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Yueyue W, Feichen X, Yixuan X, Lu L, Yiwen C, Xiaoxing Y. Pathogenicity and virulence of Mycoplasma genitalium: Unraveling Ariadne's Thread. Virulence 2022; 13:1161-1183. [PMID: 35791283 PMCID: PMC9262362 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2095741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycoplasma genitalium, a pathogen from class Mollicutes, has been linked to sexually transmitted diseases and sparked widespread concern. To adapt to its environment, M. genitalium has evolved specific adhesins and motility mechanisms that allow it to adhere to and invade various eukaryotic cells, thereby causing severe damage to the cells. Even though traditional exotoxins have not been identified, secreted nucleases or membrane lipoproteins have been shown to cause cell death and inflammatory injury in M. genitalium infection. However, as both innate and adaptive immune responses are important for controlling infection, the immune responses that develop upon infection do not necessarily eliminate the organism completely. Antigenic variation, detoxifying enzymes, immunoglobulins, neutrophil extracellular trap-degrading enzymes, cell invasion, and biofilm formation are important factors that help the pathogen overcome the host defence and cause chronic infections in susceptible individuals. Furthermore, M. genitalium can increase the susceptibility to several sexually transmitted pathogens, which significantly complicates the persistence and chronicity of M. genitalium infection. This review aimed to discuss the virulence factors of M. genitalium to shed light on its complex pathogenicity and pathogenesis of the infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wu Yueyue
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical School; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control; Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Xiu Feichen
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical School; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control; Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Xi Yixuan
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical School; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control; Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Liu Lu
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical School; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control; Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Chen Yiwen
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical School; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control; Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - You Xiaoxing
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical School; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control; Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study, University of South China, Hengyang, China
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Seybert A, Gonzalez-Gonzalez L, Scheffer MP, Lluch-Senar M, Mariscal AM, Querol E, Matthaeus F, Piñol J, Frangakis AS. Cryo-electron tomography analyses of terminal organelle mutants suggest the motility mechanism of Mycoplasma genitalium. Mol Microbiol 2018; 108:319-329. [PMID: 29470847 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The terminal organelle of Mycoplasma genitalium is responsible for bacterial adhesion, motility and pathogenicity. Localized at the cell tip, it comprises an electron-dense core that is anchored to the cell membrane at its distal end and to the cytoplasm at its proximal end. The surface of the terminal organelle is also covered with adhesion proteins. We performed cellular cryoelectron tomography on deletion mutants of eleven proteins that are implicated in building the terminal organelle, to systematically analyze the ultrastructural effects. These data were correlated with microcinematographies, from which the motility patterns can be quantitatively assessed. We visualized diverse phenotypes, ranging from mild to severe cell adhesion, motility and segregation defects. Based on our observations, we propose a double-spring ratchet model for the motility mechanism that explains our current and previous observations. Our model, which expands and integrates the previously suggested inchworm model, allocates specific functions to each of the essential components of this unique bacterial motility system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Seybert
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences and Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
| | - Luis Gonzalez-Gonzalez
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Margot P Scheffer
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences and Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
| | - Maria Lluch-Senar
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Ana M Mariscal
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Enrique Querol
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Franziska Matthaeus
- Faculty of Biological Sciences & FIAS, Goethe University Frankfurt, Ruth-Moufang-Straße 1, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
| | - Jaume Piñol
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Achilleas S Frangakis
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences and Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW We wished to overview recent data on a subset of epigenetic changes elicited by intracellular bacteria in human cells. Reprogramming the gene expression pattern of various host cells may facilitate bacterial growth, survival, and spread. RECENT FINDINGS DNA-(cytosine C5)-methyltransferases of Mycoplasma hyorhinis targeting cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) dinucleotides and a Mycobacterium tuberculosis methyltransferase targeting non-CpG sites methylated the host cell DNA and altered the pattern of gene expression. Gene silencing by CpG methylation and histone deacetylation, mediated by cellular enzymes, also occurred in M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. M. tuberculosis elicited cell type-specific epigenetic changes: it caused increased DNA methylation in macrophages, but induced demethylation, deposition of euchromatic histone marks and activation of immune-related genes in dendritic cells. A secreted transposase of Acinetobacter baumannii silenced a cellular gene, whereas Mycobacterium leprae altered the epigenotype, phenotype, and fate of infected Schwann cells. The 'keystone pathogen' oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis induced local DNA methylation and increased the level of histone acetylation in host cells. These epigenetic changes at the biofilm-gingiva interface may contribute to the development of periodontitis. SUMMARY Epigenetic regulators produced by intracellular bacteria alter the epigenotype and gene expression pattern of host cells and play an important role in pathogenesis.
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Scheffer MP, Gonzalez-Gonzalez L, Seybert A, Ratera M, Kunz M, Valpuesta JM, Fita I, Querol E, Piñol J, Martín-Benito J, Frangakis AS. Structural characterization of the NAP; the major adhesion complex of the human pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium. Mol Microbiol 2017; 105:869-879. [PMID: 28671286 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Mycoplasma genitalium, the causative agent of non-gonococcal urethritis and pelvic inflammatory disease in humans, is a small eubacterium that lacks a peptidoglycan cell wall. On the surface of its plasma membrane is the major surface adhesion complex, known as NAP that is essential for adhesion and gliding motility of the organism. Here, we have performed cryo-electron tomography of intact cells and detergent permeabilized M. genitalium cell aggregates, providing sub-tomogram averages of free and cell-attached NAPs respectively, revealing a tetrameric complex with two-fold rotational (C2) symmetry. Each NAP has two pairs of globular lobes (named α and β lobes), arranged as a dimer of heterodimers with each lobe connected by a stalk to the cell membrane. The β lobes are larger than the α lobes by 20%. Classification of NAPs showed that the complex can tilt with respect to the cell membrane. A protein complex containing exclusively the proteins P140 and P110, was purified from M. genitalium and was structurally characterized by negative-stain single particle EM reconstruction. The close structural similarity found between intact NAPs and the isolated P140/P110 complexes, shows that dimers of P140/P110 heterodimers are the only components of the extracellular region of intact NAPs in M. genitalium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot P Scheffer
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
| | - Luis Gonzalez-Gonzalez
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Anja Seybert
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
| | - Mercè Ratera
- Parc Científic de Barcelona, Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona del (IBMB-CSIC), Baldiri i Reixac 10, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Michael Kunz
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
| | - José M Valpuesta
- Department for Macromolecular Structures, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologıa (CNB-CSIC), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Ignacio Fita
- Parc Científic de Barcelona, Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona del (IBMB-CSIC), Baldiri i Reixac 10, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Enrique Querol
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Jaume Piñol
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Spain
| | - Jaime Martín-Benito
- Department for Macromolecular Structures, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologıa (CNB-CSIC), Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Achilleas S Frangakis
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Str. 15, Frankfurt 60438, Germany
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Waites KB, Xiao L, Liu Y, Balish MF, Atkinson TP. Mycoplasma pneumoniae from the Respiratory Tract and Beyond. Clin Microbiol Rev 2017; 30:747-809. [PMID: 28539503 PMCID: PMC5475226 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00114-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 350] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is an important cause of respiratory tract infections in children as well as adults that can range in severity from mild to life-threatening. Over the past several years there has been much new information published concerning infections caused by this organism. New molecular-based tests for M. pneumoniae detection are now commercially available in the United States, and advances in molecular typing systems have enhanced understanding of the epidemiology of infections. More strains have had their entire genome sequences published, providing additional insights into pathogenic mechanisms. Clinically significant acquired macrolide resistance has emerged worldwide and is now complicating treatment. In vitro susceptibility testing methods have been standardized, and several new drugs that may be effective against this organism are undergoing development. This review focuses on the many new developments that have occurred over the past several years that enhance our understanding of this microbe, which is among the smallest bacterial pathogens but one of great clinical importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken B Waites
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Li Xiao
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Yang Liu
- Institute of Antibiotics, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and Key Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology of Antibiotics, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China
| | | | - T Prescott Atkinson
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
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