title: Vibrio vulnificus metalloprotease VvpE is essentially required for swarming.
abstract: Bacterial swarming constitutes a good in vitro model for surface adherence and colonization, and is accompanied by expressions of virulence factors related to invasiveness. In this study, it was determined that Vibrio vulnificus swarming was abolished by mutation of the vvpE gene encoding a metalloprotease VvpE and this swarming defect was recovered by complementation of the vvpE gene. Expression of the vvpE gene began simultaneously with the beginning of swarming and increased along with expression of the luxS gene encoding the synthase of the precursor of quorum-sensing signal molecule autoinducer 2, and this increased vvpE expression was decreased by mutation of the luxS gene. Moreover, VvpE destroyed IgA and lactoferrins, which are responsible for mucosal immunity. These results suggest that VvpE may play important roles in the surface adherence and colonization of V. vulnificus by facilitating swarming and in the mucosal invasion of V. vulnificus by destroying IgA and lactoferrin.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Resistant Cells, Chosun University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Choon-Mee
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ra-Young
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ho-Jong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: Soo-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joon-Haeng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Sung-Heui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013437:Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000378:metabolism; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000378:metabolism; D045726:Metalloproteases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009154:Mutation; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D045726:Metalloproteases; D007781:Lactoferrin; D013437:Carbon-Sulfur Lyases; C117753:LuxS protein, Bacteria