Attachment of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli to Host Cells Reduces O Antigen Chain Length at the Infection Site That Promotes Infection

Little is known about the regulation of cell wall structure of enteropathogenic bacteria within the host. Here, we report that enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli regulates its cell wall structure during the infection process, which balances its survival in the intestinal lumen and infection of intestinal epithelial cells.

The effect of the drying method on the cell wall structure and sorption properties of waterlogged archaeological wood

Drying is a process affecting various wood properties, including its structure, moisture behaviour and mechanical properties. Since waterlogged wooden artefacts usually constitute priceless objects of cultural heritage, understanding the effect of drying on the complex interactions between the wood ultrastructure and the resulting properties is necessary to ensure their proper conservation. Hence, this was the aim of the present study, with a particular emphasis on the influence of drying conditions on the relations between the cell wall structure, dimensional stability and hygroscopicity of degraded archaeological wood. The choice of the particular drying methods was dictated by their final effect on wood appearance (dimensions). The results obtained clearly show that depending on the drying method applied, the resulting material differs significantly in structure, dimensions and sorption properties, despite the same degree of wood degradation. Air- and oven-drying resulted in the highest wood shrinkage, lower porosity, and a decreased number of free hydroxyls in the wood cell wall. The best wood dimensional stabilisation and the highest porosity were ensured by freeze- and supercritical drying. No correlations were found between wood structure and moisture behaviour. The outcome of the research may be useful for conservators who plan to provide the artefacts with proper storage conditions and effective conservation/reconservation.

Staphylococcus aureus cell wall structure and dynamics during host-pathogen interaction

Peptidoglycan is the major structural component of the Staphylococcus aureus cell wall, in which it maintains cellular integrity, is the interface with the host, and its synthesis is targeted by some of the most crucial antibiotics developed. Despite this importance, and the wealth of data from in vitro studies, we do not understand the structure and dynamics of peptidoglycan during infection. In this study we have developed methods to harvest bacteria from an active infection in order to purify cell walls for biochemical analysis ex vivo. Isolated ex vivo bacterial cells are smaller than those actively growing in vitro, with thickened cell walls and reduced peptidoglycan crosslinking, similar to that of stationary phase cells. These features suggested a role for specific peptidoglycan homeostatic mechanisms in disease. As S. aureus penicillin binding protein 4 (PBP4) has reduced peptidoglycan crosslinking in vitro its role during infection was established. Loss of PBP4 resulted in an increased recovery of S. aureus from the livers of infected mice, which correlated with enhanced fitness within murine and human macrophages. Thicker cell walls correlate with reduced activity of peptidoglycan hydrolases. S. aureus has a family of 4 putative glucosaminidases, that are collectively crucial for growth. Loss of the major enzyme SagB, led to attenuation during murine infection and reduced survival in human macrophages. However, loss of the other three enzymes Atl, SagA and ScaH resulted in clustering dependent attenuation, in a zebrafish embryo, but not a murine, model of infection. A combination of pbp4 and sagB deficiencies resulted in a restoration of parental virulence. Our results, demonstrate the importance of appropriate cell wall structure and dynamics during pathogenesis, providing new insight to the mechanisms of disease.

The Influence of Hydrolytic Enzymes on Tannin Adsorption-Desorption onto Grape Cell Walls in a Wine-Like Matrix

This study evaluates the capacity of four hydrolytic enzymes to limit the interactions between grape cell-walls and tannins and/or to favor tannin desorption. Adsorption and desorption tests were conducted by mixing a commercial seed tannin with purified skin cell-walls from Syrah grapes, in the presence or absence of hydrolytic enzymes, in a model-wine solution. The effects of the enzymes were evaluated by measuring the tannins in solution by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and the changes in the cell wall polysaccharide network by Comprehensive Microarray Polymer Profiling (COMPP) while the polysaccharides liberated from cell walls were analyzed by Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC). The results showed that the enzymes limited the interaction between tannins and cell walls, especially cellulase, pectinase and xylanase, an effect associated with the cell wall structural modifications caused by the enzymes, which reduced their capacity to bind tannins. With regards to the tannin desorption process, enzymes did not play a significant role in liberating bound tannins. Those enzymes that showed the highest effect in limiting the adsorption of tannins and in disorganizing the cell wall structure, cellulase and pectinase, did not lead to a desorption of bound tannins, although they still showed a capacity of affecting cell wall structure. The results indicate that enzymes are not able to access those polysaccharides where tannins are bound, thus, they are not a useful tool for desorbing tannins from cell walls. The practical importance implications of these findings are discussed in the manuscript.