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Shi YA, Lu SL, Noda T, Chiu CH, Chiang-Ni C. Capsule-deficient group A Streptococcus evades autophagy-mediated killing in macrophages. mBio 2024; 15:e0077124. [PMID: 38819157 PMCID: PMC11253618 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00771-24] [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: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The hyaluronic acid capsule is crucial in protecting group A Streptococcus (GAS) against phagocytic killing. However, there have been reported outbreaks caused by capsule-deficient GAS strains, and the mechanisms underlying their evasion of immune clearance remain unclear. This study demonstrated that the capsule-deficient mutant [Cap(-)] of the emm1 strain increased survival within phagocytic cells compared to the wild-type strain [Cap(+)]. Although both Cap(+) and Cap(-) strains exhibited similar abilities to disrupt the phagosome, only the Cap(+) strain was colocalized with lysosomes and acidified compartments in phagocytic cells, indicating its susceptibility to autophagosome elimination. In contrast, the Cap(-) mutant evaded the recognition of galectin-8 and ubiquitin, impairing selective autophagy-mediated elimination. These findings suggest that a deficiency in the capsule could impair the intracellular elimination of GAS in macrophages, revealing previously unknown aspects of the host's recognition of the GAS capsule in macrophages. IMPORTANCE Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes diseases ranging from mild pharyngitis to severe necrotizing fasciitis. Phagocytic cells serve as the primary defense against bacterial infections, exhibiting remarkable efficiency in eliminating intracellular pathogens. The hyaluronic acid capsule is a critical virulence factor that contributes to the resistance of phagocytosis in GAS. Nevertheless, the outbreaks caused by GAS strains that lack the hyaluronic acid capsule have been reported, and the selective advantage of capsule-deficient strains during infection is not fully understood. This study showed that the autophagic adaptor proteins recognize the capsulated GAS strain but not the capsule-deficient mutant, indicating that the hyaluronic acid capsule could be the autophagic target in macrophages. These findings imply that the hyaluronic acid capsule of GAS actually enhances its elimination within phagocytic cells, subverting the understanding of the capsule in GAS pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-An Shi
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Shiou-Ling Lu
- Center for Frontier Oral Science, Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Takeshi Noda
- Center for Frontier Oral Science, Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Chiang-Ni C, Chiang CY, Chen YW, Shi YA, Chao YT, Wang S, Tsai PJ, Chiu CH. RopB-regulated SpeB cysteine protease degrades extracellular vesicles-associated streptolysin O and bacterial proteins from group A Streptococcus. Virulence 2023; 14:2249784. [PMID: 37621107 PMCID: PMC10461520 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2023.2249784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be released from gram-positive bacteria and would participate in the delivery of bacterial toxins. Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) is one of the most common pathogens of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis. Spontaneous inactivating mutation in the CovR/CovS two-component regulatory system is related to the increase of EVs production via an unknown mechanism. This study aimed to investigate whether the CovR/CovS-regulated RopB, the transcriptional regulator of GAS exoproteins, would participate in regulating EVs production. Results showed that the size, morphology, and number of EVs released from the wild-type strain and the ropB mutant were similar, suggesting RopB is not involved in controlling EVs production. Nonetheless, RopB-regulated SpeB protease degrades streptolysin O and bacterial proteins in EVs. Although SpeB has crucial roles in modulating protein composition in EVs, the SpeB-positive EVs failed to trigger HaCaT keratinocytes pyroptosis, suggesting that EVs did not deliver SpeB into keratinocytes or the amount of SpeB in EVs was not sufficient to trigger cell pyroptosis. Finally, we identified that EV-associated enolase was resistant to SpeB degradation, and therefore could be utilized as the internal control protein for verifying SLO degradation. This study revealed that RopB would participate in modulating protein composition in EVs via SpeB-dependent protein degradation and suggested that enolase is a potential internal marker for studying GAS EVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Yi Chiang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yan-Wen Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yong-An Shi
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Tzu Chao
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Shuying Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jane Tsai
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Tsai WJ, Lai YH, Shi YA, Hammel M, Duff AP, Whitten AE, Wilde KL, Wu CM, Knott R, Jeng US, Kang CY, Hsu CY, Wu JL, Tsai PJ, Chiang-Ni C, Wu JJ, Lin YS, Liu CC, Senda T, Wang S. Structural basis underlying the synergism of NADase and SLO during group A Streptococcus infection. Commun Biol 2023; 6:124. [PMID: 36721030 PMCID: PMC9887584 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04502-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a strict human pathogen possessing a unique pathogenic trait that utilizes the cooperative activity of NAD+-glycohydrolase (NADase) and Streptolysin O (SLO) to enhance its virulence. How NADase interacts with SLO to synergistically promote GAS cytotoxicity and intracellular survival is a long-standing question. Here, the structure and dynamic nature of the NADase/SLO complex are elucidated by X-ray crystallography and small-angle scattering, illustrating atomic details of the complex interface and functionally relevant conformations. Structure-guided studies reveal a salt-bridge interaction between NADase and SLO is important to cytotoxicity and resistance to phagocytic killing during GAS infection. Furthermore, the biological significance of the NADase/SLO complex in GAS virulence is demonstrated in a murine infection model. Overall, this work delivers the structure-functional relationship of the NADase/SLO complex and pinpoints the key interacting residues that are central to the coordinated actions of NADase and SLO in the pathogenesis of GAS infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Jiun Tsai
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hsin Lai
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Yong-An Shi
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Michal Hammel
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Anthony P Duff
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia
| | - Andrew E Whitten
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia
| | - Karyn L Wilde
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia
| | - Chun-Ming Wu
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Robert Knott
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia
| | - U-Ser Jeng
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Yu Kang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Yu Hsu
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Jian-Li Wu
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jane Tsai
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
| | - Jiunn-Jong Wu
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Yee-Shin Lin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Chuan Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Toshiya Senda
- Structural Biology Research Center, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Shuying Wang
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioindustry Sciences, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
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Chiang-Ni C, Liu YS, Lin CY, Hsu CY, Shi YA, Chen YYM, Lai CH, Chiu CH. Incidence and Effects of Acquisition of the Phage-Encoded ssa Superantigen Gene in Invasive Group A Streptococcus. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:685343. [PMID: 34149675 PMCID: PMC8212969 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.685343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of the phage-encoded superantigen ssa by scarlet fever-associated group A Streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes, GAS) is found in North Asia. Nonetheless, the impact of acquiring ssa by GAS in invasive infections is unclear. This study initially analyzed the prevalence of ssa+ GAS among isolates from sterile tissues and blood. Among 220 isolates in northern Taiwan, the prevalence of ssa+ isolates increased from 1.5% in 2008–2010 to 40% in 2017–2019. Spontaneous mutations in covR/covS, which result in the functional loss of capacity to phosphorylate CovR, are frequently recovered from GAS invasive infection cases. Consistent with this, Phostag western blot results indicated that among the invasive infection isolates studied, 10% of the ssa+ isolates lacked detectable phosphorylated CovR. Transcription of ssa is upregulated in the covS mutant. Furthermore, in emm1 and emm12 covS mutants, ssa deletion significantly reduced their capacity to grow in human whole blood. Finally, this study showed that the ssa gene could be transferred from emm12-type isolates to the emm1-type wild-type strain and covS mutants through phage infection and lysogenic conversion. As the prevalence of ssa+ isolates increased significantly, the role of streptococcal superantigen in GAS pathogenesis, particularly in invasive covR/covS mutants, should be further analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.,Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Shan Liu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chieh-Yu Lin
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Yun Hsu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yong-An Shi
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ywan M Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Ho Lai
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.,Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
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