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Kowalczyk B, Petzold M, Kaczyński Z, Szuster-Ciesielska A, Luchowski R, Gruszecki WI, Fuchs B, Galuska CE, Choma A, Tarasiuk J, Palusińska-Szysz M. Lipopolysaccharide of Legionella pneumophila Serogroup 1 Facilitates Interaction with Host Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14602. [PMID: 37834049 PMCID: PMC10572746 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241914602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Legionella pneumophila is the primary causative agent of Legionnaires' disease. The mutant-type strain interrupted in the ORF7 gene region responsible for the lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis of the L. pneumophila strain Heysham-1, lacking the O-acetyl groups attached to the rhamnose of the core part, showed a higher surface polarity compared with the wild-type strain. The measurement of excitation energy transfer between fluorophores located on the surface of bacteria and eukaryotic cells showed that, at an early stage of interaction with host cells, the mutant exhibited weaker interactions with Acanthamoeba castellanii cells and THP-1-derived macrophages. The mutant displayed reduced adherence to macrophages but enhanced adherence to A. castellanii, suggesting that the O-acetyl group of the LPS core region plays a crucial role in facilitating interaction with macrophages. The lack of core rhamnose O-acetyl groups made it easier for the bacteria to multiply in amoebae and macrophages. The mutant induced TNF-α production more strongly compared with the wild-type strain. The mutant synthesized twice as many ceramides Cer(t34:0) and Cer(t38:0) than the wild-type strain. The study showed that the internal sugars of the LPS core region of L. pneumophila sg 1 can interact with eukaryotic cell surface receptors and mediate in contacting and attaching bacteria to host cells as well as modulating the immune response to infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bożena Kowalczyk
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (B.K.); (A.C.); (J.T.)
| | - Markus Petzold
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Virology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, University of Technology Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany;
| | - Zbigniew Kaczyński
- Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, 80-309 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska
- Department of Virology and Immunology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-033 Lublin, Poland;
| | - Rafał Luchowski
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland; (R.L.); (W.I.G.)
| | - Wiesław I. Gruszecki
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland; (R.L.); (W.I.G.)
| | - Beate Fuchs
- Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Core Facility Metabolomics, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany; (B.F.); (C.E.G.)
| | - Christina E. Galuska
- Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Core Facility Metabolomics, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany; (B.F.); (C.E.G.)
| | - Adam Choma
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (B.K.); (A.C.); (J.T.)
| | - Jacek Tarasiuk
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (B.K.); (A.C.); (J.T.)
| | - Marta Palusińska-Szysz
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (B.K.); (A.C.); (J.T.)
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A Tale of Four Danish Cities: Legionella pneumophila Diversity in Domestic Hot Water and Spatial Variations in Disease Incidence. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19052530. [PMID: 35270223 PMCID: PMC8909801 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Denmark has one of the highest Legionnaires' disease notification rates within Europe, averaging 4.7 cases per 100,000 population annually (2017 to 2020). The relatively high incidence of disease is not uniform across the country, and approximately 70% of all domestically acquired cases in Denmark are caused by Legionella pneumophila (LP) strains that are considered less virulent. The aim of this study was to investigate if colonization rates, levels of colonization, and/or types of LP present in hot water systems were associated with geographic differences in Legionnaires' disease incidence. Domestic water systems from four cities in Denmark were analyzed via culture and qPCR. Serogrouping and sequence typing was performed on randomly selected isolates. Single nucleotide polymorphism was used to identify clonal relationship among isolates from the four cities. The results revealed a high LP colonization rate from 68% to 87.5% among systems, composed primarily of non-serogroup 1. LP serogroup 1 reacting with the monoclonal antibody (MAb) 3/1 was not identified in any of the systems tested, while MAb 3/1 negative serogroup 1 strains were isolated from 10 systems (9.6%). We hypothesize that a combination of factors influences the incidence rate of LD in each city, including sequence type and serogroup distribution, colonization rate, concentration of Legionella in Pre-flush and Flush samples, and potentially building characteristics such as water temperature measured at the point of use.
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The Role of Lipids in Legionella-Host Interaction. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22031487. [PMID: 33540788 PMCID: PMC7867332 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22031487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Legionella are Gram-stain-negative rods associated with water environments: either natural or man-made systems. The inhalation of aerosols containing Legionella bacteria leads to the development of a severe pneumonia termed Legionnaires' disease. To establish an infection, these bacteria adapt to growth in the hostile environment of the host through the unusual structures of macromolecules that build the cell surface. The outer membrane of the cell envelope is a lipid bilayer with an asymmetric composition mostly of phospholipids in the inner leaflet and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the outer leaflet. The major membrane-forming phospholipid of Legionella spp. is phosphatidylcholine (PC)-a typical eukaryotic glycerophospholipid. PC synthesis in Legionella cells occurs via two independent pathways: the N-methylation (Pmt) pathway and the Pcs pathway. The utilisation of exogenous choline by Legionella spp. leads to changes in the composition of lipids and proteins, which influences the physicochemical properties of the cell surface. This phenotypic plasticity of the Legionella cell envelope determines the mode of interaction with the macrophages, which results in a decrease in the production of proinflammatory cytokines and modulates the interaction with antimicrobial peptides and proteins. The surface-exposed O-chain of Legionella pneumophila sg1 LPS consisting of a homopolymer of 5-acetamidino-7-acetamido-8-O-acetyl-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-l-glycero-d-galacto-non-2-ulosonic acid is probably the first component in contact with the host cell that anchors the bacteria in the host membrane. Unusual in terms of the structure and function of individual LPS regions, it makes an important contribution to the antigenicity and pathogenicity of Legionella bacteria.
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