Enhanced production of Shiga toxin 1 in enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli by oxygen

Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Shimizu ◽  
Manami Onuki ◽  
Shin Suzuki ◽  
Shinichiro Hirai ◽  
Eiji Yokoyama ◽  
...  

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) produces Shiga toxin 1 (Stx1) and Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2). Although stx1 and stx2 were found within the late operons of the Stx-encoding phages (Stx-phages), stx1 could mainly be transcribed from the stx1 promoter (P Stx1), which represents the functional operator-binding site (Fur box) for the transcriptional regulator Fur (ferric uptake regulator), upstream of stx1. In this study, we found that the production of Stx1 by EHEC was affected by oxygen concentration. Increased Stx1 production in the presence of oxygen is dependent on Fur, which is an Fe2+-responsive transcription factor. The intracellular Fe2+ pool was lower under microaerobic conditions than under anaerobic conditions, suggesting that lower Fe2+ availability drove the formation of less Fe2+-Fur, less DNA binding to the P Stx1 region, and an increase in Stx1 production.

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 3277-3282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Bielaszewska ◽  
Evgeny A. Idelevich ◽  
Wenlan Zhang ◽  
Andreas Bauwens ◽  
Frieder Schaumburg ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe role of antibiotics in treatment of enterohemorrhagicEscherichia coli(EHEC) infections is controversial because of concerns about triggering hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) by increasing Shiga toxin (Stx) production. During the recent large EHEC O104:H4 outbreak, antibiotic therapy was indicated for some patients. We tested a diverse panel of antibiotics to which the outbreak strain is susceptible to interrogate the effects of subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations on induction ofstx2-harboring bacteriophages,stx2transcription, and Stx2 production in this emerging pathogen. Ciprofloxacin significantly increasedstx2-harboring phage induction and Stx2 production in outbreak isolates (Pvalues of <0.001 to <0.05), while fosfomycin, gentamicin, and kanamycin insignificantly influenced them (P> 0.1) and chloramphenicol, meropenem, azithromycin, rifaximin, and tigecycline significantly decreased them (P≤ 0.05). Ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol significantly upregulated and downregulatedstx2transcription, respectively (P< 0.01); the other antibiotics had insignificant effects (P> 0.1). Meropenem, azithromycin, and rifaximin, which were used for necessary therapeutic or prophylactic interventions during the EHEC O104:H4 outbreak, as well as tigecycline, neither inducedstx2-harboring phages nor increasedstx2transcription or Stx2 production in the outbreak strain. These antibiotics might represent therapeutic options for patients with EHEC O104:H4 infection if antibiotic treatment is inevitable. We await further analysis of the epidemic to determine if usage of these agents was associated with an altered risk of developing HUS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 2748-2757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Lu ◽  
Enqing Fu ◽  
Yonghong Xie ◽  
Faguang Jin

Heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), the major virulence factor of enterotoxigenicEscherichia coli(ETEC), can lead to severe diarrhea and promotes ETEC adherence to intestinal epithelial cells. Most previousin vitrostudies focused on ETEC pathogenesis were conducted under aerobic conditions, which do not reflect the real situation of ETEC infection because the intestine is anoxic. In this study, the expression and secretion of LT under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions were determined; LT was not efficiently secreted into the supernatant under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions unless terminal electron acceptors (trimethylamineN-oxide dihydrate [TMAO] or nitrate) were available. Furthermore, we found that the restoration effects of TMAO and nitrate on LT secretion could be inhibited by amytal or ΔtorCADand ΔnarGE. colistrains, indicating that LT secretion under anaerobic conditions was dependent on the integrity of the respiratory chain. At the same time, electron acceptors increase the ATP level of ETEC, but this increase was not the main reason for LT secretion. Subsequently, the relationship between the integrity of the respiratory chain and the function of the type II secretion system was determined. The GspD protein, the secretin of ETEC, was assembled under anaerobic conditions and was accompanied by LT secretion when TMAO or nitrate was added. Our data also demonstrated that TMAO and nitrate could not induce the GspD assembly and LT secretion in ΔtorCADand ΔnarGstrains, respectively. Moreover, GspD assembly under anaerobic conditions was assisted by the pilot protein YghG.


2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1932-1937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Fujii ◽  
Mariko Naito ◽  
Takashi Yutsudo ◽  
Sohkichi Matsumoto ◽  
Daniel P. Heatherly ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe have developed a novel vaccine against Shiga toxin (Stx)-producingEscherichia coli(STEC) infection using a recombinantMycobacterium bovisBCG (rBCG) system. Two intraperitoneal vaccinations with rBCG expressing the Stx2 B subunit (Stx2B) resulted in an increase of protective serum IgG and mucosal IgA responses to Stx2B in BALB/c mice. When orally challenged with 103CFU of STEC strain B2F1 (O91: H21), the immunized mice survived statistically significantly longer than the nonvaccinated mice. We suggest that intraperitoneal immunization with rBCG expressing Stx2B would be a potential vaccine strategy for STEC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia B. Lodato

AbstractEnterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) comprise a group of intestinal pathogens responsible for a range of illnesses, including kidney failure and neurological compromise. EHEC produce critical virulence factors, Shiga toxin (Stx) 1 or 2, and the synthesis of Stx2 is associated with worse disease manifestations. Infected patients only receive supportive treatment because some conventional antibiotics enable toxin production. Shiga toxin 2 genes (stx2) are carried in λ-like bacteriophages (stx2-phages) inserted into the EHEC genome as prophages. Factors that cause DNA damage induce the lytic cycle of stx2-phages, leading to Stx2 production. The phage Q protein is critical for transcription antitermination of stx2 and phage lytic genes. This study reports that deficiency of two endoribonucleases (RNases), E and G, significantly delayed cell lysis and impaired production of both Stx2 and stx2-phages, unlike deficiency of either enzyme alone. Moreover, scarcity of both enzymes reduced the concentrations of Q and stx2 transcripts and slowed cell growth.


