Accumulation of resistance genes in Salmonella Typhimurium transmitted between poultry and dairy farms increases the risk to public health.

Salmonella Typhimurium is a zoonotic pathogen that poses a major threat to public health. This generalist serotype can be found in many hosts and the environment where varying selection pressures may result in the accumulation of antimicrobial resistance determinants. However, the transmission of this serotype between food-producing hosts, specifically between poultry layer flocks and nearby dairy herds, was never demonstrated. We investigated an outbreak at a dairy in Israel to determine the role of nearby poultry houses to be sources of infection. The 2-month outbreak resulted in a 47% mortality rate among 15 calves born in that period. Routine treatment of fluid therapy, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, and cefquinome was ineffective, and control was achieved by the introduction of vaccination of dry cows against Salmonella (Bovivac S, MSD Animal Health) and a strict colostrum regime. Whole genome sequencing and antimicrobial sensitivity tests were performed on S. Typhimurium strains isolated from the dairy (n = 4) and strains recovered from poultry layer farms (n = 10). We identified acquired antimicrobial-resistant genes, including the blaCTX-M-55 gene, conferring resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins, which was exclusive to dairy isolates. Genetic similarity with less than five single nucleotide polymorphism differences between dairy and poultry strains suggested a transmission link. This investigation highlights the severe impact of S. Typhimurium on dairy farms and the transmission risk from nearby poultry farms. The accumulation of potentially transferable genes conferring resistance to critically important antimicrobials underscores the increased public health risk associated with S. Typhimurium circulation between animal hosts.IMPORTANCESalmonella Typhimurium is one of the major causes of food-borne illness globally. Infections may result in severe invasive disease, in which antimicrobial treatment is warranted. Therefore, the emergence of multi-drug-resistant strains poses a significant challenge to successful treatment and is considered one of the major threats to global health. S. Typhimurium can be found in a variety of animal hosts and environments; however, its transmission between food-producing animals, specifically poultry layers flocks and dairy herds, was never studied. Here, we demonstrate the transmission of the pathogen from poultry to a nearby dairy farm. Alarmingly, the multi-drug-resistant strains collected during the outbreak in the dairy had acquired resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins, antibiotics critically important in treating Salmonellosis in humans. The findings of the study emphasize the increased risk to public health posed by zoonotic pathogens' circulation between animal hosts.

Using genetic markers for detection and subtyping of the emerging Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serotype Muenchen.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) poses a global threat to public health. Poultry, one of the main reservoirs of NTS, is usually not clinically affected by most NTS, yet the economic losses to the poultry industry due to control and mitigation efforts, and due to negative publicity can be tremendous. NTS strains are routinely characterized into serotypes in a time-consuming, labor-intensive multistep process that requires skilled personnel. Moreover, the discriminatory power of serotyping is limited compared to other subtyping methods. Whole-genome sequence data enable the identification of genetic variation within serotypes. However, sequencing is often limited by available resources, and analyzing and interpreting the genetic data may be time-consuming. Source tracing during epidemiological outbreak investigations requires rapid and efficient characterization of strains to control pathogen spread. Here we designed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of genetic variants of Salmonella Muenchen, a serotype that has emerged in Israel in the last 3 yr in both clinical human cases and different hosts. Test sensitivity of 99.21% and specificity of 94 to 100% were determined using in-silico PCR with a dataset of 18,282 NTS assemblies from 37 NTS serotypes. Similarly, test sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 96.2 to 100% were determined in-vitro with 120 NTS isolates of 52 serotypes. Moreover, the test enabled differentiation between the common sequence types of serotype Muenchen using both approaches. As opposed to traditional serotyping and other subtyping methods, the designed test allows for rapid and cost-efficient detection of the emerging S. Muenchen serotype and its variants in a single step. Future development of similar assays for other dominant serotypes may help reduce the time and cost required for detection and initial characterization of dominant NTS strains. Overall, these tests will be beneficial to both public health and for reducing of the economic losses to the poultry industry due to NTS infections.

p120 catenin regulates lamellipodial dynamics and cell adhesion in cooperation with cortactin.

The armadillo-family protein, p120 catenin (p120), binds to the juxtamembrane domain of classical cadherins and increases cell-cell junction stability. Overexpression of p120 modulates the activity of Rho family GTPases and augments cell migratory ability. Here we show that down-regulation of p120 in epithelial MCF-7 cells by siRNA leads to a striking decrease in lamellipodial persistence and focal adhesion formation. Similar alterations in lamellipodial activity were observed in MCF-7 cells treated with siRNA to cortactin, an activator of Arp2/3-dependent actin polymerization. We found that, in many cell types, p120 is colocalized with cortactin-containing actin structures not only at cell-cell junctions, but also at extrajunctional sites including membrane ruffles and actin-rich halos around endocytotic vesicles. p120 depletion led to dramatic loss of cortactin and its partner, Arp3, from the cell leading edges. Cortactin and p120 are shown to directly interact with each other via the cortactin N-terminal region. We propose that the mechanism underlying p120 functions at the leading edge involves its cooperation with cortactin.

Comparative dynamics of retrograde actin flow and focal adhesions: formation of nascent adhesions triggers transition from fast to slow flow.

Dynamic actin network at the leading edge of the cell is linked to the extracellular matrix through focal adhesions (FAs), and at the same time it undergoes retrograde flow with different dynamics in two distinct zones: the lamellipodium (peripheral zone of fast flow), and the lamellum (zone of slow flow located between the lamellipodium and the cell body). Cell migration involves expansion of both the lamellipodium and the lamellum, as well as formation of new FAs, but it is largely unknown how the position of the boundary between the two flow zones is defined, and how FAs and actin flow mutually influence each other. We investigated dynamic relationship between focal adhesions and the boundary between the two flow zones in spreading cells. Nascent FAs first appeared in the lamellipodium. Within seconds after the formation of new FAs, the rate of actin flow decreased locally, and the lamellipodium/lamellum boundary advanced towards the new FAs. Blocking fast actin flow with cytochalasin D resulted in rapid dissolution of nascent FAs. In the absence of FAs (spreading on poly-L-lysine-coated surfaces) retrograde flow was uniform and the velocity transition was not observed. We conclude that formation of FAs depends on actin dynamics, and in its turn, affects the dynamics of actin flow by triggering transition from fast to slow flow. Extension of the cell edge thus proceeds through a cycle of lamellipodium protrusion, formation of new FAs, advance of the lamellum, and protrusion of the lamellipodium from the new base.

Junctional protein MAGI-3 interacts with receptor tyrosine phosphatase beta (RPTP beta) and tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins.

Receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase beta (RPTP beta) mediates cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. By searching for intracellular proteins that interact with the cytoplasmic region of this phosphatase using the two-hybrid method, we identified several proteins containing PDZ domains. One of these proteins, MAGI-3, contains a guanylate-kinase-like region, six PDZ and two WW domains. The interaction between RPTP beta and MAGI-3 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and pulldown experiments in transfected cells. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy revealed that MAGI-3 is concentrated in specific sites at the plasma membrane and in the nucleus. In epithelial cells, MAGI-3 was localized with ZO-1 and cingulin at tight junctions, whereas in primary cultured astrocytes it was found in E-cadherin-based cell-cell contacts and in focal adhesion sites. Although MAGI-3 itself was not phosphorylated on tyrosine residues, it became associated with tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins following a short treatment of the cells with vanadate. In glioblastoma SF763T cells MAGI-3 was associated with a tyrosine-phosphorylated protein with the apparent molecular weight of 130 kDa, whereas in Caco2 cells it was associated with a 90 kDa protein. Finally, we show that p130 served as a substrate for RPTP beta and that its dephosphorylation required the C-terminal sequence of the phosphatase, which mediated the interaction with MAGI-3. These findings suggest a possible role for MAGI-3 as a scaffolding molecule that links receptor tyrosine phosphatase with its substrates at the plasma membrane.