The Salmonella effector SseJ disrupts microtubule dynamics when ectopically expressed in normal rat kidney cells

Tools and mechanisms of vacuolar escape leading to host egress in Legionella pneumophila infection: Emphasis on bacterial phospholipases

The phenomenon of host cell escape exhibited by intracellular pathogens is a remarkably versatile occurrence, capable of unfolding through lytic or non-lytic pathways. Among these pathogens, the bacterium Legionella pneumophila stands out, having adopted a diverse spectrum of strategies to disengage from their host cells. A pivotal juncture that predates most of these host cell escape modalities is the initial escape from the intracellular compartment. This critical step is increasingly supported by evidence suggesting the involvement of several secreted pathogen effectors, including lytic proteins. In this intricate landscape, L. pneumophila emerges as a focal point for research, particularly concerning secreted phospholipases. While nestled within its replicative vacuole, the bacterium deftly employs both its type II (Lsp) and type IVB (Dot/Icm) secretion systems to convey phospholipases into either the phagosomal lumen or the host cell cytoplasm. Its repertoire encompasses numerous phospholipases A (PLA), including three enzymes-PlaA, PlaC, and PlaD-bearing the GDSL motif. Additionally, there are 11 patatin-like phospholipases A as well as PlaB. Furthermore, the bacterium harbors three extracellular phospholipases C (PLCs) and one phospholipase D. Within this comprehensive review, we undertake an exploration of the pivotal role played by phospholipases in the broader context of phagosomal and host cell egress. Moreover, we embark on a detailed journey to unravel the established and potential functions of the secreted phospholipases of L. pneumophila in orchestrating this indispensable process.

Infection biology of Salmonella enterica

Salmonella enterica is the leading cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the USA, with an estimated 95% of salmonellosis cases due to the consumption of contaminated food products. Salmonella can cause several different disease syndromes, with the most common being gastroenteritis, followed by bacteremia and typhoid fever. Among the over 2,600 currently identified serotypes/serovars, some are mostly host-restricted and host-adapted, while the majority of serotypes can infect a broader range of host species and are associated with causing both livestock and human disease. Salmonella serotypes and strains within serovars can vary considerably in the severity of disease that may result from infection, with some serovars that are more highly associated with invasive disease in humans, while others predominantly cause mild gastroenteritis. These observed clinical differences may be caused by the genetic make-up and diversity of the serovars. Salmonella virulence systems are very complex containing several virulence-associated genes with different functions that contribute to its pathogenicity. The different clinical syndromes are associated with unique groups of virulence genes, and strains often differ in the array of virulence traits they display. On the chromosome, virulence genes are often clustered in regions known as Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs), which are scattered throughout different Salmonella genomes and encode factors essential for adhesion, invasion, survival, and replication within the host. Plasmids can also carry various genes that contribute to Salmonella pathogenicity. For example, strains from several serovars associated with significant human disease, including Choleraesuis, Dublin, Enteritidis, Newport, and Typhimurium, can carry virulence plasmids with genes contributing to attachment, immune system evasion, and other roles. The goal of this comprehensive review is to provide key information on the Salmonella virulence, including the contributions of genes encoded in SPIs and plasmids during Salmonella pathogenesis.

Genomic and phenotypic comparison of two Salmonella Typhimurium strains responsible for consecutive salmonellosis outbreaks in New Zealand

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT160 was the predominant cause of notified human salmonellosis cases in New Zealand from 2000 to 2010, before it was superseded by another S. Typhimurium strain, DT56 variant (DT56v). Whole genome sequencing and phenotypic testing were used to compare 109 DT160 isolates with eight DT56v isolates from New Zealand animal and human sources. Phylogenetic analysis provided evidence that DT160 and DT56v strains were distantly related with an estimated date of common ancestor between 1769 and 1821. The strains replicated at different rates but had similar antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. Both strains were resistant to the phage expressed from the chromosome of the other strain, which may have contributed to the emergence of DT56v. DT160 contained the pSLT virulence plasmid, and the sseJ and sseK2 genes that may have contributed to the higher reported prevalence compared to DT56v. A linear pBSSB1-family plasmid was also found in one of the DT56v isolates, but there was no evidence that this plasmid affected bacterial replication or antimicrobial susceptibility. One of the DT56v isolates was also sequenced using long-read technology and found to contain an uncommon chromosome arrangement for a Typhimurium isolate. This study demonstrates how comparative genomics and phenotypic testing can help identify strain-specific elements and factors that may have influenced the emergence and supersession of bacterial strains of public health importance.

Fighting Persistence: How Chronic Infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis Evade T Cell-Mediated Clearance and New Strategies To Defeat Them

Chronic bacterial infections are caused by pathogens that persist within their hosts and avoid clearance by the immune system. Treatment and/or detection of such pathogens is difficult, and the resulting pathologies are often deleterious or fatal. There is an urgent need to develop protective vaccines and host-directed therapies that synergize with antibiotics to prevent pathogen persistence and infection-associated pathologies. However, many persistent pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, actively target the very host pathways activated by vaccination. These immune evasion tactics blunt the effectiveness of immunization strategies and are impeding progress to control these infections throughout the world. Therefore, it is essential that M. tuberculosis immune evasion-related pathogen virulence strategies are considered to maximize the effectiveness of potential new treatments. In this review, we focus on how Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects antigen-presenting cells and evades effective immune clearance by the adaptive response through (i) manipulating antigen presentation, (ii) repressing T cell-activating costimulatory molecules, and (iii) inducing ligands that drive T cell exhaustion. In this context, we will examine the challenges that bacterial virulence strategies pose to developing new vaccines. We will then discuss new approaches that will help dissect M. tuberculosis immune evasion mechanisms and devise strategies to bypass them to promote long-term protection and prevent disease progression.

Tubulin Folding Cofactor TBCB is a Target of the Salmonella Effector Protein SseK1

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a human and animal pathogen that uses type III secretion system effectors to manipulate the host cell and fulfill infection. SseK1 is a Salmonella effector with glycosyltransferase activity. We carried out a yeast two-hybrid screen and have identified tubulin-binding cofactor B (TBCB) as a new binding partner for this effector. SseK1 catalyzed the addition of N-acetylglucosamine to arginine on TBCB, and its expression promoted the stabilization of the microtubule cytoskeleton of HEK293T cells. The conserved Asp-x-Asp (DxD) motif that is essential for the activity of SseK1 was required for the binding and modification of TBCB and for the effect on the cytoskeleton. Our study has identified a novel target for SseK1 and suggests that this effector may have a role in the manipulation of the host cell microtubule network to provide a safe niche for this pathogen.

Tiny architects: biogenesis of intracellular replicative niches by bacterial pathogens

Co-evolution of bacterial pathogens with their hosts led to the emergence of a stunning variety of strategies aiming at the evasion of host defences, colonisation of host cells and tissues and, ultimately, the establishment of a successful infection. Pathogenic bacteria are typically classified as extracellular and intracellular; however, intracellular lifestyle comes in many different flavours: some microbes rapidly escape to the cytosol whereas other microbes remain within vacuolar compartments and harness membrane trafficking pathways to generate their host-derived, pathogen-specific replicative niche. Here we review the current knowledge on a variety of vacuolar lifestyles, the effector proteins used by bacteria as tools to take control of the host cell and the main membrane trafficking signalling pathways targeted by vacuolar pathogens as source of membranes and nutrients. Finally, we will also discuss how host cells have developed countermeasures to sense the biogenesis of the aberrant organelles harbouring bacteria. Understanding the dialogue between bacterial and eukaryotic proteins is the key to unravel the molecular mechanisms of infection and in turn, this may lead to the identification of new targets for the development of new antimicrobials.

The Pearling Transition Provides Evidence of Force-Driven Endosomal Tubulation during Salmonella Infection

Bacterial pathogens exploit eukaryotic pathways for their own end. Upon ingestion, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium passes through the stomach and then catalyzes its uptake across the intestinal epithelium. It survives and replicates in an acidic vacuole through the action of virulence factors secreted by a type three secretion system located on Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2). Two secreted effectors, SifA and SseJ, are sufficient for endosomal tubule formation, which modifies the vacuole and enables Salmonella to replicate within it. Two-color, superresolution imaging of the secreted virulence factor SseJ and tubulin revealed that SseJ formed clusters of conserved size at regular, periodic intervals in the host cytoplasm. Analysis of SseJ clustering indicated the presence of a pearling effect, which is a force-driven, osmotically sensitive process. The pearling transition is an instability driven by membranes under tension; it is induced by hypotonic or hypertonic buffer exchange and leads to the formation of beadlike structures of similar size and regular spacing. Reducing the osmolality of the fixation conditions using glutaraldehyde enabled visualization of continuous and intact tubules. Correlation analysis revealed that SseJ was colocalized with the motor protein kinesin. Tubulation of the endoplasmic reticulum is driven by microtubule motors, and in the present work, we describe how Salmonella has coopted the microtubule motor kinesin to drive the force-dependent process of endosomal tubulation. Thus, endosomal tubule formation is a force-driven process catalyzed by Salmonella virulence factors secreted into the host cytoplasm during infection.IMPORTANCE This study represents the first example of using two-color, superresolution imaging to analyze the secretion of Salmonella virulence factors as they are secreted from the SPI-2 type three secretion system. Previous studies imaged effectors that were overexpressed in the host cytoplasm. The present work reveals an unusual force-driven process, the pearling transition, which indicates that Salmonella-induced filaments are under force through the interactions of effector molecules with the motor protein kinesin. This work provides a caution by highlighting how fixation conditions can influence the images observed.

Salmonella Typhi Colonization Provokes Extensive Transcriptional Changes Aimed at Evading Host Mucosal Immune Defense During Early Infection of Human Intestinal Tissue

Commensal microorganisms influence a variety of host functions in the gut, including immune response, glucose homeostasis, metabolic pathways and oxidative stress, among others. This study describes how Salmonella Typhi, the pathogen responsible for typhoid fever, uses similar strategies to escape immune defense responses and survive within its human host. To elucidate the early mechanisms of typhoid fever, we performed studies using healthy human intestinal tissue samples and "mini-guts," organoids grown from intestinal tissue taken from biopsy specimens. We analyzed gene expression changes in human intestinal specimens and bacterial cells both separately and after colonization. Our results showed mechanistic strategies that S. Typhi uses to rearrange the cellular machinery of the host cytoskeleton to successfully invade the intestinal epithelium, promote polarized cytokine release and evade immune system activation by downregulating genes involved in antigen sampling and presentation during infection. This work adds novel information regarding S. Typhi infection pathogenesis in humans, by replicating work shown in traditional cell models, and providing new data that can be applied to future vaccine development strategies.