A previously uncharacterized two-component signaling system in uropathogenic Escherichia coli coordinates protection against host-derived oxidative stress with activation of hemolysin-mediated host cell pyroptosis.

ABSTRACT: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) deploy an array of virulence factors to successfully establish urinary tract infections. Hemolysin is a pore-forming toxin, and its expression correlates with the severity of UPEC infection. Two-component signaling systems (TCSs) are a major mechanism by which bacteria sense environmental cues and respond by initiating adaptive responses. Here, we began this study by characterizing a novel TCS (C3564/C3565, herein renamed orhK/orhR for oxidative resistance and hemolysis kinase/regulator) that is encoded on a UPEC pathogenicity island, using bioinformatic and biochemical approaches. A prevalence analysis indicates that orhK/orhR is highly associated with the UPEC pathotype, and it rarely occurs in other E. coli pathotypes tested. We then demonstrated th

SUBMITTER: Gu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8550376 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature