Role of RpoS in virulence of pathogens.
Understanding mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis is critical for infectious disease control and treatment. Infection is a sophisticated process that requires the participation of global regulators to coordinate expression of not only genes coding for virulence factors but also those involved in other physiological processes, such as stress response and metabolic flux, to adapt to host environments. RpoS is a key response regulator to stress conditions in Escherichia coli and many other proteobacteria. In contrast to its conserved well-understood role in stress response, effects of RpoS on pathogenesis are highly variable and dependent on species. RpoS contributes to virulence through either enhancing survival against host defense systems or directly regulating expression of virulence factors in some pathogens, while RpoS is dispensable, or even inhibitory, to virulence in others. In this review, we focus on the distinct and niche-dependent role of RpoS in virulence by surveying recent findings in many pathogens.
Dong
Tao
T
McMaster University, Department of Biology, Life Sciences Building, Rm. 433, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada.
Schellhorn
Herb E
HE
D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; D037521:Virulence Factors; C069567:sigma factor KatF protein, Bacteria