Regulation of htrA expression in Yersinia enterocolitica.
In Escherichia coli, envelope stress is regulated by the alternative sigma factor sigma(E) and the two-component regulatory system CpxRA. Both systems overlap in the transcriptional regulation of the htrA gene encoding a protease that degrades misfolded proteins in the periplasm. In Yersinia enterocolitica, HtrA is important for intracellular survival and full virulence in animal models. Here we show that regulation of htrA expression in Y. enterocolitica is dependent on CpxR and putatively also on RpoE. However, the stimuli inducing both systems were different from E. coli. Most strikingly, we found that overproduction of an outer membrane protein, a typical stimulus for the induction of htrA expression via RpoE in E. coli, led to the induction of htrA expression via the Cpx system in Y. enterocolitica. Interestingly, a Y. enterocolitica CpxR mutant strain was not impaired for virulence in a mouse model of infection.
Institut für Infektiologie, Zentrum für Molekularbiologie der Entzündung, Universitätsklinikum Münster, von-Esmarch-Strasse 56, 48149 Münster, Germany. heusipp@uni-muenster.de
Gerhard
G
Heusipp
Kristin M
KM
Nelson
M Alexander
MA
Schmidt
Virginia L
VL
Miller
D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D033903:Periplasmic Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics*; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics; D013696:Temperature; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D015008:Yersinia enterocolitica / Q000235:genetics*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D033903:Periplasmic Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C063202:sporulation-specific sigma factors; C085504:CpxR protein, Bacteria; C061682:DegP protease; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases