scholarly journals Zebrafish nephrosin helps host defence against Escherichia coli infection

Open Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 170040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianqian Di ◽  
Qing Lin ◽  
Zhibin Huang ◽  
Yali Chi ◽  
Xiaohui Chen ◽  
...  

Neutrophils play important roles in innate immunity and are mainly dependent on various enzyme-containing granules to kill engulfed microorganisms. Zebrafish nephrosin ( npsn ) is specifically expressed in neutrophils; however, its function is largely unknown. Here, we generated an npsn mutant ( npsn smu5 ) via CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate the in vivo function of Npsn. The overall development and number of neutrophils remained unchanged in npsn -deficient mutants, whereas neutrophil antibacterial function was defective. Upon infection with Escherichia coli , the npsn smu5 mutants exhibited a lower survival rate and more severe bacterial burden, as well as augmented inflammatory response to challenge with infection when compared with wild-type embryos, whereas npsn -overexpressing zebrafish exhibited enhanced host defence against E. coli infection. These findings demonstrated that zebrafish Npsn promotes host defence against bacterial infection. Furthermore, our findings suggested that npsn -deficient and -overexpressing zebrafish might serve as effective models of in vivo innate immunity.

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3088-3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Redford ◽  
Paula L. Roesch ◽  
Rodney A. Welch

ABSTRACT Extraintestinal Escherichia coli strains cause meningitis, sepsis, urinary tract infection, and other infections outside the bowel. We examined here extraintestinal E. coli strain CFT073 by differential fluorescence induction. Pools of CFT073 clones carrying a CFT073 genomic fragment library in a promoterless gfp vector were inoculated intraperitoneally into mice; bacteria were recovered by lavage 6 h later and then subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Eleven promoters were found to be active in the mouse but not in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth culture. Three are linked to genes for enterobactin, aerobactin, and yersiniabactin. Three others are linked to the metabolic genes metA, gltB, and sucA, and another was linked to iha, a possible adhesin. Three lie before open reading frames of unknown function. One promoter is associated with degS, an inner membrane protease. Mutants of the in vivo-induced loci were tested in competition with the wild type in mouse peritonitis. Of the mutants tested, only CFT073 degS was found to be attenuated in peritoneal and in urinary tract infection, with virulence restored by complementation. CFT073 degS shows growth similar to that of the wild type at 37°C but is impaired at 43°C or in 3% ethanol LB broth at 37°C. Compared to the wild type, the mutant shows similar serum survival, motility, hemolysis, erythrocyte agglutination, and tolerance to oxidative stress. It also has the same lipopolysaccharide appearance on a silver-stained gel. The basis for the virulence attenuation is unclear, but because DegS is needed for σE activity, our findings implicate σE and its regulon in E. coli extraintestinal pathogenesis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (7) ◽  
pp. 2259-2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wei ◽  
Amy C. Vollmer ◽  
Robert A. LaRossa

ABSTRACT Mitomycin C (MMC), a DNA-damaging agent, is a potent inducer of the bacterial SOS response; surprisingly, it has not been used to select resistant mutants from wild-type Escherichia coli. MMC resistance is caused by the presence of any of four distinctE. coli genes (mdfA, gyrl, rob, andsdiA) on high-copy-number vectors. mdfAencodes a membrane efflux pump whose overexpression results in broad-spectrum chemical resistance. The gyrI (also called sbmC) gene product inhibits DNA gyrase activity in vitro, while the rob protein appears to function in transcriptional activation of efflux pumps. SdiA is a transcriptional activator of ftsQAZ genes involved in cell division.


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman I. Hassanen ◽  
Eman A. Morsy ◽  
Ahmed M. Hussien ◽  
Khaled Y. Farroh ◽  
Merhan E. Ali

Abstract Escherichia coli infection is considered one of the most economically important multi-systemic diseases in poultry farms. Several nanoparticles such as silver, chitosan, and copper oxide are known to be highly toxic to several microbes. However, there are no data concerning their success against in vivo experimental E. coli infection in broilers. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the bactericidal effect of low doses of CuO-NPs (5 mg/kg bwt), Ag-NPs (0.5 mg/kg bwt), and Ch-Ag NPs (0.5 mg/kg bwt) against E. coli experimental infection in broilers. One hundred chicks were divided into five groups as follows: (1) control; (2) E. coli (4 × 108 CFU/ml) challenged; (3) E. coli +CuO-NPs; (4) E. coli +Ag-NPs; (5) E. coli +Ch-Ag NPs. The challenged untreated group, not NPs treated groups, recorded the lowest weight gain as well as the highest bacterial count and lesion score in all examined organs. The highest liver content of silver was observed in Ag-NPs treated group compared with the Ch-Ag NPs treated group. Our results concluded that Ch-Ag NPs not only had the best antibacterial effects but also acted as a growth promoter in broilers without leaving any residues in edible organs. We recommend using Ch-Ag NPs in broiler farms instead of antibiotics or probiotics.


