Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-08DOI: 10.1128/iai.00224-24
Mandy D Westland, Alexandra C Schrimpe-Rutledge, Simona G Codreanu, Stacy D Sherrod, John A McLean, Mark S McClain, Timothy L Cover
{"title":"Taurine modulates host cell responses to <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> VacA toxin.","authors":"Mandy D Westland, Alexandra C Schrimpe-Rutledge, Simona G Codreanu, Stacy D Sherrod, John A McLean, Mark S McClain, Timothy L Cover","doi":"10.1128/iai.00224-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00224-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Colonization of the human stomach with <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> strains producing active forms of the secreted toxin VacA is associated with an increased risk of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer, compared with colonization with strains producing hypoactive forms of VacA. Previous studies have shown that active s1m1 forms of VacA cause cell vacuolation and mitochondrial dysfunction. In this study, we sought to define the cellular metabolic consequences of VacA intoxication. Untargeted metabolomic analyses revealed that several hundred metabolites were significantly altered in VacA-treated gastroduodenal cells (AGS and AZ-521) compared with control cells. Pathway analysis suggested that VacA caused alterations in taurine and hypotaurine metabolism. Treatment of cells with the purified active s1m1 form of VacA, but not hypoactive s2m1 or Δ6-27 VacA-mutant proteins (defective in membrane channel formation), caused reductions in intracellular taurine and hypotaurine concentrations. Supplementation of the tissue culture medium with taurine or hypotaurine protected AZ-521 cells against VacA-induced cell death. Untargeted global metabolomics of VacA-treated AZ-521 cells or AGS cells in the presence or absence of extracellular taurine showed that taurine was the main intracellular metabolite significantly altered by extracellular taurine supplementation. These results indicate that VacA causes alterations in cellular taurine metabolism and that repletion of taurine is sufficient to attenuate VacA-induced cell death. We discuss these results in the context of previous literature showing the important role of taurine in cell physiology and the pathophysiology or treatment of multiple pathologic conditions, including gastric ulcers, cardiovascular disease, malignancy, inflammatory diseases, and other aging-related disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320975/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141554668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-11DOI: 10.1128/iai.00249-24
Stefania Porcelli, Aurélie Heckmann, Pierre Lucien Deshuillers, Alejandra Wu-Chuang, Cleménce Galon, Lourdes Mateos-Hernandez, Sabine Rakotobe, Laetitia Canini, Ryan O M Rego, Ladislav Simo, Anne-Claire Lagrée, Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, Sara Moutailler
{"title":"Co-infection dynamics of <i>B. afzelii</i> and TBEV in C3H mice: insights and implications for future research.","authors":"Stefania Porcelli, Aurélie Heckmann, Pierre Lucien Deshuillers, Alejandra Wu-Chuang, Cleménce Galon, Lourdes Mateos-Hernandez, Sabine Rakotobe, Laetitia Canini, Ryan O M Rego, Ladislav Simo, Anne-Claire Lagrée, Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, Sara Moutailler","doi":"10.1128/iai.00249-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00249-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ticks are important vectors of disease, particularly in the context of One Health, where tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are increasingly prevalent worldwide. TBDs often involve co-infections, where multiple pathogens co-exist in a single host. Patients with chronic Lyme disease often have co-infections with other bacteria or parasites. This study aimed to create a co-infection model with <i>Borrelia afzelii</i> and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in C3H mice and to evaluate symptoms, mortality, and pathogen level compared to single infections. Successful co-infection of C3H mice with <i>B. afzelii</i> and TBEV was achieved. Outcomes varied, depending on the timing of infection. When TBEV infection followed <i>B. afzelii</i> infection by 9 days, TBEV symptoms worsened and virus levels increased. Conversely, mice infected 21 days apart with TBEV showed milder symptoms and lower mortality. Simultaneous infection