L-asparaginase II produced by Salmonella typhimurium inhibits T cell responses and mediates virulence

Antigen Delivery System II

This chapter reviews papers mostly written since 2005 that report results using live attenuated bacterial vectors to deliver after administration through mucosal surfaces, protective antigens, and DNA vaccines, encoding protective antigens to induce immune responses and/or protective immunity to pathogens that colonize on or invade through mucosal surfaces. Papers that report use of such vaccine vector systems for parenteral vaccination or to deal with nonmucosal pathogens or do not address induction of mucosal antibody and/or cellular immune responses are not reviewed.

Salmonella as a model for non-cognate Th1 cell stimulation

Salmonella has been a model pathogen for examining CD4 T cell activation and effector functions for many years due to the strength of the Th1 cell response observed during Salmonella infections, the relative ease of use of Salmonella, the availability of Salmonella-specific T cell reagents, and the well-characterized nature of the model system, the pathogen, and the immune response elicited. Herein, we discuss the use of Salmonella as a model pathogen to explore the complex interaction of T cells with their inflammatory environment. In particular, we address the issue of bystander activation of naïve T cells and non-cognate stimulation of activated and memory T cells. Further, we compare and contrast our current knowledge of these non-cognate responses in CD8 versus CD4 T cells. Finally, we make a case for Salmonella as a particularly appropriate model pathogen in the study of non-cognate CD4 T cell responses based on the strength of the Th1 response during infection, the requirement for CD4 T cells in bacterial clearance, and the well-characterized inflammatory response to conserved molecular patterns induced by Salmonella infection.

Direct visualization of endogenous Salmonella-specific B cells reveals a marked delay in clonal expansion and germinal center development

CD4(+) T cells and B cells are both essential for acquired immunity to Salmonella infection. It is well established that Salmonella inhibit host CD4(+) T-cell responses, but a corresponding inhibitory effect on B cells is less well defined. Here, we utilize an Ag tetramer and pull-down enrichment strategy to directly visualize OVA-specific B cells in mice, as they respond to infection with Salmonella-OVA. Surprisingly, OVA-specific B-cell expansion and germinal center formation was not detected until bacteria were cleared from the host. Furthermore, Salmonella infection also actively inhibited both B- and T-cell responses to the same coinjected Ag but this did not require the presence of iNOS. The Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 2 (SPI2) locus has been shown to be responsible for inhibition of Salmonella-specific CD4(+) T-cell responses, and an examination of SPI2-deficient bacteria demonstrated a recovery in B-cell expansion in infected mice. Together, these data suggest that Salmonella can simultaneously inhibit host B- and T-cell responses using SPI2-dependent mechanisms.

Defining the metabolic requirements for the growth and colonization capacity of Campylobacter jejuni

During the last decade Campylobacter jejuni has been recognized as the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. This facultative intracellular pathogen is a member of the Epsilonproteobacteria and requires microaerobic atmosphere and nutrient rich media for efficient proliferation in vitro. Its catabolic capacity is highly restricted in contrast to Salmonella Typhimurium and other enteropathogenic bacteria because several common pathways for carbohydrate utilization are either missing or incomplete. Despite these metabolic limitations, C. jejuni efficiently colonizes various animal hosts as a commensal intestinal inhabitant. Moreover, C. jejuni is tremendously successful in competing with the human intestinal microbiota; an infectious dose of few hundreds bacteria is sufficient to overcome the colonization resistance of humans and can lead to campylobacteriosis. Besides the importance and clear clinical manifestation of this disease, the pathogenesis mechanisms of C. jejuni infections are still poorly understood. In recent years comparative genome sequence, transcriptome and metabolome analyses as well as mutagenesis studies combined with animal infection models have provided a new understanding of how the specific metabolic capacity of C. jejuni drives its persistence in the intestinal habitat of various hosts. Furthermore, new insights into the metabolic requirements that support the intracellular survival of C. jejuni were obtained. Because C. jejuni harbors distinct properties in establishing an infection in comparison to pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae, it represents an excellent organism for elucidating new aspects of the dynamic interaction and metabolic cross talk between a bacterial pathogen, the microbiota and the host.

Immunoproteomic analysis to identify Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli outer membrane proteins expressed during human infection

Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is the etiologic agent of acute diarrhea, dysentery, and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). There is no approved vaccine for STEC infection in humans, and antibiotic use is contraindicated, as it promotes Shiga toxin production. In order to identify STEC-associated antigens and immunogenic proteins, outer membrane proteins (OMPs) were extracted from STEC O26:H11, O103, O113:H21, and O157:H7 strains, and commensal E. coli strain HS was used as a control. SDS-PAGE, two-dimensional-PAGE analysis, Western blot assays using sera from pediatric HUS patients and controls, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-tandem time of flight analyses were used to identify 12 immunogenic OMPs, some of which were not reactive with control sera. Importantly, seven of these proteins have not been previously reported to be immunogenic in STEC strains. Among these seven proteins, OmpT and Cah displayed IgG and IgA reactivity with sera from HUS patients. Genes encoding these two proteins were present in a majority of STEC strains. Knowledge of the antigens produced during infection of the host and the immune response to those antigens will be important for future vaccine development.

Defined single-gene and multi-gene deletion mutant collections in Salmonella enterica sv Typhimurium

We constructed two collections of targeted single gene deletion (SGD) mutants and two collections of targeted multi-gene deletion (MGD) mutants in Salmonella enterica sv Typhimurium 14028s. The SGD mutant collections contain (1), 3517 mutants in which a single gene is replaced by a cassette containing a kanamycin resistance (KanR) gene oriented in the sense direction (SGD-K), and (2), 3376 mutants with a chloramphenicol resistance gene (CamR) oriented in the antisense direction (SGD-C). A combined total of 3773 individual genes were deleted across these SGD collections. The MGD collections contain mutants bearing deletions of contiguous regions of three or more genes and include (3), 198 mutants spanning 2543 genes replaced by a KanR cassette (MGD-K), and (4), 251 mutants spanning 2799 genes replaced by a CamR cassette (MGD-C). Overall, 3476 genes were deleted in at least one MGD collection. The collections with different antibiotic markers permit construction of all viable combinations of mutants in the same background. Together, the libraries allow hierarchical screening of MGDs for different phenotypic followed by screening of SGDs within the target MGD regions. The mutants of these collections are stored at BEI Resources (www.beiresources.org) and publicly available.

Evaluation of protective efficacy of live attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum vaccine strains against fowl typhoid in chickens

Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum is the etiological agent of fowl typhoid, which constitutes a considerable economic problem for poultry growers in developing countries. The vaccination of chickens seems to be the most effective strategy to control the disease in those areas. We constructed S. Gallinarum strains with a deletion of the global regulatory gene fur and evaluated their virulence and protective efficacy in Rhode Island Red chicks and Brown Leghorn layers. The fur deletion mutant was avirulent and, when delivered orally to chicks, elicited excellent protection against lethal S. Gallinarum challenge. It was not as effective when given orally to older birds, although it was highly immunogenic when delivered by intramuscular injection. We also examined the effect of a pmi mutant and a combination of fur deletions with mutations in the pmi and rfaH genes, which affect O-antigen synthesis, and ansB, whose product inhibits host T-cell responses. The S. Gallinarum Δpmi mutant was only partially attenuated, and the ΔansB mutant was fully virulent. The Δfur Δpmi and Δfur ΔansB double mutants were attenuated but not protective when delivered orally to the chicks. However, a Δpmi Δfur strain was highly immunogenic when administered intramuscularly. All together, our results show that the fur gene is essential for the virulence of S. Gallinarum, and the fur mutant is effective as a live recombinant vaccine against fowl typhoid.

The periplasmic enzyme, AnsB, of Shigella flexneri modulates bacterial adherence to host epithelial cells

S. flexneri strains, most frequently linked with endemic outbreaks of shigellosis, invade the colonic and rectal epithelium of their host and cause severe tissue damage. Here we have attempted to elucidate the contribution of the periplasmic enzyme, L-asparaginase (AnsB) to the pathogenesis of S. flexneri. Using a reverse genetic approach we found that ansB mutants showed reduced adherence to epithelial cells in vitro and attenuation in two in vivo models of shigellosis, the Caenorhabditis elegans and the murine pulmonary model. To investigate how AnsB affects bacterial adherence, we compared the proteomes of the ansB mutant with its wild type parental strain using two dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis and identified the outer membrane protein, OmpA as up-regulated in ansB mutant cells. Bacterial OmpA, is a prominent outer membrane protein whose activity has been found to be required for bacterial pathogenesis. Overexpression of OmpA in wild type S. flexneri serotype 3b resulted in decreasing the adherence of this virulent strain, suggesting that the up-regulation of OmpA in ansB mutants contributes to the reduced adherence of this mutant strain. The data presented here is the first report that links the metabolic enzyme AnsB to S. flexneri pathogenesis.

Persistent salmonellosis causes pancreatitis in a murine model of infection

Pancreatitis, a known risk factor for the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, is a serious, widespread medical condition usually caused by alcohol abuse or gallstone-mediated ductal obstruction. However, many cases of pancreatitis are of an unknown etiology. Pancreatitis has been linked to bacterial infection, but causality has yet to be established. Here, we found that persistent infection of mice with the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) was sufficient to induce pancreatitis reminiscent of the human disease. Specifically, we found that pancreatitis induced by persistent S. Typhimurium infection was characterized by a loss of pancreatic acinar cells, acinar-to-ductal metaplasia, fibrosis and accumulation of inflammatory cells, including CD11b+ F4/80+, CD11b+ Ly6Cint Ly6G+ and CD11b+ Ly6Chi Ly6G- cells. Furthermore, we found that S. Typhimurium colonized and persisted in the pancreas, associated with pancreatic acinar cells in vivo, and could invade cultured pancreatic acinar cells in vitro. Thus, persistent infection of mice with S. Typhimurium may serve as a useful model for the study of pancreatitis as it relates to bacterial infection. Increased knowledge of how pathogenic bacteria can cause pancreatitis will provide a more integrated picture of the etiology of the disease and could lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for treatment and prevention of pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

CD11b+ Ly6Chi Ly6G- immature myeloid cells recruited in response to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection exhibit protective and immunosuppressive properties

Immature myeloid cells in bone marrow are a heterogeneous population of cells that, under normal conditions, provide tissues with protective cell types such as granulocytes and macrophages. Under certain pathological conditions, myeloid cell homeostasis is altered and immature forms of these cells appear in tissues. Murine immature myeloid cells that express CD11b and Ly6C or Ly6G (two isoforms of Gr-1) have been associated with immunosuppression in cancer (in the form of myeloid-derived suppressor cells) and, more recently, infection. Here, we found that CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) and CD11b(+) Ly6C(int) Ly6G(+) cells accumulated and persisted in tissues of mice infected with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). Recruitment of CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) but not CD11b(+) Ly6C(int) Ly6G(+) cells from bone marrow into infected tissues depended on chemokine receptor CCR2. The CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) cells exhibited a mononuclear morphology, whereas the CD11b(+) Ly6C(int) Ly6G(+) cells exhibited a polymorphonuclear or band-shaped nuclear morphology. The CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) cells differentiated into macrophage-like cells following ex vivo culture and could present antigen to T cells in vitro. However, significant proliferation of T cells was observed only when the ability of the CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) cells to produce nitric oxide was blocked. CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) cells recruited in response to S. Typhimurium infection could also present antigen to T cells in vivo, but increasing their numbers by adoptive transfer did not cause a corresponding increase in T cell response. Thus, CD11b(+) Ly6C(hi) Ly6G(-) immature myeloid cells recruited in response to S. Typhimurium infection exhibit protective and immunosuppressive properties that may influence the outcome of infection.

Oxidative metabolism enables Salmonella evasion of the NLRP3 inflammasome

Salmonella lacking the TCA enzyme aconitase trigger NLRP3 inflammasome activation in infected macrophages, leading to elevated inflammatory responses and reduced virulence.

Microbial infection triggers assembly of inflammasome complexes that promote caspase-1–dependent antimicrobial responses. Inflammasome assembly is mediated by members of the nucleotide binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) protein family that respond to cytosolic bacterial products or disruption of cellular processes. Flagellin injected into host cells by invading Salmonella induces inflammasome activation through NLRC4, whereas NLRP3 is required for inflammasome activation in response to multiple stimuli, including microbial infection, tissue damage, and metabolic dysregulation, through mechanisms that remain poorly understood. During systemic infection, Salmonella avoids NLRC4 inflammasome activation by down-regulating flagellin expression. Macrophages exhibit delayed NLRP3 inflammasome activation after Salmonella infection, suggesting that Salmonella may evade or prevent the rapid activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. We therefore screened a Salmonella Typhimurium transposon library to identify bacterial factors that limit NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Surprisingly, absence of the Salmonella TCA enzyme aconitase induced rapid NLRP3 inflammasome activation. This inflammasome activation correlated with elevated levels of bacterial citrate, and required mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and bacterial citrate synthase. Importantly, Salmonella lacking aconitase displayed NLRP3- and caspase-1/11–dependent attenuation of virulence, and induced elevated serum IL-18 in wild-type mice. Together, our data link Salmonella genes controlling oxidative metabolism to inflammasome activation and suggest that NLRP3 inflammasome evasion promotes systemic Salmonella virulence.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis exploits asparagine to assimilate nitrogen and resist acid stress during infection

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an intracellular pathogen. Within macrophages, M. tuberculosis thrives in a specialized membrane-bound vacuole, the phagosome, whose pH is slightly acidic, and where access to nutrients is limited. Understanding how the bacillus extracts and incorporates nutrients from its host may help develop novel strategies to combat tuberculosis. Here we show that M. tuberculosis employs the asparagine transporter AnsP2 and the secreted asparaginase AnsA to assimilate nitrogen and resist acid stress through asparagine hydrolysis and ammonia release. While the role of AnsP2 is partially spared by yet to be identified transporter(s), that of AnsA is crucial in both phagosome acidification arrest and intracellular replication, as an M. tuberculosis mutant lacking this asparaginase is ultimately attenuated in macrophages and in mice. Our study provides yet another example of the intimate link between physiology and virulence in the tubercle bacillus, and identifies a novel pathway to be targeted for therapeutic purposes.

The virulence polysaccharide Vi released by Salmonella Typhi targets membrane prohibitin to inhibit T-cell activation

T cells are critical to immunity against pathogenic Salmonella including Salmonella Typhi which causes systemic infection, typhoid, in humans. The strategies that this pathogen employs to keep T-cell mediated immune responses in check during establishment of systemic infection are not completely understood. Here, we show that the virulence polysaccharide Vi, which distinguishes S. Typhi from localized gastroenteritis-producing nontyphoidal Salmonella serovars, is a potent inhibitor of T-cell activation. Vi released by S. Typhi interacts with the membrane prohibitin complex and inhibits IL-2 secretion from T cells stimulated through the T-cell receptor (TCR) but does not affect PMA-activated interleukin 2 (IL-2) secretion. Treatment with Vi suppresses early activation events including TCR down-regulation, actin polymerization, and phosphorylation of ERK. Coadministration of Vi with anti-CD3 Ab reduces secretion of IL-2 and interferon γ in mice. Our findings reveal a mechanism by which S. Typhi may target T-cell immunity during establishment of typhoid.

Delineating the effect of host environmental signals on a fully virulent strain of Bacillus anthracis using an integrated transcriptomics and proteomics approach

Pathogenic bacteria sense the host environment and regulate expression of virulence-related genes. Environmental signals like temperature, bicarbonate/CO2 and glucose induce toxin production in Bacillus anthracis, but the mechanisms by which these signals contribute to virulence and overall physiological adaptation remains elusive. An integrated, systems level investigation using transcriptomics and iTRAQ-based proteomics was done to assess the effect of temperature, bicarbonate/CO2 and glucose on B. anthracis. Significant changes observed in amino acid, carbohydrate, energy and nucleotide metabolism indicates events of metabolic readjustments by environmental factors. Directed induction of genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis and iron metabolism revealed the redirection of cellular metabolite pool towards iron uptake. Protein levels of glycolytic enzymes, ptsH and Ldh along with transcripts involved in immune evasion (mprF, bNOS, Phospholipases and asnA), cell surface remodeling (rfbABCD, antABCD, and cls) and utilization of lactate (lutABC) and inositol showed constant repression under environmental perturbations. Discrepancies observed in mRNA/protein level of genes involved in glycolysis, protein synthesis, stress response and nucleotide metabolism hinted at the existence of additional regulatory layers and illustrated the utility of an integrated approach. The above findings might assist in the identification of novel adaptive strategies of B. anthracis during host associated survival and pathogenesis.

BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

In this study, the changes observed at both transcript and protein level were quantified and integrated to understand the effect of host environmental factors (host temperature, bicarbonate and glucose) in shaping the physiology and adaptive strategies of a fully virulent strain of B. anthracis for efficient survival and virulence in its host. Perturbations affecting toxin production were found to concordantly affect vital metabolic pathways and several known as well as novel virulence factors. These changes act as a valuable asset for generating testable hypotheses that can be further verified by detailed molecular and mutant studies to identify novel adaptive strategies of B. anthracis during infection. Adaptation of an integrated transcriptomics and proteomics approach also led to the identification of discrepancies between mRNA/protein levels among genes across major functional categories. Few of these discrepancies have been previously reported in literature for model organisms. However their existence in B. anthracis and that too as a result of growth perturbations have not been reported till date. These findings demonstrate a substantial role of regulatory processes post mRNA synthesis via post transcriptional, translational or protein degradation mechanisms. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Proteomics of non-model organisms.

Giardia duodenalis arginine deiminase modulates the phenotype and cytokine secretion of human dendritic cells by depletion of arginine and formation of ammonia

Depletion of arginine is a recognized strategy that pathogens use to evade immune effector mechanisms. Depletion depends on microbial enzymes such as arginases, which are considered virulence factors. The effect is mostly interpreted as being a consequence of successful competition with host enzymes for the substrate. However, both arginases and arginine deiminases (ADI) have been associated with pathogen virulence. Both deplete arginine, but their reaction products differ. An ADI has been implicated in the virulence of Giardia duodenalis, an intestinal parasite that infects humans and animals, causing significant morbidity. Dendritic cells (DC) play a critical role in host defense and also in a murine G. duodenalis infection model. The functional properties of these innate immune cells depend on the milieu in which they are activated. Here, the dependence of the response of these cells on arginine was studied by using Giardia ADI and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human monocyte-derived DC. Arginine depletion by ADI significantly increased tumor necrosis factor alpha and decreased interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-12p40 secretion. It also reduced the upregulation of surface CD83 and CD86 molecules, which are involved in cell-cell interactions. Arginine depletion also reduced the phosphorylation of S6 kinase in DC, suggesting the involvement of the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. The changes were due to arginine depletion and the formation of reaction products, in particular, ammonium ions. Comparison of NH(4)(+) and urea revealed distinct immunomodulatory activities of these products of deiminases and arginases, respectively. The data suggest that a better understanding of the role of arginine-depleting pathogen enzymes for immune evasion will have to take enzyme class and reaction products into consideration.

Distinct physiological roles for the two L-asparaginase isozymes of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli expresses two L-asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) isozymes: L-asparaginse I, which is a low affinity, cytoplasmic enzyme that is expressed constitutively, and L-asparaginase II, a high affinity periplasmic enzyme that is under complex co-transcriptional regulation by both Fnr and Crp. The distinct localisation and regulation of these enzymes suggest different roles. To define these roles, a set of isogenic mutants was constructed that lacked either or both enzymes. Evidence is provided that L-asparaginase II, in contrast to L-asparaginase I, can be used in the provision of an anaerobic electron acceptor when using a non-fermentable carbon source in the presence of excess nitrogen.