Actin pedestal formation by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli enhances bacterial host cell attachment and concomitant type III translocation.

Attachment of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) to intestinal epithelial cells is critical for colonization and is associated with localized actin assembly beneath bound bacteria. The formation of these actin "pedestals" is dependent on the translocation of effectors into mammalian cells via a type III secretion system (T3SS). Tir, an effector required for pedestal formation, localizes in the host cell plasma membrane and promotes attachment of bacteria to mammalian cells by binding to the EHEC outer surface protein Intimin. Actin pedestal formation has been shown to foster intestinal colonization by EHEC in some animal models, but the mechanisms responsible for this remain undefined. Investigation of the role of Tir-mediated actin assembly promoting host cell binding is complicated by other, potentially redundant EHEC-encoded binding pathways, so we utilized cell binding assays that specifically detect binding mediated by Tir-Intimin interaction. We also assessed the role of Tir-mediated actin assembly in two-step assays that temporally segregated initial translocation of Tir from subsequent Tir-Intimin interaction, thereby permitting the distinction of effects on translocation from effects on cell attachment. In these experimental systems, we compromised Tir-mediated actin assembly by chemically inhibiting actin assembly or by infecting mammalian cells with EHEC mutants that translocate Tir but are specifically defective in Tir-mediated pedestal formation. We found that an inability of Tir to promote actin assembly resulted in a significant and striking decrease in bacterial binding mediated by Tir and Intimin. Bacterial mutants defective for pedestal formation translocated type III effectors to mammalian cells with reduced efficiency, but the decrease in translocation could be entirely accounted for by the decrease in host cell attachment.

Enterohemorrhagic E. coli requires N-WASP for efficient type III translocation but not for EspFU-mediated actin pedestal formation.

Upon infection of mammalian cells, enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O157:H7 utilizes a type III secretion system to translocate the effectors Tir and EspF(U) (aka TccP) that trigger the formation of F-actin-rich 'pedestals' beneath bound bacteria. EspF(U) is localized to the plasma membrane by Tir and binds the nucleation-promoting factor N-WASP, which in turn activates the Arp2/3 actin assembly complex. Although N-WASP has been shown to be required for EHEC pedestal formation, the precise steps in the process that it influences have not been determined. We found that N-WASP and actin assembly promote EHEC-mediated translocation of Tir and EspF(U) into mammalian host cells. When we utilized the related pathogen enteropathogenic E. coli to enhance type III translocation of EHEC Tir and EspF(U), we found surprisingly that actin pedestals were generated on N-WASP-deficient cells. Similar to pedestal formation on wild type cells, Tir and EspF(U) were the only bacterial effectors required for pedestal formation, and the EspF(U) sequences required to interact with N-WASP were found to also be essential to stimulate this alternate actin assembly pathway. In the absence of N-WASP, the Arp2/3 complex was both recruited to sites of bacterial attachment and required for actin assembly. Our results indicate that actin assembly facilitates type III translocation, and reveal that EspF(U), presumably by recruiting an alternate host factor that can signal to the Arp2/3 complex, exhibits remarkable versatility in its strategies for stimulating actin polymerization.

Genomic islands of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Key to Pseudomonas aeruginosa's ability to thrive in a diversity of niches is the presence of numerous genomic islands that confer adaptive traits upon individual strains. We reasoned that P. aeruginosa strains capable of surviving in the harsh environments of multiple hosts would therefore represent rich sources of genomic islands. To this end, we identified a strain, PSE9, that was virulent in both animals and plants. Subtractive hybridization was used to compare the genome of PSE9 with the less virulent strain PAO1. Nine genomic islands were identified in PSE9 that were absent in PAO1; seven of these had not been described previously. One of these seven islands, designated P. aeruginosa genomic island (PAGI)-5, has already been shown to carry numerous interesting ORFs, including several required for virulence in mammals. Here we describe the remaining six genomic islands, PAGI-6, -7, -8, -9, -10, and -11, which include a prophage element and two Rhs elements.

Hybrid pathogenicity island PAGI-5 contributes to the highly virulent phenotype of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate in mammals.

Most known virulence determinants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are remarkably conserved in this bacterium's core genome, yet individual strains differ significantly in virulence. One explanation for this discrepancy is that pathogenicity islands, regions of DNA found in some strains but not in others, contribute to the overall virulence of P. aeruginosa. Here we employed a strategy in which the virulence of a panel of P. aeruginosa isolates was tested in mouse and plant models of disease, and a highly virulent isolate, PSE9, was chosen for comparison by subtractive hybridization to a less virulent strain, PAO1. The resulting subtractive hybridization sequences were used as tags to identify genomic islands found in PSE9 but absent in PAO1. One 99-kb island, designated P. aeruginosa genomic island 5 (PAGI-5), was a hybrid of the known P. aeruginosa island PAPI-1 and novel sequences. Whereas the PAPI-1-like sequences were found in most tested isolates, the novel sequences were found only in the most virulent isolates. Deletional analysis confirmed that some of these novel sequences contributed to the highly virulent phenotype of PSE9. These results indicate that targeting highly virulent strains of P. aeruginosa may be a useful strategy for identifying pathogenicity islands and novel virulence determinants.

Biochemical and Genetic Characterization of PspE and GlpE, Two Single-domain Sulfurtransferases of Escherichia coli.

The pspE and glpE genes of Escherichia coli encode periplasmic and cytoplasmic single-domain rhodaneses, respectively, that catalyzes sulfur transfer from thiosulfate to thiophilic acceptors. Strains deficient in either or both genes were constructed. Comparison of rhodanese activity in these strains revealed that PspE provides 85% of total rhodanese activity, with GlpE contributing most of the remainder. PspE activity was four times higher during growth on glycerol versus glucose, and was not induced by conditions that induce expression of the psp regulon. The glpE/pspE mutants displayed no apparent growth phenotypes, indicating that neither gene is required for biosynthesis of essential sulfur-containing molecules. PspE was purified by using cation exchange chromatography. Two distinct active peaks were eluted and differed in the degree of stable covalent modification, as assessed by mass spectrometry. The peak eluting earliest contained the equivalent mass of two additional sulfur atoms, whereas the second peak contained mainly one additional sulfur. Kinetic properties of purified PspE were consistent with catalysis occurring via a double-displacement mechanism via an enzyme-sulfur intermediate involving the active site cysteine. K(m)s for SSO(3) (2-) and CN(-) were 2.7 mM and 32 mM, respectively, and k(cat) was 64(s-1). The enzyme also catalyzed transfer of sulfur from thiosulfate to dithiothreitol, ultimately releasing sulfide.

Secretion of the toxin ExoU is a marker for highly virulent Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates obtained from patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Overall, hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with high attributable mortality. Although the intrinsic virulence of P. aeruginosa undoubtedly contributes to this phenomenon, it is unclear whether all strains share this property or whether only a subpopulation of strains are capable of causing such severe disease. In this study, the virulence of 35 P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from patients with HAP by use of a cytolytic cell-death assay, an apoptosis assay, and a mouse model of pneumonia. The virulence of individual isolates differed significantly from one to another in each of these assays. Increased virulence was associated with the secretion of ExoU, a toxin transported by the P. aeruginosa type III secretion system. Secretion of ExoS or ExoY, 2 other proteins transported by this system, was not consistently associated with increased virulence. Together, these findings suggest that secretion of ExoU is a marker for highly virulent strains of P. aeruginosa.