Heterogeneity in pneumolysin expression governs the fate of Streptococcus pneumoniae during blood-brain barrier trafficking.

ABSTRACT: Outcome of host-pathogen encounter is determined by the complex interplay between protective bacterial and host defense strategies. This complexity further amplifies with the existence of cell-to-cell phenotypic heterogeneity in pathogens which remains largely unexplored. In this study, we illustrated that heterogeneous expression of pneumolysin (Ply), a pore-forming toxin of the meningeal pathogen, S. pneumoniae (SPN) gives rise to stochastically different bacterial subpopulations with variable fate during passage across blood-brain barrier (BBB). We demonstrate that Ply mediated damage to pneumococcus containing vacuolar (PCV) membrane leads to recruitment of cytosolic "eat-me" signals, galectin-8 and ubiquitin, targeting SPN for autophagic clearance. However, a majority of high Ply prod

SUBMITTER: Surve MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6062133 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature