scholarly journals The Helicobacter pylori Homologue of the Ferric Uptake Regulator Is Involved in Acid Resistance

2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 606-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jetta J. E. Bijlsma ◽  
Barbara Waidner ◽  
Arnoud H. M. van Vliet ◽  
Nicky J. Hughes ◽  
Stephanie Häg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Ferric Uptake Regulator ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Human Pathogen ◽  
H Pylori

ABSTRACT The only known niche of the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori is the gastric mucosa, where large fluctuations of pH occur, indicating that the bacterial response and resistance to acid are important for successful colonization. One of the few regulatory proteins in the H. pylori genome is a homologue of the ferric uptake regulator (Fur). In most bacteria, the main function of Fur is the regulation of iron homeostasis. However, in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Fur also plays an important role in acid resistance. In this study, we determined the role of the H. pylori Fur homologue in acid resistance. Isogenic fur mutants were generated in three H. pylori strains (1061, 26695, and NCTC 11638). At pH 7 there was no difference between the growth rates of mutants and the parent strains. Under acidic conditions, growth of the fur mutants was severely impaired. No differences were observed between the survival of the fur mutant and parent strain 1061 after acid shock. Addition of extra iron or removal of iron from the growth medium did not improve the growth of the fur mutant at acidic pH. This indicates that the phenotype of the fur mutant at low pH was not due to increased iron sensitivity. Transcription of fur was repressed in response to low pH. From this we conclude that Fur is involved in the growth at acidic pH of H. pylori; as such, it is the first regulatory protein implicated in the acid resistance of this important human pathogen.

scholarly journals Medium pH-dependent redistribution of the urease of Helicobacter pylori

2003 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu Hong ◽  
Kouichi Sano ◽  
Shinichi Morimatsu ◽  
David R. Scott ◽  
David L. Weeks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Intracellular Transport ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Gastric Disease ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Gold Particles ◽  
Outer Portion ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Extracellular Environment

Helicobacter pylori is an aetiological agent of gastric disease. Although the role of urease in gastric colonization of H. pylori has been shown, it remains unclear as to where urease is located in this bacterial cell. The purpose of this study was to define the urease-associated apparatus in the H. pylori cytoplasm. H. pylori was incubated at both a neutral and an acidic pH in the presence or absence of urea and examined by double indirect immunoelectron microscopy. The density of gold particles for UreA was greatest in the inner portion of the wild-type H. pylori cytoplasm at neutral pH but was greatest in the outer portion at acidic pH. This difference was independent of the presence of urea and was not observed in the ureI-deletion mutant. Also, the eccentric shift of urease in acidic pH was not observed in UreI. After a 2 day incubation period at acidic pH, it was observed that the urease gold particles in H. pylori assembled and were associated with UreI gold particles. Urease immunoreactivity shifted from the inner to the outer portion of H. pylori as a result of an extracellular decrease in pH. This shift was urea-independent and UreI-dependent, suggesting an additional role of UreI in urease-dependent acid resistance. This is the first report of the intracellular transport of molecules in bacteria in response to changes in the extracellular environment.

scholarly journals Regulation of Ferritin-Mediated Cytoplasmic Iron Storage by the Ferric Uptake Regulator Homolog (Fur) of Helicobacter pylori

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (21) ◽  
pp. 5948-5953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Bereswill ◽  
Stefan Greiner ◽  
Arnoud H. M. van Vliet ◽  
Barbara Waidner ◽  
Frank Fassbinder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Mrna Level ◽  
Ferric Uptake Regulator ◽  
Iron Starvation ◽  
Iron Storage ◽  
Ferritin Synthesis ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Medium Supplementation

ABSTRACT Homologs of the ferric uptake regulator Fur and the iron storage protein ferritin play a central role in maintaining iron homeostasis in bacteria. The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori contains an iron-induced prokaryotic ferritin (Pfr) which has been shown to be involved in protection against metal toxicity and a Fur homolog which has not been functionally characterized in H. pylori. Analysis of an isogenic fur-negative mutant revealed thatH. pylori Fur is required for metal-dependent regulation of ferritin. Iron starvation, as well as medium supplementation with nickel, zinc, copper, and manganese at nontoxic concentrations, repressed synthesis of ferritin in the wild-type strain but not in theH. pylori fur mutant. Fur-mediated regulation of ferritin synthesis occurs at the mRNA level. With respect to the regulation of ferritin expression, Fur behaves like a global metal-dependent repressor which is activated under iron-restricted conditions but also responds to different metals. Downregulation of ferritin expression by Fur might secure the availability of free iron in the cytoplasm, especially if iron is scarce or titrated out by other metals.