resulted in mild symptoms and no deaths. However, our model did not effectively infect ticks with TBEV, possibly due to suboptimal dosing, highlighting the challenges of replicating natural conditions. Understanding the consequences of co-infection is crucial, given the increasing prevalence of TBD. Co-infected individuals may experience exacerbated symptoms, highlighting the need for a comprehensive understanding through refined animal models. This study advances knowledge of TBD and highlights the importance of exploring co-infection dynamics in host-pathogen interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320977/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141579566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-11DOI: 10.1128/iai.00193-24
Chi-Wei Chen, Cheng-Hsun Ho
{"title":"Substitutions in the nonactive site of the passenger domain on the activity of <i>Haemophilus influenzae</i> immunoglobulin A1 protease.","authors":"Chi-Wei Chen, Cheng-Hsun Ho","doi":"10.1128/iai.00193-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00193-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) protease is a critical virulence factor of <i>Haemophilus influenzae</i> that facilitates bacterial mucosal infection. This study investigates the effect of <i>iga</i> gene polymorphism on the enzymatic activity of <i>H. influenzae</i> IgA1 protease. The IgA1 protease activity was examined in the <i>H. influenzae</i> Rd KW20 strain and 51 isolates. Genetic variations in <i>iga</i> and deduced amino acid substitutions affecting IgA1 protease activity were assessed. Machine learning tools and functional complementation assays were used to analyze the effects of identified substitutions on the stability and activity of IgA1 protease, respectively. All 51 isolates exhibited similar <i>iga</i> expression levels. No <i>igaB</i> expression was detected. According to comparisons with the reference Rd KW20 strain, four substitutions in the protease domain, 26 in the nonprotease passenger domain, and two in the β-barrel domain were associated with the change in IgA1 protease activity. No substitutions in the catalytic site of IgA1 protease were observed. Logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic curves, Venn diagrams, and protein stability analyses revealed that the substitutions Asn352Lys, Pro353Ala, Lys356Asn, Gln916Lys, and Gly917Ser, which were located in the nonactive site of the passenger domain, were associated with decreases in IgA1 protease activity and stability, whereas Asn914Lys was associated with an increase in these events. Functional complementation assays revealed that the Asn914Lys substitution increased IgA1 protease activity in the Rd KW20 strain. This study identified substitutions in the nonactive site of the passenger domain that affect both the activity and stability of <i>H. influenzae</i> IgA1 protease.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141579567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-22DOI: 10.1128/iai.00232-24
Xiaolu Li, Yihui Liu, Yang Zou, Jiayun Zhang, Yugui Wang, Yingying Ding, Zhiqi Shi, Xiaola Guo, Shaohua Zhang, Hong Yin, Aijiang Guo, Shuai Wang
{"title":"<i>Echinococcus multilocularis</i> serpin regulates macrophage polarization and reduces gut dysbiosis in colitis.","authors":"Xiaolu Li, Yihui Liu, Yang Zou, Jiayun Zhang, Yugui Wang, Yingying Ding, Zhiqi Shi, Xiaola Guo, Shaohua Zhang, Hong Yin, Aijiang Guo, Shuai Wang","doi":"10.1128/iai.00232-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00232-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Helminths serve as principal regulators in modulating host immune responses, and their excretory-secretory proteins are recognized as potential therapeutic agents for inflammatory bowel disease. Nevertheless, our comprehension of the mechanisms underlying immunoregulation remains restricted. This investigation delves into the immunomodulatory role of a secretory protein serpin (<i>Emu</i>-serpin), within the larval stage of <i>Echinococcus multilocularis</i>. Our observations indicate that <i>Emu</i>-serpin effectively alleviates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis, yielding a substantial reduction in immunopathology and an augmentation of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, this suppressive regulatory effect is concomitant with the reduction of gut microbiota dysbiosis linked to colitis, as evidenced by a marked impediment to the expansion of the