Salmonella exploits host Rho GTPase signalling pathways through the phosphatase activity of SopB.

Salmonella uses Type 3 secretion systems (T3SSs) to deliver virulence factors, called effectors, into host cells during infection. The T3SS effectors promote invasion into host cells and the generation of a replicative niche. SopB is a T3SS effector that plays an important role in Salmonella pathogenesis through its lipid phosphatase activity. Here, we show that SopB mediates the recruitment of Rho GTPases (RhoB, RhoD, RhoH, and RhoJ) to bacterial invasion sites. RhoJ contributes to Salmonella invasion, and RhoB and RhoH play an important role in Akt activation. R-Ras1 also contributes to SopB-dependent Akt activation by promoting the localised production of PI(3,4)P2 /PI(3,4,5)P3 . Our studies reveal new signalling factors involved in SopB-dependent Salmonella infection.

Formin-mediated actin polymerization promotes Salmonella invasion.

Salmonella invade host cells using Type 3 secreted effectors, which modulate host cellular targets to promote actin rearrangements at the cell surface that drive bacterial uptake. The Arp2/3 complex contributes to Salmonella invasion but is not essential, indicating other actin regulatory factors are involved. Here, we show a novel role for FHOD1, a formin family member, in Salmonella invasion. FHOD1 and Arp2/3 occupy distinct microdomains at the invasion site and control distinct aspects of membrane protrusion formation. FHOD1 is phosphorylated during infection and this modification is required for promoting bacterial uptake by host cells. ROCK II, but not ROCK I, is recruited to the invasion site and is required for FHOD1 phosphorylation and for Salmonella invasion. Together, our studies revealan important phospho-dependent FHOD1 actin polymerization pathway in Salmonella invasion.

Septic sera induces apoptosis and DNA fragmentation factor 40 activation in fibroblasts.

Sepsis, the systemic response to infection, is the leading cause of death in the intensive care units worldwide. Septic patients can succumb through the development of early refractory hypotension or late multiple organ dysfunction. Misregulation of apoptosis during sepsis may contribute to cellular dysfunction and multiple organ dysfunction. Utilizing a tissue culture model which mimics the human disease, we demonstrate that the addition of sera derived from septic patients induces apoptosis in human fibroblast cells. Addition of septic sera to 2fTGH cells induced apoptosis by activating caspase 8, caspase 3 and DNA fragmentation factor 40 (DFF 40). Interestingly, the addition of septic sera to cells which lack STAT1 (U3A cells) did not activate DFF 40. U3A cells were also shown to be resistant to septic serum induced apoptosis. These data suggest that DFF 40 mediated apoptosis plays a significant role in mediating sepsis induced cellular dysfunction.

JAK kinases are required for the bacterial RNA and poly I:C induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PKR.

Discriminating the molecular patterns associated with RNA is central to innate immunity. The protein kinase PKR is a cytosolic sensor involved in the recognition of viral dsRNA and triggering interferon-induced signaling. Here, we identified bacterial RNA as a novel distinct pattern recognized by PKR. We show that the tyrosine phosphorylation of PKR induced by either bacterial RNA or poly I:C is impaired in mutant cells lacking TYK2, JAK1, or JAK2 kinases. PKR was found to be a direct substrate for the activated JAKs. Our results indicated that the double-stranded structures of bacterial RNA are required to fully activate PKR. These results suggest that bacterial RNA signaling is analogous in some respects to that of viral RNA and interferons and may have implications in bacterial immunity.

Influenza A induced cellular signal transduction pathways.

Influenza A is a negative sense single stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae Family. This enveloped virus contains 8 segments of viral RNA which encodes 11 viral proteins. Influenza A infects humans and is the causative agent of the flu. Annually it infects approximately 5% to 15% of the population world wide and results in an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 deaths a year. The nature of influenza A replication results in a high mutation rate which results in the need for seasonal vaccinations. In addition the zoonotic nature of the influenza virus allows for recombination of viral segments from different strains creating new variants that have not been encountered before. This type of mutation is the method by which pandemic strains of the flu arises. Infection with influenza results in a respiratory illness that for most individuals is self limiting. However in susceptible populations which include individuals with pre-existing pulmonary or cardiac conditions, the very young and the elderly fatal complications may arise. The most serious of these is the development of viral pneumonia which may be accompanied by secondary bacterial infections. Progression of pneumonia leads to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury (ALI) and potentially respiratory failure. This progression is a combined effect of the host immune system response to influenza infection and the viral infection itself. This review will focus on molecular aspects of viral replication in alveolar cells and their response to infection. The response of select innate immune cells and their contribution to viral clearance and lung epithelial damage will also be discussed. Molecular aspects of antiviral response in the cells in particular the protein kinase RNA dependent response, and the oligoadenylate synthetase RNAse L system in relation to influenza infection.

The role of immunostimulatory nucleic acids in septic shock.

Sepsis and its associated syndromes represent the systemic host response to severe infection and is manifested by varying degrees of hypotension, coagulopathy, and multiorgan dysfunction. Despite great efforts being made to understand this condition and designing therapies to treat sepsis, mortality rates are still high in septic patients. Characterization of the complex molecular signaling networks between the various components of host-pathogen interactions, highlights the difficulty in identifying a single driving force responsible for sepsis. Although triggering the inflammatory response is generally considered as protective against pathogenic threats, the interplay between the signaling pathways that are induced or suppressed during sepsis may harm the host. Numerous surveillance mechanisms have evolved to discriminate self from foreign agents and accordingly provoke an effective cellular response to target the pathogens. Nucleic acids are not only an essential genetic component, but sensing their molecular signature is also an important quality control mechanism which has evolved to maintain the integrity of the human genome. Evidence that has accumulated recently indicated that distinct pattern recognition receptors sense nucleic acids released from infectious organisms or from damaged host cells, resulting in the modulation of intracellular signalling cascades. Immunoreceptor-mediated detection of these nucleic acids induces antigen-specific immunity, secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and thus are implicated in a range of diseases including septic shock.

Bacterial RNA induces myocyte cellular dysfunction through the activation of PKR.

Severe sepsis and the ensuing septic shock are serious life threatening conditions. These diseases are triggered by the host's over exuberant systemic response to the infecting pathogen. Several surveillance mechanisms have evolved to discriminate self from foreign RNA and accordingly trigger effective cellular responses to target the pathogenic threats. The RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is a key component of the cytoplasmic RNA sensors involved in the recognition of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Here, we identify bacterial RNA as a distinct pathogenic pattern recognized by PKR. Our results indicate that natural RNA derived from bacteria directly binds to and activates PKR. We further show that bacterial RNA induces human cardiac myocyte apoptosis and identify the requirement for PKR in mediating this response. In addition to bacterial immunity, the results presented here may also have implications in cardiac pathophysiology.

Characterization of human septic sera induced gene expression modulation in human myocytes.

To gain a better understanding of the gene expression changes that occurs during sepsis, we have performed a cDNA microarray study utilizing a tissue culture model that mimics human sepsis. This study utilized an in vitro model of cultured human fetal cardiac myocytes treated with 10% sera from septic patients or 10% sera from healthy volunteers. A 1700 cDNA expression microarray was used to compare the transcription profile from human cardiac myocytes treated with septic sera vs normal sera. Septic sera treatment of myocytes resulted in the down-regulation of 178 genes and the up-regulation of 4 genes. Our data indicate that septic sera induced cell cycle, metabolic, transcription factor and apoptotic gene expression changes in human myocytes. Identification and characterization of gene expression changes that occur during sepsis may lead to the development of novel therapeutics and diagnostics.

Human serum from patients with septic shock activates transcription factors STAT1, IRF1, and NF-kappaB and induces apoptosis in human cardiac myocytes.

Proinflammatory cytokines have been linked to depression of myocardial contractility in vivo in patients with acute septic shock and in vitro models employing isolated myocytes exposed to serum from such patients. The key pathways involved in mediating this septic organ dysfunction (cell adhesion molecule expression, inducible nitric-oxide synthase induction, and apoptosis) are known to be regulated by transcription factors STAT1, IRF1, and NF-kappaB. Utilizing a model that mimics human disease, we have demonstrated activation of the transcription factors STAT1, IRF1, and NF-kappaB in human fetal myocytes exposed to human septic serum. Both reporter and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated a 5-19-fold increase in activation of transcription factors STAT1, IRF1, and NF-kappaB in response to incubation with human septic serum. The addition of human septic serum to human fetal myocytes induced apoptosis in human fetal myocytes and activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase c-Jun NH -terminal kinase and caspase 1 as measured by Western blot. These data suggest that transcription factor activation and early myocyte apoptosis play a mechanistic role in septic myocardial depression and sepsis-induced organ dysfunction.