title: Suppression of ERK activation in urethral epithelial cells infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and its isogenic minD mutant contributes to anti-apoptosis.
abstract: In gonococci-infected transduced human urethral epithelial cells (THUEC), the role of ERK, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), in apoptosis is unknown. We observed lowering of ERK activation in THUEC following infection with anti-apoptosis-inducing Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain CH811. An isogenic cell division mutant of this strain, Ng CJSD1 (minD deficient), which is large and abnormally shaped, reduced ERK phosphorylation levels even more than its parental strain in THUEC. This led to higher anti-apoptosis in mutant-infected cells as compared to the parental strain-infected cells. Our results suggest that N. gonorrhoeae infection reduces ERK activation in THUEC contributing to anti-apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, W.P. Thompson Building 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E2, Canada.
authors.forename: GuanQun L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, W.P. Thompson Building 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E2, Canada; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, 120 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E3, Canada.
authors.forename: Rajinder P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Parti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, W.P. Thompson Building 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E2, Canada; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, 120 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E3, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E5, Canada. Electronic address: j.dillon@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Jo-Anne R
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dillon
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000276:immunology*; D014522:Urethral Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C096335:B59 protein, human; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C439050:MinD protein, Neisseria gonorrhoeae
keywords: Anti-apoptosis; ERK regulation; N. gonorrhoeae minD mutant; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Urethral epithelial cells