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Abstract
Neisseria lactamica is a nonpathogenic commensal of the human upper respiratory tract that has been associated with protection against N. meningitidis colonization and disease. We have previously utilized the N. lactamica controlled human infection model to investigate the protective effect of N. lactamica colonization on N. meningitidis colonization, the nature of cross-reactive immune responses mounted toward N. meningitidis following N. lactamica colonization, and the microevolution of N. lactamica over a 5-month colonization period. More recently, we have assessed the possibility of utilizing genetically modified strains of N. lactamica to enable use of the commensal as a vehicle for prolonged exposure of the nasopharynx of humans to antigens of interest, expressed in carried organisms. A controlled infection with N. lactamica expressing the meningococcal antigen NadA has been executed and the results demonstrate that this strategy is effective at generating immune responses to the target antigen. Throughout this chapter, we outline in a step-by-step manner the methodologies utilized when performing controlled human infection with N. lactamica including procedures relating to: (1) the dilution of N. lactamica stock vials to derive intranasal inocula, (2) the delivery of intranasal inocula to human volunteers, (3) the determination of N. lactamica colonization status following intranasal inoculation using oropharyngeal swabbing and nasal wash sampling, (4) the microbiological procedures utilized to identify N. lactamica colonization among study volunteers, and (5) the identification of N. lactamica colonies as strain Y92-1009 using polymerase chain reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam P Dale
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
| | - Diane F Gbesemete
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- NIHR Clinical Research Facility, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Robert C Read
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- NIHR Clinical Research Facility, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
- NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, Southampton, UK
| | - Jay R Laver
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Dijokaite A, Humbert MV, Borkowski E, La Ragione RM, Christodoulides M. Establishing an invertebrate Galleria mellonella greater wax moth larval model of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. Virulence 2021; 12:1900-1920. [PMID: 34304706 PMCID: PMC8312596 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2021.1950269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcus) causes the human sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. Studying gonococcal pathogenesis and developing new vaccines and therapies to combat the increasing prevalence of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria has made use of many ex vivo models based on human cells and tissues, and in vivo vertebrate models, for example, rodent, pig and human. The focus of the current study was to examine the utility of the invertebrate greater wax moth Galleria mellonella as an in vivo model of gonococcal infection. We observed that a threshold of ~106 - 107 gonococci/larva was required to kill >50% of larvae (P < 0.05), and increased toxicity correlated with reduced health index scores and pronounced histopathological changes such as increases in the total lesion grade, melanized nodules, hemocyte reaction, and multifocal adipose body degeneration. Larval death was independent of the expression of pilus or Opa protein or LOS sialylation within a single gonococcal species studied, but the model could demonstrate relative toxicity of different isolates. N. meningitidis, N. lacatamica and gonococci all killed larvae equally, but were significantly less toxic (P > 0.05) than Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Larvae primed with nontoxic doses of gonococci were more susceptible to subsequent challenge with homologous and heterologous bacteria, and larval survival was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in infected larvae after depletion of their hemocytes with clodronate-liposomes. The model was used to test the anti-gonococcal properties of antibiotics and novel antimicrobials. Ceftriaxone (P < 0.05) protected larvae from infection with different gonococcal isolates, but not azithromycin or monocaprin or ligand-coated silver nanoclusters (P > 0.05).
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiste Dijokaite
- Neisseria Research Group, Molecular Microbiology, Academic School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UK
| | - Maria Victoria Humbert
- Neisseria Research Group, Molecular Microbiology, Academic School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UK
| | - Emma Borkowski
- Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Roberto M La Ragione
- Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Myron Christodoulides
- Neisseria Research Group, Molecular Microbiology, Academic School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UK
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Al Suwayyid BA, Rankine-Wilson L, Speers DJ, Wise MJ, Coombs GW, Kahler CM. Meningococcal Disease-Associated Prophage-Like Elements Are Present in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Some Commensal Neisseria Species. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 12:3938-3950. [PMID: 32031617 PMCID: PMC7058167 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Neisseria spp. possess four genogroups of filamentous prophages, termed Nf1 to 4. A filamentous bacteriophage from the Nf1 genogroup termed meningococcal disease-associated phage (MDA φ) is associated with clonal complexes of Neisseria meningitidis that cause invasive meningococcal disease. Recently, we recovered an isolate of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (ExNg63) from a rare case of gonococcal meningitis, and found that it possessed a region with 90% similarity to Nf1 prophages, specifically, the meningococcal MDA φ. This led to the hypothesis that the Nf1 prophage may be more widely distributed amongst the genus Neisseria. An analysis of 92 reference genomes revealed the presence of intact Nf1 prophages in the commensal species, Neisseria lactamica and Neisseria cinerea in addition to the pathogen N. gonorrhoeae. In N. gonorrhoeae, Nf1 prophages had a restricted distribution but were present in all representatives of MLST ST1918. Of the 160 phage integration sites identified, only one common insertion site was found between one isolate of N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis. There was an absence of any obvious conservation of the receptor for prophage entry, PilE, suggesting that the phage may have been obtained by natural transformation. An examination of the restriction modification systems and mutated mismatch repair systems with prophage presence suggested that there was no obvious preference for these hosts. A timed phylogeny inferred that N. meningitidis was the donor of the Nf1 prophages in N. lactamica and N. gonorrhoeae. Further work is required to determine whether Nf1 prophages are active and can act as accessory colonization factors in these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barakat A Al Suwayyid
