title: The polysaccharide capsule of Campylobacter jejuni modulates the host immune response.
abstract: Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial diarrheal disease worldwide. The organism is characterized by a diversity of polysaccharide structures, including a polysaccharide capsule. Most C. jejuni capsules are known to be decorated nonstoichiometrically with methyl phosphoramidate (MeOPN). The capsule of C. jejuni 81-176 has been shown to be required for serum resistance, but here we show that an encapsulated mutant lacking the MeOPN modification, an mpnC mutant, was equally as sensitive to serum killing as the nonencapsulated mutant. A nonencapsulated mutant, a kpsM mutant, exhibited significantly reduced colonization compared to that of wild-type 81-176 in a mouse intestinal colonization model, and the mpnC mutant showed an intermediate level of colonization. Both mutants were associated with higher levels of interleukin 17 (IL-17) expression from lamina propria CD4(+) cells than from cells from animals infected with 81-176. In addition, reduced levels of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and TLR2 activation were observed following in vitro stimulation of human reporter cell lines with the kpsM and mpnC mutants compared to those with wild-type 81-176. The data suggest that the capsule polysaccharide of C. jejuni and the MeOPN modification modulate the host immune response.
authors.affiliation: Enteric Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Maue
authors.forename: Krystle L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Mohawk
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poly
authors.forename: Cheryl P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Ewing
authors.forename: Yuening
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Ginyoung
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Zuchao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Mario A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: Christina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Jason S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ferderber
authors.forename: Chad K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: M Stephen
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Trent
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guerry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000502:physiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D016328:NF-kappa B; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors