Infection withCampylobacter jejuniInduces Tyrosine-Phosphorylated Proteins into INT-407 Cells

Virulence factors of foodborne pathogen Campylobacterjejuni

Campylobacter jejuni is a highly frequent cause of gastrointestinal foodborne disease in humans throughout the world. Disease outcomes vary from mild to severe diarrhea, and in rare cases the Guillain-Barré syndrome or reactive arthritis can develop as a post-infection complication. Transmission to humans usually occurs via the consumption of a range of foods, especially those associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked poultry meat, unpasteurized milk, and water-based environmental sources. When associated to food or water ingestion, the C. jejuni enters the human host intestine via the oral route and colonizes the distal ileum and colon. When it adheres and colonizes the intestinal cell surfaces, the C. jejuni is expected to express several putative virulence factors, which cause damage to the intestine either directly, by cell invasion and/or production of toxin(s), or indirectly, by triggering inflammatory responses. This review article highlights various C. jejuni characteristics - such as motility and chemotaxis - that contribute to the biological fitness of the pathogen, as well as factors involved in human host cell adhesion and invasion, and their potential role in the development of the disease. We have analyzed and critically discussed nearly 180 scientific articles covering the latest improvements in the field.

Rapid paracellular transmigration of Campylobacter jejuni across polarized epithelial cells without affecting TER: role of proteolytic-active HtrA cleaving E-cadherin but not fibronectin

Background

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most important bacterial pathogens causing food-borne illness worldwide. Crossing the intestinal epithelial barrier and host cell entry by C. jejuni is considered the primary reason of damage to the intestinal tissue, but the molecular mechanisms as well as major bacterial and host cell factors involved in this process are still widely unclear.

Results

In the present study, we characterized the serine protease HtrA (high-temperature requirement A) of C. jejuni as a secreted virulence factor with important proteolytic functions. Infection studies and in vitro cleavage assays showed that C. jejuni’s HtrA triggers shedding of the extracellular E-cadherin NTF domain (90 kDa) of non-polarised INT-407 and polarized MKN-28 epithelial cells, but fibronectin was not cleaved as seen for H. pylori’s HtrA. Deletion of the htrA gene in C. jejuni or expression of a protease-deficient S197A point mutant did not lead to loss of flagella or reduced bacterial motility, but led to severe defects in E-cadherin cleavage and transmigration of the bacteria across polarized MKN-28 cell layers. Unlike other highly invasive pathogens, transmigration across polarized cells by wild-type C. jejuni is highly efficient and is achieved within a few minutes of infection. Interestingly, E-cadherin cleavage by C. jejuni occurs in a limited fashion and transmigration required the intact flagella as well as HtrA protease activity, but does not reduce transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) as seen with Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria or Neisseria.

Conclusion

These results suggest that HtrA-mediated E-cadherin cleavage is involved in rapid crossing of the epithelial barrier by C. jejuni via a very specific mechanism using the paracellular route to reach basolateral surfaces, but does not cleave the fibronectin receptor which is necessary for cell entry.

The signaling pathway of Campylobacter jejuni-induced Cdc42 activation: Role of fibronectin, integrin beta1, tyrosine kinases and guanine exchange factor Vav2

Background

Host cell invasion by the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is considered as one of the primary reasons of gut tissue damage, however, mechanisms and key factors involved in this process are widely unclear. It was reported that small Rho GTPases, including Cdc42, are activated and play a role during invasion, but the involved signaling cascades remained unknown. Here we utilised knockout cell lines derived from fibronectin^-/-, integrin-beta1^-/-, focal adhesion kinase (FAK)^-/- and Src/Yes/Fyn^-/- deficient mice, and wild-type control cells, to investigate C. jejuni-induced mechanisms leading to Cdc42 activation and bacterial uptake.

Results

Using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, GTPase pulldowns, G-Lisa and gentamicin protection assays we found that each studied host factor is necessary for induction of Cdc42-GTP and efficient invasion. Interestingly, filopodia formation and associated membrane dynamics linked to invasion were only seen during infection of wild-type but not in knockout cells. Infection of cells stably expressing integrin-beta1 variants with well-known defects in fibronectin fibril formation or FAK signaling also exhibited severe deficiencies in Cdc42 activation and bacterial invasion. We further demonstrated that infection of wild-type cells induces increasing amounts of phosphorylated FAK and growth factor receptors (EGFR and PDGFR) during the course of infection, correlating with accumulating Cdc42-GTP levels and C. jejuni invasion over time. In studies using pharmacological inhibitors, silencing RNA (siRNA) and dominant-negative expression constructs, EGFR, PDGFR and PI3-kinase appeared to represent other crucial components upstream of Cdc42 and invasion. siRNA and the use of Vav1/2^-/- knockout cells further showed that the guanine exchange factor Vav2 is required for Cdc42 activation and maximal bacterial invasion. Overexpression of certain mutant constructs indicated that Vav2 is a linker molecule between Cdc42 and activated EGFR/PDGFR/PI3-kinase. Using C. jejuni mutant strains we further demonstrated that the fibronectin-binding protein CadF and intact flagella are involved in Cdc42-GTP induction, indicating that the bacteria may directly target the fibronectin/integrin complex for inducing signaling leading to its host cell entry.

Conclusion

Collectively, our findings led us propose that C. jejuni infection triggers a novel fibronectin→integrin-beta1→FAK/Src→EGFR/PDGFR→PI3-kinase→Vav2 signaling cascade, which plays a crucial role for Cdc42 GTPase activity associated with filopodia formation and enhances bacterial invasion.

Major host factors involved in epithelial cell invasion of Campylobacter jejuni: role of fibronectin, integrin beta1, FAK, Tiam-1, and DOCK180 in activating Rho GTPase Rac1

Host cell entry by the food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni has been reported as one of the primary reasons of tissue damage in infected humans, however, molecular invasion mechanisms and cellular factors involved in this process are widely unclear. Here we used knockout cell lines derived from fibronectin^−/−, integrin beta1^−/−, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK)^−/− deficient mice and corresponding wild-type (WT) controls, to study C. jejuni-induced signaling cascades involved in the bacterial invasion process. Using high resolution scanning electron microscopy, GTPase pull-downs, G-LISA, and gentamicin protection assays we found that each of these host cell factors is indeed required for activation of the small Rho GTPase member Rac1 and maximal host cell invasion of this pathogen. Interestingly, membrane ruffling, tight engulfment of bacteria and invasion were only seen during infection of WT control cells, but not in fibronectin^−/−, integrin beta1^−/−, and FAK^−/− knockout cell lines. We also demonstrate that C. jejuni activates FAK autophosphorylation activity at Y-397 and phosphorylation of Y-925, which is required for stimulating two downstream guanine exchange factors, DOCK180 and Tiam-1, which are upstream of Rac1. Small interfering (si) RNA studies further show that DOCK180 and Tiam-1 act cooperatively to trigger Rac1 activation and C. jejuni invasion. Moreover, mutagenesis data indicate that the bacterial fibronectin-binding protein CadF and the intact flagellum are involved in Rho GTPase activation and host cell invasion. Collectively, our results suggest that C. jejuni infection of host epithelial target cells hijacks a major fibronectin → integrin beta1 → FAK → DOCK180/Tiam-1 signaling cascade, which has a crucial role for Rac1 GTPase activity and bacterial entry into host target cells.

Hijacking the endocytic machinery by microbial pathogens

Understanding the mechanisms that microbes exploit to invade host cells and cause disease is crucial if we are to eliminate their threat. Although pathogens use a variety of microbial factors to trigger entry into non-phagocytic cells, their targeting of the host cell process of endocytosis has emerged as a common theme. To accomplish this, microbes often rewire the normal course of particle internalization, frequently usurping theoretical maximal sizes to permit entry and reconfiguring molecular components that were once thought to be required for vesicle formation. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of how toxins, viruses, bacteria, and fungi manipulate the host cell endocytic machinery to generate diseases. Additionally, we will reveal the advantages of using these organisms to expand our general knowledge of endocytic mechanisms in eukaryotic cells.

