1
|
Gwin CM, Gupta KR, Lu Y, Shao L, Rego EH. Spatial segregation and aging of metabolic processes underlie phenotypic heterogeneity in mycobacteria. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.01.569614. [PMID: 38076906 PMCID: PMC10705497 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.01.569614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Individual cells within clonal populations of mycobacteria vary in size, growth rate, and antibiotic susceptibility. Heterogeneity is, in part, determined by LamA, a protein found exclusively in mycobacteria. LamA localizes to sites of new cell wall synthesis where it recruits proteins important for polar growth and establishing asymmetry. Here, we report that in addition to this function, LamA interacts with complexes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) at a subcellular location distinct from cell wall synthesis. Importantly, heterogeneity depends on a unique extension of the mycobacterial ATP synthase, and LamA mediates the coupling between ATP production and cell growth in single cells. Strikingly, as single cells age, concentrations of proteins important for oxidative phosphorylation become less abundant, and older cells rely less on oxidative phosphorylation for growth. Together, our data reveal that central metabolism is spatially organized within a single mycobacterium and varies within a genetically identical population of mycobacteria. Designing therapeutic regimens to account for this heterogeneity may help to treat mycobacterial infections faster and more completely.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Celena M. Gwin
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - Kuldeepkumar R. Gupta
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - Yao Lu
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - Lin Shao
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - E. Hesper Rego
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Preexisting Heterogeneity of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression Drives Differential Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Macrophages. mBio 2022; 13:e0225122. [PMID: 36121153 PMCID: PMC9600446 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02251-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is initiated by the inhalation and implantation of bacteria in the lung alveoli, where they are phagocytosed by macrophages. Even a single bacterium may be sufficient to initiate infection. Thereafter, the clinical outcome is highly variable between individuals, ranging from sterilization to active disease, for reasons that are not well understood. Here, we show that the rate of intracellular bacterial growth varies markedly between individual macrophages, and this heterogeneity is driven by cell-to-cell variation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity. At the single-cell level, iNOS expression fluctuates over time, independent of infection or activation with gamma interferon. We conclude that chance encounters between individual bacteria and host cells randomly expressing different levels of an antibacterial gene can determine the outcome of single-cell infections, which may explain why some exposed individuals clear the bacteria while others develop progressive disease. IMPORTANCE In this report, we demonstrate that fluctuations in the expression of antimicrobial genes can define how single host cells control bacterial infections. We show that preexisting cell-to-cell variation in the expression of a single gene, that for inducible nitric oxide synthase, is sufficient to explain why some macrophages kill intracellular M. tuberculosis while others fail to control bacterial replication, possibly leading to disease progression. We introduce the concept that chance encounters between heterogeneous bacteria and host cells can determine the outcome of a host-pathogen interaction. This concept is particularly relevant for all the infectious diseases in which the number of interacting pathogens and host cells is small at some point during the infection.
Collapse
|
3
|
Seth A, Mittal E, Luan J, Kolla S, Mazer MB, Joshi H, Gupta R, Rathi P, Wang Z, Morrissey JJ, Ernst JD, Portal-Celhay C, Morley SC, Philips JA, Singamaneni S. High-resolution imaging of protein secretion at the single-cell level using plasmon-enhanced FluoroDOT assay. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100267. [PMID: 36046626 PMCID: PMC9421537 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Secreted proteins mediate essential physiological processes. With conventional assays, it is challenging to map the spatial distribution of proteins secreted by single cells, to study cell-to-cell heterogeneity in secretion, or to detect proteins of low abundance or incipient secretion. Here, we introduce the "FluoroDOT assay," which uses an ultrabright nanoparticle plasmonic-fluor that enables high-resolution imaging of protein secretion. We find that plasmonic-fluors are 16,000-fold brighter, with nearly 30-fold higher signal-to-noise compared with conventional fluorescence labels. We demonstrate high-resolution imaging of different secreted cytokines in the single-plexed and spectrally multiplexed FluoroDOT assay that revealed cellular heterogeneity in secretion of multiple proteins simultaneously. Using diverse biochemical stimuli, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, and a variety of immune cells such as macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs), and DC-T cell co-culture, we demonstrate that the assay is versatile, facile, and widely adaptable for enhancing biological understanding of spatial and temporal dynamics of single-cell secretome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anushree Seth
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Auragent Bioscience, LLC, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Ekansh Mittal
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Jingyi Luan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Samhitha Kolla
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Monty B. Mazer
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Hemant Joshi
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Division of Immunobiology, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Rohit Gupta
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Priya Rathi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Zheyu Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Jeremiah J. Morrissey
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Joel D. Ernst
- Division of Experimental Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
| | - Cynthia Portal-Celhay
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Sharon Celeste Morley
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Jennifer A. Philips
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Srikanth Singamaneni
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Molloy A, Harrison J, McGrath JS, Owen Z, Smith C, Liu X, Li X, Cox JAG. Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9112330. [PMID: 34835455 PMCID: PMC8618277 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9112330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global healthcare crisis, with an estimated 5.8 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths in 2020. TB is caused by infection with the major human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is difficult to rapidly diagnose and treat. There is an urgent need for new methods of diagnosis, sufficient in vitro models that capably mimic all physiological conditions of the infection, and high-throughput drug screening platforms. Microfluidic-based techniques provide single-cell analysis which reduces experimental time and the cost of reagents, and have been extremely useful for gaining insight into monitoring microorganisms. This review outlines the field of microfluidics and discusses the use of this novel technique so far in M. tuberculosis diagnostics, research methods, and drug discovery platforms. The practices of microfluidics have promising future applications for diagnosing and treating TB.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Molloy
- School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK; (A.M.); (J.H.)
| | - James Harrison
- School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK; (A.M.); (J.H.)
| | - John S. McGrath
- Sphere Fluidics Limited, The McClintock Building, Suite 7, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK; (J.S.M.); (Z.O.); (C.S.); (X.L.); (X.L.)
| | - Zachary Owen
- Sphere Fluidics Limited, The McClintock Building, Suite 7, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK; (J.S.M.); (Z.O.); (C.S.); (X.L.); (X.L.)
| | - Clive Smith
- Sphere Fluidics Limited, The McClintock Building, Suite 7, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK; (J.S.M.); (Z.O.); (C.S.); (X.L.); (X.L.)
| | - Xin Liu
- Sphere Fluidics Limited, The McClintock Building, Suite 7, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK; (J.S.M.); (Z.O.); (C.S.); (X.L.); (X.L.)
| | - Xin Li
- Sphere Fluidics Limited, The McClintock Building, Suite 7, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK; (J.S.M.); (Z.O.); (C.S.); (X.L.); (X.L.)
| | - Jonathan A. G. Cox
- School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK; (A.M.); (J.H.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +44-121-204-5011
| |
Collapse
|