scholarly journals Evidence for Targeting of Yop Effectors by the Chromosomally Encoded Ysa Type III Secretion System of Yersinia enterocolitica

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (20) ◽  
pp. 5563-5571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana M. Young ◽  
Glenn M. Young

ABSTRACT Yersinia enterocolitica O:8 has two contact-dependent type III secretion systems (TTSSs). The Ysa TTSS is encoded by a set of genes located on the chromosome and exports Ysp proteins. The Ysc TTSS and the Yop effector proteins it exports are encoded by genes located on plasmid pYVe8081. In this study, secretion of YspG, YspH, and YspJ by the Ysa TTSS was shown to require pYVe8081. Furthermore, mutations that blocked the function of the Ysc TTSS did not affect YspG, YspH, and YspJ production. This indicated that YspG, YspH, and YspJ are encoded by genes located on pYVe8081 and that they may correspond to Yops. A comparison of Ysps with Yop effectors secreted by Y. enterocolitica indicated that YspG, YspH, and YspJ have apparent molecular masses similar to those of YopN, YopP, and YopE, respectively. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that antibodies directed against YopN, YopP, and YopE recognized YspG, YspH, and YspJ. Furthermore, mutations in yopN, yopP, and yopE specifically blocked YopN, YopP, and YopE secretion by the Ysc TTSS and YspG, YspH, and YspJ secretion by the Ysa TTSS. These results indicate YspG, YspH, and YspJ are actually YopN, YopP, and YopE. Additional analysis demonstrated that YopP and YspH secretion was restored to yopP mutants by complementation in trans with a wild-type copy of the yopP gene. Examination of Y. enterocolitica-infected J774A.1 macrophages revealed that both the Ysc and Ysa TTSSs contribute to YopP-dependent suppression of tumor necrosis factor alpha production. This indicates that both the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs are capable of targeting YopP and that they influence Y. enterocolitica interactions with macrophages. Taken together, these results suggest that the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs contribute to Y. enterocolitica virulence by exporting both unique and common subsets of effectors.

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (5) ◽  
pp. 1324-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana M. Young ◽  
Glenn M. Young

ABSTRACT Yersinia enterocolitica maintains three different pathways for type III protein secretion. Each pathway requires the activity of a specific multicomponent apparatus or type III secretion system (TTSS). Two of the TTSSs are categorized as contact-dependent systems which have been shown in a number of different symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria to influence interactions with host organisms by targeting effector proteins into the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. The third TTSS is required for the assembly of flagella and the secretion of the phospholipase YplA, which has been implicated in Y. enterocolitica virulence. In this study, YplA was expressed from a constitutive promoter in strains that contained only a single TTSS. It was determined that each of the three TTSSs is individually sufficient for YplA secretion. Environmental factors such as temperature, calcium availability, and sodium chloride concentration affected the contribution of each system to extracellular protein secretion and, under some conditions, more than one TTSS appeared to operate simultaneously. This suggests that some proteins might normally be exported by more than one TTSS in Y. enterocolitca.


2011 ◽  
Vol 286 (41) ◽  
pp. 36098-36107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiu-Jun Yu ◽  
Mei Liu ◽  
Steve Matthews ◽  
David W. Holden

Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) of bacterial pathogens involve the assembly of a surface-localized needle complex, through which translocon proteins are secreted to form a pore in the eukaryotic cell membrane. This enables the transfer of effector proteins from the bacterial cytoplasm to the host cell. A structure known as the C-ring is thought to have a crucial role in secretion by acting as a cytoplasmic sorting platform at the base of the T3SS. Here, we studied SsaQ, an FliN-like putative C-ring protein of the Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2)-encoded T3SS. ssaQ produces two proteins by tandem translation: a long form (SsaQL) composed of 322 amino acids and a shorter protein (SsaQS) comprising the C-terminal 106 residues of SsaQL. SsaQL is essential for SPI-2 T3SS function. Loss of SsaQS impairs the function of the T3SS both ex vivo and in vivo. SsaQS binds to its corresponding region within SsaQL and stabilizes the larger protein. Therefore, SsaQL function is optimized by a novel chaperone-like protein, produced by tandem translation from its own mRNA species.


2008 ◽  
Vol 191 (2) ◽  
pp. 563-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas K. J. Veenendaal ◽  
Charlotta Sundin ◽  
Ariel J. Blocker

ABSTRACT Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are essential virulence devices for many gram-negative bacteria that are pathogenic for plants, animals, and humans. They serve to translocate virulence effector proteins directly into eukaryotic host cells. T3SSs are composed of a large cytoplasmic bulb and a transmembrane region into which a needle is embedded, protruding above the bacterial surface. The emerging antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens urges the development of novel strategies to fight bacterial infections. Therapeutics that rather than kill bacteria only attenuate their virulence may reduce the frequency or progress of resistance emergence. Recently, a group of salicylidene acylhydrazides were identified as inhibitors of T3SSs in Yersinia, Chlamydia, and Salmonella species. Here we show that these are also effective on the T3SS of Shigella flexneri, where they block all related forms of protein secretion so far known, as well as the epithelial cell invasion and induction of macrophage apoptosis usually demonstrated by this bacterium. Furthermore, we show the first evidence for the detrimental effect of these compounds on T3SS needle assembly, as demonstrated by increased numbers of T3S apparatuses without needles or with shorter needles. Therefore, the compounds generate a phenocopy of T3SS export apparatus mutants but with incomplete penetrance. We discuss why this would be sufficient to almost completely block the later secretion of effector proteins and how this begins to narrow the search for the molecular target of these compounds.


