Sabine Tötemeyer

Protection of Escherichia coli cells against extreme turgor by activation of MscS and MscL mechanosensitive channels: identification of genes required for MscS activity

Mechanosensitive channels are ubiquitous amongst bacterial cells and have been proposed to have major roles in the adaptation to osmotic stress, in particular in the management of transitions from high to low osmolarity environments. Electrophysiological measurements have identified multiple channels in Escherichia coli cells. One gene, mscL, encoding a large conductance channel has previously been described, but null mutants were without well‐defined phenotypes. Here, we report the characterization of a new gene family required for MscS function, YggB and KefA, which has enabled a rigorous test of the role of the channels. The channel determined by KefA does not appear to have a major role in managing the transition from high to low osmolarity. In contrast, analysis of mutants of E.coli lacking YggB and MscL shows that mechanosensitive channels are designed to open at a pressure change just below that which would cause cell disruption leading to death.

Methylglyoxal production in bacteria : suicide or survival?

Abstract Methylglyoxal is a toxic electrophile. In Escherichia coli cells, the principal route of methylglyoxal production is from dihydroxyacetone phosphate by the action of methylglyoxal synthase. The toxicity of methylglyoxal is believed to be due to its ability to interact with the nucleophilic centres of macromolecules such as DNA. Bacteria possess an array of detoxification pathways for methylglyoxal. In E. coli, glutathione-based detoxification is central to survival of exposure to methylglyoxal. The glutathione-dependent glyoxalase I-II pathway is the primary route of methylglyoxal detoxification, and the glutathione conjugates formed can activate the KefB and KefC potassium channels. The activation of these channels leads to a lowering of the intracellular pH of the bacterial cell, which protects against the toxic effects of electrophiles. In addition to the KefB and KefC systems, E. coli cells are equipped with a number of independent protective mechanisms whose purpose appears to be directed at ensuring the integrity of the DNA. A model of how these protective mechanisms function will be presented. The production of methylglyoxal by cells is a paradox that can be resolved by assigning an important role in adaptation to conditions of nutrient imbalance. Analysis of a methylglyoxal synthase-deficient mutant provides evidence that methylglyoxal production is required to allow growth under certain environmental conditions. The production of methylglyoxal may represent a high-risk strategy that facilitates adaptation, but which on failure leads to cell death. New strategies for antibacterial therapy may be based on undermining the detoxification and defence mechanisms coupled with deregulation of methylglyoxal synthesis.

From famine to feast: the role of methylglyoxal production in Escherichia coli

The enzyme methylglyoxal synthase (MGS) was partially purified from Escherichia coli extracts, and the amino‐terminal sequence of candidate proteins was determined, based on the native protein being a tetramer of about 69 kDa. Database analysis identified an open reading frame in the E. coli genome, YccG, corresponding to a protein of 16.9 kDa. When amplified and expressed from a controlled promoter, it yielded extracts that contained high levels of MGS activity. MGS expressed from the trc promoter accumulated to approximately 20% of total cell protein, representing approximately 900‐fold enhanced expression. This caused no detriment during growth on glucose, and the level of methylglyoxal (MG) in the medium rose to only 0.08 mM. High‐level expression of MGS severely compromised growth on xylose, arabinose and glycerol. A mutant lacking MGS was constructed, and it grew normally on a range of carbon sources and on low‐phosphate medium. However, the mutant failed to produce MG during growth on xylose in the presence of cAMP, and growth was inhibited.

Stimulation of Toll-Like Receptor 4 by Lipopolysaccharide During Cellular Invasion by Live Salmonella typhimurium Is a Critical But Not Exclusive Event Leading to Macrophage Responses

Invasion of macrophages by salmonellae induces cellular responses, with the bacterial inducers likely to include a number of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. LPS is one of the prime candidates, but its precise role in the process, especially when presented as a component of live infecting bacteria, is unclear. We thus investigated this question using the lipid A antagonist E5531, the macrophage-like cell line RAW 264.7, and primary macrophage cultures from C3H/HeJ and Toll-like receptor 4−/− (TLR-4−/−) mice. We show that LPS presented on live salmonellae provides an essential signal, via functional TLR-4, for macrophages to produce NO and TNF-α. Furthermore, the mitogen-activated protein kinase c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 are activated, and the transcription factor NF-κB is translocated to the nucleus when RAW 264.7 cells are presented with purified LPS or live salmonellae. Purified LPS stimulates rapid, transitory mitogen-activated protein kinase activation that is inhibited by E5531, whereas bacterial invasion stimulates delayed, prolonged activation, unaffected by E5531. Both purified LPS and bacterial invasion caused translocation of NF-κB, but whereas E5531 always inhibited activation by purified LPS, activation by bacterial invasion was only inhibited at later time points. In conclusion, we show for the first time that production of NO and TNF-α is critically dependent on activation of TLR-4 by LPS during invasion of macrophages by salmonellae, but that different patterns of activation of intracellular signaling pathways are induced by purified LPS vs live salmonellae.

Induction of proinflammatory responses in the human monocytic cell line THP-1 by Campylobacter jejuni.

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni can cause an enteritis that is associated with an acute inflammatory response at the gut epithelial surface. The signals inducing inflammation are unknown. C. jejuni can penetrate the intestinal epithelial barrier and may then interact with leucocytes, potentially inducing proinflammatory responses. To investigate this, we studied the interaction of C. jejuni with the human monocytic cell line THP-1 and show that a range of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines is induced. These include interleukin-1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Responses can be induced by killed Campylobacter as well as live bacteria and do not depend on the cytolethal distending toxin. C. jejuni infection of THP-1 cells triggers both nuclear translocation of functional NF-κB and stimulation of IL-1α, indicating that NF-κB-dependent and -independent stimulation is occurring. The extent of proinflammatory cytokine stimulation suggests that monocytes might significantly contribute to intestinal inflammation and disease pathology.

Yersinia enterocolitica can deliver Yop proteins into a wide range of cell types: development of a delivery system for heterologous proteins.

Y. enterocolitica translocates virulence proteins, called Yop effectors, into the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. Here we investigated whether Y. enterocolitica could translocate Yops into a range of eukaryotic cells including neurons and insect cells. Y. enterocolitica translocated the hybrid reporter protein YopE-Cya into each of the eukaryotic cell types tested. In addition, Y. enterocolitica was cytotoxic for each of the adherent cell types. Thus we detected no limit to the range of eukaryotic cells into which Y. enterocolitica can translocate Yops. The Yop effectors YopE, YopH and YopT were each cytotoxic for the adherent cell types tested, showing that not only is Y. enterocolitica not selective in its translocation of particular Yop effectors into each cell type, but also that the action of these Yop effectors is not cell type specific. Invasin and/or YadA, two powerful adhesins were required for translocation of Yop into non-phagocytic cells but not for translocation into macrophages. To use the Yersinia translocation system for broad applications, a Y. enterocolitica translocation strain and vector for the delivery of heterologous proteins into eukaryotic cells was constructed. This strain + vector combination lacks the translocated Yop effectors and allows delivery into eukaryotic cells of heterologous proteins fused to the minimal N-terminal secretion/translocation signal of YopE. Using this strategy translocation of a YopE-Diphtheria toxin subunit A hybrid protein into several cell types has been shown.

IFN-gamma enhances production of nitric oxide from macrophages via a mechanism that depends on nucleotide oligomerization domain-2.

Pattern recognition receptors are central to the responsiveness of various eukaryotic cell types when they encounter pathogen-associated molecular patterns. IFN-γ is a cytokine that is elevated in humans and other animals with bacterial infection and enhances the LPS-induced production of antibacterial mediators by macrophages. Mice lacking the pattern recognition receptor, TLR4, respond very poorly to stimulation by LPS, but administration of IFN-γ has been described as restoring apparent sensitivity to this stimulatory ligand. In this study, we show that IFN-γ primes murine macrophages stimulated by crude LPS preparations to produce the antibacterial mediator NO, a proportion of which is independent of TLRs 2 and 4. This response is lost in tlr4−/− IFN-γ-primed murine macrophages when the LPS preparation is highly purified. NO is also induced if chemically synthesized muramyl dipeptide, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan, is used to stimulate macrophages primed with IFN-γ. This is absolutely dependent on the presence of a functional nucleotide oligomerization domain-2 (NOD-2) protein. IFN-γ increases NOD-2 expression and dissociates this protein from the actin cytoskeleton within the cell. IFN-γ priming of macrophages therefore reveals a key proinflammatory role for NOD-2. This study also shows that the effect of IFN-γ in restoring inflammatory responses to Gram-negative bacteria or bacterial products in mice with defective TLR4 signaling is likely to be due to a response to peptidoglycan, not LPS.

