scholarly journals Role of Lipid A Acylation in Yersinia enterocolitica Virulence

2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 2768-2781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camino Pérez-Gutiérrez ◽  
Enrique Llobet ◽  
Catalina M. Llompart ◽  
Mar Reinés ◽  
José A. Bengoechea
Keyword(s):  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Yersinia Enterocolitica ◽  
Lipid A ◽  
Polymyxin B ◽  
Human Pathogen ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Host Environment ◽  
Serotype O

ABSTRACT Yersinia enterocolitica is an important human pathogen. Y. enterocolitica must adapt to the host environment, and temperature is an important cue regulating the expression of most Yersinia virulence factors. Here, we report that Y. enterocolitica 8081 serotype O:8 synthesized tetra-acylated lipid A at 37°C but that hexa-acylated lipid A predominated at 21°C. By mass spectrometry and genetic methods, we have shown that the Y. enterocolitica msbB, htrB, and lpxP homologues encode the acyltransferases responsible for the addition of C12, C14 and C16:1, respectively, to lipid A. The expression levels of the acyltransferases were temperature regulated. Levels of expression of msbB and lpxP were higher at 21°C than at 37°C, whereas the level of expression of htrB was higher at 37°C. At 21°C, an lpxP mutant was the strain most susceptible to polymyxin B, whereas at 37°C, an htrB mutant was the most susceptible. We present evidence that the lipid A acylation status affects the expression of Yersinia virulence factors. Thus, expression of flhDC, the flagellar master regulatory operon, was downregulated in msbB and lpxP mutants, with a concomitant decrease in motility. Expression of the phospholipase yplA was also downregulated in both mutants. inv expression was downregulated in msbB and htrB mutants, and consistent with this finding, invasion of HeLa cells was diminished. However, the expression of rovA, the positive regulator of inv, was not affected in the mutants. The levels of pYV-encoded virulence factors Yops and YadA in the acyltransferase mutants were not affected. Finally, we show that only the htrB mutant was attenuated in vivo.

scholarly journals Characterization and Biological Role of the O-Polysaccharide Gene Cluster of Yersinia enterocolitica Serotype O:9

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (20) ◽  
pp. 7244-7253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikael Skurnik ◽  
Marta Biedzka-Sarek ◽  
Peter S. Lübeck ◽  
Tea Blom ◽  
José Antonio Bengoechea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Cluster ◽  
Yersinia Enterocolitica ◽  
Lipid A ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Attachment Site ◽  
Polymyxin B ◽  
Outer Core ◽  
Core Oligosaccharide ◽  
Serotype O

ABSTRACTYersinia enterocoliticaserotype O:9 is a gram-negative enteropathogen that infects animals and humans. The role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inY. enterocoliticaO:9 pathogenesis, however, remains unclear. The O:9 LPS consists of lipid A to which is linked the inner core oligosaccharide, serving as an attachment site for both the outer core (OC) hexasaccharide and the O-polysaccharide (OPS; a homopolymer ofN-formylperosamine). In this work, we cloned the OPS gene cluster of O:9 and identified 12 genes organized into four operons upstream of thegndgene. Ten genes were predicted to encode glycosyltransferases, the ATP-binding cassette polysaccharide translocators, or enzymes required for the biosynthesis of GDP-N-formylperosamine. The two remaining genes within the OPS gene cluster,galFandgalU, were not ascribed a clear function in OPS biosynthesis; however, the latter gene appeared to be essential for O:9. The biological functions of O:9 OPS and OC were studied using isogenic mutants lacking one or both of these LPS parts. We showed that OPS and OC confer resistance to human complement and polymyxin B; the OPS effect on polymyxin B resistance could be observed only in the absence of OC.

DNA methylation in Yersinia enterocolitica: role of the DNA adenine methyltransferase in mismatch repair and regulation of virulence factors

Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (7) ◽  
pp. 2291-2299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Fälker ◽  
M. Alexander Schmidt ◽  
Gerhard Heusipp
Keyword(s):  
Mismatch Repair ◽  
Yersinia Enterocolitica ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Spontaneous Mutation ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Dna Adenine Methyltransferase

DNA adenine methyltransferase (Dam) plays an important role in physiological processes of Gram-negative bacteria such as mismatch repair and replication. In addition, Dam regulates the expression of virulence genes in various species. The authors cloned the dam gene of Yersinia enterocolitica and showed that Dam is essential for viability. Dam overproduction in Y. enterocolitica resulted in an increased frequency of spontaneous mutation and decreased resistance to 2-aminopurine; however, these effects were only marginal compared to the effect of overproduction of Escherichia coli-derived Dam in Y. enterocolitica, implying different roles or activities of Dam in mismatch repair of the two species. These differences in Dam function are not the cause for the essentiality of Dam in Y. enterocolitica, as Dam of E. coli can complement a dam defect in Y. enterocolitica. Instead, Dam seems to interfere with expression of essential genes. Furthermore, Dam mediates virulence of Y. enterocolitica. Dam overproduction results in increased tissue culture invasion of Y. enterocolitica, while the expression of specifically in vivo-expressed genes is not altered.

scholarly journals Biological Characterization of Endotoxins Released from Antibiotic-Treated Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1015-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teruo Kirikae ◽  
Fumiko Kirikae ◽  
Shinji Saito ◽  
Kaoru Tominaga ◽  
Hirohi Tamura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Lipid A ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Polymyxin B ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
No Production ◽  
Endotoxic Activity

ABSTRACT The supernatants taken from Pseudomonas aeruginosa andEscherichia coli cultures in human sera or chemically defined M9 medium in the presence of ceftazidime (CAZ) contained high levels of endotoxin, while those taken from the same cultures in the presence of imipenem (IPM) yielded a very low level of endotoxin. The biological activities of endotoxin in the supernatants were compared with those of phenol water-extracted lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The endotoxin released from the organisms as a result of CAZ treatment (CAZ-released endotoxin) contained a large amount of protein. The protein, however, lacked endotoxic activity, since the endotoxin did not show any in vivo toxic effects in LPS-hyporesponsive C3H/HeJ mice sensitized with d-(+)-galactosamine (GalN) or any activation of C3H/HeJ mouse macrophages in vitro. The activities of CAZ- and IPM-released endotoxin (as assessed by a chromogenicLimulus test) were fundamentally the same as those ofP. aeruginosa LPS, since their regression lines were parallel. The CAZ-released endotoxin was similar to purified LPS with respect to the following biological activities in LPS-responsive C3H/HeN mice and LPS-hyporesponsive C3H/HeJ mice: lethal toxicity in GalN-sensitized mice, in vitro induction of tumor necrosis factor- and NO production by macrophages, and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in macrophages. The macrophage activation by CAZ-released endotoxin as well as LPS was mainly dependent on the presence of serum factor and CD14 antigen. Polymyxin B blocked the activity. These findings indicate that the endotoxic activity of CAZ-released endotoxin is due primarily to LPS (lipid A).

Structure of the lipopolysaccharide O-chain of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:5,27

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm B. Perry ◽  
Leann L. MacLean
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Yersinia Enterocolitica ◽  
Lipid A ◽  
Optical Rotation ◽  
Periodate Oxidation ◽  
Partial Hydrolysis ◽  
Specific Optical Rotation ◽  
Core Oligosaccharide ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Studies ◽  
Serotype O

The cellular lipopolysaccharide produced by Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:5,27 was of the S-type and composed of an antigenic O-chain polysaccharide linked through a core oligosaccharide region, which in turn was linked through 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulonosyl units to a lipid A moiety. The O-chain polysaccharide was composed of equal molar amounts of L-rhamnose and D-xylulose. By partial hydrolysis, periodate oxidation, methylation, specific optical rotation, and 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance studies, the structure of the O-chain was established as being a linear backbone of alternating 1,3-linked α-L-rhamnopyranosyl and β-L-rhamnopyranosyl units, to which 2,2-linked β-D-threo-pent-2-ulofuranoside (D-xylulofuranoside) units were present on every L-rhamnopyranosyl residue, as shown below.[Formula: see text]

scholarly journals Role of Bordetella O Antigen in Respiratory Tract Infection

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valorie C. Burns ◽  
Elizabeth J. Pishko ◽  
Andrew Preston ◽  
Duncan J. Maskell ◽  
Eric T. Harvill
Keyword(s):  
Tract Infection ◽  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Respiratory Tract Infection ◽  
Human Pathogen ◽  
O Antigen ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Major Surface

ABSTRACT Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as the major surface molecule of gram-negative bacteria, interacts with the host in complex ways, both inducing and protecting against aspects of inflammatory and adaptive immunity. The membrane-distal repeated carbohydrate structure of LPS, the O antigen, can prevent antibody functions and may vary as a mechanism of immune evasion. Genes of the wbm locus are required for the assembly of O antigen on the animal pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica and the human pathogen B. parapertussis. However, the important human pathogen B. pertussis lacks these genes and a number of in vitro and in vivo characteristics associated with O antigen in other organisms. To determine the specific functions of O antigen in these closely related Bordetella subspecies, we compared wbm deletion (Δwbm) mutants of B. bronchiseptica and B. parapertussis in a variety of assays relevant to natural respiratory tract infection. Complement was not activated or depleted by wild-type bordetellae expressing O antigen, but both Δwbm mutants activated complement and were highly sensitive to complement-mediated killing in vitro. Although the O-antigen structures appear to be substantially similar, the two mutants differed strikingly in their defects within the respiratory tract. The B. parapertussis Δwbm mutant was severely defective in colonization of the tracheas and lungs of mice, while the B. bronchiseptica Δwbm mutant showed almost no defect. While in vitro characteristics such as serum resistance may be attributable to O antigen directly, the role of O antigen during infection appears to be more complex, possibly involving factors differing among the closely related bordetellae or different interactions between each one and its host.

scholarly journals Conjugation of Hydroxyethyl Starch to Desferrioxamine (DFO) Modulates the Dual Role of DFO in Yersinia enterocolitica Infection

2000 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sören Schubert ◽  
Ingo B. Autenrieth
Keyword(s):  
Yersinia Enterocolitica ◽  
Hydroxyethyl Starch ◽  
Growth Promotion ◽  
Iron Chelator ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Immunosuppressive Action

ABSTRACT The iron chelator desferrioxamine (DFO) B is widely used in the therapy of patients with iron overload. As a side effect, DFO may favor the occurrence of fulminant Yersinia infections. Previous work from our laboratory showed that this might be due to a dual role of DFO: growth promotion of the pathogen and immunosuppression of the host. In this study, we sought to determine whether conjugation of DFO to hydroxyethyl starch (HES-DFO) may prevent exacerbation ofYersinia infection in mice. We found HES-DFO to promote neither growth of Yersinia enterocolitica nor mitogen-induced T-cell proliferation and gamma interferon production by T cells in vitro. Nevertheless, in vivo HES-DFO promoted growth ofY. enterocolitica possibly due to cleavage of HES and release of DFO. The pretreatment of mice with DFO resulted in death of all mice 2 to 5 days after application of a normally sublethal inoculum of Y. enterocolitica, while none of the mice pretreated with HES-DFO died within the first 7 days postinfection. However, some of the HES-DFO-treated mice died 8 to 14 days postinfection. Thus, due to the delayed in vivo effect HES-DFO failed to triggerYersinia-induced septic shock, which accounts for early mortality in DFO-associated septicemia. Moreover, our data suggest that DFO needs to be taken up by host cells in order to exert its immunosuppressive action. These results strongly suggest that HES-DFO might be a favorable drug with fewer side effects than DFO in terms of DFO-promoted fulminant infections.

scholarly journals Role of the Histone-Like Nucleoid Structuring Protein in Colonization, Motility, and Bile-Dependent Repression of Virulence Gene Expression in Vibrio cholerae