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (21) ◽  
pp. 5580-5587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara D. James ◽  
Michael Cashel ◽  
Deborah M. Hinton

ABSTRACT During infection of Escherichia coli, bacteriophage T4 usurps the host transcriptional machinery, redirecting it to the expression of early, middle, and late phage genes. Middle genes, whose expression begins about 1 min postinfection, are transcribed both from the extension of early RNA into middle genes and by the activation of T4 middle promoters. Middle-promoter activation requires the T4 transcriptional activator MotA and coactivator AsiA, which are known to interact with σ70, the specificity subunit of RNA polymerase. T4 motA amber [motA(Am)] or asiA(Am) phage grows poorly in wild-type E. coli. However, previous work has found that T4 motA(Am)does not grow in the E. coli mutant strain TabG. We show here that the RNA polymerase in TabG contains two mutations within its β-subunit gene: rpoB(E835K) and rpoB(G1249D). We find that the G1249D mutation is responsible for restricting the growth of either T4 motA(Am)or asiA(Am) and for impairing transcription from MotA/AsiA-activated middle promoters in vivo. With one exception, transcription from tested T4 early promoters is either unaffected or, in some cases, even increases, and there is no significant growth phenotype for the rpoB(E835K G1249D) strain in the absence of T4 infection. In reported structures of thermophilic RNA polymerase, the G1249 residue is located immediately adjacent to a hydrophobic pocket, called the switch 3 loop. This loop is thought to aid in the separation of the RNA from the DNA-RNA hybrid as RNA enters the RNA exit channel. Our results suggest that the presence of MotA and AsiA may impair the function of this loop or that this portion of the β subunit may influence interactions among MotA, AsiA, and RNA polymerase.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (12) ◽  
pp. 3524-3526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bokkee Min ◽  
Makoto Kitabatake ◽  
Carla Polycarpo ◽  
Joanne Pelaschier ◽  
Gregory Raczniak ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Two types of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase exist: the discriminating enzyme (D-AspRS) forms only Asp-tRNAAsp, while the nondiscriminating one (ND-AspRS) also synthesizes Asp-tRNAAsn, a required intermediate in protein synthesis in many organisms (but not in Escherichia coli). On the basis of the E. coli trpA34 missense mutant transformed with heterologous ND-aspS genes, we developed a system with which to measure the in vivo formation of Asp-tRNAAsn and its acceptance by elongation factor EF-Tu. While large amounts of Asp-tRNAAsn are detrimental to E. coli, smaller amounts support protein synthesis and allow the formation of up to 38% of the wild-type level of missense-suppressed tryptophan synthetase.


2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 4753-4763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel R. Spurbeck ◽  
Ann E. Stapleton ◽  
James R. Johnson ◽  
Seth T. Walk ◽  
Thomas M. Hooton ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTEscherichia coli, a cause of ∼90% of urinary tract infections (UTI), utilizes fimbrial adhesins to colonize the uroepithelium. Pyelonephritis isolateE. coliCFT073 carries 12 fimbrial operons, 5 of which have never been studied. Using multiplex PCR, the prevalence of these 12 and 3 additional fimbrial types was determined for a collection of 303E. coliisolates (57 human commensal, 32 animal commensal, 54 asymptomatic bacteriuria, 45 complicated UTI, 38 uncomplicated cystitis, and 77 pyelonephritis). The number of fimbrial types perE. coliisolate was distributed bimodally: those with low (3.2 ± 1.1) and those with high (8.3 ± 1.3) numbers of fimbrial types (means ± standard errors of the means). The fimbrial genesygiL,yadN,yfcV, andc2395were significantly more prevalent among urine isolates than human commensal isolates. The effect of deletion of Ygi and Yad fimbrial operons on growth, motility, biofilm formation, adherence to immortalized human epithelial cells, and pathogenesis in the mouse model of UTI was examined. Yad fimbriae were necessary for wild-type levels of adherence to a bladder epithelial cell line and for biofilm formation. Deletion of these fimbrial genes increased motility. Ygi fimbriae were necessary for wild-type levels of adherence to a human embryonic kidney cell line, biofilm formation, andin vivofitness in the urine and kidneys. Complementation of each fimbrial mutant restored wild-type levels of motility, biofilm formation, adherence and, forygi,in vivofitness. A double deletion strain, Δygi Δyad, was attenuated in the urine, bladder, and kidneys in the mouse model, demonstrating that these fimbriae contribute to uropathogenesis.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (20) ◽  
pp. 6728-6737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Ursinus ◽  
Fusinita van den Ent ◽  
Sonja Brechtel ◽  
Miguel de Pedro ◽  
Joachim-Volker Höltje ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The binding of the essential cell division protein FtsN of Escherichia coli to the murein (peptidoglycan) sacculus was studied. Soluble truncated variants of FtsN, including the complete periplasmic part of the protein as well as a variant containing only the C-terminal 77 amino acids, did bind to purified murein sacculi isolated from wild-type cells. FtsN variants lacking this C-terminal region showed reduced or no binding to murein. Binding of FtsN was severely reduced when tested against sacculi isolated either from filamentous cells with blocked cell division or from chain-forming cells of a triple amidase mutant. Binding experiments with radioactively labeled murein digestion products revealed that the longer murein glycan strands (>25 disaccharide units) showed a specific affinity to FtsN, but neither muropeptides, peptides, nor short glycan fragments bound to FtsN. In vivo FtsN could be cross-linked to murein with the soluble disulfide bridge containing cross-linker DTSSP. Less FtsN, but similar amounts of OmpA, was cross-linked to murein of filamentous or of chain-forming cells compared to levels in wild-type cells. Expression of truncated FtsN variants in cells depleted in full-length FtsN revealed that the presence of the C-terminal murein-binding domain was not required for cell division under laboratory conditions. FtsN was present in 3,000 to 6,000 copies per cell in exponentially growing wild-type E. coli MC1061. We discuss the possibilities that the binding of FtsN to murein during cell division might either stabilize the septal region or might have a function unrelated to cell division.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joren De Smet ◽  
Filip Boyen ◽  
Siska Croubels ◽  
Geertrui Rasschaert ◽  
Freddy Haesebrouck ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Knowledge of therapy-induced intestinal tract concentrations of antimicrobials allows for interpretation and prediction of antimicrobial resistance selection within the intestinal microbiota. This study describes the impact of three different doses of enrofloxacin (ENR) and two different administration routes on the intestinal concentration of ENR and on the fecal Escherichia coli populations in pigs. Enrofloxacin was administered on three consecutive days to four different treatment groups. The groups either received an oral bolus administration of ENR (conventional or half dose) or an intramuscular administration (conventional or double dose). Results Quantitative analysis of fecal samples showed high ENR concentrations in all groups, ranging from 5.114 ± 1.272 μg/g up to 39.54 ± 10.43 μg/g at the end of the treatment period. In addition, analysis of the luminal intestinal content revealed an increase of ENR concentration from the proximal to the distal intestinal tract segments, with no significant effect of administration route. Fecal samples were also screened for resistance in E. coli isolates against ENR. Wild-type (MIC≤0.125 μg/mL) and non-wild-type (0.125 < MIC≤2 μg/mL) E. coli isolates were found at time 0 h. At the end of treatment (3 days) only non-wild-type isolates (MIC≥32 μg/mL) were found. Conclusions In conclusion, the observed intestinal ENR concentrations in all groups showed to be both theoretically (based on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles) and effectively (in vivo measurement) capable of significantly reducing the intestinal E. coli wild-type population.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 5465-5475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Autieri ◽  
Jeremy J. Lins ◽  
Mary P. Leatham ◽  
David C. Laux ◽  
Tyrrell Conway ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli MG1655 uses several sugars for growth in the mouse intestine. To determine the roles of l-fucose and d-ribose, an E. coli MG1655 ΔfucAO mutant and an E. coli MG1655 ΔrbsK mutant were fed separately to mice along with wild-type E. coli MG1655. The E. coli MG1655 ΔfucAO mutant colonized the intestine at a level 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of the wild type, but the E. coli MG1655 ΔrbsK mutant and the wild type colonized at nearly identical levels. Surprisingly, an E. coli MG1655 ΔfucAO ΔrbsK mutant was eliminated from the intestine by either wild-type E. coli MG1655 or E. coli MG1655 ΔfucAO, suggesting that the ΔfucAO mutant switches to ribose in vivo. Indeed, in vitro growth experiments showed that l-fucose stimulated utilization of d-ribose by the E. coli MG1655 ΔfucAO mutant but not by an E. coli MG1655 ΔfucK mutant. Since the ΔfucK mutant cannot convert l-fuculose to l-fuculose-1-phosphate, whereas the ΔfucAO mutant accumulates l-fuculose-1-phosphate, the data suggest that l-fuculose-1-phosphate stimulates growth on ribose both in the intestine and in vitro. An E. coli Nissle 1917 ΔfucAO mutant, derived from a human probiotic commensal strain, acted in a manner identical to that of E. coli MG1655 ΔfucAO in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, l-fucose at a concentration too low to support growth stimulated the utilization of ribose by the wild-type E. coli strains in vitro. Collectively, the data suggest that l-fuculose-1-phosphate plays a role in the regulation of ribose usage as a carbon source by E. coli MG1655 and E. coli Nissle 1917 in the mouse intestine.


1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 747-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Smith

This paper describes the present state of research on the pathogenicity of Escherichia coli and points out the gaps in knowledge that should be filled in the future. First, the great versatility of E. coli in producing disease is noted, as well as the invaluable contributions that studies of it have made to the development of general knowledge on bacterial pathogenicity. Then, the biological requirements for pathogenicity: infection of mucous surfaces; penetration of those surfaces; multiplication in vivo; interference with host defence mechanisms; and damage to the host, are taken in turn, and an enquiry is made on how far studies have progressed toward identifying their molecular determinants and relating structure to biological action. Only for mucous surface adhesins and protein toxins are studies at the structure–function level. Some progress has been made on interference with host defence, but little is known about competition with commensals on mucous surfaces, invasion into the tissues, and growth in vivo. Key words: virulence determinants, Escherichia coli.


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