2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Antoine Zboralski ◽  
Adrien Biessy ◽  
Martin Filion

Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are bacterial membrane-embedded nanomachines translocating effector proteins into the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. They have been intensively studied for their important roles in animal and plant bacterial diseases. Over the past two decades, genome sequencing has unveiled their ubiquitous distribution in many taxa of Gram-negative bacteria, including plant-beneficial ones. Here, we discuss the distribution and functions of the T3SS in two agronomically important bacterial groups: the symbiotic nodule-forming nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and the free-living plant-beneficial Pseudomonas spp. In legume-rhizobia symbiosis, T3SSs and their cognate effectors play important roles, including the modulation of the plant immune response and the initiation of the nodulation process in some cases. In plant-beneficial Pseudomonas spp., the roles of T3SSs are not fully understood, but pertain to plant immunity suppression, biocontrol against eukaryotic plant pathogens, mycorrhization facilitation, and possibly resistance against protist predation. The diversity of T3SSs in plant-beneficial bacteria points to their important roles in multifarious interkingdom interactions in the rhizosphere. We argue that the gap in research on T3SSs in plant-beneficial bacteria must be bridged to better understand bacteria/eukaryotes rhizosphere interactions and to support the development of efficient plant-growth promoting microbial inoculants.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (17) ◽  
pp. 6075-6083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasha M. Warren ◽  
Glenn M. Young

ABSTRACT Yersinia enterocolitica biovar 1B maintains three distinct type III secretion (TTS) systems, which independently operate to target proteins to extracellular sites. The Ysa and Ysc systems are prototypical contact-dependent TTS systems that translocate toxic effectors to the cytosols of targeted eukaryotic host cells during infection. The flagellar TTS system is utilized during the assembly of the flagellum and is required for secretion of the virulence-associated phospholipase YplA to the bacterial milieu. When ectopically produced, YplA is also a secretion substrate for the Ysa and Ysc TTS systems. In this study, we define elements that allow YplA recognition and export by the Ysa, Ysc, and flagellar TTS systems. Fusion of various amino-terminal regions of YplA to Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) lacking its native secretion signal demonstrated that the first 20 amino acids or corresponding mRNA codons of YplA were sufficient for export of YplA-PhoA chimeras by each TTS system. Export of native YplA by each of the three TTS systems was also found to depend on the integrity of its amino terminus. Introduction of a frameshift mutation or deletion of yplA sequences encoding the amino-terminal 20 residues negatively impacted YplA secretion. Deletion of other yplA regions was tolerated, including that resulting in the removal of amino acid residues 30 through 40 of the polypeptide and removal of the 5′ untranslated region of the mRNA. This work supports a model in which independent and distantly related TTS systems of Y. enterocolitica recognize protein substrates by a similar mechanism.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (9) ◽  
pp. 3492-3494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Zhou ◽  
Seth D. Nydam ◽  
Jeffrey E. Christensen ◽  
Michael E. Konkel ◽  
Lisa Orfe ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe employed a heterologous secretion assay to identify proteins potentially secreted by type III secretion systems (T3SSs) inVibrio parahaemolyticus. N-terminal sequences from 32 proteins within T3SS genomic islands and seven proteins from elsewhere in the chromosome included proteins that were recognized for export by theYersinia enterocoliticaflagellar T3SS.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (6) ◽  
pp. 1816-1826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Walker ◽  
Virginia L. Miller

ABSTRACT Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are complex units that consist of many proteins. Often the proteins are encoded as a cohesive unit on virulence plasmids, but several systems have their various components dispersed around the chromosome. The Yersinia enterocolitica Ysa T3SS is such a system, where the apparatus genes, some regulatory genes, and four genes encoding secreted proteins (ysp genes) are contained in a single locus. The remaining ysp genes and at least one additional regulator are found elsewhere on the chromosome. Expression of ysa genes requires conditions of high ionic strength, neutral/basic pH, and low temperatures (26°C) and is stimulated by exposure to solid surfaces. The AraC-like regulator YsaE and the dual-function chaperone/regulator SycB are required to stimulate the sycB promoter, which transcribes sycB and probably yspBCDA as well. The putative phosphorelay proteins YsrRS (located at the distal end of the ysa locus) and RcsB, the response regulator of the RcsBCD phosphorelay system, are required to initiate transcription at the ysaE promoter, which drives transcription of many apparatus genes. In this work, we sought to determine which ysp genes were coordinately regulated with the genes within the ysa locus. We found that six unlinked ysp genes responded to NaCl and required YsaE/SycB, YsrRS, and RcsB for expression. Three ysp genes had unique patterns, one of which was unaffected by all elements tested except NaCl. Thus, while the ysp genes were likely to have been acquired independently, most have acquired a synchronous regulatory pattern.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Coburn ◽  
Inna Sekirov ◽  
B. Brett Finlay

SUMMARY Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are complex bacterial structures that provide gram-negative pathogens with a unique virulence mechanism enabling them to inject bacterial effector proteins directly into the host cell cytoplasm, bypassing the extracellular milieu. Although the effector proteins vary among different T3SS pathogens, common pathogenic mechanisms emerge, including interference with the host cell cytoskeleton to promote attachment and invasion, interference with cellular trafficking processes, cytotoxicity and barrier dysfunction, and immune system subversion. The activity of the T3SSs correlates closely with infection progression and outcome, both in animal models and in human infection. Therefore, to facilitate patient care and improve outcomes, it is important to understand the T3SS-mediated virulence processes and to target T3SSs in therapeutic and prophylactic development efforts.


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