Epithelial cells maintain memory of prior infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae through di-methylation of histone H3.

ABSTRACT: Epithelial cells are the first point of contact for bacteria entering the respiratory tract. Streptococcus pneumoniae is an obligate human pathobiont of the nasal mucosa, carried asymptomatically but also the cause of severe pneumoniae. The role of the epithelium in maintaining homeostatic interactions or mounting an inflammatory response to invasive S. pneumoniae is currently poorly understood. However, studies have shown that chromatin modifications, at the histone level, induced by bacterial pathogens interfere with the host transcriptional program and promote infection. Here, we uncover a histone modification induced by S. pneumoniae infection maintained for at least 9 days upon clearance of bacteria with antibiotics. Di-methylation of histone H3 on lysine 4 (H3K4me2) is induced in an

SUBMITTER: Chevalier C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11219877 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature