scholarly journals Animal Models of Type III Secretion System-Mediated Pathogenesis

Pathogens ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia A. Hotinger ◽  
Aaron E. May

The type III secretion system (T3SS) is a conserved virulence factor used by many Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria and has become an important target for anti-virulence drugs. Most T3SS inhibitors to date have been discovered using in vitro screening assays. Pharmacokinetics and other important characteristics of pharmaceuticals cannot be determined with in vitro assays alone. In vivo assays are required to study pathogens in their natural environment and are an important step in the development of new drugs and vaccines. Animal models are also required to understand whether T3SS inhibition will enable the host to clear the infection. This review covers selected animal models (mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, cat, dog, pig, cattle, primates, chicken, zebrafish, nematode, wax moth, flea, fly, and amoeba), where T3SS activity and infectivity have been studied in relation to specific pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Shigella spp., Bordetella spp., Vibrio spp., Chlamydia spp., and Yersinia spp.). These assays may be appropriate for those researching T3SS inhibition.

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Ortiz-Martín ◽  
Richard Thwaites ◽  
Alberto P. Macho ◽  
John W. Mansfield ◽  
Carmen R. Beuzón

Disease in compatible hosts and induction of the hypersensitive response in resistant plants by most plant-pathogenic bacteria require a functional type III secretion system (T3SS). Expression of T3SS genes responds to host and environmental factors and is induced within the plant. In Pseudomonas syringae, expression of the T3SS requires HrpL, which is transcriptionally upregulated by HrpR and HrpS. In some pathovars, expression of the hrpRS genes is upregulated by the GacA/S two-component system. Additionally, HrpA, the major component of the T3SS pilus, has also been linked to the regulation of the hrpRS gene expression. Previous studies concerning regulation of hypersensitive response and pathogenesis/hypersensitive response conserved (hrp/hrc) gene expression have used mostly in vitro inducing conditions, different pathovars, and methodology. Here, we analyze the roles of HrpL, GacA, and HrpA in the bean pathogen, using single, double, and triple mutants as well as strains ectopically expressing the regulators. We use real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis in vitro and in planta to quantify gene expression and competitive indices and other assays to assess bacterial fitness. Our results indicate that i) HrpL acts as a general virulence regulator that upregulates non-T3SS virulence determinants and downregulates flagellar function; ii) GacA modulates the expression of hrpL, and its contribution to virulence is entirely HrpL dependent; iii) there is a basal HrpL-independent expression of the T3SS genes in rich medium that is important for full activation of the system, maybe by keeping the system primed for rapid activation upon contact with the plant; and iv) HrpA upregulates expression of the T3SS genes and is essential to activate expression of the hrpZ operon upon contact with the plant.


mBio ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Marijke Keestra ◽  
Maria G. Winter ◽  
Daisy Klein-Douwel ◽  
Mariana N. Xavier ◽  
Sebastian E. Winter ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe invasion-associated type III secretion system (T3SS-1) ofSalmonella entericaserotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) activates the transcription factor NF-κB in tissue culture cells and induces inflammatory responses in animal models through unknown mechanisms. Here we show that bacterial delivery or ectopic expression of SipA, a T3SS-1-translocated protein, led to the activation of the NOD1/NOD2 signaling pathway and consequent RIP2-mediated induction of NF-κB-dependent inflammatory responses. SipA-mediated activation of NOD1/NOD2 signaling was independent of bacterial invasionin vitrobut required an intact T3SS-1. In the mouse colitis model, SipA triggered mucosal inflammation in wild-type mice but not in NOD1/NOD2-deficient mice. These findings implicate SipA-driven activation of the NOD1/NOD2 signaling pathway as a mechanism by which the T3SS-1 induces inflammatory responsesin vitroandin vivo.IMPORTANCESalmonella entericaserotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) deploys a type III secretion system (T3SS-1) to induce intestinal inflammation and benefits from the ensuing host response, which enhances growth of the pathogen in the intestinal lumen. However, the mechanisms by which the T3SS-1 triggers inflammatory responses have not been resolved. Here we show that the T3SS-1 effector protein SipA induces NF-κB activation and intestinal inflammation by activating the NOD1/NOD2 signaling pathway. These data suggest that the T3SS-1 escalates innate responses through a SipA-mediated activation of pattern recognition receptors in the host cell cytosol.


2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 538-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Dacheux ◽  
Ina Attree ◽  
Bertrand Toussaint

ABSTRACT Twelve Pseudomonas aeruginosa cystic fibrosis isolates that are not able to exert a type III secretion system (TTSS)-dependent cytotoxicity towards phagocytes have been further studied. The strains, although possessing TTSS genes and exsA, which encodes a positive regulator of the TTSS regulon, showed no transcriptional activation of the exsCBA regulatory operon. The expression of exsA in trans restored the in vitro secretion of TTSS proteins and ex vivo cytotoxicity.


Author(s):  
Dongying Liu ◽  
Yantao Luo ◽  
Xiaofeng Zheng ◽  
Xinye Wang ◽  
Minxia Chou ◽  
...  

Similar to pathogenic bacteria, rhizobia can inject effector proteins into host cells directly to promote infection via the type III secretion system. Nodulation outer protein P (NopP), a specific type III secretion system effector of rhizobia, plays different roles in the establishment of multiple rhizobia-legume symbiotic systems. Mesorhizobium amorphae CCNWGS0123 (GS0123), which infects Robinia pseudoacacia specifically, secretes several type III secretion system (T3SS) effectors, including NopP. Here, we demonstrate that NopP is secreted through T3SS-Ⅰof GS0123 during the early stages of infection, and its deficiency decreases nodule nitrogenase activity of R. pseudoacacia nodules. A trafficking protein particle complex subunit 13-like protein (TRAPPC13) ishas been identified as a NopP target protein in R. pseudoacacia roots by screening a yeast two-hybrid library. The physical interaction between NopP and TRAPPC13 is verified by bimolecular fluorescence complementation and co-immunoprecipitation assays. In addition, subcellular localization analysis reveals that both NopP and its target, TRAPPC13, are co-localized on the plasma membrane. Compared with GS0123-inoculated R. pseudoacacia roots, some genes associated with cell wall remodeling and plant innate immunity down-regulated in ΔnopP-inoculated roots at 36 hpi. The results suggest that NopP in M. amorphae CCNWGS0123 acts in multiple process in R. pseudoacacia during the early stages of infection, and TRAPPC13 could participate in the process as a NopP target.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (18) ◽  
pp. 4775-4780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Deiwick ◽  
Thomas Nikolaus ◽  
Jaqueline E. Shea ◽  
Colin Gleeson ◽  
David W. Holden ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Salmonella typhimurium genome contains two pathogenicity islands (SPI) with genes encoding type III secretion systems for virulence proteins. SPI1 is required for the penetration of the epithelial layer of the intestine. SPI2 is important for the subsequent proliferation of bacteria in the spleens of infected hosts. Although most mutations in SPI2 lead to a strong reduction of virulence, they have different effects in vitro, with some mutants having significantly increased sensitivity to gentamicin and the antibacterial peptide polymyxin B. Previously we showed that certain mutations in SPI2 affect the ability of S. typhimurium to secrete SPI1 effector proteins and to invade cultured eukaryotic cells. In this study, we show that these SPI2 mutations affect the expression of the SPI1 invasion genes. Analysis of reporter fusions to various SPI1 genes reveals highly reduced expression of sipC,prgK, and hilA, the transcriptional activator of SPI1 genes. These observations indicate that the expression of one type III secretion system can be influenced dramatically by mutations in genes encoding a second type III secretion system in the same cell.


Microbiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Gong ◽  
Gia-Phong Vu ◽  
Yong Bai ◽  
Edward Yang ◽  
Fenyong Liu ◽  
...  

The type III secretion system (T3SS) encoded by Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) is important for the invasion of epithelial cells during development of Salmonella-associated enterocolitis. It has been suggested that the level and timing of the expression of the SPI-1 T3SS proteins and effectors dictate the consequences of bacterial infection and pathogenesis. However, the expression of these proteins has not been extensively studied in vivo, especially during the later stages of salmonellosis when the infection is established. We have constructed recombinant Salmonella strains that contain a FLAG epitope inserted in-frame to genes invJ, prgJ, sipC, sipD, sopA and sopB, and investigated the expression of the tagged proteins both in vitro and in vivo during murine salmonellosis. Mice were inoculated intraperitoneally or intragastrically with the tagged Salmonella strains. At different time points post-infection, bacteria were recovered from various organs, and the expression of the tagged proteins was determined. Our results provide direct evidence that PrgJ and SipD are expressed in Salmonella colonizing the liver and ileum of infected animals at both the early and late stages of infection. Furthermore, our study has shown that the InvJ protein is expressed preferentially in Salmonella colonizing the ileum but not the liver, while SipC is expressed preferentially in Salmonella colonizing the liver but not the ileum. Thus, Salmonella appears to express different SPI-1 proteins and effectors when colonizing specific tissues. Our results suggest that differential expression of these proteins may be important for tissue-specific aspects of bacterial pathogenesis such as gastroenterititis in the ileum and systemic infection in the liver.


Antibodies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Julia A. Hotinger ◽  
Aaron E. May

Pathogenic bacteria are a global health threat, with over 2 million infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria every year in the United States. This problem is exacerbated by the increase in resistance to common antibiotics that are routinely used to treat these infections, creating an urgent need for innovative ways to treat and prevent virulence caused by these pathogens. Many Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria use a type III secretion system (T3SS) to inject toxins and other effector proteins directly into host cells. The T3SS has become a popular anti-virulence target because it is required for pathogenesis and knockouts have attenuated virulence. It is also not required for survival, which should result in less selective pressure for resistance formation against T3SS inhibitors. In this review, we will highlight selected examples of direct antibody immunizations and the use of antibodies in immunotherapy treatments that target the bacterial T3SS. These examples include antibodies targeting the T3SS of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Yersinia pestis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Shigella spp., and Chlamydia trachomatis.


Antibiotics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather A. Pendergrass ◽  
Aaron E. May

Many known inhibitors of the bacterial type III secretion system (T3SS), a virulence factor used by pathogenic bacteria to infect host cells, are natural products. These compounds, produced by bacteria, fungi, and plants, may have developed as prophylactic treatments for potential attack by bacterial pathogens or as an attempt by symbiotic organisms to protect their hosts. Regardless, better understanding of the structures and mechanisms of action of these compounds may open opportunities for drug development against diseases caused by pathogens utilizing the T3SS. This review will cover selected known natural products of the T3SS and detail what is known of their origin and mechanism of action. These inhibitors highlight nature’s ability to modulate interactions between organisms at a cellular level.


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