Mingxu Zhou

Flagella and bacterial pathogenicity

As locomotive organelles, flagella allow bacteria to move toward favorable environments. A flagellum consists of three parts: the basal structure (rotary motor), the hook (universal joint), and the filament (helical propeller). For ages, flagella have been generally regarded as important virulence factors, mainly because of their motility property. However, flagella are getting recognized to play multiple roles with more functions besides motility and chemotaxis. Recent evidence has pinpointed that the bacterial flagella participate in many additional processes including adhesion, biofilm formation, virulence factor secretion, and modulation of the immune system of eukaryotic cells. This mini‐review summarizes data from recent studies that elucidated how flagella, as a virulence factor, contribute to bacterial pathogenicity.

The flagella of F18ab Escherichia coli is a virulence factor that contributes to infection in a IPEC-J2 cell model in vitro

Bacterial flagella contribute to pathogen virulence; however, the role of flagella in the pathogenesis of F18ab E. coli-mediated swine edema disease (ED) is not currently known. We therefore evaluated the role of flagella in F18ab E. coli adhesion, invasion, biofilm formation, and IL-8 production using an in vitro cell infection model approach with gene-deletion mutant and complemented bacterial strains. We demonstrated that the flagellin-deficient fliC mutant had a marked decrease in the ability to adhere to and invade porcine epithelial IPEC-J2 cells. Surprisingly, there was no difference in adhesion between the F18 fimbriae-deficient ΔfedA mutant and its parent strain. In addition, both the ΔfedA and double ΔfliCΔfedA mutants exhibited an increased ability to invade IPEC-J2 cells compared to the wild-type strain, although this may be due to increased expression of other adhesins following the loss of F18ab fimbriae and flagella. Compared to the wild-type strain, the ΔfliC mutant showed significantly reduced ability to form biofilm, whereas the ΔfedA mutant increased biofilm formation. Although ΔfliC, ΔfedA, and ΔfliCΔfedA mutants had a reduced ability to stimulate IL-8 production from infected Caco-2 cells, the ΔfliC mutant impaired this ability to a greater extent than the ΔfedA mutant. The results from this study clearly demonstrate that flagella are required for efficient F18ab E. coli adhesion, invasion, biofilm formation, and IL-8 production in vitro.

Flagella from F18+Escherichia coli play a role in adhesion to pig epithelial cell lines.

F18 fimbriae and toxins produced by F18 fimbriae-carrying Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains are known virulence factors responsible for post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) and edema disease (ED). In this study, we showed that fliC isogenic mutants constructed in two reference wild-type F18 fimbriae (F18+) E. coli were markedly impaired in adherence in vitro cell models (p < 0.05). Flagella purified from F18+E. coli could directly bind to cultured piglet epithelial cells and block adherence of F18+E. coli to cells when pre-incubated. In addition, the F18+E. coli fliC deletion mutants up-regulated the expression of type I fimbriae produced by F18+E. coli strains. These results demonstrated that expression of flagella is essential for the adherence of F18+E. coli in vitro.

Both flagella and F4 fimbriae from F4ac+ enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli contribute to attachment to IPEC-J2 cells in vitro.

The role of flagella in the pathogenesis of F4ac+ Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) mediated neonatal and post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) is not currently understood. We targeted the reference C83902 ETEC strain (O8:H19:F4ac+ LT+ STa+ STb+), to construct isogenic mutants in the fliC (encoding the major flagellin protein), motA (encoding the flagella motor), and faeG (encoding the major subunit of F4 fimbriae) genes. Both the ΔfliC and ΔfaeG mutants had a reduced ability to adhere to porcine intestinal epithelial IPEC-J2 cells. F4 fimbriae expression was significantly down-regulated after deleting fliC, which revealed that co-regulation exists between flagella and F4 fimbriae. However, there was no difference in adhesion between the ΔmotA mutant and its parent strain. These data demonstrate that both flagella and F4 fimbriae are required for efficient F4ac+ ETEC adhesion in vitro.

Escherichia coli type III secretion system 2: a new kind of T3SS?

Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are employed by Gram-negative bacteria to deliver effector proteins into the cytoplasm of infected host cells. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli use a T3SS to deliver effector proteins that result in the creation of the attaching and effacing lesions. The genome sequence of the Escherichia coli pathotype O157:H7 revealed the existence of a gene cluster encoding components of a second type III secretion system, the E. coli type III secretion system 2 (ETT2). Researchers have revealed that, although ETT2 may not be a functional secretion system in most (or all) strains, it still plays an important role in bacterial virulence. This article summarizes current knowledge regarding the E. coli ETT2, including its genetic characteristics, prevalence, function, association with virulence, and prospects for future work.

Flagellin and F4 fimbriae have opposite effects on biofilm formation and quorum sensing in F4ac+ enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Bacteria that form biofilms are often highly resistant to antibiotics and are capable of evading the host immune system. To evaluate the role of flagellin and F4 fimbriae on biofilm formation by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), we deleted the fliC (encoding the major flagellin protein) and/or the faeG (encoding the major subunit of F4 fimbriae) genes from ETEC C83902. Biofilm formation was reduced in the fliC mutant but increased in the faeG mutant, as compared with the wild-type strain. The expression of AI-2 quorum sensing associated genes was regulated in the fliC and faeG mutants, consistent with the biofilm formation of these strains. But, deleting fliC and/or faeG also inhibited AI-2 quorum sensing activity.

Protective Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Antigens in a Murine Intranasal Challenge Model.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an endemic health threat in underdeveloped nations. Despite the significant effort extended to vaccine trials using ETEC colonization factors, these approaches have generally not been especially effective in mediating cross-protective immunity. We used quantitative proteomics to identify 24 proteins that differed in abundance in membrane protein preparations derived from wild-type vs. a type II secretion system mutant of ETEC. We expressed and purified a subset of these proteins and identified nine antigens that generated significant immune responses in mice. Sera from mice immunized with either the MltA-interacting protein MipA, the periplasmic chaperone seventeen kilodalton protein, Skp, or a long-chain fatty acid outer membrane transporter, ETEC_2479, reduced the adherence of multiple ETEC strains differing in colonization factor expression to human intestinal epithelial cells. In intranasal challenge assays of mice, immunization with ETEC_2479 protected 88% of mice from an otherwise lethal challenge with ETEC H10407. Immunization with either Skp or MipA provided an intermediate degree of protection, 68 and 64%, respectively. Protection was significantly correlated with the induction of a secretory immunoglobulin A response. This study has identified several proteins that are conserved among heterologous ETEC strains and may thus potentially improve cross-protective efficacy if incorporated into future vaccine designs.

More than a locomotive organelle: flagella in Escherichia coli

The flagellum is a locomotive organelle that allows bacteria to respond to chemical gradients. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding Escherichia coli flagellin variants and the role of flagella in bacterial functions other than motility, including the relationship between flagella and bacterial virulence.

Quorum-sensing gene luxS regulates flagella expression and Shiga-like toxin production in F18ab Escherichia coli

To investigate the effect of the luxS gene on the expression of virulence factors in Shiga-like toxin producing and verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli, the luxS gene from E. coli 107/86 (wild type, O139:H1:F18ab, Stx2e) was deleted. The successful deletion of luxS was confirmed by bioluminescence assays. The luxS deletion mutant exhibited changed flagella-related phenotypes, like impaired expression of flagella, decreased flagella motility, reduced biofilm formation, and reduced ability to induce pro-immunity response in host cells, which were restored after complementation with the intact luxS gene. The mutant strain also displayed attenuated production of Stx2e. This study provides new information to the crucial function of luxS in regulating Shiga-like toxin producing E. coli virulence.

F18ab Escherichia coli flagella expression is regulated by acyl- homoserine lactone and contributes to bacterial virulence

To investigate the effect of the Quorum Sensing (QS)-I system on the expression of virulence factors in Shiga toxin producing and verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC and VTEC), the yenI gene from Yersinia enterocolitica was cloned into E. coli F18ab 107/86. Recombinant E. coli transformed with yenI produced acyl-homoserine lactone synthase (AHL), as measured using cross-streaking assays with the reporter biosensor strain Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. The AI-1 positive recombinant F18ab E. coli exhibited impaired expression of flagella, decreased motility, reduced biofilm formation and AI-2 production, as well as attenuated adherence and invasion on IPEC-J2 cells. This study provides new insights to the crucial function of AI-1 in regulating STEC virulence.