Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae strains are natural wheat endophytes that can stimulate root development.

Although rhizobia that establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with legumes are also known to promote growth in non-legumes, studies on rhizobial associations with wheat roots are scarce. We searched for Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae (Rlv) strains naturally competent to endophytically colonize wheat roots. We isolated 20 strains from surface-sterilized wheat roots and found a low diversity of Rlv compared to that observed in the Rlv species complex. We tested the ability of a subset of these Rlv for wheat root colonization when co-inoculated with other Rlv. Only a few strains, including those isolated from wheat roots, and one strain isolated from pea nodules, were efficient in colonizing roots in co-inoculation conditions, while all the strains tested in single strain inoculation conditions were found to colonize the surface and interior of roots. Furthermore, Rlv strains isolated from wheat roots were able to stimulate root development and early arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization. These responses were strain and host genotype dependent. Our results suggest that wheat can be an alternative host for Rlv; nevertheless, there is a strong competition between Rlv strains for wheat root colonization. In addition, we showed that Rlv are endophytic wheat root bacteria with potential ability to modify wheat development.

Impact of the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic on a tertiary referral centre for kidney cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a centralized specialist kidney cancer care pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patient and pathway characteristics including prioritization strategies at the Specialist Centre for Kidney Cancer located at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFH) before and during the surge of COVID-19. RESULTS: On 18 March 2020 all elective surgery was halted at RFH to redeploy resources and staff for the COVID-19 surge. Prioritizing of patients according to European Association of Urology guidance was introduced. Clinics and the specialist multidisciplinary team (SMDT) meetings were maintained with physical distancing, kidney surgery was moved to a COVID-protected site, and infection prevention measurements were enforced. During the 7 weeks of lockdown (23 March to 10 May 2020), 234 cases were discussed at the SMDT meetings, 53% compared to the 446 cases discussed in the 7 weeks pre-lockdown. The reduction in referrals was more pronounced for small and asymptomatic renal masses. Of 62 low-priority cancer patients, 27 (43.5%) were deferred. Only one (4%) COVID-19 infection occurred postoperatively, and the patient made a full recovery. No increase in clinical or pathological upstaging could be detected in patients who underwent deferred surgery compared to pre-COVID practice. CONCLUSION: The first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted diagnosis, referral and treatment of kidney cancer at a tertiary referral centre. With a policy of prioritization and COVID-protected pathways, capacity for time-sensitive oncological interventions was maintained and no immediate clinical harm was observed.

Pattern, timing and predictors of recurrence after surgical resection of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Currently there are no specific guidelines for the post-operative follow-up of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC). We aimed to evaluate the pattern, location and timing of recurrence after surgery for non-metastatic chRCC and establish predictors of recurrence and cancer-specific death. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of consecutive surgically treated non-metastatic chRCC cases from the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (UK, 2015-2019) and the international collaborative database RECUR (15 institutes, 2006-2011). Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted. The association between variables of interest and outcomes were analysed using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models with shared frailty for data source. RESULTS: 295 patients were identified. Median follow-up was 58 months. The five and ten-year recurrence-free survival rates were 94.3% and 89.2%. Seventeen patients (5.7%) developed recurrent disease, 13 (76.5%) with distant metastases. 54% of metastatic disease diagnoses involved a single organ, most commonly the bone. Early recurrence (< 24 months) was observed in 8 cases, all staged ≥ pT2b. 30 deaths occurred, of which 11 were attributed to chRCC. Sarcomatoid differentiation was rare (n = 4) but associated with recurrence and cancer-specific death on univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, UICC/AJCC T-stage ≥ pT2b, presence of coagulative necrosis, and positive surgical margins were predictors of recurrence and cancer-specific death. CONCLUSION: Recurrence and death after surgically resected chRCC are rare. For completely excised lesions ≤ pT2a without coagulative necrosis or sarcomatoid features, prognosis is excellent. These patients should be reassured and follow-up intensity curtailed.

noeM, a New Nodulation Gene Involved in the Biosynthesis of Nod Factors with an Open-Chain Oxidized Terminal Residue and in the Symbiosis with Mimosa pudica.

The ß-rhizobium Cupriavidus taiwanensis is a nitrogen-fixing symbiont of Mimosa pudica. Nod factors produced by this species were previously found to be pentameric chitin-oligomers carrying common C18:1 or C16:0 fatty acyl chains, N-methylated and C-6 carbamoylated on the nonreducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine and sulfated on the reducing terminal residue. Here, we report that, in addition, C. taiwanensis LMG19424 produces molecules where the reducing sugar is open and oxidized. We identified a novel nodulation gene located on the symbiotic plasmid pRalta, called noeM, which is involved in this atypical Nod factor structure. noeM encodes a transmembrane protein bearing a fatty acid hydroxylase domain. This gene is expressed during symbiosis with M. pudica and requires NodD and luteolin for optimal expression. The closest noeM homologs formed a separate phylogenetic clade containing rhizobial genes only, which are located on symbiosis plasmids downstream from a nod box. Corresponding proteins, referred to as NoeM, may have specialized in symbiosis via the connection to the nodulation pathway and the spread in rhizobia. noeM was mostly found in isolates of the Mimoseae tribe, and specifically detected in all tested strains able to nodulate M. pudica. A noeM deletion mutant of C. taiwanensis was affected for the nodulation of M. pudica, confirming the role of noeM in the symbiosis with this legume.

Spatio-temporal control of mutualism in legumes helps spread symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Mutualism is of fundamental importance in ecosystems. Which factors help to keep the relationship mutually beneficial and evolutionarily successful is a central question. We addressed this issue for one of the most significant mutualistic interactions on Earth, which associates plants of the leguminosae family and hundreds of nitrogen (N2)-fixing bacterial species. Here we analyze the spatio-temporal dynamics of fixers and non-fixers along the symbiotic process in the Cupriavidus taiwanensis-Mimosa pudica system. N2-fixing symbionts progressively outcompete isogenic non-fixers within root nodules, where N2-fixation occurs, even when they share the same nodule. Numerical simulations, supported by experimental validation, predict that rare fixers will invade a population dominated by non-fixing bacteria during serial nodulation cycles with a probability that is function of initial inoculum, plant population size and nodulation cycle length. Our findings provide insights into the selective forces and ecological factors that may have driven the spread of the N2-fixation mutualistic trait.

Recruitment of a Lineage-Specific Virulence Regulatory Pathway Promotes Intracellular Infection by a Plant Pathogen Experimentally Evolved into a Legume Symbiont.

Ecological transitions between different lifestyles, such as pathogenicity, mutualism and saprophytism, have been very frequent in the course of microbial evolution, and often driven by horizontal gene transfer. Yet, how genomes achieve the ecological transition initiated by the transfer of complex biological traits remains poorly known. Here, we used experimental evolution, genomics, transcriptomics and high-resolution phenotyping to analyze the evolution of the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum into legume symbionts, following the transfer of a natural plasmid encoding the essential mutualistic genes. We show that a regulatory pathway of the recipient R. solanacearum genome involved in extracellular infection of natural hosts was reused to improve intracellular symbiosis with the Mimosa pudica legume. Optimization of intracellular infection capacity was gained through mutations affecting two components of a new regulatory pathway, the transcriptional regulator efpR and a region upstream from the RSc0965-0967 genes of unknown functions. Adaptive mutations caused the downregulation of efpR and the over-expression of a downstream regulatory module, the three unknown genes RSc3146-3148, two of which encoding proteins likely associated to the membrane. This over-expression led to important metabolic and transcriptomic changes and a drastic qualitative and quantitative improvement of nodule intracellular infection. In addition, these adaptive mutations decreased the virulence of the original pathogen. The complete efpR/RSc3146-3148 pathway could only be identified in the genomes of the pathogenic R. solanacearum species complex. Our findings illustrate how the rewiring of a genetic network regulating virulence allows a radically different type of symbiotic interaction and contributes to ecological transitions and trade-offs.

Experimental evolution of rhizobia may lead to either extra- or intracellular symbiotic adaptation depending on the selection regime.

Experimental evolution is a powerful approach to study the process of adaptation to new environments, including the colonization of eukaryotic hosts. Facultative endosymbionts, including pathogens and mutualists, face changing and spatially structured environments during the symbiotic process, which impose diverse selection pressures. Here, we provide evidence that different selection regimes, involving different times spent in the plant environment, can result in either intra- or extracellular symbiotic adaptations. In previous work, we introduced the symbiotic plasmid of Cupriavidus taiwanensis, the rhizobial symbiont of Mimosa pudica, into the phytopathogen Ralstonia solanacearum and selected three variants able to form root nodules on M. pudica, two (CBM212 and CBM349) being able to rudimentarily infect nodule cells and the third one (CBM356) only capable of extracellular infection of nodules. Each nodulating ancestor was further challenged to evolve using serial ex planta-in planta cycles of either 21 (three short-cycle lineages) or 42 days (three long-cycle lineages). In this study, we compared the phenotype of the 18 final evolved clones. Evolution through short and long cycles resulted in similar adaptive paths on lineages deriving from the two intracellularly infectious ancestors, CBM212 and CBM349. In contrast, only short cycles allowed a stable acquisition of intracellular infection in lineages deriving from the extracellularly infecting ancestor, CBM356. Long cycles, instead, favoured improvement of extracellular infection. Our work highlights the importance of the selection regime in shaping desired traits during host-mediated selection experiments.

The Coagulative Profile of Cyanotic Children Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: The Role of Whole Blood Preoperative Thromboelastometry on Postoperative Transfusion Requirement.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the preoperative coagulation pattern and its association to postoperative blood products transfusion in children with congenital heart disease (CHD), focusing on cyanotic patients (oxygen saturation, SATO 2 < 85%). From January to August 2014, preoperative standard coagulation tests and rotational thromboelastometry assays were performed on 81 pediatric patients (<16 years old) who underwent surgery for CHD with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass. Sixty patients (74%) were acyanotic and 21 (26%) cyanotic. Mean age at time of surgery was 7.9 months (interquartile range 2.9-43.6 months). Cyanotic patients had a significantly higher hematocrit (P < 0.001), a reduced prothrombin activity (PT) (P = 0.01) level, and a lower platelet count (P = 0.02) than acyanotic patients. An inverse linear association was found between patient's SATO2 and clot formation time (CFT) (INTEM, P = 0.001, and EXTEM, P < 0.0001). A direct linear association was found between patient's SATO2 and maximum clot firmness (MCF) (INTEM, P = 0.04, and EXTEM, P = 0.05). Preoperative cyanosis was also associated with a lower median MCF in FIBTEM (P = 0.02). Cyanotic patients required more frequent postoperative transfusions of fibrinogen (7/21 patients, 33% vs. 4/60 patients, 6.7%, P = 0.01) and fresh frozen plasma (14/21, 67% vs. 25/60, 42%, P = 0.08). Patients with a lower presurgery PT and platelet count subsequently required more fibrinogen transfusion P = 0.02 and P = 0.003, respectively); the same goes for patients with a longer CFT (INTEM, P = 0.01 and EXTEM, P = 0.03) and a reduced MCF (INTEM, P = 0.02 and FIBTEM, P = 0.01) as well. Cyanotic patients showed significant preoperative coagulation anomalies and required a higher postoperative fibrinogen supplementation. The preoperative MCF FIBTEM has become an important factor in our postoperative thromboelastometry-guided transfusion protocols.

Shaping bacterial symbiosis with legumes by experimental evolution.

Nitrogen-fixing symbionts of legumes have appeared after the emergence of legumes on earth, approximately 70 to 130 million years ago. Since then, symbiotic proficiency has spread to distant genera of α- and ß-proteobacteria, via horizontal transfer of essential symbiotic genes and subsequent recipient genome remodeling under plant selection pressure. To tentatively replay rhizobium evolution in laboratory conditions, we previously transferred the symbiotic plasmid of the Mimosa symbiont Cupriavidus taiwanensis in the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, and selected spontaneous nodulating variants of the chimeric Ralstonia sp. using Mimosa pudica as a trap. Here, we pursued the evolution experiment by submitting two of the rhizobial drafts to serial ex planta-in planta (M. pudica) passages that may mimic alternating of saprophytic and symbiotic lives of rhizobia. Phenotyping 16 cycle-evolved clones showed strong and parallel evolution of several symbiotic traits (i.e., nodulation competitiveness, intracellular infection, and bacteroid persistence). Simultaneously, plant defense reactions decreased within nodules, suggesting that the expression of symbiotic competence requires the capacity to limit plant immunity. Nitrogen fixation was not acquired in the frame of this evolutionarily short experiment, likely due to the still poor persistence of final clones within nodules compared with the reference rhizobium C. taiwanensis. Our results highlight the potential of experimental evolution in improving symbiotic proficiency and for the elucidation of relationship between symbiotic capacities and elicitation of immune responses.

Queuosine biosynthesis is required for sinorhizobium meliloti-induced cytoskeletal modifications on HeLa Cells and symbiosis with Medicago truncatula.

Rhizobia are symbiotic soil bacteria able to intracellularly colonize legume nodule cells and form nitrogen-fixing symbiosomes therein. How the plant cell cytoskeleton reorganizes in response to rhizobium colonization has remained poorly understood especially because of the lack of an in vitro infection assay. Here, we report on the use of the heterologous HeLa cell model to experimentally tackle this question. We observed that the model rhizobium Sinorhizobium meliloti, and other rhizobia as well, were able to trigger a major reorganization of actin cytoskeleton of cultured HeLa cells in vitro. Cell deformation was associated with an inhibition of the three major small RhoGTPases Cdc42, RhoA and Rac1. Bacterial entry, cytoskeleton rearrangements and modulation of RhoGTPase activity required an intact S. meliloti biosynthetic pathway for queuosine, a hypermodifed nucleoside regulating protein translation through tRNA, and possibly mRNA, modification. We showed that an intact bacterial queuosine biosynthetic pathway was also required for effective nitrogen-fixing symbiosis of S. meliloti with its host plant Medicago truncatula, thus indicating that one or several key symbiotic functions of S. meliloti are under queuosine control. We discuss whether the symbiotic defect of que mutants may originate, at least in part, from an altered capacity to modify plant cell actin cytoskeleton.

Cupriavidus taiwanensis bacteroids in Mimosa pudica Indeterminate nodules are not terminally differentiated.

The beta-rhizobium Cupriavidus taiwanensis forms indeterminate nodules on Mimosa pudica. C. taiwanensis bacteroids resemble free-living bacteria in terms of genomic DNA content, cell size, membrane permeability, and viability, in contrast to bacteroids in indeterminate nodules of the galegoid clade. Bacteroid differentiation is thus unrelated to nodule ontogeny.

Experimental evolution of a plant pathogen into a legume symbiont.

Rhizobia are phylogenetically disparate alpha- and beta-proteobacteria that have achieved the environmentally essential function of fixing atmospheric nitrogen in symbiosis with legumes. Ample evidence indicates that horizontal transfer of symbiotic plasmids/islands has played a crucial role in rhizobia evolution. However, adaptive mechanisms that allow the recipient genomes to express symbiotic traits are unknown. Here, we report on the experimental evolution of a pathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum chimera carrying the symbiotic plasmid of the rhizobium Cupriavidus taiwanensis into Mimosa nodulating and infecting symbionts. Two types of adaptive mutations in the hrpG-controlled virulence pathway of R. solanacearum were identified that are crucial for the transition from pathogenicity towards mutualism. Inactivation of the hrcV structural gene of the type III secretion system allowed nodulation and early infection to take place, whereas inactivation of the master virulence regulator hrpG allowed intracellular infection of nodule cells. Our findings predict that natural selection of adaptive changes in the legume environment following horizontal transfer has been a major driving force in rhizobia evolution and diversification and show the potential of experimental evolution to decipher the mechanisms leading to symbiosis.

Palmitoylation of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) receptor subunit IFNAR1 is required for the activation of Stat1 and Stat2 by IFN-alpha.

Type I interferons (IFNs) bind IFNAR receptors and activate Jak kinases and Stat transcription factors to stimulate the transcription of genes downstream from IFN-stimulated response elements. In this study, we analyze the role of protein palmitoylation, a reversible post-translational lipid modification, in the functional properties of IFNAR. We report that pharmacological inhibition of protein palmitoylation results in severe defects of IFN receptor endocytosis and signaling. We generated mutants of the IFNAR1 subunit of the type I IFN receptor, in which each or both of the two cysteines present in the cytoplasmic domain are replaced by alanines. We show that cysteine 463 of IFNAR1, the more proximal of the two cytoplasmic cysteines, is palmitoylated. A thorough microscopic and biochemical analysis of the palmitoylation-deficient IFNAR1 mutant revealed that IFNAR1 palmitoylation is not required for receptor endocytosis, intracellular distribution, or stability at the cell surface. However, the lack of IFNAR1 palmitoylation affects selectively the activation of Stat2, which results in a lack of efficient Stat1 activation and nuclear translocation and IFN-alpha-activated gene transcription. Thus, receptor palmitoylation is a previously undescribed mechanism of regulating signaling activity by type I IFNs in the Jak/Stat pathway.

Genome sequence of the beta-rhizobium Cupriavidus taiwanensis and comparative genomics of rhizobia.

We report the first complete genome sequence of a beta-proteobacterial nitrogen-fixing symbiont of legumes, Cupriavidus taiwanensis LMG19424. The genome consists of two chromosomes of size 3.42 Mb and 2.50 Mb, and a large symbiotic plasmid of 0.56 Mb. The C. taiwanensis genome displays an unexpected high similarity with the genome of the saprophytic bacterium C. eutrophus H16, despite being 0.94 Mb smaller. Both organisms harbor two chromosomes with large regions of synteny interspersed by specific regions. In contrast, the two species host highly divergent plasmids, with the consequence that C. taiwanensis is symbiotically proficient and less metabolically versatile. Altogether, specific regions in C. taiwanensis compared with C. eutrophus cover 1.02 Mb and are enriched in genes associated with symbiosis or virulence in other bacteria. C. taiwanensis reveals characteristics of a minimal rhizobium, including the most compact (35-kb) symbiotic island (nod and nif) identified so far in any rhizobium. The atypical phylogenetic position of C. taiwanensis allowed insightful comparative genomics of all available rhizobium genomes. We did not find any gene that was both common and specific to all rhizobia, thus suggesting that a unique shared genetic strategy does not support symbiosis of rhizobia with legumes. Instead, phylodistribution analysis of more than 200 Sinorhizobium meliloti known symbiotic genes indicated large and complex variations of their occurrence in rhizobia and non-rhizobia. This led us to devise an in silico method to extract genes preferentially associated with rhizobia. We discuss how the novel genes we have identified may contribute to symbiotic adaptation.

Dynamin is involved in endolysosomal cholesterol delivery to the endoplasmic reticulum: role in cholesterol homeostasis.

Cholesterol is one of the most essential membrane components in mammalian cells and plays a critical role in several cellular functions. It is now established that intracellular cholesterol transport contributes to the regulation of cellular cholesterol homeostasis by mechanisms that are yet poorly defined. In this study, we examined the role of clathrin- and dynamin-dependent trafficking on the regulatory machinery involved in cholesterol homeostasis. Thus, expression levels of three major sterol-sensitive genes, that is sterol-regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, were monitored to study the cell response to the addition of LDL-derived cholesterol. We found that inhibition of clathrin-dependent endocytosis had no effect on the intracellular distribution of cholesterol and the regulation of sterol-sensitive genes. In contrast, inhibition of dynamin activity resulted in the lack of regulation of SREBP-2, HMGCoA reductase and LDL receptor genes. Immunolocalization studies along with the measure of free and esterified cholesterol indicated that dynamin inactivation led to the accumulation of free cholesterol (FC) within the late endosomal (LE)/lysosomal compartment resulting in insufficient delivery of regulatory cholesterol to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where the transcriptional control of sterol-sensitive genes occurs. Our data therefore indicate that dynamin plays a critical role in the delivery of cholesterol from the LE/lysosomal network to the ER and highlight the importance of LE trafficking in cholesterol homeostasis.

Stat-mediated signaling induced by type I and type II interferons (IFNs) is differentially controlled through lipid microdomain association and clathrin-dependent endocytosis of IFN receptors.

Type I (alpha/beta) and type II (gamma) interferons (IFNs) bind to distinct receptors, although they activate the same signal transducer and activator of transcription, Stat1, raising the question of how signal specificity is maintained. Here, we have characterized the sorting of IFN receptors (IFN-Rs) at the plasma membrane and the role it plays in IFN-dependent signaling and biological activities. We show that both IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma receptors are internalized by a classical clathrin- and dynamin-dependent endocytic pathway. Although inhibition of clathrin-dependent endocytosis blocked the uptake of IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma receptors, this inhibition only affected IFN-alpha-induced Stat1 and Stat2 signaling. Furthermore, the antiviral and antiproliferative activities induced by IFN-alpha but not IFN-gamma were also affected. Finally, we show that, unlike IFN-alpha receptors, activated IFN-gamma receptors rapidly become enriched in plasma membrane lipid microdomains. We conclude that IFN-R compartmentalization at the plasma membrane, through clathrin-dependent endocytosis and lipid-based microdomains, plays a critical role in the signaling and biological responses induced by IFNs and contributes to establishing specificity within the Jak/Stat signaling pathway.

Interaction of pathogenic bacteria with rabbit appendix M cells: bacterial motility is a key feature in vivo.

Rabbit appendix consists mainly of lymphoid follicles (LF) covered by M cells, the specialized antigen-sampling cells of the mucosal immune system, and surrounded by glandular epithelium. Until now, these M cells have been characterized morphologically and histologically by using cellular markers. Here, the adhesion and transport of pathogenic bacteria were investigated to assess the function of M cells of the appendix. We used the enteroinvasive motile Salmonella typhimurium and the rabbit enteropathogenic non-motile Escherichia coli RDEC-1, which are known to target specifically rabbit M cells of Peyer's patches (PPs). We found that S. typhimurium efficiently attached and was transported through appendix M cells in vivo. In contrast to S. typhimurium, RDEC-1 targeted M cells only ex vivo, when bacteria were allowed to have direct contact with the surface of the follicle. The difference in interaction of the two bacteria with appendix M cells led us to investigate whether this could be correlated with the lack of motility of RDEC-1. We used an aflagellate mutant of S. typhimurium and found that it had the same infection phenotype as RDEC-1. Gene complementation restored the efficiency of infection to that of S. typhimurium wild-type strain. In conclusion, we show that M cells of the appendix display features of the canonical M cells of PP, since they efficiently sample luminal pathogenic bacteria. However, due to the morphology of the appendix, motile bacteria appear to be more potent in their interactions with appendix M cells.

Chronic acid exposure leads to activation of the cdx2 intestinal homeobox gene in a long-term culture of mouse esophageal keratinocytes.

To explore mechanisms whereby Malpighian keratinocytes can transdifferentiate into an intestinal-like epithelium, as observed in the early steps of Barrett's esophagus (BE) development, long-standing cultures of esophageal keratinocytes derived from normal mouse esophageal explants were developed. These cells were able to form multilayers and to differentiate on filter support by the formation of differentiated layers of basal cells (cytokeratine 14 positive) on which secondary suprabasal cell layers (cytokeratine 4 positive) spontaneously developed. Thus, these cultured cells, referred to as P3E6, reproduced, at least in part, the proliferation and stratification pattern existing in the normal esophagus. Because chronic exposure to acid pH is known to be a critical factor for BE development, culture medium at pH 3.5 was added into the apical chamber of cell cultures. This led to a decrease in the overall number of cells but it did not affect cell proliferation. Furthermore, external acid environment triggered expression of the GFP reporter gene fused downstream of the cdx2 intestinal homeogene regulatory sequences in P3E6 transfected cells. Expression of the endogenous CDX2 protein, detected by western blot and immunocytochemical analysis, correlated with promoter activation. These findings demonstrate that chronic exposure of esophageal keratinocytes to acid pH induces transcription of cdx2, an intestinal specific homeobox gene known to play a critical role in the differentiation and maintenance of intestinal epithelial functions. The results suggest that chronic acid exposure can modify the fate of P3E6 esophageal keratinocytes towards an intestinal program. This can be a key step in the development of intestinal metaplasia often observed in esophagus-cardia junction.

Isogenic mutants of the cag pathogenicity island of Helicobacter pylori in the mouse model of infection: effects on colonization efficiency.

Strains of Helicobacter pylori that contain the cag pathogenicity island (cag PAI) are associated with increased virulence and severe clinical outcomes. To evaluate the role of the cag island in infection, isogenic null mutations were generated in two clinical isolates (SS1 and Iris1) with distinct genetic backgrounds. When tested for their ability to establish infection in the stomach of CD1/SPF mice, at the early phase of infection, strains in which cagE, ORF528, ORF527 or ORF525 were inactivated showed a reduced capacity to initiate colonization compared to the wild-type strain. Strains with a mutation in the ORF524 gene were more efficient than the other mutants, but still less efficient than the wild-type strain. Mutation in the effector protein, CagA, which is injected into host cells and tyrosine-phosphorylated, did not change the colonization efficiency. In conclusion, all cag genes analysed, with the exception of the effector protein, CagA, influenced the early phase of colonization in the mouse model of infection. These results suggest that the structure of the H. pylori secretion apparatus itself is involved in this process.