Ehrlichia secretes Etf-1 to induce autophagy and capture nutrients for its growth through RAB5 and class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

ABSTRACT: Ehrlichia chaffeensis is an obligatory intracellular bacterium that causes a potentially fatal emerging zoonosis, human monocytic ehrlichiosis. E. chaffeensis has a limited capacity for biosynthesis and metabolism and thus depends mostly on host-synthesized nutrients for growth. Although the host cell cytoplasm is rich with these nutrients, as E. chaffeensis is confined within the early endosome-like membrane-bound compartment, only host nutrients that enter the compartment can be used by this bacterium. How this occurs is unknown. We found that ehrlichial replication depended on autophagy induction involving class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PtdIns3K) activity, BECN1 (Beclin 1), and ATG5 (autophagy-related 5). Ehrlichia acquired host cell preincorporated amino acids in a class III

SUBMITTER: Lin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5103349 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature