scholarly journals Cyclo(valine–valine) inhibits Vibrio cholerae virulence gene expression

Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (6) ◽  
pp. 1054-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Vikram ◽  
Vanessa M. Ante ◽  
X. Renee Bina ◽  
Qin Zhu ◽  
Xinyu Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Side Chains ◽  
Cyclic Dipeptides ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Virulence Regulator ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

Vibrio cholerae has been shown to produce a cyclic dipeptide, cyclo(phenylalanine–proline) (cFP), that functions to repress virulence factor production. The objective of this study was to determine if heterologous cyclic dipeptides could repress V. cholerae virulence factor production. To that end, three synthetic cyclic dipeptides that differed in their side chains from cFP were assayed for virulence inhibitory activity in V. cholerae. The results revealed that cyclo(valine–valine) (cVV) inhibited virulence factor production by a ToxR-dependent process that resulted in the repression of the virulence regulator aphA. cVV-dependent repression of aphA was found to be independent of known aphA regulatory genes. The results demonstrated that V. cholerae was able to respond to exogenous cyclic dipeptides and implicated the hydrophobic amino acid side chains on both arms of the cyclo dipeptide scaffold as structural requirements for inhibitory activity. The results further suggest that cyclic dipeptides have potential as therapeutics for cholera treatment.

scholarly journals Vibrio cholerae ToxR Downregulates Virulence Factor Production in Response to Cyclo(Phe-Pro)

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Renee Bina ◽  
Dawn L. Taylor ◽  
Amit Vikram ◽  
Vanessa M. Ante ◽  
James E. Bina
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Enteric Bacteria ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Virulence Regulator ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

ABSTRACTVibrio choleraeis an aquatic organism that causes the severe acute diarrheal disease cholera. The ability ofV. choleraeto cause disease is dependent upon the production of two critical virulence determinants, cholera toxin (CT) and the toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP). The expression of the genes that encode for CT and TCP production is under the control of a hierarchical regulatory system called the ToxR regulon, which functions to activate virulence gene expression in response toin vivostimuli. Cyclic dipeptides have been found to be produced by numerous bacteria, yet their biological function remains unknown.V. choleraehas been shown to produce cyclo(Phe-Pro). Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that cyclo(Phe-Pro) inhibitedV. choleraevirulence factor production. For this study, we report on the mechanism by which cyclo(Phe-Pro) inhibited virulence factor production. We have demonstrated that exogenous cyclo(Phe-Pro) activated the expression ofleuO, a LysR-family regulator that had not been previously associated withV. choleraevirulence. IncreasedleuOexpression repressedaphAtranscription, which resulted in downregulation of the ToxR regulon and attenuated CT and TCP production. The cyclo(Phe-Pro)-dependent induction ofleuOexpression was found to be dependent upon the virulence regulator ToxR. Cyclo(Phe-Pro) did not affecttoxRtranscription or ToxR protein levels but appeared to enhance the ToxR-dependent transcription ofleuO. These results have identifiedleuOas a new component of the ToxR regulon and demonstrate for the first time that ToxR is capable of downregulating virulence gene expression in response to an environmental cue.IMPORTANCEThe ToxR regulon has been a focus of cholera research for more than three decades. During this time, a model has emerged wherein ToxR functions to activate the expression ofVibrio choleraevirulence factors upon host entry.V. choleraeand other enteric bacteria produce cyclo(Phe-Pro), a cyclic dipeptide that we identified as an inhibitor ofV. choleraevirulence factor production. This finding suggested that cyclo(Phe-Pro) was a negative effector of virulence factor production and represented a molecule that could potentially be exploited for therapeutic development. In this work, we investigated the mechanism by which cyclo(Phe-Pro) inhibited virulence factor production. We found that cyclo(Phe-Pro) signaled through ToxR to activate the expression ofleuO, a new virulence regulator that functioned to repress virulence factor production. Our results have identified a new arm of the ToxR regulon and suggest that ToxR may play a broader role in pathogenesis than previously known.

scholarly journals Indole Inhibits ToxR Regulon Expression inVibrio cholerae

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mondraya F. Howard ◽  
X. Renee Bina ◽  
James E. Bina
Keyword(s):  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Type Vi Secretion ◽  
Biofilm Production ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Periplasmic Domain ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

ABSTRACTIndole is a degradation product of tryptophan that functions as a signaling molecule in many bacteria. This includesVibrio cholerae, where indole was shown to regulate biofilm and type VI secretion in nontoxigenic environmental isolates. Indole is also produced by toxigenicV. choleraestrains in the human intestine, but its significance in the host is unknown. We investigated the effects of indole on toxigenicV. choleraeO1 El Tor during growth under virulence inducing conditions. The indole transcriptome was defined by RNA sequencing and showed widespread changes in the expression of genes involved in metabolism, biofilm production, and virulence factor production. In contrast, genes involved in type VI secretion were not affected by indole. We subsequently found that indole repressed genes involved inV. choleraepathogenesis, including the ToxR virulence regulon. Consistent with this, indole inhibited cholera toxin and toxin-coregulated pilus production in a dose-dependent manner. The effects of indole on virulence factor production and biofilm were linked to ToxR and the ToxR-dependent regulator LeuO. The expression ofleuOwas increased by exogenous indole and linked to repression of the ToxR virulence regulon. This process was dependent on the ToxR periplasmic domain, suggesting that indole was a ToxR agonist. This conclusion was further supported by results showing that the ToxR periplasmic domain contributed to indole-mediated increased biofilm production. Collectively, our results suggest that indole may be a niche-specific cue that can function as a ToxR agonist to modulate virulence gene expression and biofilm production inV. cholerae.

scholarly journals The Vibrio cholerae RND efflux systems impact virulence factor production and adaptive responses via periplasmic sensor proteins

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. e1006804 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Renee Bina ◽  
Mondraya F. Howard ◽  
Dawn L. Taylor-Mulneix ◽  
Vanessa M. Ante ◽  
Dillon E. Kunkle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Sensor Proteins ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

scholarly journals ToxR mediates the antivirulence activity of phenyl-arginine-β-naphthylamide to attenuate Vibrio cholerae virulence.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuding Weng ◽  
Thomas F. Bina ◽  
X. Renee Bina ◽  
James E. Bina
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Regulatory Circuit ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitors ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

Multidrug efflux systems belonging to the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) family are ubiquitous in Gram negative bacteria and critical for antimicrobial resistance. This realization has led to efforts to develop efflux pump inhibitors (EPI) for use as adjuvants for antibiotic treatment of resistant organisms. However, the functions of RND transporters extend beyond antimicrobial resistance to include physiological functions that are critical for pathogenesis, suggesting that EPIs could also be used as antivirulence therapeutics. This was documented in the enteric pathogen Vibrio cholerae where EPIs were shown to attenuate the production of the critical virulence factors cholera toxin (CT) and the toxin coregulated pilus (TCP). In this study we investigated the antivirulence mechanism of action of the EPI phenyl-arginine-β-naphthylamide (PAβN) on V. cholerae. Using bioassays, we documented that PAβN inhibited virulence factor production in three epidemic V. cholerae isolates. Transcriptional reporter studies and mutant analysis indicated that PAβN initiated a ToxR-dependent regulatory circuit to activate leuO expression and that LeuO repressed the expression of the critical virulence activator aphA to attenuate CT and TCP production. The antivirulence activity of PAβN was found to be dependent on the ToxR periplasmic sensing domain suggesting that a feedback mechanism was involved in its activity. Collectively the data indicated that PAβN inhibited V. cholerae virulence factor production by activating a ToxR-dependent metabolic feedback mechanism to repress the expression of the ToxR virulence regulon. This suggests that efflux pump inhibitors could be used as antivirulence therapeutics for the treatment of cholera and perhaps other gram negative pathogens.

scholarly journals Regulation of Vibrio Polysaccharide Synthesis and Virulence Factor Production by CdgC, a GGDEF-EAL Domain Protein, in Vibrio cholerae

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bentley Lim ◽  
Sinem Beyhan ◽  
Fitnat H. Yildiz
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Stationary Phases ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Flagellar Biosynthesis ◽  
Polysaccharide Synthesis ◽  
Regulator Genes ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

ABSTRACT In Vibrio cholerae, the second messenger 3′,5′-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) regulates several cellular processes, such as formation of corrugated colony morphology, biofilm formation, motility, and virulence factor production. Both synthesis and degradation of c-di-GMP in the cell are modulated by proteins containing GGDEF and/or EAL domains, which function as a diguanylate cyclase and a phosphodiesterase, respectively. The expression of two genes, cdgC and mbaA, which encode proteins harboring both GGDEF and EAL domains is higher in the rugose phase variant of V. cholerae than in the smooth variant. In this study, we carried out gene expression analysis to determine the genes regulated by CdgC in the rugose and smooth phase variants of V. cholerae. We determined that CdgC regulates expression of genes required for V. cholerae polysaccharide synthesis and of the transcriptional regulator genes vpsR, vpsT, and hapR. CdgC also regulates expression of genes involved in extracellular protein secretion, flagellar biosynthesis, and virulence factor production. We then compared the genes regulated by CdgC and by MbaA, during both exponential and stationary phases of growth, to elucidate processes regulated by them. Identification of the regulons of CdgC and MbaA revealed that the regulons overlap, but the timing of regulation exerted by CdgC and MbaA is different, suggesting the interplay and complexity of the c-di-GMP signal transduction pathways operating in V. cholerae.

scholarly journals The Fatty Acid Regulator FadR Influences the Expression of the Virulence Cascade in the El Tor Biotype of Vibrio cholerae by Modulating the Levels of ToxT via Two Different Mechanisms

2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Kovacikova ◽  
Wei Lin ◽  
Ronald K. Taylor ◽  
Karen Skorupski
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Enteric Bacteria ◽  
Posttranslational Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
El Tor ◽  
Virulence Regulator

ABSTRACT FadR is a master regulator of fatty acid (FA) metabolism that coordinates the pathways of FA degradation and biosynthesis in enteric bacteria. We show here that a ΔfadR mutation in the El Tor biotype of Vibrio cholerae prevents the expression of the virulence cascade by influencing both the transcription and the posttranslational regulation of the master virulence regulator ToxT. FadR is a transcriptional regulator that represses the expression of genes involved in FA degradation, activates the expression of genes involved in unsaturated FA (UFA) biosynthesis, and also activates the expression of two operons involved in saturated FA (SFA) biosynthesis. Since FadR does not bind directly to the toxT promoter, we determined whether the regulation of any of its target genes indirectly influenced ToxT. This was accomplished by individually inserting a double point mutation into the FadR-binding site in the promoter of each target gene, thereby preventing their activation or repression. Although preventing FadR-mediated activation of fabA, which encodes the enzyme that carries out the first step in UFA biosynthesis, did not significantly influence either the transcription or the translation of ToxT, it reduced its levels and prevented virulence gene expression. In the mutant strain unable to carry out FadR-mediated activation of fabA, expressing fabA ectopically restored the levels of ToxT and virulence gene expression. Taken together, the results presented here indicate that V. cholerae FadR influences the virulence cascade in the El Tor biotype by modulating the levels of ToxT via two different mechanisms. IMPORTANCE Fatty acids (FAs) play important roles in membrane lipid homeostasis and energy metabolism in all organisms. In Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the acute intestinal disease cholera, they also influence virulence by binding into an N-terminal pocket of the master virulence regulator, ToxT, and modulating its activity. FadR is a transcription factor that coordinately controls the pathways of FA degradation and biosynthesis in enteric bacteria. This study identifies a new link between FA metabolism and virulence in the El Tor biotype by showing that FadR influences both the transcription and posttranslational regulation of the master virulence regulator ToxT by two distinct mechanisms.

The major Vibrio cholerae autoinducer and its role in virulence factor production

Nature ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 450 (7171) ◽  
pp. 883-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Higgins ◽  
Megan E. Pomianek ◽  
Christina M. Kraml ◽  
Ronald K. Taylor ◽  
Martin F. Semmelhack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Factor Production ◽  
Virulence Factor Production

scholarly journals Cytochromec551and the CytochromecMaturation Pathway Affect Virulence Gene Expression in Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579

2014 ◽  
Vol 197 (3) ◽  
pp. 626-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hesong Han ◽  
Thomas Sullivan ◽  
Adam C. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Bacillus Cereus ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Virulence Regulation ◽  
Enterotoxin Genes ◽  
Sporulation Efficiency ◽  
Virulence Regulator

Loss of the cytochromecmaturation system inBacillus cereusresults in increased transcription of the major enterotoxin genesnhe,hbl, andcytKand the virulence regulatorplcR. Increased virulence factor production occurs at 37°C under aerobic conditions, similar to previous findings inBacillus anthracis. UnlikeB. anthracis, much of the increased virulence gene expression can be attributed to loss of onlyc551, one of the two smallc-type cytochromes. Additional virulence factor expression occurs with loss ofresBC, encoding cytochromecmaturation proteins, independently of the presence of thec-type cytochrome genes. Hemolytic activity of strains missing eithercccBorresBCis increased relative to that in the parental strain, while sporulation efficiency is unaffected in the mutants. Increased virulence gene expression in the ΔcccBand ΔresBCmutants occurs only in the presence of an intactplcRgene, indicating that this process is PlcR dependent. These findings suggest a new mode of regulation ofB. cereusvirulence and reveal intriguing similarities and differences in virulence regulation betweenB. cereusandB. anthracis.

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