scholarly journals In Vitro Incorporation of Helicobacter pylori into Candida albicans Caused by Acidic pH Stress

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Sánchez-Alonzo ◽  
Cristian Parra-Sepúlveda ◽  
Samuel Vega ◽  
Humberto Bernasconi ◽  
Víctor L. Campos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Ph Values ◽  
16S Gene ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
H Pylori

Yeasts can adapt to a wide range of pH fluctuations (2 to 10), while Helicobacter pylori, a facultative intracellular bacterium, can adapt to a range from pH 6 to 8. This work analyzed if H. pylori J99 can protect itself from acidic pH by entering into Candida albicans ATCC 90028. Growth curves were determined for H. pylori and C. albicans at pH 3, 4, and 7. Both microorganisms were co-incubated at the same pH values, and the presence of intra-yeast bacteria was evaluated. Intra-yeast bacteria-like bodies were detected using wet mounting, and intra-yeast binding of anti-H. pylori antibodies was detected using immunofluorescence. The presence of the H. pylori rDNA 16S gene in total DNA from yeasts was demonstrated after PCR amplification. H. pylori showed larger death percentages at pH 3 and 4 than at pH 7. On the contrary, the viability of the yeast was not affected by any of the pHs evaluated. H. pylori entered into C. albicans at all the pH values assayed but to a greater extent at unfavorable pH values (pH 3 or 4, p = 0.014 and p = 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, it is possible to suggest that H. pylori can shelter itself within C. albicans under unfavorable pH conditions.

scholarly journals In Vitro Analysis of Protein-Operator Interactions of the NikR and Fur Metal-Responsive Regulators of Coregulated Genes in Helicobacter pylori

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (22) ◽  
pp. 7703-7715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Delany ◽  
Raffaele Ieva ◽  
Alice Soragni ◽  
Markus Hilleringmann ◽  
Rino Rappuoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Target Sequence ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
H Pylori

ABSTRACT Two important metal-responsive regulators, NikR and Fur, are involved in nickel and iron homeostasis and controlling gene expression in Helicobacter pylori. To date, they have been implicated in the regulation of sets of overlapping genes. We have attempted here dissection of the molecular mechanisms involved in transcriptional regulation of the NikR and Fur proteins, and we investigated protein-promoter interactions of the regulators with known target genes. We show that H. pylori NikR is a tetrameric protein and, through DNase I footprinting analysis, we have identified operators for NikR to which it binds with different affinities in a metal-responsive way. Mapping of the NikR binding site upstream of the urease promoter established a direct role for NikR as a positive regulator of transcription and, through scanning mutagenesis of this binding site, we have determined two subsites that are important for the binding of the protein to its target sequence. Furthermore, by alignment of the operators for NikR, we have shown that the H. pylori protein recognizes a sequence that is distinct from its well-studied orthologue in Escherichia coli. Moreover, we show that NikR and Fur can bind independently at distinct operators and also compete for overlapping operators in some coregulated gene promoters, adding another dimension to the previous suggested link between iron and nickel regulation. Finally, the importance of an interconnection between metal-responsive gene networks for homeostasis is discussed.

scholarly journals Identification of novel bacterial urease inhibitors through molecular shape and structure based virtual screening approaches

RSC Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (27) ◽  
pp. 16061-16070
Author(s):  
Muhammad Imran ◽  
Saba Waqar ◽  
Koji Ogata ◽  
Mahmood Ahmed ◽  
Zobia Noreen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Molecular Shape ◽  
Urease Inhibitors ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Screening Approaches

The enzyme urease is an essential colonizing factor of the notorious carcinogenic pathogen Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), conferring acid resistance to the bacterium.

scholarly journals The Orphan Response Regulator HP1021 of Helicobacter pylori Regulates Transcription of a Gene Cluster Presumably Involved in Acetone Metabolism

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (6) ◽  
pp. 2339-2349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Pflock ◽  
Melanie Bathon ◽  
Jennifer Schär ◽  
Stefanie Müller ◽  
Hans Mollenkopf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Gene Cluster ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Housekeeping Genes ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Considerable Impact ◽  
Two Component Systems ◽  
H Pylori

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori is a gastric pathogen for which no nonhuman reservoir is known. In accordance with the tight adaptation to its unique habitat, the human stomach, H. pylori is endowed with a very restricted repertoire of regulatory proteins. Nevertheless, the three complete two-component systems of H. pylori were shown to be involved in the regulation of important virulence traits like motility and acid resistance and in the control of metal homeostasis. HP1021 is an orphan response regulator with an atypical receiver domain whose inactivation has a considerable impact on the growth of H. pylori. Here we report the identification of HP1021-regulated genes by whole-genome transcriptional profiling. We show that the transcription of the essential housekeeping genes nifS and nifU, which are required for the assembly of Fe-S clusters, is activated by HP1021. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the expression of a gene cluster comprising open reading frames hp0690 to hp0693 and hp0695 to hp0697 which is probably involved in acetone metabolism is strongly upregulated by HP1021. Evidence is provided for a direct regulation of the hp0695-to-hp0697 operon by the binding of HP1021 to its promoter region.

scholarly journals The Nickel-Responsive Regulator NikR Controls Activation and Repression of Gene Transcription in Helicobacter pylori

2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 7252-7258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian D. Ernst ◽  
Ernst J. Kuipers ◽  
Angela Heijens ◽  
Roya Sarwari ◽  
Jeroen Stoof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Gene Transcription ◽  
Transcriptional Repression ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Nickel Uptake ◽  
Regulatory Effects ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Binding Sequence ◽  
Transcriptional Induction

ABSTRACT The NikR protein is a nickel-dependent regulatory protein which is a member of the ribbon-helix-helix family of transcriptional regulators. The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori expresses a NikR ortholog, which was previously shown to mediate regulation of metal metabolism and urease expression, but the mechanism governing the diverse regulatory effects had not been described until now. In this study it is demonstrated that NikR can regulate H. pylori nickel metabolism by directly controlling transcriptional repression of NixA-mediated nickel uptake and transcriptional induction of urease expression. Mutation of the nickel uptake gene nixA in an H. pylori 26695 nikR mutant restored the ability to grow in Brucella media supplemented with 200 μM NiCl2 but did not restore nickel-dependent induction of urease expression. Nickel-dependent binding of NikR to the promoter of the nixA gene resulted in nickel-repressed transcription, whereas nickel-dependent binding of NikR to the promoter of the ureA gene resulted in nickel-induced transcription. Subsequent analysis of NikR binding to the nixA and ureA promoters showed that the regulatory effect was dependent on the location of the NikR-recognized binding sequence. NikR recognized the region from −13 to +21 of the nixA promoter, encompassing the +1 and −10 region, and this binding resulted in repression of nixA transcription. In contrast, NikR bound to the region from −56 to −91 upstream of the ureA promoter, resulting in induction of urease transcription. In conclusion, the NikR protein is able to function both as a repressor and as an activator of gene transcription, depending on the position of the binding site.

scholarly journals Helicobacter pylori Containing Only Cytoplasmic Urease Is Susceptible to Acid

1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 5060-5066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Partha Krishnamurthy ◽  
Mary Parlow ◽  
Jason B. Zitzer ◽  
Nimish B. Vakil ◽  
Harry L. T. Mobley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Urease Activity ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Etiologic Agent ◽  
Stationary Phase Culture ◽  
Colonization Factor ◽  
Acid Environment ◽  
H Pylori