- The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.,School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.,Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Leah Rankine-Wilson
- The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.,School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - David J Speers
- Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Australia.,School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Michael J Wise
- The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.,Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Geoffrey W Coombs
- Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Australia.,Antimicrobial Resistance and Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Australia
| | - Charlene M Kahler
- The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.,School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
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Genus-Wide Comparative Genomics Analysis of Neisseria to Identify New Genes Associated with Pathogenicity and Niche Adaptation of Neisseria Pathogens. Int J Genomics 2019; 2019:6015730. [PMID: 30775379 PMCID: PMC6350579 DOI: 10.1155/2019/6015730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Revised: 10/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis, the only two human pathogens of Neisseria, are closely related species. But the niches they survived in and their pathogenic characteristics are distinctly different. However, the genetic basis of these differences has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, comparative genomics analysis was performed based on 15 N. gonorrhoeae, 75 N. meningitidis, and 7 nonpathogenic Neisseria genomes. Core-pangenome analysis found 1111 conserved gene families among them, and each of these species groups had opening pangenome. We found that 452, 78, and 319 gene families were unique in N. gonorrhoeae, N. meningitidis, and both of them, respectively. Those unique gene families were regarded as candidates that related to their pathogenicity and niche adaptation. The relationships among them have been partly verified by functional annotation analysis. But at least one-third genes for each gene set have not found the certain functional information. Simple sequence repeat (SSR), the basis of gene phase variation, was found abundant in the membrane or related genes of each unique gene set, which may facilitate their adaptation to variable host environments. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis found at least five distinct PPI clusters in N. gonorrhoeae and four in N. meningitides, and 167 and 52 proteins with unknown function were contained within them, respectively.
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Pandey A, Cleary DW, Laver JR, Gorringe A, Deasy AM, Dale AP, Morris PD, Didelot X, Maiden MCJ, Read RC. Microevolution of Neisseria lactamica during nasopharyngeal colonisation induced by controlled human infection. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4753. [PMID: 30420631 PMCID: PMC6232127 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07235-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Neisseria lactamica is a harmless coloniser of the infant respiratory tract, and has a mutually-excluding relationship with the pathogen Neisseria meningitidis. Here we report controlled human infection with genomically-defined N. lactamica and subsequent bacterial microevolution during 26 weeks of colonisation. We find that most mutations that occur during nasopharyngeal carriage are transient indels within repetitive tracts of putative phase-variable loci associated with host-microbe interactions (pgl and lgt) and iron acquisition (fetA promotor and hpuA). Recurrent polymorphisms occurred in genes associated with energy metabolism (nuoN, rssA) and the CRISPR-associated cas1. A gene encoding a large hypothetical protein was often mutated in 27% of the subjects. In volunteers who were naturally co-colonised with meningococci, recombination altered allelic identity in N. lactamica to resemble meningococcal alleles, including loci associated with metabolism, outer membrane proteins and immune response activators. Our results suggest that phase variable genes are often mutated during carriage-associated microevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anish Pandey
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK.
| | - David W Cleary
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK
- Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK
| | - Jay R Laver
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK
| | | | - Alice M Deasy
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S103JF, UK
- Department of Cardiology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, S103JF, UK
| | - Adam P Dale
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK
- Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK
| | - Paul D Morris
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S103JF, UK
- Department of Cardiology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, S103JF, UK
| | - Xavier Didelot
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW72AZ, UK
- Department of Statistics, School of Life Sciences, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Martin C J Maiden
- Department of Zoology, Peter Medawar Building, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX13SY, UK
| | - Robert C Read
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK.
- Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK.
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO166YD, UK.
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Pandey AK, Cleary DW, Laver JR, Maiden MCJ, Didelot X, Gorringe A, Read RC. Correction to: Neisseria lactamica Y92-1009 complete genome sequence. Stand Genomic Sci 2018; 13:4. [PMID: 29467915 PMCID: PMC5815239 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-017-0288-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40793-017-0250-6.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Anish K. Pandey
- Faculty of Medicine, Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - David W. Cleary
- Faculty of Medicine, Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Jay R. Laver
- Faculty of Medicine, Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | - Xavier Didelot
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Robert C. Read
- Faculty of Medicine, Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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