scholarly journals TheC. difficile clnRABoperon initiates adaptations to the host environment in response to LL-37

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C. Woods ◽  
Adrianne N. Edwards ◽  
Shonna M. McBride

ABSTRACTTo cause disease,Clostridioides(Clostridium)difficilemust resist killing by innate immune effectors in the intestine, including the host antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin (LL-37). The mechanisms that enableC. difficileto adapt to the intestine in the presence of antimicrobial peptides are unknown. Expression analyses revealed an operon,CD630_16170-CD630_16190(clnRAB), which is highly induced by LL-37 and is not expressed in response to other cell-surface active antimicrobials. This operon encodes a predicted transcriptional regulator (clnR) and an ABC transporter system (clnAB), all of which are required for function. Analyses of aclnRmutant indicate that ClnR is a pleiotropic regulator that directly binds to LL-37 and controls expression of numerous genes, including many involved in metabolism, cellular transport, signaling, gene regulation, and pathogenesis. The data suggest that ClnRAB is a novel regulatory mechanism that senses LL-37 as a host signal and regulates gene expression to adapt to the host intestinal environment during infection.Author SummaryC. difficileis a major nosocomial pathogen that causes severe diarrheal disease. ThoughC. difficileis known to inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract, the mechanisms that allow this pathogen to adapt to the intestine and survive host defenses are not known. In this work, we investigated the response ofC. difficileto the host defense peptide, LL-37, to determine the mechanisms underlying host adaptation and survival. Expression analyses revealed a previously unknown locus, which we namedclnRAB, that is highly induced by LL-37 and acts as a global regulator of gene expression inC. difficile. Mutant analyses indicate that ClnRAB is a novel regulatory system that senses LL-37 as a host signal to regulate adaptation to the intestinal environment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine R. Dobbs ◽  
Paula Embury ◽  
Emmily Koech ◽  
Sidney Ogolla ◽  
Stephen Munga ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Age-related changes in adaptive and innate immune cells have been associated with a decline in effective immunity and chronic, low-grade inflammation. Epigenetic, transcriptional, and functional changes in monocytes occur with aging, though most studies to date have focused on differences between young adults and the elderly in populations with European ancestry; few data exist regarding changes that occur in circulating monocytes during the first few decades of life or in African populations. We analyzed DNA methylation profiles, cytokine production, and inflammatory gene expression profiles in monocytes from young adults and children from western Kenya. Results We identified several hypo- and hyper-methylated CpG sites in monocytes from Kenyan young adults vs. children that replicated findings in the current literature of differential DNA methylation in monocytes from elderly persons vs. young adults across diverse populations. Differentially methylated CpG sites were also noted in gene regions important to inflammation and innate immune responses. Monocytes from Kenyan young adults vs. children displayed increased production of IL-8, IL-10, and IL-12p70 in response to TLR4 and TLR2/1 stimulation as well as distinct inflammatory gene expression profiles. Conclusions These findings complement previous reports of age-related methylation changes in isolated monocytes and provide novel insights into the role of age-associated changes in innate immune functions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Selman ◽  
Nicola D. Kerrison ◽  
Anisha Cooray ◽  
Matthew D. W. Piper ◽  
Steven J. Lingard ◽  
...  

Caloric restriction (CR) increases healthy life span in a range of organisms. The underlying mechanisms are not understood but appear to include changes in gene expression, protein function, and metabolism. Recent studies demonstrate that acute CR alters mortality rates within days in flies. Multitissue transcriptional changes and concomitant metabolic responses to acute CR have not been described. We generated whole genome RNA transcript profiles in liver, skeletal muscle, colon, and hypothalamus and simultaneously measured plasma metabolites using proton nuclear magnetic resonance in mice subjected to acute CR. Liver and muscle showed increased gene expressions associated with fatty acid metabolism and a reduction in those involved in hepatic lipid biosynthesis. Glucogenic amino acids increased in plasma, and gene expression for hepatic gluconeogenesis was enhanced. Increased expression of genes for hormone-mediated signaling and decreased expression of genes involved in protein binding and development occurred in hypothalamus. Cell proliferation genes were decreased and cellular transport genes increased in colon. Acute CR captured many, but not all, hepatic transcriptional changes of long-term CR. Our findings demonstrate a clear transcriptional response across multiple tissues during acute CR, with congruent plasma metabolite changes. Liver and muscle switched gene expression away from energetically expensive biosynthetic processes toward energy conservation and utilization processes, including fatty acid metabolism and gluconeogenesis. Both muscle and colon switched gene expression away from cellular proliferation. Mice undergoing acute CR rapidly adopt many transcriptional and metabolic changes of long-term CR, suggesting that the beneficial effects of CR may require only a short-term reduction in caloric intake.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Vishal Gor ◽  
Ryosuke L. Ohniwa ◽  
Kazuya Morikawa

Phase variation (PV) is a well-known phenomenon of high-frequency reversible gene-expression switching. PV arises from genetic and epigenetic mechanisms and confers a range of benefits to bacteria, constituting both an innate immune strategy to infection from bacteriophages as well as an adaptation strategy within an infected host. PV has been well-characterized in numerous bacterial species; however, there is limited direct evidence of PV in the human opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. This review provides an overview of the mechanisms that generate PV and focuses on earlier and recent findings of PV in S. aureus, with a brief look at the future of the field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli Wuerth ◽  
Amy H. Y. Lee ◽  
Reza Falsafi ◽  
Erin E. Gill ◽  
Robert E. W. Hancock

ABSTRACTPseudomonas aeruginosais an opportunistic pathogen that causes nosocomial pneumonia and infects patients with cystic fibrosis.P. aeruginosalung infections are difficult to treat due to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, and strains with multidrug resistance are becoming more prevalent. Here, we examined the use of a small host defense peptide, innate defense regulator 1002 (IDR-1002), in an acuteP. aeruginosalung infectionin vivo. IDR-1002 significantly reduced the bacterial burden in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), as well as MCP-1 in BALF and serum, KC in serum, and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in BALF. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) was conducted on lungs and whole blood, and the effects ofP. aeruginosa, IDR-1002, and the combination ofP. aeruginosaand IDR-1002 were evaluated. Differential gene expression analysis showed thatP. aeruginosaincreased multiple inflammatory and innate immune pathways, as well as affected hemostasis, matrix metalloproteinases, collagen biosynthesis, and various metabolism pathways in the lungs and/or blood. Infected mice treated with IDR-1002 had significant changes in gene expression compared to untreated infected mice, with fewer differentially expressed genes associated with the inflammatory and innate immune responses to microbial infection, and treatment also affected morphogenesis, certain metabolic pathways, and lymphocyte activation. Overall, these results showed that IDR-1002 was effective in treatingP. aeruginosaacute lung infections and associated inflammation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronan Gerard Shaughnessy ◽  
Kieran G. Meade ◽  
Sarah Cahalane ◽  
Brenda Allan ◽  
Carla Reiman ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-388
Author(s):  
Samuel L. Hayes ◽  
Bethany R. Lye ◽  
Dennis J. Lye ◽  
Mark R. Rodgers ◽  
Gerard Stelma ◽  
...  

The genus Aeromonas comprises known virulent and avirulent isolates and has been implicated in waterborne disease. A common infection model of human gastroenteritis associated with A. hydrophila uses neonatal mice. The goal of this research was to evaluate whether a murine small intestinal cell line could provide comparable results to the gene expression changes in the neonatal mouse model. Changes in mRNA expression in host cell cultures and intestinal tissues were measured after exposure to virulent Aeromonas hydrophila strains. A. hydrophila caused the up-regulation of more than 200 genes in neonates and over 50 genes in cell culture. Twenty-six genes were found to be in common between the two models, of which the majority are associated with the innate immune response.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document