Bile acid-induced virulence gene expression of Vibrio parahaemolyticus reveals a novel therapeutic potential for bile acid sequestrants.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterial pathogen, causes human gastroenteritis. A type III secretion system (T3SS2) encoded in pathogenicity island (Vp-PAI) is the main contributor to enterotoxicity and expression of Vp-PAI encoded genes is regulated by two transcriptional regulators, VtrA and VtrB. However, a host-derived inducer for the Vp-PAI genes has not been identified. Here, we demonstrate that bile induces production of T3SS2-related proteins under osmotic conditions equivalent to those in the intestinal lumen. We also show that bile induces vtrA-mediated vtrB transcription. Transcriptome analysis of bile-responsive genes revealed that bile strongly induces expression of Vp-PAI genes in a vtrA-dependent manner. The inducing activity of bile was diminished by treatment with bile acid sequestrant cholestyramine. Finally, we demonstrate an in vivo protective effect of cholestyramine on enterotoxicity and show that similar protection is observed in infection with a different type of V. parahaemolyticus or with non-O1/non-O139 V. cholerae strains of vibrios carrying the same kind of T3SS. In summary, these results provide an insight into how bacteria, through the ingenious action of Vp-PAI genes, can take advantage of an otherwise hostile host environment. The results also reveal a new therapeutic potential for widely used bile acid sequestrants in enteric bacterial infections.
Laboratory of Genomic Research on Pathogenic Bacteria, International Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
Kazuyoshi
K
Gotoh
Toshio
T
Kodama
Hirotaka
H
Hiyoshi
Kaori
K
Izutsu
Kwon-Sam
KS
Park
Rikard
R
Dryselius
Yukihiro
Y
Akeda
Takeshi
T
Honda
Tetsuya
T
Iida
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics*
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts