scholarly journals Novel Host Recognition Mechanism of the K1 Capsule-Specific Phage of Escherichia coli : Capsular Polysaccharide as the First Receptor and Lipopolysaccharide as the Secondary Receptor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianwen Gong ◽  
Xuhang Wang ◽  
Haosheng Huang ◽  
Yu Sun ◽  
Xinjie Qian ◽  
...  

K1 capsule-specific phages of Escherichia coli have been reported in recent years, but the molecular mechanism involved in host recognition of these phages remains unknown. In this study, the interactions between PNJ1809-36, a new K1-specific phage and its host bacteria E. coli DE058, were investigated. A transposon mutation library was used to screen for receptor-related genes. Gene deletion, lysis curve determination, plaque formation test, adsorption assay and inhibition assay of phage by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) showed that capsular polysaccharide (CPS) was the first receptor for the initial adsorption of PNJ1809-36 to E. coli DE058 and LPS was a secondary receptor for the irreversible binding of the phage. The penultimate galactose in the outer core was identified as the specific binding region on LPS. Through antibody blocking assay, fluorescence labeling and high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), the tail protein ORF261 of phage PNJ1809-36 was identified as the receptor binding protein on CPS. Given these findings, we propose a model for the recognition process of phage PNJ1809-36 on E. coli DE058: The phage PNJ1809-36 tail protein ORF261 recognizes and adsorbs to the K1 capsule; then the K1 capsule is partially degraded, exposing the active site of LPS which is recognized by phage PNJ1809-36. This model provides insight into the molecular mechanisms between K1-specific phages and their host bacteria. IMPORTANCE It has been speculated that CPS is the main receptor of K1-specific phages belonging to Siphoviridae . In recent years, a new type of K1-specific phage belonging to Myoviridae has been reported, but its host recognition mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we studied the interactions between PNJ1809-36, a new type of K1 phage, and its host bacteria E. coli DE058. Our research showed that the phage initially adsorbed to the K1 capsule mediated by ORF261 and then bound to the penultimate galactose of LPS to begin the infection process.

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (21) ◽  
pp. 6991-6997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azucena Mora ◽  
Alexandra Herrera ◽  
Rosalia Mamani ◽  
Cecilia López ◽  
María Pilar Alonso ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT To discern the possible spread of the Escherichia coli O25b:H4-ST131 clonal group in poultry and the zoonotic potential of avian strains, we made a retrospective search of our strain collection and compared the findings for those strains with the findings for current strains. Thus, we have characterized a collection of 19 avian O25b:H4-ST131 E. coli strains isolated from 1995 to 2010 which, interestingly, harbored the ibeA gene. Using this virulence gene as a criterion for selection, we compared those 19 avian strains with 33 human O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA-positive E. coli strains obtained from patients with extraintestinal infections (1993 to 2009). All 52 O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA-positive E. coli strains shared the fimH, kpsMII, malX, and usp genes but showed statistically significant differences in nine virulence factors, namely, papGIII, cdtB, sat, and kpsMII K5, which were associated with human strains, and iroN, kpsMII K1, cvaC, iss, and tsh, which were associated with strains of avian origin. The XbaI macrorestriction profiles of the 52 E. coli O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA-positive strains revealed 11 clusters (clusters I to XI) of >85% similarity, with four clusters including strains of human and avian origin. Cluster VII (90.9% similarity) grouped 10 strains (7 avian and 3 human strains) that mostly produced CTX-M-9 and that also shared the same virulence profile. Finally, we compared the macrorestriction profiles of the 12 CTX-M-9-producing O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA strains (7 avian and 5 human strains) identified among the 52 strains with those of 15 human O25b:H4-ST131 CTX-M-14-, CTX-M-15-, and CTX-M-32-producing strains that proved to be negative for ibeA and showed that they clearly differed in the level of similarity from the CTX-M-9-producing strains. In conclusion, E. coli clonal group O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA has recently emerged among avian isolates with the new acquisition of the K1 capsule antigen and includes CTX-M-9-producing strains. This clonal group represents a real zoonotic risk that has crossed the barrier between human and avian hosts.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 536-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melha Mellata ◽  
Maryvonne Dho-Moulin ◽  
Charles M. Dozois ◽  
Roy Curtiss ◽  
Peter K. Brown ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In chickens, colibacillosis is caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) via respiratory tract infection. Many virulence factors, including type 1 (F1A) and P (F11) fimbriae, curli, aerobactin, K1 capsule, and temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin (Tsh) and plasmid DNA regions have been associated with APEC. A strong correlation between serum resistance and virulence has been demonstrated, but roles of virulence factors in serum resistance have not been well elucidated. By using mutants of APEC strains TK3, MT78, and χ7122, which belong to serogroups O1, O2, and O78, respectively, we investigated the role of virulence factors in resistance to serum and pathogenicity in chickens. Our results showed that serum resistance is one of the pathogenicity mechanisms of APEC strains. Virulence factors that increased bacterial resistance to serum and colonization of internal organs of infected chickens were O78 lipopolysaccharide of E. coli χ7122 and the K1 capsule of E. coli MT78. In contrast, curli, type 1, and P fimbriae did not appear to contribute to serum resistance. We also showed that the iss gene, which was previously demonstrated to increase resistance to serum in certain E. coli strains, is located on plasmid pAPEC-1 of E. coli χ7122 but does not play a major role in resistance to serum for strain χ7122.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (24) ◽  
pp. 3329-3334 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Hufnagel ◽  
Margery L. Evans ◽  
Sarah E. Greene ◽  
Jerome S. Pinkner ◽  
Scott J. Hultgren ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe extracellular matrix protectsEscherichia colifrom immune cells, oxidative stress, predation, and other environmental stresses. Production of theE. coliextracellular matrix is regulated by transcription factors that are tuned to environmental conditions. The biofilm master regulator protein CsgD upregulates curli and cellulose, the two major polymers in the extracellular matrix of uropathogenicE. coli(UPEC) biofilms. We found that cyclic AMP (cAMP) regulates curli, cellulose, and UPEC biofilms throughcsgD. The alarmone cAMP is produced by adenylate cyclase (CyaA), and deletion ofcyaAresulted in reduced extracellular matrix production and biofilm formation. Thecataboliterepressorprotein (CRP) positively regulatedcsgDtranscription, leading to curli and cellulose production in the UPEC isolate, UTI89. Glucose, a known inhibitor of CyaA activity, blocked extracellular matrix formation when added to the growth medium. The mutant strains ΔcyaAand Δcrpdid not produce rugose biofilms, pellicles, curli, cellulose, or CsgD. Three putative CRP binding sites were identified within thecsgD-csgBintergenic region, and purified CRP could gel shift thecsgD-csgBintergenic region. Additionally, we found that CRP binded upstream ofkpsMT, which encodes machinery for K1 capsule production. Together our work shows that cAMP and CRP influenceE. colibiofilms through transcriptional regulation ofcsgD.IMPORTANCEThecataboliterepressorprotein (CRP)-cyclic AMP (cAMP) complex influences the transcription of ∼7% of genes on theEscherichia colichromosome (D. Zheng, C. Constantinidou, J. L. Hobman, and S. D. Minchin, Nucleic Acids Res 32:5874–5893, 2004,https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkh908). Glucose inhibitsE. colibiofilm formation, and ΔcyaAand Δcrpmutants show impaired biofilm formation (D. W. Jackson, J.W. Simecka, and T. Romeo, J Bacteriol 184:3406–3410, 2002,https://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JB.184.12.3406-3410.2002). We determined that the cAMP-CRP complex regulates curli and cellulose production and the formation of rugose and pellicle biofilms throughcsgD. Additionally, we propose that cAMP may work as a signaling compound for uropathogenicE. coli(UPEC) to transition from the bladder lumen to inside epithelial cells for intracellular bacterial community formation through K1 capsule regulation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Kusche ◽  
H H Hannesson ◽  
U Lindahl