Effect of low- and high-virulence Yersinia enterocolitica strains on the inflammatory response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

ABSTRACT Pathogenic strains of Yersinia spp. inject a set of Yop effector proteins into eukaryotic cells by using a plasmid-encoded type III secretion system. In this study, we analyzed the inflammatory response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after infection with different Yersinia enterocolitica strains. We found that both expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and release of the cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 by HUVECs are downregulated in a YopP-dependent way, demonstrating that YopP plays a major role in the inflammatory response of these cells. Infection of HUVECs with several low-virulence (biotype 2, 3, and 4) and high-virulence (biotype 1B) Y. enterocolitica strains showed that biotype 1B isolates are more efficient in inhibiting the inflammatory response than low-virulence Y. enterocolitica strains and that this effect depends on the time of contact. We extended the results of Ruckdeschel et al. and found that on the basis of the presence or absence of arginine-143 of YopP (K. Ruckdeschel, K. Richter, O. Mannel, and J. Heesemann, Infect. Immun. 69:7652-7662, 2001) all the Y. enterocolitica strains used fell into two groups, which correlate with the low- and high-virulence phenotypes. In addition, we found that high-virulence strains inject more YopP into the cytosol of eukaryotic target cells than do low-virulence strains.

YscP, a Yersinia protein required for Yop secretion that is surface exposed, and released in low Ca2+

The Yersinia Ysc apparatus is made of more than 20 proteins, 11 of which have homologues in many type III systems. Here, we characterize YscP from Yersinia enterocolitica. This 515‐residue protein has a high proline content, a large tandem repetition and a slow migration in SDS–PAGE. Unlike the products of neighbouring genes, it has a counterpart only in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and it varies even between Yersinia Ysc machineries. An yscPΔ97−465 mutant was unable to secrete any Yop, even under conditions overcoming feedback inhibition of Yop synthesis. Interestingly, a cloned yscPΔ57−324 from Yersinia pestis introduced in the yscPΔ97−465 mutant can sustain a significant Yop secretion and thus partially complemented the mutation. This explains the leaky phenotype observed with the yscP mutant of Y. pestis. In accordance with this secretion deficiency, YscP is required for the delivery of Yop effectors into macrophages. Mechanical shearing, immunolabelling and electron microscopy experiments showed that YscP is exposed at the bacterial surface when bacteria are incubated at 37°C in the presence of Ca2+ and thus do not secrete Yops. At 37°C, when Ca2+ ions are chelated, YscP is released like a Yop protein. We conclude that YscP is a part of the Ysc injectisome which is localized at the bacterial surface and is destabilized by Ca2+ chelation.

Toll-like receptor 4 signalling through MyD88 is essential to control Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection, but not for the initiation of bacterial clearance

Toll‐like receptor‐4 (TLR4) is important in protection against lethal Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) infection. Control of the early stages of sublethal S. Typhimurium infection in mice depends on TLR4‐dependent activation of macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells to drive an inflammatory response. TLR4 signals through the adapter proteins Mal/MyD88 and TRIF‐related adaptor molecule (TRAM)/TIR‐domain‐containing adaptor‐inducing interferon‐b (TRIF). In the mouse typhoid model we showed that TLR4 and MyD88, but not Mal or TRIF, are essential for the control of exponential S. Typhimurium growth. TRIF−/− mice have a higher bacterial load in comparison with wild‐type mice during a sublethal infection because TRIF is important for bacterial killing during the first day of systemic disease. Minimal pro‐inflammatory responses were induced by S. Typhimurium infection of macrophages from TLR4−/−, MyD88−/− and TRIF−/− mice in vitro. Pro‐inflammatory responses from Mal−/− macrophages were similar to those from wild‐type cells. The pro‐inflammatory responses of TRIF−/− macrophages were partially restored by the addition of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), and TRIF−/− mice produced markedly enhanced IFN‐γ levels, in comparison to wild‐type mice, probably explaining why bacterial growth can be controlled in these mice. TLR4−/−, MyD88−/−, TRIF−/− and Mal−/− mice all initiated clearance of S. Typhimurium, suggesting that TLR4 signalling is not important in driving bacterial clearance in comparison to its critical role in controlling early bacterial growth in mouse typhoid.