Role of class 1 serine protease autotransporter in the pathogenesis of Citrobacter rodentium colitis.
A growing family of virulence factors called serine protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae (SPATEs) are secreted by Shigella, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli pathotypes. SPATEs are subdivided into class 1 and class 2 based on structural features and phylogenetics. Class 1 SPATEs induce cytopathic effects in numerous epithelial cell lines, and several have been shown to cleave the cytoskeletal protein spectrin in vitro. However, to date the in vivo role of class 1 SPATEs in enteric pathogenesis is unknown. Citrobacter rodentium, a natural mouse pathogen, has recently been shown to harbor class 1 and class 2 SPATEs. To better understand the contribution of class 1 SPATEs in enteric infection, we constructed a class 1 SPATE null mutant (Δcrc1) in C. rodentium. Upon infection of C57BL/6 mice, the Δcrc1 mutant exhibited a hypervirulent, hyperinflammatory phenotype compared with its parent, accompanied by greater weight loss and a trend toward increased mortality in young mice; the effect was reversed when the crc1 gene was restored. Using flow cytometry, we observed increased infiltration of T cells, B cells, and neutrophils into the lamina propria of the distal colon in mice fed the Δcrc1 mutant, starting as early as 5 days after infection. No significant difference in epithelial cytotoxicity was observed. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis of distal colonic tissue on day 10 postinfection showed significant increases in mRNA encoding cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), gamma interferon (IFN-γ), IL-1β, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) but not in mRNA encoding IL-17, IL-4, or IL-10 in the Δcrc1 mutant-infected mice. Our data suggest a previously unsuspected role for class 1 SPATEs in enteric infection.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
Vidhya
V
Vijayakumar
Araceli
A
Santiago
Rachel
R
Smith
Mark
M
Smith
Roy M
RM
Robins-Browne
James P
JP
Nataro
Fernando
F
Ruiz-Perez
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000378:metabolism; D044082:Citrobacter rodentium / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D003092:Colitis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D003106:Colon / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000166:cytology; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D057057:Serine Proteases / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D016207:Cytokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D057057:Serine Proteases