobactin synthesis and iron acquisition. Consistent with these observations, we identified several mutations, including deletions, inM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisgenes coding for mycobactin synthesis. Using a transposon-mediated mutagenesis screen conditional on growth without myobactin, we identified a potential mycobactin-independent iron uptake system on aM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosis-specific genomic island, LSPP15. We obtained a transposon (Tn) mutant with a disruption in the LSPP15 geneMAP3776cfor targeted study. The mutant manifests increased iron uptake as well as intracellular iron content, with genes downstream of the transposon insertion (MAP3775ctoMAP3772c[MAP3775-2c]) upregulated as the result of a polar effect. As an independent confirmation, we observed the same iron uptake phenotypes by overexpressingMAP3775-2cin wild-typeM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosis. These data indicate that the horizontally acquired LSPP15 genes contribute to iron acquisition byM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosis, potentially allowing the subsequent loss of siderophore production by this pathogen.IMPORTANCEMany microbes are able to scavenge iron from their surroundings by producing iron-chelating siderophores. One exception isMycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosis, a fastidious, slow-growing animal pathogen whose growth needs to be supported by exogenous mycobacterial siderophore (mycobactin) in the laboratory. Data presented here demonstrate that, compared to other closely relatedM. aviumsubspecies, mycobactin production and iron uptake are different inM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosis, and these phenotypes may be caused by numerous deletions in its mycobactin biosynthesis pathway. Using a genomic approach, supplemented by targeted genetic and biochemical studies, we identified that LSPP15, a horizontally acquired genomic island, may encode an alternative iron uptake system. These findings shed light on the potential physiological consequence of horizontal gene transfer inM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisevolution.

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The 58-Kilodalton Major Virulence Factor of Francisella tularensis Is Required for Efficient Utilization of Iron

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.00702-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 77 (10) ◽

pp. 4429-4436 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Helena Lindgren ◽

Marie Honn ◽

Igor Golovlev ◽

Konstantin Kadzhaev ◽

Wayne Conlan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Francisella Tularensis ◽

Iron Acquisition ◽

Protein A ◽

Intracellular Iron ◽

Major Virulence Factor ◽

Iron Pool ◽

Isogenic Mutants ◽

Schu S4 ◽

Iron Concentrations

ABSTRACT We investigated the role of the 58-kDa FTT0918 protein in the iron metabolism of Francisella tularensis. The phenotypes of SCHU S4, a prototypic strain of F. tularensis subsp. tularensis, and the ΔFTT0918 and ΔfslA isogenic mutants were analyzed. The gene product missing in the ΔfslA mutant is responsible for synthesis of a siderophore. When grown in broth with various iron concentrations, the two deletion mutants generally reached lower maximal densities than SCHU S4. The ΔFTT0918 mutant, but not the ΔfslA mutant, upregulated the genes of the F. tularensis siderophore locus (fsl) operon even at high iron concentrations. A chrome azurol sulfonate plate assay confirmed siderophore production by all strains except the ΔfslA strain. In a cross-feeding experiment using medium devoid of free iron, SCHU S4 promoted growth of the ΔfslA strain but not of the ΔFTT0918 strain. The sensitivity of SCHU S4 and the ΔFTT0918 and ΔfslA strains to streptonigrin demonstrated that the ΔFTT0918 strain contained a smaller free intracellular iron pool and that the ΔfslA strain contained a larger one than SCHU S4. In contrast to the marked attenuation of the ΔFTT0918 strain, the ΔfslA strain was as virulent as SCHU S4 in a mouse model. Altogether, the data demonstrate that the FTT0918 protein is required for F. tularensis to utilize iron bound to siderophores and that it likely has a role also in siderophore-independent iron acquisition. We suggest that the FTT0918 protein be designated Fe utilization protein A, FupA.

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