Actin-based motility of intracellular bacteria, and polarized surface distribution of the bacterial effector molecules

Taming the Triskelion: Bacterial Manipulation of Clathrin

The entry of pathogens into nonphagocytic host cells has received much attention in the past three decades, revealing a vast array of strategies employed by bacteria and viruses. A method of internalization that has been extensively studied in the context of viral infections is the use of the clathrin-mediated pathway. More recently, a role for clathrin in the entry of some intracellular bacterial pathogens was discovered. Classically, clathrin-mediated endocytosis was thought to accommodate internalization only of particles smaller than 150 nm; however, this was challenged upon the discovery that Listeria monocytogenes requires clathrin to enter eukaryotic cells. Now, with discoveries that clathrin is required during other stages of some bacterial infections, another paradigm shift is occurring. There is a more diverse impact of clathrin during infection than previously thought. Much of the recent data describing clathrin utilization in processes such as bacterial attachment, cell-to-cell spread and intracellular growth may be due to newly discovered divergent roles of clathrin in the cell. Not only does clathrin act to facilitate endocytosis from the plasma membrane, but it also participates in budding from endosomes and the Golgi apparatus and in mitosis. Here, the manipulation of clathrin processes by bacterial pathogens, including its traditional role during invasion and alternative ways in which clathrin supports bacterial infection, is discussed. Researching clathrin in the context of bacterial infections will reveal new insights that inform our understanding of host-pathogen interactions and allow researchers to fully appreciate the diverse roles of clathrin in the eukaryotic cell.

Ex vivo penetration of fosfomycin into healthy and Lawsonia intracellularis-colonized swine intestinal mucosa

Fosfomycin (FOS) is an antibiotic used, mostly in Latin America, for the treatment of lung and enteric infections of pigs. Intracellular fluids of enterocytes can act as biophase for Lawsonia intracellularis, the causative agent of porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE). The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of L. intracellularis in the enterocytes modifies FOS penetration. Eight healthy pigs in growth-finishing stage were used to produce healthy (group A) and L. intracellularis-colonized (group B) intestinal explants. For both groups, treatment consisted of a 580 μg/ml concentration of calcium FOS, which was added to each explant (0.5-6 hr). For group B, the Enterisol Ileitis^® vaccine was used as source of the micro-organism. Previously to the assay, the time necessary for L. intracellularis to colonize the enterocytes was defined. Also, a PCR protocol was optimized to determine the presence of the pathogen in the explants. There were nonstatistical differences for the penetration of the antibiotic into healthy and L. intracellularis-colonized enterocytes. MIC₉₀ of FOS for L. intracellularis is unknown; nevertheless, MIC₉₀ of various antibiotics ranges between 0.125 and 128 μg/ml. FOS reaches inside the enterocyte concentrations which surpass the MICs₉₀ of other antibiotics that also act by the inhibition of cell wall synthesis; however, further studies should be carried out to determine fosfomycin MIC₉₀ for L. intracellularis to discern the usefulness of this antibiotic in the treatment of PPE.

Loss of Actin-Based Motility Impairs Ectromelia Virus Release In Vitro but Is Not Critical to Spread In Vivo

Ectromelia virus (ECTV) is an orthopoxvirus and the causative agent of mousepox. Like other poxviruses such as variola virus (agent of smallpox), monkeypox virus and vaccinia virus (the live vaccine for smallpox), ECTV promotes actin-nucleation at the surface of infected cells during virus release. Homologs of the viral protein A36 mediate this function through phosphorylation of one or two tyrosine residues that ultimately recruit the cellular Arp2/3 actin-nucleating complex. A36 also functions in the intracellular trafficking of virus mediated by kinesin-1. Here, we describe the generation of a recombinant ECTV that is specifically disrupted in actin-based motility allowing us to examine the role of this transport step in vivo for the first time. We show that actin-based motility has a critical role in promoting the release of virus from infected cells in vitro but plays a minor role in virus spread in vivo. It is likely that loss of microtubule-dependent transport is a major factor for the attenuation observed when A36R is deleted.

Cellular Exit Strategies of Intracellular Bacteria

The coevolution of intracellular bacteria with their eukaryotic hosts has presented these pathogens with numerous challenges for their evolutionary progress and survival. Chief among these is the ability to exit from host cells, an event that is fundamentally linked to pathogen dissemination and transmission. Recent years have witnessed a major expansion of research in this area, and this chapter summarizes our current understanding of the spectrum of exit strategies that are exploited by intracellular pathogens. Clear themes regarding the mechanisms of microbial exit have emerged and are most easily conceptualized as (i) lysis of the host cell, (ii) nonlytic exit of free bacteria, and (iii) release of microorganisms into membrane-encased compartments. The adaptation of particular exit strategies is closely linked with additional themes in microbial pathogenesis, including host cell death, manipulation of host signaling pathways, and coincident activation of proinflammatory responses. This chapter will explore the molecular determinants used by intracellular pathogens to promote host cell escape and the infectious advantages each exit pathway may confer, and it will provide an evolutionary framework for the adaptation of these mechanisms.

A polar-localized iron-binding protein determines the polar targeting of Burkholderia BimA autotransporter and actin tail formation

Intracellular bacterial pathogens including Shigella, Listeria, Mycobacteria, Rickettsia and Burkholderia spp. deploy a specialized surface protein onto one pole of the bacteria to induce filamentous actin tail formation for directional movement within host cytosol. The mechanism underlying polar targeting of the actin tail proteins is unknown. Here we perform a transposon screen in Burkholderia thailandensis and identify a conserved bimC that is required for actin tail formation mediated by BimA from B. thailandensis and its closely related pathogenic species B. pseudomallei and B. mallei. bimC is located upstream of bimA in the same operon. Loss of bimC results in even distribution of BimA on the outer membrane surface, where actin polymerization still occurs. BimC is targeted to the same bacterial pole independently of BimA. BimC confers polar targeting of BimA prior to BimA translocation across bacterial inner membrane. BimC is an iron-binding protein, requiring a four-cysteine cluster at the carboxyl terminus. Mutation of the cysteine cluster disrupts BimC polar localization. Truncation analyses identify the transmembrane domain in BimA being responsible for its polar targeting. Consistently, BimC can interact with BimA transmembrane domain in an iron binding-dependent manner. Our study uncovers a new mechanism that determines the polar distribution of bacteria-induced actin tail in infected host cells.

Recent Advances in Understanding the Pathogenesis of Lawsonia intracellularis Infections

Proliferative enteropathy is an infectious disease caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium, Lawsonia intracellularis, and characterized by thickening of the intestinal epithelium due to enterocyte proliferation. The disease is endemic in swine herds and has been occasionally reported in various other species. Furthermore, outbreaks among foals began to be reported on breeding farms worldwide within the past 5 years. Cell proliferation is directly associated with bacterial infection and replication in the intestinal epithelium. As a result, mild to severe diarrhea is the major clinical sign described in infected animals. The dynamics of L. intracellularis infection in vitro and in vivo have been well characterized, but little is known about the genetic basis for the pathogenesis or ecology of this organism. The present review focuses on the recent advances regarding the pathogenesis and host-pathogen interaction of L. intracellularis infections.

Prison break: pathogens' strategies to egress from host cells

A wide spectrum of pathogenic bacteria and protozoa has adapted to an intracellular life-style, which presents several advantages, including accessibility to host cell metabolites and protection from the host immune system. Intracellular pathogens have developed strategies to enter and exit their host cells while optimizing survival and replication, progression through the life cycle, and transmission. Over the last decades, research has focused primarily on entry, while the exit process has suffered from neglect. However, pathogen exit is of fundamental importance because of its intimate association with dissemination, transmission, and inflammation. Hence, to fully understand virulence mechanisms of intracellular pathogens at cellular and systemic levels, it is essential to consider exit mechanisms to be a key step in infection. Exit from the host cell was initially viewed as a passive process, driven mainly by physical stress as a consequence of the explosive replication of the pathogen. It is now recognized as a complex, strategic process termed "egress," which is just as well orchestrated and temporally defined as entry into the host and relies on a dynamic interplay between host and pathogen factors. This review compares egress strategies of bacteria, pathogenic yeast, and kinetoplastid and apicomplexan parasites. Emphasis is given to recent advances in the biology of egress in mycobacteria and apicomplexans.

Actin motility: formin a SCAry tail

A new biochemical analysis has revealed that the Rickettsia bacterial protein Sca2--recently shown to be essential for virulence and actin-dependent motility--assembles actin filaments using a mechanism that functionally resembles the processive elongation tactics used by formins.

Exit of intracellular Porphyromonas gingivalis from gingival epithelial cells is mediated by endocytic recycling pathway

Gingival epithelial cells function as an innate host defence system to prevent intrusion by periodontal bacteria. Nevertheless, Porphyromonas gingivalis, the most well-known periodontal pathogen, can enter gingival epithelial cells and pass through the epithelial barrier into deeper tissues. However, it is poorly understood how this pathogen exits from infected cells for further transcellular spreading. The present study was performed to elucidate the cellular machinery exploited by P. gingivalis to exit from immortalized human gingival epithelial cells. P. gingivalis was shown to be internalized with early endosomes positive for the FYVE domain of EEA1 and transferrin receptor, and about half of the intracellular bacteria were then sorted to lytic compartments, including autolysosomes and late endosomes/lysosomes, while a considerable number of the remaining organisms were sorted to Rab11- and RalA-positive recycling endosomes. Inhibition experiments revealed that bacterial exit was dependent on actin polymerization, lipid rafts and microtubule assembly. Dominant negative forms and RNAi knockdown of Rab11, RalA and exocyst complex subunits (Sec5, Sec6 and Exo84) significantly disturbed the exit of P. gingivalis. These results strongly suggest that the recycling pathway is exploited by intracellular P. gingivalis to exit from infected cells to neighbouring cells as a mechanism of cell-to-cell spreading.

Disruption of the Rickettsia rickettsii Sca2 autotransporter inhibits actin-based motility

Rickettsii rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, replicates within the cytosol of infected cells and uses actin-based motility to spread inter- and intracellularly. Although the ultrastructure of the actin tail and host proteins associated with it are distinct from those of Listeria or Shigella, comparatively little is known regarding the rickettsial proteins involved in its organization. Here, we have used random transposon mutagenesis of R. rickettsii to generate a small-plaque mutant that is defective in actin-based motility and does not spread directly from cell to cell as is characteristic of spotted fever group rickettsiae. The transposon insertion site of this mutant strain was within Sca2, a member of a family of large autotransporter proteins. Sca2 exhibits several features suggestive of its apparent role in actin-based motility. It displays an N-terminal secretory signal peptide, a C-terminal predicted autotransporter domain, up to four predicted Wasp homology 2 (WH2) domains, and two proline-rich domains, one with similarity to eukaryotic formins. In a guinea pig model of infection, the Sca2 mutant did not elicit fever, suggesting that Sca2 and actin-based motility are virulence factors of spotted fever group rickettsiae.

Advances in rickettsia pathogenicity

One century after the first description of rickettsiae as human pathogens, the rickettsiosis remained poorly understood diseases. These microorganisms are indeed characterized by a strictly intracellular location which has, for long, prohibited their detailed study. Within the last ten years, the completion of the genome sequences of several strains allowed gaining a better knowledge about the molecular mechanisms involved in rickettsia pathogenicity. Here, we summarized available data concerning the critical steps of rickettsia-host cell interactions that should contribute to tissue injury and diseases, that is, adhesion, phagosomal escape, motility, and intracellular survival of the bacteria.

Infection by tubercular mycobacteria is spread by nonlytic ejection from their amoeba hosts

To generate efficient vaccines and cures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, we need a far better understanding of its modes of infection, persistence, and spreading. Host cell entry and the establishment of a replication niche are well understood, but little is known about how tubercular mycobacteria exit host cells and disseminate the infection. Using the social amoeba Dictyostelium as a genetically tractable host for pathogenic mycobacteria, we discovered that M. tuberculosis and M. marinum, but not M. avium, are ejected from the cell through an actin-based structure, the ejectosome. This conserved nonlytic spreading mechanism requires a cytoskeleton regulator from the host and an intact mycobacterial ESX-1 secretion system. This insight offers new directions for research into the spreading of tubercular mycobacteria infections in mammalian cells.

Lessons from nature: "Pathogen-Mimetic" systems for mucosal nano-medicines

Mucosal surfaces establish an interface with external environments that provide a protective barrier with the capacity to selectively absorb and secrete materials important for homeostasis of the organism. In man, mucosal surfaces such as those in the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tree and genitourinary system also represent significant barrier to the successful administration of certain pharmaceutical agents and the delivery of newly designed nano-scale therapeutic systems. This review examines morphological, physiological and biochemical aspects of these mucosal barriers and presents currently understood mechanisms used by a variety of virulence factors used by pathogenic bacteria to overcome various aspects of these mucosal barriers. Such information emphasizes the impediments that biologically active materials must overcome for absorption across these mucosal surfaces and provides a template for strategies to overcome these barriers for the successful delivery of nano-scale bioactive materials, also known as nano-medicines.

RickA expression is not sufficient to promote actin-based motility of Rickettsia raoultii

Background

Rickettsia raoultii is a novel Rickettsia species recently isolated from Dermacentor ticks and classified within the spotted fever group (SFG). The inability of R. raoultii to spread within L929 cells suggests that this bacterium is unable to polymerize host cell actin, a property exhibited by all SFG rickettsiae except R. peacocki. This result led us to investigate if RickA, the protein thought to generate actin nucleation, was expressed within this rickettsia species.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Amplification and sequencing of R. raoultii rickA showed that this gene encoded a putative 565 amino acid protein highly homologous to those found in other rickettsiae. Using immunofluorescence assays, we determined that the motility pattern (i.e. microcolonies or cell-to-cell spreading) of R. raoultii was different depending on the host cell line in which the bacteria replicated. In contrast, under the same experimental conditions, R. conorii shares the same phenotype both in L929 and in Vero cells. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of infected cells showed that non-motile bacteria were free in the cytosol instead of enclosed in a vacuole. Moreover, western-blot analysis demonstrated that the defect of R. raoultii actin-based motility within L929 cells was not related to lower expression of RickA.

Conclusion/Significance

These results, together with previously published data about R. typhi, strongly suggest that another factor, apart from RickA, may be involved with be responsible for actin-based motility in bacteria from the Rickettsia genus.

Critical contact residues that mediate polymerization of nematode major sperm protein

The polymerization of protein filaments provides the motive force in a variety of cellular processes involving cell motility and intracellular transport. Regulated assembly and disassembly of the major sperm protein (MSP) underlies amoeboid movement in nematode sperm, and offers an attractive model system for characterizing the biomechanical properties of filament formation and force generation. To that end, structure-function studies of MSP from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans have been performed. Recombinant MSP was purified from Escherichia coli using a novel affinity chromatography technique, and filament assembly was assessed by in vitro polymerization in the presence of polyethylene glycol. Prior molecular studies and structure from X-ray crystallography have implicated specific residues in protein-protein interactions necessary for filament assembly. Purified MSP containing substitutions in these residues fails to form filaments in vitro. Short peptides based on predicted sites of interaction also effectively disrupt MSP polymerization. These results confirm the structural determination of intermolecular contacts and demonstrate the importance of these residues in MSP assembly.

Burkholderia pseudomallei type III secretion system mutants exhibit delayed vacuolar escape phenotypes in RAW 264.7 murine macrophages

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a facultative intracellular pathogen capable of surviving and replicating within eukaryotic cells. Recent studies have shown that B. pseudomallei Bsa type III secretion system 3 (T3SS-3) mutants exhibit vacuolar escape and replication defects in J774.2 murine macrophages. In the present study, we characterized the interactions of a B. pseudomallei bsaZ mutant with RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. Following uptake, the mutant was found to survive and replicate within infected RAW 264.7 cells over an 18-h period. In addition, high levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and RANTES, but not IL-1alpha and IL-1beta, were detected in culture supernatants harvested from infected monolayers. The subcellular location of B. pseudomallei within infected RAW 264.7 cells was determined, and as expected, the bsaZ mutant demonstrated early-vacuolar-escape defects. Interestingly, however, experiments also indicated that this mutant was capable of delayed vacuolar escape. Consistent with this finding, evidence of actin-based motility and multinucleated giant cell formation were observed between 12 and 18 h postinfection. Further studies demonstrated that a triple mutant defective in all three B. pseudomallei T3SSs exhibited the same phenotype as the bsaZ mutant, indicating that functional T3SS-1 and T3SS-2 did not appear to be responsible for the delayed escape phenotype in RAW 264.7 cells. Based upon these findings, it appears that B. pseudomallei may not require T3SS-1, -2, and -3 to facilitate survival, delayed vacuolar escape, and actin-based motility in activated RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Diverse roles of actin in C. elegans early embryogenesis

Background

The actin cytoskeleton plays critical roles in early development in Caenorhabditis elegans. To further understand the complex roles of actin in early embryogenesis we use RNAi and in vivo imaging of filamentous actin (F-actin) dynamics.

Results

Using RNAi, we found processes that are differentially sensitive to levels of actin during early embryogenesis. Mild actin depletion shows defects in cortical ruffling, pseudocleavage, and establishment of polarity, while more severe depletion shows defects in polar body extrusion, cytokinesis, chromosome segregation, and eventually, egg production. These defects indicate that actin is required for proper oocyte development, fertilization, and a wide range of important events during early embryogenesis, including proper chromosome segregation. In vivo visualization of the cortical actin cytoskeleton shows dynamics that parallel but are distinct from the previously described myosin dynamics. Two distinct types of actin organization are observed at the cortex. During asymmetric polarization to the anterior, or the establishment phase (Phase I), actin forms a meshwork of microfilaments and focal accumulations throughout the cortex, while during the anterior maintenance phase (Phase II) it undergoes a morphological transition to asymmetrically localized puncta. The proper asymmetric redistribution is dependent on the PAR proteins, while both asymmetric redistribution and morphological transitions are dependent upon PFN-1 and NMY-2. Just before cytokinesis, actin disappears from most of the cortex and is only found around the presumptive cytokinetic furrow. Finally, we describe dynamic actin-enriched comets in the early embryo.

Conclusion

During early C. elegans embryogenesis actin plays more roles and its organization is more dynamic than previously described. Morphological transitions of F-actin, from meshwork to puncta, as well as asymmetric redistribution, are regulated by the PAR proteins. Results from this study indicate new insights into the cellular and developmental roles of the actin cytoskeleton.

Differential regulation of caspase-1 activation, pyroptosis, and autophagy via Ipaf and ASC in Shigella-infected macrophages

Shigella infection, the cause of bacillary dysentery, induces caspase-1 activation and cell death in macrophages, but the precise mechanisms of this activation remain poorly understood. We demonstrate here that caspase-1 activation and IL-1β processing induced by Shigella are mediated through Ipaf, a cytosolic pattern-recognition receptor of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) family, and the adaptor protein apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a C-terminal caspase recruitment domain (ASC). We also show that Ipaf was critical for pyroptosis, a specialized form of caspase-1-dependent cell death induced in macrophages by bacterial infection, whereas ASC was dispensable. Unlike that observed in Salmonella and Legionella, caspase-1 activation induced by Shigella infection was independent of flagellin. Notably, infection of macrophages with Shigella induced autophagy, which was dramatically increased by the absence of caspase-1 or Ipaf, but not ASC. Autophagy induced by Shigella required an intact bacterial type III secretion system but not VirG protein, a bacterial factor required for autophagy in epithelial-infected cells. Treatment of macrophages with 3-methyladenine, an inhibitor of autophagy, enhanced pyroptosis induced by Shigella infection, suggesting that autophagy protects infected macrophages from pyroptosis. Thus, Ipaf plays a critical role in caspase-1 activation induced by Shigella independently of flagellin. Furthermore, the absence of Ipaf or caspase-1, but not ASC, regulates pyroptosis and the induction of autophagy in Shigella-infected macrophages, providing a novel function for NLR proteins in bacterial–host interactions.

Shigella are bacterial pathogens that are the cause of bacillary dysentery known as shigellosis. A crucial aspect of the propensity of Shigella to cause diseases lies in its ability to invade the cytoplasm of epithelial cells as well as macrophages. The bacterial invasion of macrophages induces pyroptosis, the proinflammatory cell death associated with caspase-1 activation. Activated caspase-1 then cleaves and activates prointerleukin (proIL)-1β and proIL-18, which are proinflammatory cytokines involved in host inflammatory responses. However, the precise mechanisms of caspase-1 activation induced by Shigella infection remain poorly understood. Ipaf, a cytosolic pattern-recognition receptor of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) family, is a crucial host factor that activates caspase-1 through the sensing of flagellin produced by some bacteria, such as Salmonella or Legionella. We discovered that Ipaf and the adaptor protein ASC are required for caspase-1 activation induced by non-flagellated Shigella infection. Thus, Ipaf and ASC mediate caspase-1 activation by sensing an unknown bacterial factor, but not flagellin. Autophagy, a cellular system for eliminating intracellular pathogens, was dramatically enhanced in Shigella-infected macrophages by the absence of caspase-1 or Ipaf, but not ASC. The inhibition of autophagy promoted Shigella-induced cell death, suggesting that autophagy protects infected macrophages from pyroptosis. This study provides evidence that in Shigella-infected macrophages, autophagy is inhibited by Ipaf and caspase-1, but positively regulated by ASC, providing a novel function for NLR proteins in bacterial–host interactions.

Type VI secretion is a major virulence determinant in Burkholderia mallei

Burkholderia mallei is a host-adapted pathogen and a category B biothreat agent. Although the B. mallei VirAG two-component regulatory system is required for virulence in hamsters, the virulence genes it regulates are unknown. Here we show with expression profiling that overexpression of virAG resulted in transcriptional activation of approximately 60 genes, including some involved in capsule production, actin-based intracellular motility, and type VI secretion (T6S). The 15 genes encoding the major sugar component of the homopolymeric capsule were up-expressed > 2.5-fold, but capsule was still produced in the absence of virAG. Actin tail formation required virAG as well as bimB, bimC and bimE, three previously uncharacterized genes that were activated four- to 15-fold when VirAG was overproduced. Surprisingly, actin polymerization was found to be dispensable for virulence in hamsters. In contrast, genes encoding a T6S system were up-expressed as much as 30-fold and mutations in this T6S gene cluster resulted in strains that were avirulent in hamsters. SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry demonstrated that BMAA0742 was secreted by the T6S system when virAG was overexpressed. Purified His-tagged BMAA0742 was recognized by glanders antiserum from a horse, a human and mice, indicating that this Hcp-family protein is produced in vivo during infection.

Cell-to-cell spread and massive vacuole formation after Cryptococcus neoformans infection of murine macrophages

Background

The interaction between macrophages and Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) is critical for containing dissemination of this pathogenic yeast. However, Cn can either lyse macrophages or escape from within them through a process known as phagosomal extrusion. Both events result in live extracellular yeasts capable of reproducing and disseminating in the extracellular milieu. Another method of exiting the intracellular confines of cells is through host cell-to-cell transfer of the pathogen, and this commonly occurs with the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and CD4⁺ T cells and macrophages. In this report we have used time-lapse imaging to determine if this occurs with Cn.

Results

Live imaging of Cryptococcus neoformans interactions with murine macrophages revealed cell-to-cell spread of yeast cells from infected donor cells to uninfected cells. Although this phenomenon was relatively rare its occurrence documents a new capacity for this pathogen to infect adjacent cells without exiting the intracellular space. Cell-to-cell spread appeared to be an actin-dependent process. In addition, we noted that cryptococcal phagosomal extrusion was followed by the formation of massive vacuoles suggesting that intracellular residence is accompanied by long lasting damage to host cells.

Conclusion

C. neoformans can escape the intracellular confines of macrophages in an actin dependent manner by cell-to-cell transfer of the yeast leading to infection of adjacent cells. In addition, complete extrusion of internalized Cn cells can lead to the formation of a massive vacuole which may be a sign of damage to the host macrophage. These observations document new outcomes for the interaction of C. neoformans with host cells that provide precedents for cell biological effects that may contribute to the pathogenesis of cryptococcal infections.

Direct cell-to-cell spread of a pathogenic yeast

Background

Cryptococcosis, a fatal fungal infection of the central nervous system, is one of the major killers of AIDS patients and other immunocompromised hosts. The causative agent, Cryptococcus neoformans, has a remarkable ability to 'hide' and proliferate within phagocytic cells of the human immune system. This intracellular phase is thought to underlie the ability of the pathogen to remain latent for long periods of time within infected individuals.

Results

We now report that Cryptococcus is able to undergo 'lateral transfer' between phagocytes, moving directly from infected to uninfected macrophages. This novel process was observed in both C. neoformans serotypes (A and D) and occurs in both immortalised cell lines and in primary human macrophages. Lateral transfer is independent of the initial route of uptake, since both serum-opsonised and antibody-opsonised C. neoformans are able to undergo direct cell-to-cell transfer.

Conclusion

We provide the first evidence for lateral transfer of a human fungal pathogen. This rare event may occur repeatedly during latent cryptococcal infections, thereby allowing the pathogen to remain concealed from the immune system and protecting it from exposure to antifungal agents.

The RNA-binding protein HuR promotes cell migration and cell invasion by stabilizing the beta-actin mRNA in a U-rich-element-dependent manner

A high expression level of the beta-actin protein is required for important biological mechanisms, such as maintaining cell shape, growth, and motility. Although the elevated cellular level of the beta-actin protein is directly linked to the long half-life of its mRNA, the molecular mechanisms responsible for this effect are unknown. Here we show that the RNA-binding protein HuR stabilizes the beta-actin mRNA by associating with a uridine-rich element within its 3' untranslated region. Using RNA interference to knock down the expression of HuR in HeLa cells, we demonstrate that HuR plays an important role in the stabilization but not in the nuclear/cytoplasmic distribution of the beta-actin mRNA. HuR depletion in HeLa cells alters key beta-actin-based cytoskeleton functions, such as cell adhesion, migration, and invasion, and these defects correlate with a loss of the actin stress fiber network. Together our data establish that the posttranscriptional event involving HuR-mediated beta-actin mRNA stabilization could be a part of the regulatory mechanisms responsible for maintaining cell integrity, which is a prerequisite for avoiding transformation and tumor formation.