A capsular polysaccharide from Escherichia coli K5 was previously found to have the same structure, [-(4)beta GlcA(1)→(4)alpha GlcNAc(1)-]n, as that of the non-sulphated precursor polysaccharide in heparin biosynthesis [Vann, Schmidt, Jann & Jann (1981) Eur. J. Biochem. 116, 359-364]. The K5 polysaccharide was N-deacetylated (by hydrazinolysis) and N-sulphated, and was then incubated with detergent-solubilized enzymes from a heparin-producing mouse mastocytoma, in the presence of adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-phospho[35S] sulphate ([35S]PAPS). Structural analysis of the resulting 35S-labelled polysaccharide revealed the formation of all the major disaccharide units found in heparin. The identification of 2-O-[35S]sulphated IdoA (L-iduronic acid) as well as 6-O-[35S]sulphated GlcNSO3 units demonstrated that the modified K5 polysaccharide served as a substrate in the hexuronosyl C-5-epimerase and the major O-sulphotransferase reactions involved in the biosynthesis of heparin. The GlcA units of the native (N-acetylated) E. coli polysaccharide were attacked by the epimerase only when PAPS was present in the incubations, whereas those of the chemically N-sulphated polysaccharide were epimerized also in the absence of PAPS, in accord with the notion that N-sulphate groups are required for epimerization. With increasing concentrations of PAPS, the mono-O-sulphated disaccharide unit-IdoA(2-OSO3)-GlcNSO3- was progressively converted into the di-O-sulphated species -IdoA(2-OSO3)-GlcNSO3(6-OSO3)-. A small proportion of the 35S-labelled polysaccharide was found to bind with high affinity to the proteinase inhibitor antithrombin. This proportion increased with increasing concentration of PAPS up to a level corresponding to approximately 1-2% of the total incorporated 35S. The solubilized enzymes thus catalysed all the reactions required for the generation of functional antithrombin-binding sites.


2001 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. NOWROUZIAN ◽  
A. E. WOLD ◽  
I. ADLERBERTH

The carriage rate of a range of virulence genes was compared between resident and transient Escherichia coli strains obtained from the rectal flora of 22 home-delivered Pakistani infants 0–6 months old. Genes for the following virulence factors were assessed using multiplex PCR: P, type 1 and S fimbriae, three P fimbrial adhesin varieties, Dr haemagglutinin, K1 and K5 capsule, haemolysin and aerobactin. The E. coli strains examined here differed from those previously obtained from hosts in Western Europe in a lower prevalence of genes for P, S and type 1 fimbriae, K1 capsule and haemolysin. Nevertheless, genes for P fimbriae, the class II variety of papG adhesin, and aerobactin were significantly more common among resident than transient strains, as previously observed in a Swedish study. The results suggest that P fimbriae and aerobactin, previously implicated as virulence factors for urinary tract infection, might contribute to persistence of E. coli in the normal intestinal microflora.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 931-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Herold ◽  
Jutta Siebert ◽  
Andrea Huber ◽  
Herbert Schmidt

ABSTRACT We investigated the influence of a low concentration of the gyrase inhibitor norfloxacin on the transcriptome of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain EDL933. For this purpose, we used a commercial DNA microarray containing oligonucleotides specific for E. coli O157:H7 strains EDL933 and RIMD0509952 and E. coli K-12 strain MG1655. Under the conditions applied, 5,963 spots (94% of all spots) could be analyzed. Among these, 118 spots (P < 0.05) indicated transcriptional upregulation and 122 spots (P < 0.05) indicated transcriptional downregulation of the E. coli genes present on the array. Eighty-five upregulated EDL933 genes were phage borne. Fifty-two of them could be ascribed to the Shiga toxin-encoding phages (Stx phages) BP-933W and CP-933V; the other 33 genes belonged to non-Stx prophage elements in the EDL933 genome. Genes present in the BP-933W prophage genome were induced most strongly up to 158-fold in the case of stxA2 upon induction with norfloxacin. Twenty-two additional upregulated genes appeared to be E. coli O157:H7 strain RIMD0509952-specific phage elements, and the remaining 11 genes were related mainly to recombination and stress functions. Downregulation was indicated predominantly for genes responsible for bacterial primary metabolism, such as energy production, cell division, and amino acid biosynthesis. Interestingly, some genes present in the locus of enterocyte effacement appeared to be downregulated. The results of the study have shown that a low concentration of norfloxacin has profound effects on the transcriptome of E. coli O157:H7.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Ebel ◽  
Janine E. Trempy

ABSTRACT Capsule (cps) gene expression in Escherichia coli is controlled by a complex network of regulators. Transcription of the cps operon is controlled by at least two positive regulators, RcsA and RcsB. We show here that RcsA functions to activate its own expression, as seen by the 100-fold-increased expression of arcsA::lacZ transcriptional fusion in strains with high levels of RcsA protein, either due to a mutation inlon or due to overexpression of RcsA from a multicopy plasmid. Expression of the rcsA::lacZfusion is increased by but not dependent on the presence of RcsB. In addition, the effects of H-NS and RcsB on the expression ofrcsA are independent of each other. A sequence motif, conserved between the E. coli cps promoter and theErwinia amylovora ams promoter and previously shown to be the RcsA-RcsB binding site, was identified in the rcsApromoter region and shown to be required for high-level expression ofrcsA.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 4872-4874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Scholl ◽  
Sankar Adhya ◽  
Carl Merril

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli strains that produce the K1 polysaccharide capsule have long been associated with pathogenesis. This capsule is believed to increase the cell's invasiveness, allowing the bacteria to avoid phagocytosis and inactivation by complement. It is also recognized as a receptor by some phages, such as K1F and K1-5, which have virion-associated enzymes that degrade the polysaccharide. In this report we show that expression of the K1 capsule in E. coli physically blocks infection by T7, a phage that recognizes lipopolysaccharide as the primary receptor. Enzymatic removal of the K1 antigen from the cell allows T7 to adsorb and replicate. This observation suggests that the capsule plays an important role as a defense against some phages that recognize structures beneath it and that the K1-specific phages evolved to counter this physical barrier.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1503-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseem Mushtaq ◽  
Maria B. Redpath ◽  
J. Paul Luzio ◽  
Peter W. Taylor

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli is a common cause of meningitis and sepsis in the newborn infant, and the large majority of isolates from these infections produce a polysialic acid (PSA) capsular polysaccharide, the K1 antigen, that protects the bacterial cell from immune attack. We determined whether a capsule-depolymerizing enzyme, by removing this protective barrier, could alter the outcome of systemic infection in an animal model. Bacteriophage-derived endosialidase E (endoE) selectively degrades the PSA capsule on the surface of E. coli K1 strains. Intraperitoneal administration of small quantities of recombinant endoE (20 μg) to 3-day-old rats, colonized with a virulent strain of K1, prevented bacteremia and death from systemic infection. The enzyme had no effect on the viability of E. coli strains but sensitized strains expressing PSA to killing by the complement system. This study demonstrates the potential therapeutic efficacy of agents that cure infections by modification of the bacterial phenotype rather than by killing or inhibition of growth of the pathogen.


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