2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 3060-3064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalendu Ghosh ◽  
Kalidas Paul ◽  
Rukhsana Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Bile-mediated repression of virulence gene expression is relieved in a Vibrio cholerae hns mutant. The mutant also exhibited reduced motility due to lower flrA expression, higher in vivo production of the virulence factors, and lower colonization efficiency. The colonization defect of the mutant was due to low FlrA production.

scholarly journals Cholesterol Enhances Helicobacter pylori Resistance to Antibiotics and LL-37

2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 2897-2904 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. McGee ◽  
Alika E. George ◽  
Elizabeth A. Trainor ◽  
Katherine E. Horton ◽  
Ellen Hildebrandt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Lipid A ◽  
Polymyxin B ◽  
Defined Medium ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Two Cultures ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThe human gastric pathogenHelicobacter pyloristeals host cholesterol, modifies it by glycosylation, and incorporates the glycosylated cholesterol onto its surface via a cholesterol glucosyltransferase, encoded bycgt. The impact of cholesterol onH. pyloriantimicrobial resistance is unknown.H. pyloristrain 26695 was cultured in Ham's F12 chemically defined medium in the presence or absence of cholesterol. The two cultures were subjected to overnight incubations with serial 2-fold dilutions of 12 antibiotics, six antifungals, and seven antimicrobial peptides (including LL-37 cathelicidin and human alpha and beta defensins). Of 25 agents tested, cholesterol-grownH. pyloricells were substantially more resistant (over 100-fold) to nine agents than wereH. pyloricells grown without cholesterol. These nine agents included eight antibiotics and LL-37.H. pyloriwas susceptible to the antifungal drug pimaricin regardless of cholesterol presence in the culture medium. Acgtmutant retained cholesterol-dependent resistance to most antimicrobials but displayed increased susceptibility to colistin, suggesting an involvement of lipid A. Mutation oflpxE, encoding lipid A1-phosphatase, led to loss of cholesterol-dependent resistance to polymyxin B and colistin but not other antimicrobials tested. Thecgtmutant was severely attenuated in gerbils, indicating that glycosylation is essentialin vivo. These findings suggest that cholesterol plays a vital role in virulence and contributes to the intrinsic antibiotic resistance ofH. pylori.

scholarly journals Corepression of the P1 Addiction Operon by Phd and Doc

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (23) ◽  
pp. 6342-6351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Magnuson ◽  
Michael B. Yarmolinsky
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dna Complexes ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Cooperative Interactions ◽  
Regulatory Properties

ABSTRACT The P1 plasmid addiction operon encodes Doc, a toxin that kills plasmid-free segregants, and Phd, an unstable antidote that neutralizes the toxin. Additionally, these products repress transcription of the operon. The antidote binds to two adjacent sites in the promoter. Here we present evidence concerning the regulatory role of the toxin, which we studied with the aid of a mutation,docH66Y. The DocH66Y protein retained the regulatory properties of the wild-type protein, but not its toxicity. In vivo, DocH66Y enhanced repression by Phd but failed to affect repression in the absence of Phd, suggesting that DocH66Y contacts Phd. In vitro, a MalE-DocH66Y fusion protein was found to bind Phd. Binding of toxin to antidote may be the physical basis for the neutralization of toxin. DocH66Y failed to bind DNA in vitro yet enhanced the affinity, cooperativity, and specificity with which Phd bound the operator. Although DocH66Y enhanced the binding of Phd to two adjacent Phd-binding sites, DocH66Y had relatively little effect on the binding of Phd to a single Phd-binding site, indicating that DocH66Y mediates cooperative interactions between adjacent Phd-binding sites. Several electrophoretically distinct protein-DNA complexes were observed with different amounts of DocH66Y relative to Phd. Maximal repression and specificity of DNA binding were observed with subsaturating amounts of DocH66Y relative to Phd. Analogous antidote-toxin pairs appear to have similar autoregulatory circuits. Autoregulation, by dampening fluctuations in the levels of toxin and antidote, may prevent the inappropriate activation of the toxin.

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