Immune Inhibitor A Metalloproteases Contribute to Virulence in Bacillus Endophthalmitis

Endophthalmitis is a devastating infection that can cause blindness. Over half of Bacillus endophthalmitis cases result in significant loss of useful vision. Bacillus produces many virulence factors that may contribute to retinal damage and robust inflammation. We analyzed Bacillus immune inhibitor A (InhA) metalloproteases in the context of this disease, hypothesizing that InhAs contribute to Bacillus intraocular virulence and inflammation. We analyzed phenotypes and infectivity of wild type (WT), InhA1-deficient (Δ inhA1 ), InhA2-deficient (Δ inhA2 ), or InhA1, A2, and A3-deficient (Δ inhA1-3 ) Bacillus thuringiensis . In vitro analysis of growth, proteolysis, and cytotoxicity were compared. WT and InhA mutants were similarly cytotoxic to retinal cells. Mutants Δ inhA1 and Δ inhA2 entered log phase growth earlier than WT. Proteolysis by the Δ inhA1-3 mutant was decreased, but this strain grew similar to WT in vitro . Experimental endophthalmitis was initiated by intravitreally infecting C57BL/6J mice with 200 CFU of B. thuringiensis WT or InhA mutants. Eyes were analyzed for intraocular Bacillus and myeloperoxidase concentrations, retinal function loss, and gross histological changes. Eyes infected with Δ inhA1 or Δ inhA2 strains contained greater numbers of bacteria than eyes infected with WT throughout the infection course. Eyes infected with single mutants had inflammation and retinal function loss similar to eyes infected with WT strain. Eyes infected with Δ inhA1-3 cleared the infection. RT-PCR results suggested that there may be compensatory expression of the other InhAs in the single InhA mutant. These results indicate that together, the InhA metalloproteases contribute to the severity of infection and inflammation in Bacillus endophthalmitis.

Immune Inhibitor A Metalloproteases Contribute to Virulence in Bacillus Endophthalmitis

Bacterial endophthalmitis is a devastating infection that can cause blindness following the introduction of organisms into the posterior segment of the eye. Over half of Bacillus endophthalmitis cases result in significant loss of useful vision. Often, these eyes have to be enucleated. Bacillus produces many virulence factors in the eye that may contribute to retinal damage and robust inflammation. This study analyzed Bacillus immune inhibitor A (InhA) metalloproteases, which digest extracellular matrix, tight junction proteins, and antimicrobial proteins. We hypothesized that InhAs contribute to Bacillus intraocular virulence and inflammation. We analyzed phenotypes and infectivity of wild type (WT), InhA1-deficient (ΔinhA1), InhA2-deficient (ΔinhA2), or InhA1, A2, and A3-deficient (ΔinhA1-3) Bacillus thuringiensis. In vitro analysis of growth, proteolysis, and cytotoxicity were compared between B. thuringiensis strains. WT and InhA mutants were similarly cytotoxic to retinal cells. Mutant ΔinhA1 and ΔinhA2 entered log phase growth earlier than WT. Proteolysis of the ΔinhA1-3 mutant was decreased, but this strain grew similar to WT in vitro. Experimental endophthalmitis was initiated by intravitreally infecting C57BL/6J mice with 200 CFU of B. thuringiensis WT or InhA mutants. Intraocular Bacillus and retinal function loss were quantified. Intraocular myeloperoxidase concentrations were quantified and histology was analyzed. Eyes infected with ΔinhA1 or ΔinhA2 strains contained greater numbers of bacteria than eyes infected with WT throughout the course of infection. Eyes infected with single mutants had inflammation and retinal function loss similar to eyes infected with WT strain. Eyes infected with ΔinhA1-3 cleared the infection, with less retinal function loss and inflammation compared to eyes infected with the WT strain. RT-PCR results suggested that single InhA mutant results may be explained by compensatory expression of the other InhAs in these mutants. These results indicate that together, the InhA metalloproteases contribute to the severity of infection and inflammation in Bacillus endophthalmitis.Author summaryBacterial endophthalmitis is an infection of the eye, which can follow accidental contamination of the posterior segment following ocular surgery (postoperative), a penetrating wound (post-traumatic), or during spread of bacteria into the eye from the bloodstream (endogenous). During bacterial endophthalmitis, virulent pathogens such as Bacillus cause ocular damage via the activities of an array of virulence factors, including proteases. A class of proteases that are expressed by Bacillus during ocular infection are the immune inhibitor A metalloproteases. Here, we used a mouse model of endophthalmitis to test mutant Bacillus that lack single or multiple InhAs to determine if these metalloproteases contributed to the virulence during the disease. In the absence of the production of all InhAs, Bacillus could not cause severe infection. Our study provides new insights into the virulence of Bacillus in the eye, and the contribution of its InhA metalloproteases to establishing infection.

Metalloprotease Vsm Is the Major Determinant of Toxicity for Extracellular Products of Vibrio splendidus

ABSTRACT Genomic data combined with reverse genetic approaches have contributed to the characterization of major virulence factors of Vibrio species; however, these studies have targeted primarily human pathogens. Here, we investigate virulence factors in the oyster pathogen Vibrio splendidus LGP32 and show that toxicity is correlated to the presence of a metalloprotease and its corresponding vsm gene. Comparative genomics showed that an avirulent strain closely related to LGP32 lacked the metalloprotease. The toxicity of LGP32 metalloprotease was confirmed by exposing mollusk and mouse fibroblastic cell lines to extracellular products (ECPs) of the wild type (wt) and a vsm deletion mutant (Δvsm mutant). The ECPs of the wt induced a strong cytopathic effect whose severity was cell type dependent, while those of the Δvsm mutant were much less toxic, and exposure to purified protein demonstrated the direct toxicity of the Vsm metalloprotease. Finally, to investigate Vsm molecular targets, a proteomic analysis of the ECPs of both LGP32 and the Δvsm mutant was performed, revealing a number of differentially expressed and/or processed proteins. One of these, the VSA1062 metalloprotease, was found to have significant identity to the immune inhibitor A precursor, a virulence factor of Bacillus thuringiensis. Deletion mutants corresponding to several of the major proteins were constructed by allelic exchange, and the ECPs of these mutants proved to be toxic to both cell cultures and animals. Taken together, these data demonstrate that Vsm is the major toxicity factor in the ECPs of V. splendidus.