Neuraminidase production by Vibrio cholerae O1 and other diarrheagenic bacteria

Host tp53 mutation induces gut dysbiosis eliciting inflammation through disturbed sialic acid metabolism

BACKGROUND

Host tp53 mutations are frequently found during the early stages of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC), but whether such mutations induce gut microbiota dysbiosis and chronic intestinal inflammation that contributes to the development of CAC, remains unknown.

RESULTS

We found that zebrafish tp53 mutant larvae exhibited elevated intestinal inflammation, by monitoring the NFκB activity in the mid-distal intestines of zebrafish larvae using an NFκB:EGFP transgenic reporter line in vivo as well as neutrophil infiltration into the intestine. This inflammation was due to dysbiotic gut microbiota with reduced diversity, revealed using both 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and a germfree larva model. In this dysbiosis, Aeromonas spp. were aberrantly enriched as major pathobionts and exhibited the capacity for aggressive colonization in tp53 mutants. Importantly, the ex-germfree experiments supported the causality of the host tp53 mutation for inducing the inflammation. Transcriptome and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses of the host gastrointestinal tracts identified dysregulated sialic acid (SA) metabolism concomitant with increased host Neu5Gc levels as the key determinant of aberrant inflammation, which was reversed by the sialidase inhibitors oseltamivir and Philippin A.

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrate a crucial role for host tp53 in maintaining symbiosis and immune homeostasis via SA metabolism. Disturbed SA metabolism via a tp53 mutation may be exploited by specific elements of the gut microbiome, eliciting both dysbiosis and inflammation. Manipulating sialometabolism may therefore provide an efficacious therapeutic strategy for tp53 mutation-induced dysbiosis, inflammation, and ultimately, related cancers. Video Abstract.

Aeromonas salmonicida Growth in Response to Atlantic Salmon Mucins Differs between Epithelial Sites, Is Governed by Sialylated and N-Acetylhexosamine-Containing O-Glycans, and Is Affected by Ca2

Aeromonas salmonicida causes furunculosis in salmonids and is a threat to Atlantic salmon aquaculture. The epithelial surfaces that the pathogen colonizes are covered by a mucus layer predominantly comprised of secreted mucins. By using mass spectrometry to identify mucin glycan structures with and without enzymatic removal of glycan residues, coupled to measurements of bacterial growth, we show here that the complex Atlantic salmon intestinal mucin glycans enhance A. salmonicida growth, whereas the more simple skin mucin glycans do not. Of the glycan residues present terminally on the salmon mucins, only N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) enhances growth. Sialic acids, which have an abundance of 75% among terminal glycans from skin and of <50% among intestinal glycans, cannot be removed or used by A. salmonicida for growth-enhancing purposes, and they shield internal GlcNAc from utilization. A Ca²⁺ concentration above 0.1 mM is needed for A. salmonicida to be able to utilize mucins for growth-promoting purposes, and 10 mM further enhances both A. salmonicida growth in response to mucins and binding of the bacterium to mucins. In conclusion, GlcNAc and sialic acids are important determinants of the A. salmonicida interaction with its host at the mucosal surface. Furthermore, since the mucin glycan repertoire affects pathogen growth, the glycan repertoire may be a factor to take into account during breeding and selection of strains for aquaculture.

Kundapur R. Importance of Natural Proteins in Infectious Diseases

Proteins are important biomolecules, extensively involved in almost all biological processes. A number of proteins are also implicated in infectious diseases. Bacterial proteins used in adhesion to host epithelium, bacterial toxins, and viral membrane glycoproteins are some of the proteins involved in infectious diseases. Even components of the host innate immune system like Toll-like receptors and Nod-like receptors and adaptive immune components like immunoglobulins aiding in defense against pathogens are important biological proteins. Chaperones like acid and heat shock proteins provide protection from high temperatures, metabolic poisons, and other stressful conditions. Several natural and artificial proteins are components of vaccines, a key strategy to control fatal diseases, lacking empirical treatment. It is necessary to investigate these proteins, to develop new biomedical tools and technologies, aiding in eradication of various diseases. Thus, further research should be carried out in this field, for saving and improving quality of human lives.

Critical analysis of compositions and protective efficacies of oral killed cholera vaccines

Two cholera vaccines, sold as Shanchol and Dukoral, are currently available. This review presents a critical analysis of the protective efficacies of these vaccines. Children under 5 years of age are very vulnerable to cholera and account for the highest incidence of cholera cases and more than half of the resulting deaths. Both Shanchol and Dukoral are two-spaced-dose oral vaccines comprising large numbers of killed cholera bacteria. The former contains Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 cells, and the latter contains V. cholerae O1 cells with the recombinant B subunit of cholera toxin. In a field trial in Kolkata (India), Shanchol, the preferred vaccine, protected 45% of the test subjects in all of the age groups and only 17% of the children under 5 years of age during the first year of surveillance. In a field trial in Peru, two spaced doses of Dukoral offered negative protection in children under 5 years of age and little protection (15%) in vaccinees over 6 years of age during the first year of surveillance. Little is known about Dukoral's long-term protective efficacy. Both of these vaccines have questionable compositions, using V. cholerae O1 strains isolated in 1947 that have been inactivated by heat and formalin treatments that may denature protein. Immunological studies revealed Dukoral's reduced and short-lived efficacy, as measured by several immunological endpoints. Various factors, such as the necessity for multiple doses, poor protection of children under 5 years of age, the requirement of a cold supply chain, production costs, and complex logistics of vaccine delivery, greatly reduce the suitability of either of these vaccines for endemic or epidemic cholera control in resource-poor settings.

Optimization and comparative characterization of neuraminidase activities from Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Klebsiella pneumoniae, Hep-2 cell, sheep kidney and rat liver lysosome

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The properties of neuraminidase produced by P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 during growth in a defined medium (BHI) was examined and compared with some neuraminidase features of K. pneumoniae in this investigation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The enzyme was isolated from concentrated culture supernatants of P. aeruginosa which was used in a sensitive fluorometric assay by using 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl) α-D-N acetylneuraminic acid as substrate.

RESULTS

Neuraminidase production in P. aeruginosa PAO1 paralleled bacterial growth in defined medium (BHI) and was maximal in the late logarithmic phase of growth but decreased during the stationary phase, probably owing to protease production or thermal instability. Highest production of P. aeruginosa PAO1 neuraminidase was in BHI culture media. The neuraminidase of P. aeruginosa PAO1 possessed an optimum temperature of activity at 56°C and the activity was maximal at pH 5. Heating the enzyme to 56°C for 45 min., in the presence of bovine serum albumin destroyed 33.1% of it's activity and addition of Ca(+2), EDTA and NANA also decreased activity markedly.

CONCLUSION

The results revealed that the highest specific activity is for p. aeruginosa PAO1.

Free fucose is a danger signal to human intestinal epithelial cells

Fucose is present in foods, and it is a major component of human mucin glycoproteins and glycolipids. l-Fucose can also be found at the terminal position of many cell-surface oligosaccharide ligands that mediate cell-recognition and adhesion-signalling pathways. Mucin fucose can be released through the hydrolytic activity of pathogens and indigenous bacteria, leading to the release of free fucose into the intestinal lumen. The immunomodulating effects of free fucose on intestinal epithelial cells (enterocyte-like Caco-2) were investigated. It was found that the presence of l-fucose up regulated genes and secretion of their encoded proteins that are involved in both the innate and adaptive immune responses, possibly via the toll-like receptor-2 signalling pathway. These include TNFSF5, TNFSF7, TNF-alpha, IL12, IL17 and IL18. Besides modulating immune reactions in differentiated Caco-2 cells, fucose induced a set of cytokine genes that are involved in the development and proliferation of immune cells. These include the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) BMP2, BMP4, IL5, thrombopoietin and erythropoietin. In addition, the up regulated gene expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 may help to promote epithelial cell restitution in conjunction with the enhanced expression of transforming growth factor-beta mRNA. Since the exogenous fucose was not metabolised by the differentiated Caco-2 cells as a carbon source, the reactions elicited were suggested to be a result of the direct interaction of fucose and differentiated Caco-2 cells. The presence of free fucose may signal the invasion of mucin-hydrolysing microbial cells and breakage of the mucosal barrier. The intestinal epithelial cells respond by up regulation and secretion of cytokines, pre-empting the actual invasion of pathogens.

Study of the haemolytic process and receptors of thermostable direct haemolysin from Vibrio parahaemolyticus

The haemolytic action of 125I-labelled thermostable direct haemolysin from Vibrio parahaemolyticus was studied on human and equine erythrocytes. In the first step, the haemolysin bound to the membranes of both erythrocyte species. This binding seemed temperature-independent. Then, for human erythrocytes, haemolysin produced cell disruption, and haemoglobin was released. Following this step, haemolysin was also released in a temperature-dependent manner. In contrast, equine erythrocytes were not disrupted, and no release of haemolysin occurred. The receptors of labelled haemolysin were analysed by assaying the lipid/toxin interaction on a nylon membrane and by binding on thin-layer chromatograms. the ganglioside asialo-GM2 was found to be the most potent receptor, but asialo-GM1 and lactocerebroside may also have been involved.

Nature of the cation leak induced in erythrocyte membranes by Kanagawa haemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important enteric pathogen that produces an exotoxin prepared as Kanagawa haemolysin (KH). Isotope flux techniques were used to analyse toxin action on the basal permeability of human erythrocytes. KH induced a cation leak that was (i) rapid in onset (lag phase < 1 min), (ii) 'pore-like' in terms of kinetic characteristics, and (iii) of high magnitude initially (first 10 min) and then subsequently lower (but still raised with reference to control cells). The susceptibilities of the induced flux pathway to washout in initial and later periods suggested a protracted binding time course for toxin action. Neuraminidase treatment of erythrocytes enhanced both haemolysis and flux induced by KH, suggesting that the affinity of the toxin for the membrane had increased, possibly as a result of additional toxin receptors being unmasked by this enzyme. These results show that KH elevates the basal permeability of human erythrocytes in a complex manner, a process that probably underlies the deleterious effects of this toxin on cellular function.

Occurrence of sialidase and N-acetylneuraminate lyase in Pasteurella species

Pasteurella species and related taxa are opportunistic pathogens parasitizing on mucous membranes of higher organisms containing sialic acids. Therefore, sialidase is a virulence factor which up to now has been described to be present in P. haemolytica, P. multocida, and P. volantium. Because of some taxonomic changes and the description of many new species or still unnamed groups, the presence of sialidase and the metabolic successor enzyme, N-acetylneuraminate lyase, was investigated in 65 Pasteurella or Pasteurella-like strains. The detection of enzymes was performed by colorimetry, by paper chromatography and immunoelectrophoresis. Using bovine submaxillary mucin as substrate, sialidases were produced in all strains studied although the activities were different. Most strains but not all were positive in N-acetylneuraminate lyase, too. Taken together, the strains of Pasteurella sensu stricto showed the strongest activities of sialidase, those of the Pasteurella aerogenes complex the lowest. However, because of loss of sialidase activity during subcultivation, there is little feasibility to characterize Pasteurella species by these enzymes.

Production of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa neuraminidase is increased under hyperosmolar conditions and is regulated by genes involved in alginate expression

The pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) is a complex process attributed to specific characteristics of both the host and the infecting organism. In this study, the properties of the PAO1 neuraminidase were examined to determine its potential role in facilitating Pseudomonas colonization of the respiratory epithelium. The PAO1 neuraminidase was 1000-fold more active than the Clostridium perfringens enzyme in releasing sialic acid from respiratory epithelial cells. This effect correlated with increased adherence of PAO1 to epithelial cells after exposure to PAO1 neuraminidase and was consistent with in vitro studies demonstrating Pseudomonas adherence to asialoganglioside receptors. The regulation of the neuraminidase gene nanA was examined in Pseudomonas and as cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. In hyperosmolar conditions neuraminidase expression was increased by 50% (P less than 0.0004), an effect which was OmpR dependent in E. coli. In Pseudomonas the osmotic regulation of neuraminidase production was dependent upon algR1 and algR2, genes involved in the transcriptional activation of algD, which is responsible for the mucoid phenotype of Pseudomonas and pathognomonic for chronic infection in CF. Under the hyperosmolar conditions postulated to exist in the CF lung, nanA is likely to be expressed to facilitate the initial adherence of Pseudomonas to the respiratory tract.

Role of Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase in the function of cholera toxin

Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase (NANase) is hypothesized to act synergistically with cholera toxin (CT) and increase the severity of a secretory response by increasing the binding and penetration of CT to enterocytes. To test this hypothesis, the NANase gene (nanH) from V. cholerae Ogawa 395 was first cloned and sequenced. Isogenic wild-type and NANase- V. cholerae 395 strains were then constructed by using suicide vector-mediated mutagenesis. The influence of NANase on CT binding and penetration was examined in vitro by using culture filtrates from these isogenic strains. Fluorescence due to binding of fluorescein-conjugated CT to C57BL/6 and C3H mouse fibroblasts exposed to NANase+ filtrates increased five- and eightfold, respectively, relative to that with NANase- filtrates. In addition, NANase+ filtrates increased the short-circuit current measured in Ussing chambers 65% relative to that with NANase- filtrates, although this difference decreased as production of CT increased. The role of NANase in V. cholerae pathogenesis was examined in vivo by intragastric inoculation of the isogenic strains into CD1 suckling mice. No difference in fluid accumulation ratios was seen at doses of 10(4) to 10(8) CFU, but NANase+ strains produced 18% higher fluid accumulation ratios at 10(9) CFU than NANase- strains when inoculated into nonfasted suckling mice. It is concluded that NANase plays a subtle but significant role in the binding and uptake of CT by susceptible cells under defined conditions.