2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 869-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Miyamoto ◽  
Mitsutoshi Iimura ◽  
James B. Kaper ◽  
Alfredo G. Torres ◽  
Martin F. Kagnoff

2015 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 2338-2349 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Funk ◽  
N. Biber ◽  
M. Schneider ◽  
E. Hauser ◽  
S. Enzenmüller ◽  
...  

In this study, the cytotoxicity of the recently described subtilase variant SubAB2-2of Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coliwas determined and compared to the plasmid-encoded SubAB1and the chromosome-encoded SubAB2-1variant. The genes for the respective enzymatic active (A) subunits and binding (B) subunits of the subtilase toxins were amplified and cloned. The recombinant toxin subunits were expressed and purified. Their cytotoxicity on Vero cells was measured for the single A and B subunits, as well as for mixtures of both, to analyze whether hybrids with toxic activity can be identified. The results demonstrated that all three SubAB variants are toxic for Vero cells. However, the values for the 50% cytotoxic dose (CD50) differ for the individual variants. Highest cytotoxicity was shown for SubAB1. Moreover, hybrids of subunits from different subtilase toxins can be obtained which cause substantial cytotoxicity to Vero cells after mixing the A and B subunits prior to application to the cells, which is characteristic for binary toxins. Furthermore, higher concentrations of the enzymatic subunit SubA1exhibited cytotoxic effects in the absence of the respective B1subunit. A more detailed investigation in the human HeLa cell line revealed that SubA1alone induced apoptosis, while the B1subunit alone did not induce cell death.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Dallman ◽  
David R. Greig ◽  
Saheer E. Gharbia ◽  
Claire Jenkins

Sequence similarity of pathogen genomes can infer the relatedness between isolates as the fewer genetic differences identified between pairs of isolates, the less time since divergence from a common ancestor. Clustering based on hierarchical single linkage clustering of pairwise SNP distances has been employed to detect and investigate outbreaks. Here, we evaluated the evidence-base for the interpretation of phylogenetic clusters of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7. Whole genome sequences of 1193 isolates of STEC O157:H7 submitted to Public Health England between July 2015 and December 2016 were mapped to the Sakai reference strain. Hierarchical single linkage clustering was performed on the pairwise SNP difference between all isolates at descending distance thresholds. Cases with known epidemiological links fell within 5-SNP single linkage clusters. Five-SNP single linkage community clusters where an epidemiological link was not identified were more likely to be temporally and/or geographically related than sporadic cases. Ten-SNP single linkage clusters occurred infrequently and were challenging to investigate as cases were few, and temporally and/or geographically dispersed. A single linkage cluster threshold of 5-SNPs has utility for the detection of outbreaks linked to both persistent and point sources. Deeper phylogenetic analysis revealed that the distinction between domestic UK and imported isolates could be inferred at the sub-lineage level. Cases associated with domestically acquired infection that fall within clusters that are predominantly travel associated are likely to be caused by contaminated imported food.


2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 2716-2722 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. N. Brett ◽  
M. A. Hornitzky ◽  
K. A. Bettelheim ◽  
M. J. Walker ◽  
S. P. Djordjevic

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (14) ◽  
pp. 4894-4904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong T. Trinh ◽  
Johnny Li ◽  
Harvey W. Blanch ◽  
Douglas S. Clark

ABSTRACTFermentation enables the production of reduced metabolites, such as the biofuels ethanol and butanol, from fermentable sugars. This work demonstrates a general approach for designing and constructing a production host that uses a heterologous pathway as an obligately fermentative pathway to produce reduced metabolites, specifically, the biofuel isobutanol. Elementary mode analysis was applied to design anEscherichia colistrain optimized for isobutanol production under strictly anaerobic conditions. The central metabolism ofE. coliwas decomposed into 38,219 functional, unique, and elementary modes (EMs). The model predictions revealed that during anaerobic growthE. colicannot produce isobutanol as the sole fermentative product. By deleting 7 chromosomal genes, the total 38,219 EMs were constrained to 12 EMs, 6 of which can produce high yields of isobutanol in a range from 0.29 to 0.41 g isobutanol/g glucose under anaerobic conditions. The remaining 6 EMs rely primarily on the pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme complex (PDHC) and are typically inhibited under anaerobic conditions. The redesignedE. colistrain was constrained to employ the anaerobic isobutanol pathways through deletion of 7 chromosomal genes, addition of 2 heterologous genes, and overexpression of 5 genes. Here we present the design, construction, and characterization of an isobutanol-producingE. colistrain to illustrate the approach. The model predictions are evaluated in relation to experimental data and strategies proposed to improve anaerobic isobutanol production. We also show that the endogenous alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenase AdhE is the key enzyme responsible for the production of isobutanol and ethanol under anaerobic conditions. The glycolytic flux can be controlled to regulate the ratio of isobutanol to ethanol production.


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