| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Schneiders, Stephan, et al.
(author)
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Spatiotemporal Variations in Growth Rate and Virulence Plasmid Copy Number during Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infection : Growth rate and plasmid copy number during Yersinia infection
- 2021
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In: Infection and Immunity. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pathogenic Yersinia spp. depend on the activity of a potent virulence plasmid-encoded ysc/yop type 3 secretion system (T3SS) to colonize hosts and cause disease. It was recently shown that Y. pseudotuberculosis up-regulates the virulence plasmid copy number (PCN) during infection and the resulting elevated gene dose of plasmid-encoded T3SS genes is essential for virulence. When and how this novel regulatory mechanism is deployed and regulates the replication of the virulence plasmid during infection is unknown. In the current study, we applied droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to investigate the dynamics of Y. pseudotuberculosis virulence PCN variations and growth rates in infected mouse organs. We demonstrated that both PCN and growth varied in different tissues and over time throughout the course of infection, indicating that the bacteria adapted to discrete microenvironments during infection. The PCN was highest in Peyer’s Patches and caecum during the clonal invasive phase of the infection, while the fastest growth rates were found in the draining mesenteric lymph nodes. In deeper, systemic organs, the PCN was lower and more modest growth rates were recorded. Our study indicates that increased gene dosage of the plasmid-encoded T3SS genes is most important early in the infection during invasion of the host. The described ddPCR approach will greatly simplify analyses of PCN, growth dynamics, and bacterial loads in infected tissues, and will be readily applicable to other infection models.
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| 13. |
- Schneiders, Stephan, et al.
(author)
-
Spatiotemporal Variations in Growth Rate and Virulence Plasmid Copy Number during Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infection
- 2021
-
In: Infection and Immunity. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522. ; 89:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pathogenic Yersinia spp. depend on the activity of a potent virulence plasmid-encoded ysc/yop type 3 secretion system (T3SS) to colonize hosts and cause disease. It was recently shown that Yersinia pseudotuberculosis upregulates the virulence plasmid copy number (PCN) during infection and that the resulting elevated gene dose of plasmid-encoded T3SS genes is essential for virulence. When and how this novel regulatory mechanism is deployed and regulates the replication of the virulence plasmid during infection is unknown. In the present study, we applied droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to investigate the dynamics of Y. pseudotuberculosis virulence PCN variations and growth rates in infected mouse organs. We demonstrated that both PCN and growth varied in different tissues and over time throughout the course of infection, indicating that the bacteria adapted to discrete microenvironments during infection. The PCN was highest in Peyer's patches and cecum during the clonal invasive phase of the infection, while the highest growth rates were found in the draining mesenteric lymph nodes. In deeper, systemic organs, the PCN was lower and more modest growth rates were recorded. Our study indicates that increased gene dosage of the plasmid-encoded T3SS genes is most important early in the infection during invasion of the host. The described ddPCR approach will greatly simplify analyses of PCN, growth dynamics, and bacterial loads in infected tissues and will be readily applicable to other infection models.
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| 14. |
- Sheikh, A., et al.
(author)
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Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Degrades the Host MUC2 Mucin Barrier To Facilitate Critical Pathogen-Enterocyte Interactions in Human Small Intestine
- 2022
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In: Infection and Immunity. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522. ; 90:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) isolates are genetically diverse pathological variants of E. coli defined by the production of heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (ST) toxins. ETEC strains are estimated to cause hundreds of millions of cases of diarrheal illness annually. However, it is not clear that all strains are equally equipped to cause disease, and asymptomatic colonization with ETEC is common in low- to middle-income regions lacking basic sanitation and clean water where ETEC are ubiquitous. Recent molecular epidemiology studies have revealed a significant association between strains that produce EatA, a secreted autotransporter protein, and the development of symptomatic infection. Here, we demonstrate that LT stimulates production of MUC2 mucin by goblet cells in human small intestine, enhancing the protective barrier between pathogens and enterocytes. In contrast, using explants of human small intestine as well as small intestinal enteroids, we show that EatA counters this host defense by engaging and degrading the MUC2 mucin barrier to promote bacterial access to target enterocytes and ultimately toxin delivery, suggesting that EatA plays a crucial role in the molecular pathogenesis of ETEC. These findings may inform novel approaches to prevention of acute diarrheal illness as well as the sequelae associated with ETEC and other pathogens that rely on EatA and similar proteases for efficient interaction with their human hosts. © 2022 American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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| 15. |
- Sigurlásdóttir, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Lactate-Induced Dispersal of Neisseria meningitidis Microcolonies Is Mediated by Changes in Cell Density and Pilus Retraction and Is Influenced by Temperature Change
- 2021
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In: Infection and Immunity. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522. ; 89:10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neisseria meningitidis is the etiologic agent of meningococcal meningitis and sepsis. Initial colonization of meningococci in the upper respiratory tract epithelium is crucial for disease development. The colonization occurs in several steps and expression of type IV pili (Tfp) is essential for both attachment and microcolony formation of encapsulated bacteria. Previously, we have shown that host-derived lactate induces synchronized dispersal of meningococcal microcolonies. In this study, we demonstrated that lactate-induced dispersal is dependent on bacterial concentration but not on the quorum-sensing system autoinducer-2 or the two-component systems NarP/NarQ, PilR/PilS, NtrY/NtrX, and MisR/MisS. Further, there were no changes in expression of genes related to assembly, elongation, retraction, and modification of Tfp throughout the time course of lactate induction. By using pilT and pptB mutants, however, we found that lactate-induced dispersal was dependent on PilT retraction but not on phosphoglycerol modification of Tfp even though the PptB activity was important for preventing reaggregation postdispersal. Furthermore, protein synthesis was required for lactate-induced dispersal. Finally, we found that at a lower temperature, lactate-induced dispersal was delayed and unsynchronized, and bacteria reformed microcolonies. We conclude that lactate-induced microcolony dispersal is dependent on bacterial concentration, PilT-dependent Tfp retraction, and protein synthesis and is influenced by environmental temperature.
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| 16. |
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