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori, an important etiologic agent in a variety of gastroduodenal diseases, produces large amounts of urease as an essential colonization factor. We have demonstrated previously that urease is located within the cytoplasm and on the surface of H. pylori both in vivo and in stationary-phase culture. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relative contributions of cytoplasmic and surface-localized urease to the ability of H. pylori to survive exposure to acid in the presence of urea. Toward this end, we compared the acid resistance in vitro of H. pylori cells which possessed only cytoplasmic urease to that of bacteria which possessed both cytoplasmic and surface-localized or extracellular urease. Bacteria with only cytoplasmic urease activity were generated by using freshly subcultured bacteria or by treating repeatedly subcultured H. pylori with flurofamide (1 μM), a potent, but poorly diffusible urease inhibitor. H. pyloriwith cytoplasmic and surface-located urease activity survived in an acid environment when 5 mM urea was present. In contrast, H. pylori with only cytoplasmic urease shows significantly reduced survival when exposed to acid in the presence of 5 mM urea. Similarly,Escherichia coli SE5000 expressing H. pyloriurease and the Ni2+ transport protein NixA, which expresses cytoplasmic urease activity at levels similar to those in wild-typeH. pylori, survived minimally when exposed to acid in the presence of 5 to 50 mM urea. We conclude that cytoplasmic urease activity alone is not sufficient (although cytoplasmic urease activity is likely to be necessary) to allow survival of H. pyloriin acid; the activity of surface-localized urease is essential for resistance of H. pylori to acid under the assay conditions used. Therefore, the mechanism whereby urease becomes associated with the surface of H. pylori, which involves release of the enzyme from bacteria due to autolysis followed by adsorption of the enzyme to the surface of intact bacteria (“altruistic autolysis”), is essential for survival of H. pylori in an acid environment. The ability of H. pylori to survive exposure to low pH is likely to depend on a combination of both cytoplasmic and surface-associated urease activities.

scholarly journals Transcriptional profiling of Helicobacter pylori Fur- and iron-regulated gene expression

Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian D. Ernst ◽  
Stefan Bereswill ◽  
Barbara Waidner ◽  
Jeroen Stoof ◽  
Ulrike Mäder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Northern Hybridization ◽  
Intracellular Iron ◽  
Iron Storage ◽  
Gastric Colonization ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Regulated Gene Expression

Intracellular iron homeostasis is a necessity for almost all living organisms, since both iron restriction and iron overload can result in cell death. The ferric uptake regulator protein, Fur, controls iron homeostasis in most Gram-negative bacteria. In the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, Fur is thought to have acquired extra functions to compensate for the relative paucity of regulatory genes. To identify H. pylori genes regulated by iron and Fur, we used DNA array-based transcriptional profiling with RNA isolated from H. pylori 26695 wild-type and fur mutant cells grown in iron-restricted and iron-replete conditions. Sixteen genes encoding proteins involved in metal metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, motility, cell wall synthesis and cofactor synthesis displayed iron-dependent Fur-repressed expression. Conversely, 16 genes encoding proteins involved in iron storage, respiration, energy metabolism, chemotaxis, and oxygen scavenging displayed iron-induced Fur-dependent expression. Several Fur-regulated genes have been previously shown to be essential for acid resistance or gastric colonization in animal models, such as those encoding the hydrogenase and superoxide dismutase enzymes. Overall, there was a partial overlap between the sets of genes regulated by Fur and those previously identified as growth-phase, iron or acid regulated. Regulatory patterns were confirmed for five selected genes using Northern hybridization. In conclusion, H. pylori Fur is a versatile regulator involved in many pathways essential for gastric colonization. These findings further delineate the central role of Fur in regulating the unique capacity of H. pylori to colonize the human stomach.

scholarly journals pH-Regulated Gene Expression of the Gastric Pathogen Helicobacter pylori

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3529-3539 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Scott Merrell ◽  
Maria L. Goodrich ◽  
Glen Otto ◽  
Lucy S. Tompkins ◽  
Stanley Falkow
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Transcriptional Repression ◽  
Bacterial Genome ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Acid Exposure ◽  
Protein Accumulation ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Gastric Pathogen ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Regulated Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Colonization by the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori has been shown to be intricately linked to the development of gastritis, ulcers, and gastric malignancy. Little is known about mechanisms employed by the bacterium that help it adapt to the hostile environment of the human stomach. In an effort to extend our knowledge of these mechanisms, we utilized spotted-DNA microarrays to characterize the response of H. pylori to low pH. Expression of approximately 7% of the bacterial genome was reproducibly altered by shift to low pH. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes led to the discovery that acid exposure leads to profound changes in motility of H. pylori, as a larger percentage of acid-exposed bacterial cells displayed motility and moved at significantly higher speeds. In contrast to previous publications, we found that expression of the bacterial virulence gene cagA was strongly repressed by acid exposure. Furthermore, this transcriptional repression was reflected at the level of protein accumulation in the H. pylori cell.

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