pathobiont taxa Enterobacteriaceae. <i>In vivo</i> experiments demonstrate that <i>Emu</i>-serpin facilitates the expansion of M2 phenotype macrophages while concurrently diminishing M1 phenotype macrophages, alongside an elevation in anti-inflammatory cytokine levels. Subsequent <i>in vitro</i> investigations involving RAW264.7 and bone marrow macrophages reveal that <i>Emu</i>-serpin induces a conversion of M2 macrophage populations from a pro-inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory phenotype through direct inhibition. Adoptive transfer experiments reveal the peritoneal macrophages induced by <i>Emu</i>-serpin alleviate colitis and gut microbiota dysbiosis. In summary, these findings propose that <i>Emu</i>-serpin holds the potential to regulate macrophage polarization and maintain gut microbiota homeostasis in colitis, establishing it as a promising candidate for developing helminth therapy for preventing inflammatory diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320943/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141734020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-02DOI: 10.1128/iai.00133-24
Ching Yang, Frank H Robledo-Avila, Santiago Partida-Sanchez, Christopher P Montgomery
{"title":"α-Hemolysin-mediated endothelial injury contributes to the development of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>-induced dermonecrosis.","authors":"Ching Yang, Frank H Robledo-Avila, Santiago Partida-Sanchez, Christopher P Montgomery","doi":"10.1128/iai.00133-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00133-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> α-hemolysin (Hla) is a pore-forming toxin critical for the pathogenesis of skin and soft tissue infections, which causes the pathognomonic lesion of cutaneous necrosis (dermonecrosis) in mouse models. To determine the mechanism by which dermonecrosis develops during <i>S. aureus</i> skin infection, mice were given control serum, Hla-neutralizing antiserum, or an inhibitor of Hla receptor [A-disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM10) inhibitor] followed by subcutaneous infection by <i>S. aureus,</i> and the lesions were evaluated using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Hla induced apoptosis in the vascular endothelium at 6 hours post-infection (hpi), followed by apoptosis in keratinocytes at 24 hpi. The loss of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin expression preceded the loss of epithelial-cadherin expression. Hla also induced hypoxia in the keratinocytes at 24 hpi following vascular injury. Treatment with Hla-neutralizing antibody or ADAM10 inhibitor attenuated early cleavage of VE-cadherin, cutaneous hypoxia, and dermonecrosis. These findings suggest that Hla-mediated vascular injury with cutaneous hypoxia underlies the pathogenesis of <i>S. aureus</i>-induced dermonecrosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320951/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141491829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-17DOI: 10.1128/iai.00520-23
Graham J Bitzer, Nicholas A Fitzgerald, Megan A DeJong, Casey Cunningham, Joshua A Chapman, Dylan T Boehm, Gage M Pyles, Annalisa B Huckaby, Sarah J Miller, Spencer R Dublin, Matthew D Warden, Mariette Barbier, F Heath Damron
{"title":"Immunization with an mRNA DTP vaccine protects against pertussis in rats.","authors":"Graham J Bitzer, Nicholas A Fitzgerald, Megan A DeJong, Casey Cunningham, Joshua A Chapman, Dylan T Boehm, Gage M Pyles, Annalisa B Huckaby, Sarah J Miller, Spencer R Dublin, Matthew D Warden, Mariette Barbier, F Heath Damron","doi":"10.1128/iai.00520-23","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00520-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Bordetella pertussis</i> is a Gram-negative bacterium that is the causative agent of the respiratory disease known as pertussis. Since the switch to the acellular vaccines of DTaP and Tap, pertussis cases in the US have risen and cyclically fallen. We have observed that mRNA pertussis vaccines are immunogenic and protective in mice. Here, we further evaluated the pertussis toxoid mRNA antigen and refined the formulation based on optimal pertussis toxin neutralization <i>in vivo</i>. We next evaluated the mRNA pertussis vaccine in Sprague-Dawley rats using an aerosol <i>B. pertussis</i> challenge model paired with whole-body plethysmography to monitor coughing and respiratory function. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were primed and boosted with either commercially available vaccines (DTaP or wP-DTP), an mRNA-DTP vaccine, or mock-vaccinated. The mRNA-DTP vaccine was immunogenic in rats and induced antigen-specific IgG antibodies comparable to DTaP. Rats were then aerosol challenged with a streptomycin-resistant emerging clinical isolate D420Sm1. Bacterial burden was assessed at days 1 and 9 post-challenge, and the mRNA vaccine reduced burden equal to both DTaP and wP-DTP. Whole-body plethysmography revealed that mRNA-DTP vaccinated rats were well protected against coughing which was comparable to the non-challenged group. These data suggest that an mRNA-DTP vaccine is immunogenic in rats and provides protection against aerosolized <i>B. pertussis</i> challenge in Sprague-Dawley rats.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320933/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141626678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-26DOI: 10.1128/iai.00300-24
Catherine Schlenker, Katharina Richard, Sofia Skobelkina, R Paige Mathena, Darren J Perkins
{"title":"ER-transiting bacterial toxins amplify STING innate immune responses and elicit ER stress.","authors":"Catherine Schlenker, Katharina Richard, Sofia Skobelkina, R Paige Mathena, Darren J Perkins","doi":"10.1128/iai.00300-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00300-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cGAS/STING sensor system drives innate immune responses to intracellular microbial double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and bacterial cyclic nucleotide second messengers (e.g., c-di-AMP). STING-dependent cell-intrinsic responses can increase resistance to microbial infection and speed pathogen clearance. Correspondingly, STING activation and signaling are known to be targeted for suppression by effectors from several bacterial pathogens. Whether STING responses are also positively regulated through sensing of specific bacterial effectors is less clear. We find that STING activation through dsDNA, by its canonical ligand 2'-3' cGAMP, or the small molecule DMXAA is potentiated following intracellular delivery of the AB<sub>5</sub> toxin family member pertussis toxin from <i>Bordetella pertussis</i> or the B subunit of cholera toxin from <i>Vibrio cholerae</i>. Entry of pertussis toxin or cholera toxin B into mouse macrophages triggers markers of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and enhances ligand-dependent STING responses at the level of STING receptor activation in a manner that is independent of toxin enzymatic activity. Our results provide an example in which STING responses integrate information about the presence of relevant ER-transiting bacterial toxins into the innate inflammatory response and may help to explain the <i>in vivo</i> adjuvant effects of catalytically inactive toxins.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11321001/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141758487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-08-13Epub Date: 2024-07-18DOI: 10.1128/iai.00270-24
Gage M Pyles, Annalisa B Huckaby, Maria de la Paz Gutierrez, William T Witt, Margalida Mateu-Borrás, Spencer R Dublin, Carleena Rocuskie-Marker, Bethany N Sesti, Kerrington Peasak, Graham J Bitzer, Nathaniel Rader, Kelly L Weaver, Dylan T Boehm, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Joshua Chapman, Samuel Ulicny, F Heath Damron, Mariette Barbier
{"title":"Virus-like particles displaying the mature C-terminal domain of filamentous hemagglutinin are immunogenic and protective against <i>Bordetella pertussis</i> respiratory infection in mice.","authors":"Gage M Pyles, Annalisa B Huckaby, Maria de la Paz Gutierrez, William T Witt, Margalida Mateu-Borrás, Spencer R Dublin, Carleena Rocuskie-Marker, Bethany N Sesti, Kerrington Peasak, Graham J Bitzer, Nathaniel Rader, Kelly L Weaver, Dylan T Boehm, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Joshua Chapman, Samuel Ulicny, F Heath Damron, Mariette Barbier","doi":"10.1128/iai.00270-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00270-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Bordetella pertussis,</i> the bacterium responsible for whooping cough, remains a significant public health challenge despite the existing licensed pertussis vaccines. Current acellular pertussis vaccines, though having favorable reactogenicity and efficacy profiles, involve complex and costly production processes. In addition, acellular vaccines have functional challenges such as short-lasting duration of immunity and limited antigen coverage. Filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) is an adhesin of <i>B. pertussis</i> that is included in all multivalent pertussis vaccine formulations. Antibodies to FHA have been shown to prevent bacterial attachment to respiratory epithelial cells, and T cell responses to FHA facilitate cell-mediated immunity. In this study, FHA's mature C-terminal domain (MCD) was evaluated as a novel vaccine antigen. MCD was conjugated to virus-like particles via SpyTag-SpyCatcher technology. Prime-boost vaccine studies were performed in mice to characterize immunogenicity and protection against the intranasal <i>B. pertussis</i> challenge. MCD-SpyVLP was more immunogenic than SpyTag-MCD antigen alone, and in Tohama I strain challenge studies, improved protection against challenge was observed in the lungs at day 3 and in the trachea and nasal wash at day 7 post-challenge. Furthermore, a <i>B. pertussis</i> strain encoding genetically inactivated pertussis toxin was used to evaluate MCD-SpyVLP vaccine immunity. Mice vaccinated with MCD-SpyVLP had significantly lower respiratory bacterial burden at both days 3 and 7 post-challenge compared to mock-vaccinated animals. Overall, these data support the use of SpyTag-SpyCatcher VLPs as a platform for use in vaccine development against <i>B. pertussis</i> and other pathogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11320929/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141633425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infection and ImmunityPub Date : 2024-07-11Epub Date: 2024-06-18DOI: 10.1128/iai.00152-24
Chioma M Odo, Luis A Vega, Piyali Mukherjee, Sruti DebRoy, Anthony R Flores, Samuel A Shelburne
{"title":"Emergent <i>emm4</i> group A <i>Streptococcus</i> evidences a survival strategy during interaction with immune effector cells.","authors":"Chioma M Odo, Luis A Vega, Piyali Mukherjee, Sruti DebRoy, Anthony R Flores, Samuel A Shelburne","doi":"10.1128/iai.00152-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/iai.00152-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The major gram-positive pathogen group A <i>Streptococcus</i> (GAS) is a model organism for studying microbial epidemics as it causes waves of infections. Since 1980, several GAS epidemics have been ascribed to the emergence of clones producing increased amounts of key virulence factors such as streptolysin O (SLO). Herein, we sought to identify mechanisms underlying our recently identified temporal clonal emergence among <i>emm4</i> GAS, given that emergent strains did not produce augmented levels of virulence factors relative to historic isolates. By creating and analyzing isoallelic strains, we determined that a conserved mutation in a previously undescribed gene encoding a putative carbonic anhydrase was responsible for the defective <i>in vitro</i> growth observed in the emergent strains. We also identified that the emergent strains survived better inside macrophages and killed macrophages at lower rates than the historic strains. <i>Via</i> the creation of isogenic mutant strains, we linked the emergent strain \"survival\" phenotype to the downregulation of the SLO encoding gene and upregulation of the <i>msrAB</i> operon which encodes proteins involved in defense against extracellular oxidative stress. Our findings are in accord with recent surveillance studies which found a high ratio of mucosal (i.e., pharyngeal) relative to invasive infections among <i>emm4</i> GAS. Since ever-increasing virulence is unlikely to be evolutionarily advantageous for a microbial pathogen, our data further understanding of the well-described oscillating patterns of virulent GAS infections by demonstrating mechanisms by which emergent strains adapt a \"survival\" strategy to outcompete previously circulating isolates.</p>","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11238559/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141418782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Articles of Significant Interest in This Issue.","authors":"","doi":"10.1128/iai.00281-24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00281-24","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13541,"journal":{"name":"Infection and Immunity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141579568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}