Molecular mechanisms of campylobacter infection

Campylobacter jejuni is the principal bacterial foodborne pathogen. A major challenge still is to identify the virulence strategies exploited by C. jejuni. Recent genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics approaches indicate that C. jejuni displays extensive inter- and intrastrain variation. The diverse behavior enables bacterial adaptation to different environmental conditions and directs interactions with the gut mucosa. Here, we report recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of the phenotype diversity. The results suggest that C. jejuni actively penetrates the intestinal mucus layer, secretes proteins mainly via its flagellar apparatus, is engulfed by intestinal cells, and can disrupt the integrity of the epithelial lining. C. jejuni stimulates the proinflammatory pathway and the production of a large repertoire of cytokines, chemokines, and innate effector molecules. Novel experimental infection models suggest that the activation of the innate immune response is important for the development of intestinal pathology.

Characterization of the invasive and inflammatory traits of oral Campylobacter rectus in a murine model of fetoplacental growth restriction and in trophoblast cultures

Campylobacter species (C. jejuni, C. fetus) are enteric abortifacient bacteria in humans and ungulates. Campylobacter rectus is a periodontal pathogen associated with human fetal exposure and adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm delivery. Experiments in pregnant mice have demonstrated that C. rectus can translocate from a distant site of infection to the placenta to induce fetal growth restriction and impair placental development. However, placental tissues from human, small-for-gestational age deliveries have not been reported to harbor C. rectus despite evidence of maternal infection and fetal exposure by fetal IgM response. This investigation examined the temporal relationship between the placental translocation of C. rectus and the effects on fetal growth in mice. BALB/c mice were infected at gestational day E7.5 to examine placental translocation of C. rectus by immunohistology. C. rectus significantly decreased fetoplacental weight at E14.5 and at E16.5. C. rectus was detected in 63% of placentas at E14.5, but not at E16.5. In in vitro trophoblast invasion assays, C. rectus was able to effectively invade human trophoblasts (BeWo) but not murine trophoblasts (SM9-1), and showed a trend for more invasiveness than C. jejuni. C. rectus challenge significantly upregulated both mRNA and protein levels of IL-6 and TNFalpha in a dose-dependent manner in human trophoblasts, but did not increase cytokine expression in murine cells, suggesting a correlation between invasion and cytokine activation. In conclusion, the trophoblast-invasive trait of C. rectus that appears limited to human trophoblasts may play a role in facilitating bacterial translocation and placental inflammation during early gestation.

Butyrate protects Caco-2 cells from Campylobacter jejuni invasion and translocation

Invasion in and translocation across enterocytes are major events during Campylobacter jejuni-induced enteritis in humans. C. jejuni in vitro infection of cell monolayers typically results in loss of tight junction integrity, which could contribute to translocation. In the present study, we wanted to investigate whether butyrate is able to confer protection to Caco-2 cells against C. jejuni invasion, thus reducing paracellular permeability and limiting C. jejuni translocation. Protection of Caco-2 cells against C. jejuni invasion was assessed using a gentamicin protection assay. Transwell systems were used to investigate the impact of butyrate on translocation of C. jejuni across a Caco-2 monolayer and its effect on transepithelial resistance during infection. Butyrate protected Caco-2 cells against C. jejuni invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. Differentiated Caco-2 cells were less susceptible to C. jejuni invasion than 3-d-old undifferentiated cells and higher concentrations of butyrate and longer incubation times were needed to become refractive for invasion. C. jejuni translocation over Caco-2 monolayers was reduced when monolayers were treated with butyrate and this was accompanied by an enhanced drop in transepithelial resistance. The present study showed that butyrate is able to protect Caco-2 cells from two major virulence mechanisms of C. jejuni, namely invasion and translocation, but not from a decline in transepithelial resistance.

Conserved residues in the HAMP domain define a new family of proposed bipartite energy taxis receptors

HAMP domains, found in many bacterial signal transduction proteins, generally transmit an intramolecular signal between an extracellular sensory domain and an intracellular signaling domain. Studies of HAMP domains in proteins where both the input and output signals occur intracellularly are limited to those of the Aer energy taxis receptor of Escherichia coli, which has both a HAMP domain and a sensory PAS domain. Campylobacter jejuni has an energy taxis system consisting of the domains of Aer divided between two proteins, CetA (HAMP domain containing) and CetB (PAS domain containing). In this study, we found that the CetA HAMP domain differs significantly from that of Aer in the predicted secondary structure. Using similarity searches, we identified 55 pairs of HAMP/PAS proteins encoded by adjacent genes in a diverse group of microorganisms. We propose that these HAMP/PAS pairs form a new family of bipartite energy taxis receptors. Within these proteins, we identified nine residues in the HAMP domain and proximal signaling domain that are highly conserved, at least three of which are required for CetA function. Additionally, we demonstrated that CetA contributes to the invasion of human epithelial cells by C. jejuni, while CetB does not. This finding supports the hypothesis that members of HAMP/PAS pairs possess the capacity to act independently of each other in cellular traits other than energy taxis.

Campylobacter jejuni survives within epithelial cells by avoiding delivery to lysosomes

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the major causes of infectious diarrhea world-wide, although relatively little is know about its mechanisms of pathogenicity. This bacterium can gain entry into intestinal epithelial cells, which is thought to be important for its ability to persistently infect and cause disease. We found that C. jejuni is able to survive within intestinal epithelial cells. However, recovery of intracellular bacteria required pre-culturing under oxygen-limiting conditions, suggesting that C. jejuni undergoes significant physiological changes within the intracellular environment. We also found that in epithelial cells the C. jejuni–containing vacuole deviates from the canonical endocytic pathway immediately after a unique caveolae-dependent entry pathway, thus avoiding delivery into lysosomes. In contrast, in macrophages, C. jejuni is delivered to lysosomes and consequently is rapidly killed. Taken together, these studies indicate that C. jejuni has evolved specific adaptations to survive within host cells.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of food-borne illness in the United States and a major cause of diarrheal disease throughout the world. After infection through the oral route, this bacterium invades the cells of the intestinal epithelium, a property that is important for its ability to cause disease. Usually, bacteria and other material entering the cell move to compartments called lysosomes, where an acidic mix of enzymes breaks it down. This study shows that C. jejuni can survive within intestinal epithelial cells by avoiding delivery to lysosomes. In contrast, in macrophages, which are specialized cells with the capacity to engulf and kill bacteria, C. jejuni cannot avoid delivery into lysosomes and consequently is rapidly killed. These studies help explain an important virulence attribute of C. jejuni.

Lack of response of INT-407 cells to the presence of non-culturable Campylobacter jejuni

Many contradictory articles on the infectivity of non-culturable Campylobacter jejuni can be found. We studied the effect of non-culturable C. jejuni in an in vitro assay. To prevent the potential effect of a few culturable bacteria in the non-culturable suspension, INT-407 cells, which mimic the outer cell layer in the small intestines, were exposed to culturable C. jejuni suspensions with or without non-culturable C. jejuni. The number of bacteria adhering to and/or invading INT-407 cells and the IL-8 secretion were measured. No differences were found between bacterial suspensions with or without non-culturable C. jejuni added. These findings show that non-culturable C. jejuni do not adhere to or invade INT-407 cells and do not induce an immune response. As previous studies showed a correlation between the used in vitro assays and the effect in vivo, our study strongly suggests that culturability is a good indicator of the risk for C. jejuni infection.

Role of the small Rho GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 in host cell invasion of Campylobacter jejuni

Host cell invasion of the food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is one of the primary reasons of tissue damage in humans but molecular mechanisms are widely unclear. Here, we show that C. jejuni triggers membrane ruffling in the eukaryotic cell followed by invasion in a very specific manner first with its tip followed by the flagellar end. To pinpoint important signalling events involved in the C. jejuni invasion process, we examined the role of small Rho family GTPases. Using specific GTPase-modifying toxins, inhibitors and GTPase expression constructs we show that Rac1 and Cdc42, but not RhoA, are involved in C. jejuni invasion. In agreement with these observations, we found that internalization of C. jejuni is accompanied by a time-dependent activation of both Rac1 and Cdc42. Finally, we show that the activation of these GTPases involves different host cell kinases and the bacterial fibronectin-binding protein CadF. Thus, CadF is a bifunctional protein which triggers bacterial binding to host cells as well as signalling leading to GTPase activation. Collectively, our results suggest that C. jejuni invade host target cells by a unique mechanism and the activation of the Rho GTPase members Rac1 and Cdc42 plays a crucial role in this entry process.

Signal transduction events involved in human epithelial cell invasion by Campylobacter jejuni 81-176

Analyses of invasive enteric bacteria (e.g. Shigella, Salmonella, Listeria, and Campylobacter) have shown that these pathogens initiate orchestrated signal transduction cascades in host cells leading to host cytoskeletal rearrangements that result in bacterial uptake. This current study was specifically aimed at examining the involvement of host membrane caveolae and certain protein kinases in epithelial cell invasion by C. jejuni strain 81-176, for which we have previously characterized the kinetics of entry and a unique microtubule-dependent mechanism of internalization. Utilizing in vitro cultured cell invasion assays with a gentamicin-kill step, disruption of membrane caveolae by pretreatment of INT407 cell monolayers with filipin III reduced C. jejuni 81-176 entry by >95%. Strain 81-176 uptake into INT407 cells was markedly inhibited by monolayer pretreatment with the protein kinase inhibitors genistein and staurosporine, or specific inhibitors of PI 3-kinase, wortmannin and LY294002. Western blot analysis using monoclonal anti-protein tyrosine phosphorylation antibody revealed distinctive changes during invasion in phosphorylation of at least nine proteins. Further inhibitor studies indicated that heterotrimeric G proteins, plus ERK and p38 MAP kinase activation are also involved in C. jejuni 81-176 invasion. These results suggest that C. jejuni 81-176 interact at host cell surface membrane caveolae with G protein-coupled receptors, which presumably trigger G-proteins and kinases to activate host proteins including PI 3-kinase and MAP kinases, that appear to be intimately involved in the events controlling 81-176 internalization.

In vitro cell culture methods for investigating Campylobacter invasion mechanisms

Studying the mechanisms of Campylobacter pathogenesis is complicated by the lack of simple animal models that mimic the disease seen in humans. In vitro cell culture methods provide a useful alternative to investigate the interactions between Campylobacter and the host epithelium that occur during infection. In the genomics era there is an increasing use of in vitro cell culture techniques to interrogate the potential role of different genes in pathogenesis. The aim of this review was to discuss the suitability and limitations of the various experimental approaches that might be adopted. We review current knowledge concerning the influence of cell-specific as well as bacterial factors required for Campylobacter invasion such as flagella and secreted proteins. The involvement and effects of phase variation on the results of invasion studies in cell culture emphasise the need to verify observed strain variations. We present the use of a mathematical Invasion Success Model to analyse Campylobacter invasion and show that it can be used to derive three strain dependent characteristics Imax, k, and I0. Even by combining data from independent experiments the Invasion Success Model can be used to statistically compare Campylobacter strains for their invasion of epithelial cells. Recommendations are given for the adoption of standard assay parameters and analytical methods such as the Invasion Success Model in order to facilitate comparison of data generated in different laboratories.