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Adams-Ward X, Chapalain A, Ginevra C, Jarraud S, Doublet P, Gilbert C. Bacterial persistence in Legionella pneumophila clinical isolates from patients with recurring legionellosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1219233. [PMID: 37600942 PMCID: PMC10434508 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1219233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial persisters are a transient subpopulation of non-growing, antibiotic-tolerant cells. There is increasing evidence that bacterial persisters play an important role in treatment failure leading to recurring infections and promoting the development of antibiotic resistance. Current research reveals that recurring legionellosis is often the result of relapse rather than reinfection and suggests that the mechanism of bacterial persistence may play a role. The development of single-cell techniques such as the Timerbac system allows us to identify potential persister cells and investigate their physiology. Here, we tested the persister forming capacity of 7 pairs of Legionella pneumophila (Lp) clinical isolates, with isolate pairs corresponding to two episodes of legionellosis in the same patient. We distinguished non-growing subpopulations from their replicating counterparts during infection in an amoeba model. Imaging flow cytometry allowed us to identify single non-growing bacteria within amoeba cells 17 h post-infection, thus corresponding to this subpopulation of potential persister cells. Interestingly the magnitude of this subpopulation varies between the 7 pairs of Lp clinical isolates. Biphasic killing kinetics using ofloxacin stress confirmed the persister development capacity of ST1 clinical isolates, highlighting enhanced persister formation during the host cell infection. Thus, persister formation appears to be strain or ST (sequence type) dependent. Genome sequence analysis was carried out between ST1 clinical isolates and ST1 Paris. No genetic microevolution (SNP) linked to possible increase of persistence capacity was revealed among all the clones tested, even in clones issued from two persistence cycle experiments, confirming the transient reversible phenotypic status of persistence. Treatment failure in legionellosis is a serious issue as infections have a 5-10% mortality rate, and investigations into persistence in a clinical context and the mechanisms involved may allow us to combat this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xanthe Adams-Ward
- Centre International De Recherche En Infectiologie (CIRI), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U1111, École normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, Université De Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Annelise Chapalain
- Centre International De Recherche En Infectiologie (CIRI), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U1111, École normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, Université De Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Christophe Ginevra
- Centre International De Recherche En Infectiologie (CIRI), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U1111, École normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, Université De Lyon, Lyon, France
- Hospices Civils De Lyon, Institut Des Agents Infectieux, Centre National De Référence Des Légionelles, Lyon, France
| | - Sophie Jarraud
- Centre International De Recherche En Infectiologie (CIRI), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U1111, École normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, Université De Lyon, Lyon, France
- Hospices Civils De Lyon, Institut Des Agents Infectieux, Centre National De Référence Des Légionelles, Lyon, France
| | - Patricia Doublet
- Centre International De Recherche En Infectiologie (CIRI), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U1111, École normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, Université De Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Christophe Gilbert
- Centre International De Recherche En Infectiologie (CIRI), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U1111, École normale supérieure (ENS) Lyon, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, Université De Lyon, Lyon, France
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Xiong L, Xia M, Wang Q, Meng Z, Zhang J, Yu G, Dong Z, Lu Y, Sun Y. DNA aptamers specific for Legionella pneumophila: systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment in whole bacterial cells. Biotechnol Lett 2022; 44:777-786. [PMID: 35416565 DOI: 10.1007/s10529-022-03252-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Legionella pneumophila is the major causative agent of Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever, which pose major public health problems. Rapid detection of L. pneumophila is important for global control of these diseases. Aptamers, short oligonucleotides that bind to targets with high affinity and specificity, have great potential for use in pathogenic bacterium detection, diagnostics, and therapy. Here, we used a whole-cell SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) method to isolate and characterize single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) aptamers against L. pneumophila. A total of 60 ssDNA sequences were identified after 17 rounds of selection. Other bacterial species (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas syringae, Staphylococcus aureus, Legionella quateirensis, and Legionella adelaidensis) were used for counterselection to enhance the specificity of ssDNA aptamers against L. pneumophila. Four ssDNA aptamers showed strong affinity and high selectivity for L. pneumophila, with Kd values in the nanomolar range. Bioinformatic analysis of the most specific aptamers revealed predicted conserved secondary structures that might bind to L. pneumophila cell walls. In addition, the binding of these four fluorescently labeled aptamers to the surface of L. pneumophila was observed directly by fluorescence microscopy. These aptamers identified in this study could be used in the future to develop medical diagnostic tools and public environmental detection assays for L. pneumophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Xiong
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mingchen Xia
- Guangzhou Saite Testing Co., LTD, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qinglin Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhen Meng
- Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China.,College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China.,College of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guohui Yu
- Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China.,College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhangyong Dong
- Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China.,College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yongjun Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yunhao Sun
- Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China. .,College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, No. 24, Dongsha Street, Guangzhou, China.
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Christensen LM, Sule P, Cirillo SLG, Strain M, Plumlee Q, Adams LG, Cirillo JD. Legionnaires' Disease Mortality in Guinea Pigs Involves the p45 Mobile Genomic Element. J Infect Dis 2020; 220:1700-1710. [PMID: 31268152 PMCID: PMC6782102 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiz340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Legionella can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia that occurs as sporadic epidemics. Not all strains display the same propensity to cause disease in humans. Because Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 is responsible for >85% of infections, the majority of studies have examined this serogroup, but there are 3 commonly used laboratory strains: L pneumophila serogroup 1 Philadelphia (Phil-1)-derived strains JR32 and Lp01 and 130b-derived strain AA100. Methods We evaluated the ability of Phil-1, JR32, Lp01, and AA100 to cause disease in guinea pigs. Results We found that, although Phil-1, JR32, and AA100 cause an acute pneumonia and death by 4 days postinfection (100%), strain Lp01 does not cause mortality (0%). We also noted that Lp01 lacks a mobile element, designated p45, whose presence correlates with virulence. Transfer of p45 into Lp01 results in recovery of the ability of this strain to cause mortality, leads to more pronounced disease, and correlates with increased interferon-γ levels in the lungs and spleens before death. Conclusions These observations suggest a mechanism of Legionnaires’ disease pathogenesis due to the presence of type IVA secretion systems that cause higher mortality due to overinduction of a proinflammatory response in the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanette M Christensen
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan
| | - Preeti Sule
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan
| | - Suat L G Cirillo
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan
| | - Madison Strain
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan
| | - Quinci Plumlee
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station
| | - L Garry Adams
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station
| | - Jeffrey D Cirillo
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan
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