Dahai Yang

RNA-seq liver transcriptome analysis reveals an activated MHC-I pathway and an inhibited MHC-II pathway at the early stage of vaccine immunization in zebrafish

BackgroundZebrafish (Danio rerio) is a prominent vertebrate model of human development and pathogenic disease and has recently been utilized to study teleost immune responses to infectious agents threatening the aquaculture industry. In this work, to clarify the host immune mechanisms underlying the protective effects of a putative vaccine and improve its immunogenicity in the future efforts, high-throughput RNA sequencing technology was used to investigate the immunization-related gene expression patterns of zebrafish immunized with Edwardsiella tarda live attenuated vaccine.ResultsAverage reads of 18.13 million and 14.27 million were obtained from livers of zebrafish immunized with phosphate buffered saline (mock) and E. tarda vaccine (WED), respectively. The reads were annotated with the Ensembl zebrafish database before differential expressed genes sequencing (DESeq) comparative analysis, which identified 4565 significantly differentially expressed genes (2186 up-regulated and 2379 down-regulated in WED; p<0.05). Among those, functional classifications were found in the Gene Ontology database for 3891 and in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database for 3467. Several pathways involved in acute phase response, complement activation, immune/defense response, and antigen processing and presentation were remarkably affected at the early stage of WED immunization. Further qPCR analysis confirmed that the genes encoding the factors involved in major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I processing pathway were up-regulated, while those involved in MHC-II pathway were down-regulated.ConclusionThese data provided insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying zebrafish immune response to WED immunization and might aid future studies to develop a highly immunogenic vaccine against gram-negative bacteria in teleosts.

Gene expression profiling in live attenuated Edwardsiella tarda vaccine immunized and challenged zebrafish: insights into the basic mechanisms of protection seen in immunized fish.

Despite the importance and success of vaccine immunization against bacterial diseases in fish, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of vaccine-induced immune protection in teleost fish. In this study, the live attenuated Edwardsiella tarda vaccine strain WED, which has been shown to evoke efficacious protection against edwardsiellosis and ascites diseases in fish, was extensively evaluated for multiple parameters in a 5-week immunization and challenge experiment in zebrafish. The parameters evaluated included the immunologic potency (relative percent survival, RPS), the specific IgM antibody titers and the expression profiles of multiple immune-related gene markers at multiple time points following immunization and challenge. During the 4-week immunization phase, the toll-like receptor (TLR) 5 signaling pathway, the MHC-I antigen processing pathway and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses were activated in succession. In contrast, the MHC-II antigen processing pathway and the markers of CD4(+) T lymphocyte activation were down-regulated, and IgM transcription and specific IgM antibody titers were not significantly induced following immunization. During the 1-week challenge phase, the induction of MHC-I and CTL responses and the inhibition of MHC-II and CD4(+) T cell responses were similarly observed in immunized zebrafish following challenge with wild E. tarda. With the 5-week immunization and challenge model, our data suggest the basic mechanism that underlying the long-lasting protective immunity elicited by WED in zebrafish. This mechanism involved the induction of the TLR-5 signaling pathway, the MHC-I antigen processing pathway and CTL effector function, and CTL function seems play a major role in the protection against E. tarda infection in zebrafish.

Intramacrophage Infection Reinforces the Virulence of Edwardsiella tarda

UNLABELLED Edwardsiella tarda is an important pathogenic bacterium that can replicate in macrophages. However, how the intramacrophage infection process affects the virulence of this bacterium is essentially unknown. Here, we show that E. tarda replicates and induces a caspase-1-dependent cell pyroptosis in a murine macrophage model. Via pyroptosis, intracellular E. tarda escapes to the extracellular milieu, forming a unique bacterial population. Being different from the bacteria cultured alone, this unique population possesses a reprogrammed transcriptional profile, particularly with upregulated type III secretion system (T3SS)/T6SS cluster genes. Subsequent studies revealed that the macrophage-released population gains enhanced infectivity for host epithelial cells and increases resistance to multiple host defenses and hence displays significantly promoted virulence in vivo Further studies indicated that T3SS is essentially required for the macrophage infection process, while T6SS contributes to infection-induced bacterial virulence. Altogether, this work demonstrates that E. tarda can utilize macrophages as a niche for virulence priming and for spreading infection, suggesting a positive role for intramacrophage infection in bacterial pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE Many pathogens can replicate in macrophages, which is crucial for their pathogenesis. To survive in the macrophage cell, pathogens are likely to require fitness genes to counteract multiple host-killing mechanisms. Here, Edwardsiella tarda is proved to exit from macrophages during infection. This macrophage-released population displays a reprogrammed transcriptional profile with significantly upregulated type III secretion system (T3SS)/T6SS-related genes. Furthermore, both enhanced infectivity in epithelial cells and activated resistance to complex host defenses were conferred on this macrophage-primed population, which consequently promoted the full virulence of E. tarda in vivo Our work provides evidence that E. tarda can utilize macrophages as a niche for virulence priming and for spreading infection, highlighting the importance of the intramacrophage infection cycle for the pathogenesis of E. tarda.

Identification and functional characterization of EseH, a new effector of the type III secretion system of Edwardsiella piscicida

Edwardsiella piscicida, a bacterial pathogen in fish and humans, expresses a type III secretion system (T3SS) that is critical for pathogen virulence and disease development. However, little is known about the associated effectors and their functional importance. In this study, we identified the ETAE_1757 encoded protein, termed here E. piscicida secretion effector H (EseH) as a novel T3SS effector. We found that upon infection with E. piscicida, EseH is translocated into nucleus of host cells which required the T3SS. Homology modelling analysis suggests that EseH is an enzyme that belongs to the family of phosphothreothine lyases. Consistently, EseH inhibited phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38α and JNK MAPK pathways in host cells, but had no effect on the NF‐kB pathway. Furthermore, mutation of the critical amino acid residues predicted to confer phosphothreonine lyase activity abolished the ability of EseH to inhibit phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38α and JNK MAPK pathways in host cells. In addition, we found an increase in transcript levels of TNF‐α, IL‐12, IL‐10 and IFN‐γ in zebrafish infected with the eseH mutant when compared with the wild type bacterium. Importantly, the virulence of E. piscicida deficient in EseH was highly attenuated in the zebrafish infection model which correlated with decreased loads of the mutant bacterium in both liver and kidney. Complementation of the E. piscicida mutant strain with EseH restored virulence in zebrafish. These results identified EseH as a critical T3SS effector that contributes to virulence by targeting MAPK signalling during E. piscicida infection.

Novel T3SS Effector EseK in Edwardsiella piscicida is Chaperoned by EscH and EscS to Express Virulence

Bacterium usually utilises type III secretion systems (T3SS) to deliver effectors directly into host cells with the aids of chaperones. Hence, it is very important to identify bacterial T3SS effectors and chaperones for better understanding of host–pathogen interactions. Edwardsiella piscicida is an invasive enteric bacterium, which infects a wide range of hosts from fish to human. Given E. piscicida encodes a functional T3SS to promote infection, very few T3SS effectors and chaperones have been identified in this bacterium so far. Here, we reported that EseK is a new T3SS effector protein translocated by E. piscicida. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that escH and escS encode two putative class I T3SS chaperones. Further investigation indicated that EscH and EscS can enhance the secretion and translocation of EseK. EscH directly binds EseK through undetermined binding domains, whereas EscS binds EseK via its N‐terminal α‐helix. We also found that EseK has an N‐terminal chaperone‐binding domain, which binds EscH and EscS to form a ternary complex. Zebrafish infection experiments showed that EseK and its chaperones EscH and EscS are necessary for bacterial colonisation in zebrafish. This work identified a new T3SS effector, EseK, and its two T3SS chaperones, EscH and EscS, in E. piscicida, which enriches our knowledge of bacterial T3SS effector–chaperone interaction and contributes to our understanding of bacterial pathogenesis.

Systematic Identification of Intracellular-Translocated Candidate Effectors in Edwardsiella piscicida

Many bacterial pathogens inject effectors directly into host cells to target a variety of host cellular processes and promote bacterial dissemination and survival. Identifying the bacterial effectors and elucidating their functions are central to understanding the molecular pathogenesis of these pathogens. Edwardsiella piscicida is a pathogen with a wide host range, and very few of its effectors have been identified to date. Here, based on the genes significantly regulated by macrophage infection, we identified 25 intracellular translocation-positive candidate effectors, including all five previously reported effectors, namely EseG, EseJ, EseH, EseK, and EvpP. A subsequent secretion analysis revealed diverse secretion patterns for the 25 effector candidates, suggesting that multiple transport pathways were involved in the internalization of these candidate effectors. Further, we identified two novel type VI secretion system (T6SS) putative effectors and three outer membrane vesicles (OMV)-dependent putative effectors among the candidate effectors described above, and further analyzed their contribution to bacterial virulence in a zebrafish model. This work demonstrates an effective approach for screening bacterial effectors and expands the effectors repertoire in E. piscicida.

Bacterial T6SS Effector EvpP Inhibits Neutrophil Recruitment via Jnk-Caspy Inflammasome Signaling In vivo

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) comprises dynamic complex bacterial contractile nanomachines and is used by many bacteria to inhibit or kill other prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. Previous studies have revealed that T6SS is constitutively active in response to various stimuli, or fires effectors into host cells during infection. It has been proposed that the T6SS effector EvpP in Edwardsiella piscicida can inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation via the Ca2+-dependent JNK pathways. Here, we developed an in vivo infection model by microinjecting bacteria into the tail vein muscle of 3-day-post-fertilized zebrafish larvae, and found that both macrophages and neutrophils are essential for bacterial clearance. Further study revealed that EvpP plays a critical role in promoting the pathogenesis of E. piscicida via inhibiting the phosphorylation of Jnk signaling to reduce the expression of cxcl8a, mmp13 and IL-1β in vivo. Subsequently, by utilizing Tg (mpo:eGFP+/+) zebrafish larvae for E. piscicida infection, we found that the EvpP-inhibited Jnk-caspy inflammasome signaling axis significantly suppressed the recruitment of neutrophils to infection sites, and the caspy‐ or IL-1β-MO knockdown larvae were more susceptible to infection and failed to restrict bacterial colonization in vivo. IMPORTANCE Innate immunity is regulated by phagocytic cells and is critical for host control of bacterial infection. In many bacteria, T6SSs can affect bacterial virulence in certain environments, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying T6SS regulation of innate immune responses during infection in vivo. Here, we investigated the role of an E. piscicida T6SS effector EvpP in manipulating the reaction of neutrophils in vivo. We show that EvpP inhibits the activation of Jnk-caspy inflammasome pathway in zebrafish larvae, and reveal that macrophages are essential for neutrophil recruitment in vivo. This interaction improves our understanding about the complex and contextual role of a bacterial T6SS effector in modulating the action of myeloid cells during infection, and offers new insights into the warfare between bacterial weapons and host immunological surveillance.

Dysregulated hemolysin liberates bacterial outer membrane vesicles for cytosolic lipopolysaccharide sensing

Inflammatory caspase-11/4/5 recognize cytosolic LPS from invading Gram-negative bacteria and induce pyroptosis and cytokine release, forming rapid innate antibacterial defenses. Since extracellular or vacuole-constrained bacteria are thought to rarely access the cytoplasm, how their LPS are exposed to the cytosolic sensors is a critical event for pathogen recognition. Hemolysin is a pore-forming bacterial toxin, which was generally accepted to rupture cell membrane, leading to cell lysis. Whether and how hemolysin participates in non-canonical inflammasome signaling remains undiscovered. Here, we show that hemolysin-overexpressed enterobacteria triggered significantly increased caspase-4 activation in human intestinal epithelial cell lines. Hemolysin promoted LPS cytosolic delivery from extracellular bacteria through dynamin-dependent endocytosis. Further, we revealed that hemolysin was largely associated with bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) and induced rupture of OMV-containing vacuoles, subsequently increasing LPS exposure to the cytosolic sensor. Accordingly, overexpression of hemolysin promoted caspase-11 dependent IL-18 secretion and gut inflammation in mice, which was associated with restricting bacterial colonization in vivo. Together, our work reveals a concept that hemolysin promotes noncanonical inflammasome activation via liberating OMVs for cytosolic LPS sensing, which offers insights into innate immune surveillance of dysregulated hemolysin via caspase-11/4 in intestinal antibacterial defenses.

Edwardsiella piscicida virulence effector trxlp promotes the NLRC4 inflammasome activation during infection

Edwardsiella piscicida is an important pathogenic bacterium that causes hemorrhagic septicemia in fish. This bacterium could activate NLRC4 and NLRP3 inflammasomes via type III secretion system (T3SS), and inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome via type VI secretion system (T6SS) effector during infection in macrophages. However, the roles of other virulence factors in regulating inflammasome activation during E. piscicida infection remain poorly understood. In this study, we focused on clarification the role of ETAE_RS10155, a thioredoxin-like protein (Trxlp), during bacterial infection in macrophages. We found that mutation of this gene barely influences the bacteria growth and infection capability. Interestingly, the inflammasome activation was reduced in Δtrxlp-infected macrophages, compared with wild-type E. piscicida did. Moreover, Trxlp mainly promotes the NLRC4, but not NLRP3 inflammasome activation during E. piscicida infection. Finally, Trxlp-mediated NLRC4 inflammasome activation is crucial for host surveillance in vivo. Taken together, our results clarify the complex and contextual role of bacterial virulence effector in modulating inflammasome activation, and offer new insights into the warfare between the fish bacterial weapons and host innate immunological surveillance.