L-Arginine sensing regulates virulence gene expression and disease progression in enteric pathogens.

ABSTRACT: Microbiota, host and dietary metabolites/signals compose the rich gut chemical environment, which profoundly impacts virulence of enteric pathogens. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) engages a syringe-like machinery named type-III secretion system (T3SS) to inject effectors within host cells that lead to intestinal colonization and disease. We previously conducted a high-throughput screen to identify metabolic pathways that affect T3SS expression. Here we show that in the presence of arginine, the arginine sensor ArgR, identified through this screen, directly activates expression of the genes encoding the T3SS. Exogenously added arginine induces EHEC virulence gene expression in vitro. Congruently, a mutant deficient in arginine transport (ΔartP) had decreased virulen

SUBMITTER: Menezes-Garcia Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7275701 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature