Dataset Information

Pathogenic leptospires modulate protein expression and post-translational modifications in response to mammalian host signals

ABSTRACT: A large body of work has demonstrated that leptospires regulate and modify gene expression in response to environmental cues, as encountered during disease transmission, including changes in temperature, osmolarity, concentration of iron, the presence of serum, and interaction with macrophages. However, since leptospires are not readily amenable to genetic manipulation, the functional and biological significance of these differentially expressed genes often remains unclear. More recently, it is been shown that proteins, in response to changing environmental conditions, can be modified further by specific post-translational modifications. Indeed, both saprophytic and pathogenic leptospires have comprehensive systems to modify proteins. The paucibacillary nature of spirochetal infections, combined with the challenges associated with acquiring pathogens free from contaminating host proteins makes the study of these bacteria in a mammalian host-adapted state inherently difficult. As an alternative approach, we developed a model in which leptospires are cultivated in a dialysis membrane chamber (DMC) implanted within the peritoneal cavity of rats, where they are exposed to the environmental cues encountered during host infection. This strategy has been successfully applied to compare the transcriptome of L. interrogans cultivated within DMC with that of leptospires grown under standard in vitro conditions. In addition to determining the relative expression levels of ‘‘core’’ housekeeping genes under both growth conditions, we identified 166 genes that were differentially-expressed by L. interrogans in response to mammalian host signals. The proteome of DMC (dialysis membrane chamber) cultivated leptospires was compared to that of in vivo derived leptospires and with leptospires cultivated in vitro at 30°C or 37°C by 2-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE). Our analysis indicates that the abundance of leptospire-proteins is modulated the expression of a range of proteins which are differentially expressed in response to mammalian host signals, and not temperature alone . In addition, we confirm that in several proteins there is a change in the presence of modify the expression of the post-translational modifications trimethyllysine and acetyllysine in response to environmental cues encountered during persistent renal colonization in a reservoir host of infection. These results provide novel insights in the proteome level changes, including to differential protein and post-translational modifications, expressed in response to mammalian host signals which can be used to further define the unique equilibrium that exists between pathogenic leptospires and their reservoir host of infection.

INSTRUMENT(S): AB SCIEX TOF/TOF Series Explorer Software

ORGANISM(S): Leptospira Interrogans Serovar Copenhageni Str. Fiocruz L1-130

DISEASE(S): Leptospirosis

SUBMITTER: kjell sergeant

LAB HEAD: Jenny Renaut

PROVIDER: PXD006995 | Pride | 2017-08-31

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Publications

Pathogenic Leptospires Modulate Protein Expression and Post-translational Modifications in Response to Mammalian Host Signals.

Nally Jarlath E JE Grassmann Andre A AA Planchon Sébastien S Sergeant Kjell K Renaut Jenny J Seshu Janakiram J McBride Alan J AJ Caimano Melissa J MJ

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 20170809

Pathogenic species of <i>Leptospira</i> cause leptospirosis, a bacterial zoonotic disease with a global distribution affecting over one million people annually. Reservoir hosts of leptospirosis, including rodents, dogs, and cattle, exhibit little to no signs of disease but shed large numbers of organisms in their urine. Transmission occurs when mucosal surfaces or abraded skin come into contact with infected urine or urine-contaminated water or soil. Whilst little is known about how <i>Leptospir ...[more]

PMID: 28848720

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Project description:Leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution, is caused by spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira. More than 500,000 cases of severe leptospirosis are reported annually, with .10% of these being fatal. Leptospires can survive for weeks in suitably moist conditions before encountering a new host. Reservoir hosts, typically rodents, exhibit little to no signs of disease but shed large numbers of organisms in their urine. Transmission occurs when mucosal surfaces or abraded skin come into contact with infected urine or urine-contaminated water or soil. In humans, leptospires can cause a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic or mild fever to severe icteric (Weil’s) disease and pulmonary haemorrhage. Currently, little is known about how Leptospira persist within a reservoir host. Prior in vitro studies have suggested that leptospires alter their transcriptomic and proteomic profiles in response to environmental signals encountered during mammalian infection. However, no study has examined gene expression by leptospires within a mammalian host-adapted state. To obtain a more faithful representation of how leptospires respond to host-derived signals, we used RNA-Seq to compare the transcriptome of L. interrogans cultivated within dialysis membrane chambers (DMCs) implanted into the peritoneal cavities of rats with that of organisms grown in vitro. In addition to determining the relative expression levels of ‘‘core’’ housekeeping genes under both growth conditions, we identified 166 genes that are differentially-expressed by L. interrogans in vivo. Our analyses highlight physiological aspects of host adaptation by leptospires relating to heme uptake and utilization. We also identified 11 novel non-coding transcripts that are candidate small regulatory RNAs. The DMC model provides a facile system for studying the transcriptional and antigenic changes associated with mammalian host-adaption, selection of targets for mutagenesis, and the identification of previously unrecognized virulence determinants. Transcriptome analysis of L. interrogans Copenhageni FIOCRUZ L1-130 using RNA from 2 different conditions using RNA-seq. Also, the reproducibility and robustness of data is ensured by three biological replicates from each condition.

Project description:Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive, food-borne pathogen responsible for invasive infections with high overall mortality. Early host defenses encountered by L. monocytogenes following ingestion include low pH of the stomach and bile present in the small intestinal lumen. We hypothesized that “epidemic” strains are better able to withstand exposure to low pH and bile encountered in the gastrointestinal tract as compared to most “environmental” strains. Furthermore, we hypothesized that epidemic and environmental strains would have distinct transcriptional programs upon exposure to these conditions. Our treatments included 1 hr exposure to acid (pH 5.5 and 3.5) and bile (0.3%) stress. Strains were pre-exposed to pH 5.5 (1 hr) before being treated with pH 3.5. We used a collection of 12 previously characterized epidemic and environmental strains and each strainXtreatment combination included 3 biological replicates for each microarray experiment. All microarray experiments were two color competitive hybridizations that paired experimental conditions with the same strain at neutral pH for acid stress and pH 5.5 for bile stress. Transcriptomes of environmental strains exposed to acid and bile stress showed remarkably greater number of genes with differences of ≥2-fold expression levels as compared to epidemic strains (5 and 7, respectively). Environmental strains were characterized by up-regulation of several stress related genes and down-regulation of several cell envelope biosynthesis and virulence related genes, suggesting that complex regulatory networks orchestrate the cellular changes in the environmental strains to overcome stressful environments. The transcriptome of epidemic strains, in contrast, showed muted responses to these stress conditions implying their pre-adaptability to acid and bile stress encountered during natural infection that may enable epidemic strains to survive and become “primed” for subsequent colonization and infection in the lower gastrointestinal tract. Keywords: stress response, comparative transcriptomics, acid-adaptation, differential virulence, acid-stress response, bile-stress response

Dataset Information

Pathogenic leptospires modulate protein expression and post-translational modifications in response to mammalian host signals

Publications

Pathogenic Leptospires Modulate Protein Expression and Post-translational Modifications in Response to Mammalian Host Signals.

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