Cloning and expression of the Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase gene nanH in Escherichia coli

A cosmid gene bank of Vibrio cholerae 395, classical Ogawa, was screened in Escherichia coli HB101 for expression of the vibrio neuraminidase (NANase) gene nanH (N-acylneuraminate glycohydrolase). Positive clones were identified by their ability to cleave the fluorogenic NANase substrate 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid. Seven NANase-positive clones were detected after screening 683 cosmid isolates with a rapid, qualitative plate assay method. The nanH gene was subcloned from one of the cosmids and was located within a 4.8-kilobase-pair BglII restriction endonuclease fragment. Evidence that nanH was the NANase structural gene was obtained by transposon mutagenesis and by purification and comparison of the cloned gene product with the secreted NANase purified from the parent V. cholerae strain. The sequence of the first 20 amino-terminal amino acids of the secreted NANase purified from V. cholerae was determined by automated Edman degradation and matched perfectly with the amino acid sequence predicted from nucleotide sequencing of nanH. The sequence data also revealed the existence of a potential signal peptide that was apparently processed from NANase in both V. cholerae and E. coli. In contrast to V. cholerae, E. coli nanH+ clones did not secrete NANase into the growth medium, retaining most of the enzyme in the periplasmic compartment. Kinetic studies in V. cholerae showed that nanH expression and NANase secretion were temporally correlated as cells in batch culture entered late-exponential-phase growth. Similar kinetics were observed in at least one of the E. coli nanH+ clones, suggesting that nanH expression in E. coli might be controlled by some of the same signals as in the parent V. cholerae strain.

A membrane-associated neuraminidase in Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites

Trophozoites of the parasitic amoeba Entamoeba histolytica HM-1:IMSS possess a surface neuraminidase capable of liberating N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) from N-acetylneuramin-lactose (alpha 2----3 or alpha 2----6) or mucin in their medium. The neuraminidase was found to be membrane associated, with more than 50% of the yield being recovered in the plasma membrane fraction. The neuraminidase specific activity of the plasma membrane fraction was six times that of internal membrane fraction enzyme. The optimum pH and temperature for this enzyme were 6.7 and 37 degrees C, respectively. Neuraminidase activity was inhibited by ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, and the optimum Ca2+ concentration was 2 mM. The microfilament disruptor cytochalasin D (30 micrograms/ml) inhibited motility and neuraminidase activity of intact Entamoeba trophozoites. The cytochalasin D-induced loss of surface neuraminidase activity was explained in part by a redistribution of enzyme with a loss of plasma membrane enzyme and an increase in intracellular membrane enzyme. A qualitatively similar cytochalasin D effect was observed with two other membrane-associated enzymes, calcium-regulated ATPase and acid phosphatase. Membrane-associated enzyme was minimally affected by Triton X-100 and saponin. An N-acetylneuraminic acid aldolase, optimum pH, 7.4, was found in trophozoite homogenate supernatant fractions. NANA and NANA-containing compounds stimulated trophozoite-directed motility. This motility stimulation by NANA-containing compounds did not apparently require prior release of free NANA by the trophozoite surface neuraminidase. Entamoeba neuraminidase is one of a series of enzymes that may modify the mucus blanket and target cell surface and thereby play a role in the pathogenesis of amebiasis.

Isolation and characterization of two hemolytic phenotypes of Vibrio damsela associated with a fatal wound infection

Two hemolytic phenotypes of Vibrio damsela, isolated from the tissue of a patient with a fatal wound infection, were characterized. The patient had underlying disease, and the wound was associated with an injury inflicted during the handling of a catfish. The phenotypes were morphologically and biochemically similar except for their lecithinase, lipase, and hemolytic activities. When grown on rabbit blood agar, one phenotype (LZ) produced a large zone of hemolysis (10 mm) around the colony, whereas the other type (SZ) produced only a small zone (1 to 2 mm). On sheep blood agar, the differences in hemolytic activity were more subtle. By a modified CAMP test in which V. damsela was streaked perpendicularly to Staphylococcus aureus, it was determined that a factor elaborated by the LZ phenotype (but not the SZ phenotype) protected sheep erythrocytes from the hemolysis normally caused by S. aureus toxins. Cell-free filtrates of broth cultures of each phenotype had the same effects on erythrocytes as did the organisms themselves.