Clofazimine broadly inhibits coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the third outbreak this century of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus, following the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 20031 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 20122. Treatment options for coronaviruses are limited. Here we show that clofazimine-an anti-leprosy drug with a favourable safety profile3-possesses inhibitory activity against several coronaviruses, and can antagonize the replication of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV in a range of in vitro systems. We found that this molecule, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, inhibits cell fusion mediated by the viral spike glycoprotein, as well as activity of the viral helicase. Prophylactic or therapeutic administration of clofazimine in a hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis led to reduced viral loads in the lung and viral shedding in faeces, and also alleviated the inflammation associated with viral infection. Combinations of clofazimine and remdesivir exhibited antiviral synergy in vitro and in vivo, and restricted viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract. Clofazimine, which is orally bioavailable and comparatively cheap to manufacture, is an attractive clinical candidate for the treatment of outpatients and-when combined with remdesivir-in therapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly in contexts in which costs are an important factor or specialized medical facilities are limited. Our data provide evidence that clofazimine may have a role in the control of the current pandemic of COVID-19 and-possibly more importantly-in dealing with coronavirus diseases that may emerge in the future.

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Genome Engineering Reveals the Contribution of the 26S Proteasome to the Extremophilic Nature of the Yeast Debaryomyces hansenii.

The marine yeast Debaryomyces hansenii is of high importance in the food, chemical, and medical industries. D. hansenii is also a popular model for studying molecular mechanisms of halo- and osmotolerance. The absence of genome editing technologies hampers D. hansenii research and limits its biotechnological application. We developed novel and efficient single- and dual-guide CRISPR systems for markerless genome editing of D. hansenii. The single-guide system allows high-efficiency (up to 95%) mutation of genes or regulatory elements. The dual-guide system is applicable for efficient deletion of genomic loci. We used these tools to study transcriptional regulation of the 26S proteasome, an ATP-dependent protease complex whose proper function is vital for all cells and organisms. We developed a genetic approach to control the activity of the 26S proteasome by deregulation of its essential subunits. The mutant strains were sensitive to geno- and proteotoxic stresses as well as high salinity and osmolarity, suggesting a contribution of the proteasome to the extremophilic properties of D. hansenii. The developed CRISPR systems allow efficient D. hansenii genome engineering, providing a genetic way to control proteasome activity, and should advance applications of this yeast.

Oct-6 transcriptional factor a possible biomarker for leprosy diagnosis.

Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that affects the skin and nerves. The nerve damage in leprosy may be related to alterations in transcriptional factors, such as Krox-20, Oct-6, Sox-10. Thirty skin biopsies in leprosy patients and 15 non-leprosy skin biopsies were evaluated using RT-qPCR to assess Krox-20, Oct-6, and Sox-10 and these data was related with S-100 immunohistochemistry. Changes in gene expression were observed in the skin and dermal nerves of leprosy patients in Oct-6 and Sox-10. When comparing Oct-6 with S-100 IHC as diagnostic tests for leprosy, Oct-6 showed a sensitivity of 73.3%, and specificity of 100%, while S-100 IHC showed a sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 100%. Our data suggest Oct-6 could be an auxiliary biomarker specific to detecting changes in dermal nerves in leprosy and thus useful to health workers and pathologists with no expertise to observe nerve injuries in leprosy.

Second-Strand Synthesis-Based Massively Parallel scRNA-Seq Reveals Cellular States and Molecular Features of Human Inflammatory Skin Pathologies.

High-throughput single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) methodologies enable characterization of complex biological samples by increasing the number of cells that can be profiled contemporaneously. Nevertheless, these approaches recover less information per cell than low-throughput strategies. To accurately report the expression of key phenotypic features of cells, scRNA-seq platforms are needed that are both high fidelity and high throughput. To address this need, we created Seq-Well S3 ("Second-Strand Synthesis"), a massively parallel scRNA-seq protocol that uses a randomly primed second-strand synthesis to recover complementary DNA (cDNA) molecules that were successfully reverse transcribed but to which a second oligonucleotide handle, necessary for subsequent whole transcriptome amplification, was not appended due to inefficient template switching. Seq-Well S3 increased the efficiency of transcript capture and gene detection compared with that of previous iterations by up to 10- and 5-fold, respectively. We used Seq-Well S3 to chart the transcriptional landscape of five human inflammatory skin diseases, thus providing a resource for the further study of human skin inflammation.

Transcription initiation in mycobacteria: a biophysical perspective.

Recent biophysical studies of mycobacterial transcription have shed new light on this fundamental process in a group of bacteria that includes deadly pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), Mycobacterium abscessus (Mab), Mycobacterium leprae (Mlp), as well as the nonpathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msm). Most of the research has focused on Mtb, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), which remains one of the top ten causes of death globally. The enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP) is responsible for all bacterial transcription and is a target for one of the crucial antibiotics used for TB treatment, rifampicin (Rif). Here, we summarize recent biophysical studies of mycobacterial RNAP that have advanced our understanding of the basic process of transcription, have revealed novel paradigms for regulation, and thus have provided critical information required for developing new antibiotics against this deadly disease.

A cross-sectional study of the histopathology and immunology of alopecia areata: Unearthing the role of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that occurs as a result of the loss of the inherent immune privilege of the hair follicle. It has been recently demonstrated that the interferon-γ/interleukin-15 feedback loop that signals via the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway is critical to the breakdown of this immune privilege. AIMS: To evaluate the immunological distribution of CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells, phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 and study its relation with the clinical and histopathological findings of the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 patients of alopecia areata were included in the study. Following a detailed history and clinical examination, a scalp biopsy was performed. Histopathology was studied and immunohistochemistry was done to demonstrate the positivity and distribution of CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1. RESULTS: The follicular count, number of anagen and terminal hair were found to be decreased, whereas the catagen, telogen and vellus hair were found to be increased in number. A peribulbar CD4+ T-cell infiltrate was seen in 70% cases, whereas a CD8+ T-cell infiltrate was seen in 83.3% cases. An intrabulbar CD4+ T-cell infiltrate was seen in 26.7% cases, whereas a CD8+ T-cell infiltrate was seen in 70% cases. Among the 25 hair follicles dermal papilla identified, 36.8% cases were found to be positive for phospho-signal transducer and activation of transcription-1. LIMITATIONS: The drawbacks of our study included a small sample size and the use of only vertical sectioning for the scalp biopsy samples. CONCLUSION: Phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 positivity as an indicator of signalling via the Janus kinase-1/2 pathway was seen in 36.8% of our cases highlighting the integral role of this pathway in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata.

Putative 3-nitrotyrosine detoxifying genes identified in the yeast Debaryomyces hansenii: in silico search of regulatory sequences responsive to salt and nitrogen stress

Background: During salt stress, the yeast Debaryomyces hansenii synthesizes tyrosine as a strategy to avoid the oxidation of proteins. Tyrosine reacts with nitrogen radicals to form 3-nitrotyrosine. 3-nitrotyrosine prevents the effects of associated oxidative stress and thus contributes to the high halotolerace of the yeast. However, the mechanism of how D. hansenii counteracts the presence of this toxic compound is unclear. In this work, we evaluated D. hansenii's capacity to assimilate 3-nitrotyrosine as a unique nitrogen source and measured its denitrase activity under salt stress. To identify putative genes related to the assimilation of 3-nitrotyrosine, we performed an in silico search in the promoter regions of D. hansenii genome. Results: We identified 15 genes whose promoters had binding site sequences for transcriptional factors of sodium, nitrogen, and oxidative stress with oxidoreductase and monooxygenase GO annotations. Two of these genes, DEHA2E24178g and DEHA2C00286g, coding for putative denitrases and having GATA sequences, were evaluated by RT-PCR and showed high expression under salt and nitrogen stress. Conclusions: D. hansenii can grow in the presence of 3-nitrotyrosine as the only nitrogen source and has a high specific denitrase activity to degrade 3-nitrotyrosine in 1 and 2 M NaCl stress conditions. The results suggest that given the lack of information on transcriptional factors in D. hansenii, the genes identified in our in silico analysis may help explain 3-nitrotyrosine assimilation mechanisms.

Functional analysis of differences in transcriptional activity conferred by genetic variants in the 5' flanking region of the IL12RB2 gene.

Interleukin 12 receptor ß chain (IL12RB2) is a crucial regulatory factor involved in cell-mediated immune responses, and genetic variants of the gene encoding IL12RB2 are associated with susceptibility to various immune-related diseases. We previously demonstrated that haplotypes with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5' flanking region of IL12RB2, including -1035A>G (rs3762315) and -1023A>G (rs3762316), affect the expression of IL12RB2, thereby altering susceptibility to leprosy and periodontal diseases. In the present study, we identified transcription factors associated with the haplotype-specific transcriptional activity of IL12RB2 in T cells and NK cells. The -1023G polymorphism was found to create a consensus binding site for the transcription factor activating protein (AP)-1, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based binding assays showed that these SNPs enhanced AP-1 binding to this region. In reporter assays, suppression of JunB expression using siRNA eliminated differences in the -1035G/-1023G and -1035A/-1023A regions containing IL12RB2 promoter activity in Jurkat T cells and NK3.3 cells. These results suggested that the -1035/-1023 polymorphisms created differential binding affinities for JunB that could lead to differential IL12RB2 expression. Moreover, the -1035G and -1035A alleles formed binding sites for GATA-3 and myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF-2), respectively. Our data indicated that in addition to JunB, the SNP at -1035/-1023 influenced GATA-3 and MEF-2 binding affinity, potentially altering IL12RB2 transcriptional activity. These findings confirm the effects of rs3762315 and rs3762316 on IL12RB2 transcription. These genetic variants may alter cellular activation of T cells and NK cells and modify cell-mediated immune responses.

The role of microRNAs in the control and mechanism of action of IL-10.

Recent studies have shown an important interplay between Interleukin 10 (IL-10) and microRNAs. IL-10 can be directly post-transcriptionally regulated by several microRNA, including miR-106a, miR-4661, miR-98, miR-27, let7 and miR-1423p/5p. miRNA targeting of IL-10 has been suggested to play a role in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as SLE, reperfusion injury and asthma. Another miRNA, miR-21, has been shown to indirectly regulate IL-10 via downregulation of the IL-10 inhibitor PDCD4. The targeting of IL-10 in this way has been linked to host defence modulation by Mycobacterium leprae. Viral miRNAs, such as miR-K12-3 from Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), can also decrease IL-10 to promote tumour development. Finally this interplay can operate in a feedback loop, with IL-10 capable of regulating microRNAs, upregulating those that can contribute to exerting the anti-inflammatory response, such as miR-187, and downregulating those that are highly pro-inflammatory, such as miR-155. Understanding the two-way regulation between miRNA and IL-10 is giving rise to new insights into this important cytokine.

FoxP3 provides competitive fitness to CD4⁺CD25⁺ T cells in leprosy patients via transcriptional regulation.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. FoxP3 have been shown to have important implications in various diseases. The present study describes the mechanism of action of FoxP3 in CD4⁺CD25⁺ T cells derived from leprosy patients. Increased molecular interactions of FoxP3 with histone deacetylases 7/9 in the nucleus of CD4⁺CD25⁺ T cells derived from borderline lepromatous leprosy/lepromatous leprosy (BL/LL) patients were found to be responsible for FoxP3-driven immune suppression activities during the progression of leprosy. Further, downregulation of CTLA-4 and CD25 genes in siFoxP3-treated PBMCs derived from BL/LL patients elucidated the transcription-activating nature of FoxP3. This observation was supported by direct binding of FoxP3 to the promoter region of the CTLA-4 and CD25 genes, and FoxP3's molecular interaction with histone acetyl transferases. The study also revealed that the increased expression of miR155 in CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells from BL/LL governs the competitive fitness of these cells. Again, reduced Annexin V & propidium iodide staining and Nur77 expression, and concomitantly increased Ki-67 positivity suggested that CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells derived from BL/LL patients are more competitively fit than those from borderline tuberculoid leprosy/tuberculoid leprosy and healthy controls. Taken together, the study shows the orchestration of FoxP3 leading to competitive fitness of Treg cells in leprosy.

The Haemophilus ducreyi Fis protein is involved in controlling expression of the lspB-lspA2 operon and other virulence factors.

Expression of the lspB-lspA2 operon encoding a virulence-related two-partner secretion system in Haemophilus ducreyi 35000HP is directly regulated by the CpxRA regulatory system (M. Labandeira-Rey, J. R. Mock, and E. J. Hansen, Infect. Immun. 77:3402-3411, 2009). In the present study, we show that this secretion system is also regulated by the small nucleoid-associated protein Fis. Inactivation of the H. ducreyi fis gene resulted in a reduction in expression of both the H. ducreyi LspB and LspA2 proteins. DNA microarray experiments showed that a H. ducreyi fis deletion mutant exhibited altered expression levels of genes encoding other important H. ducreyi virulence factors, including DsrA and Flp1, suggesting a possible global role for Fis in the control of virulence in this obligate human pathogen. While the H. ducreyi Fis protein has a high degree of sequence and structural similarity to the Fis proteins of other bacteria, its temporal pattern of expression was very different from that of enterobacterial Fis proteins. The use of a lacZ-based transcriptional reporter provided evidence which indicated that the H. ducreyi Fis homolog is a positive regulator of gyrB, a gene that is negatively regulated by Fis in enteric bacteria. Taken together, the Fis protein expression data and the observed regulatory effects of Fis in H. ducreyi suggest that this small DNA binding protein has a regulatory role in H. ducreyi which may differ in substantial ways from that of other Fis proteins.

Transcriptional Characterization of Porcine Leptin and Leptin Receptor Genes.

The leptin (LEP) and its receptor (LEPR) regulate food intake and energy balance through hypothalamic signaling. However, the LEP-LEPR axis seems to be more complex and its expression regulation has not been well described. In pigs, LEP and LEPR genes have been widely studied due to their relevance. Previous studies reported significant effects of SNPs located in both genes on growth and fatness traits. The aim of this study was to determine the expression profiles of LEP and LEPR across hypothalamic, adipose, hepatic and muscle tissues in Iberian x Landrace backcrossed pigs and to analyze the effects of gene variants on transcript abundance. To our knowledge, non porcine LEPR isoforms have been described rather than LEPRb. A short porcine LEPR isoform (LEPRa), that encodes a protein lacking the intracellular residues responsible of signal transduction, has been identified for the first time. The LEPRb isoform was only quantifiable in hypothalamus while LEPRa appeared widely expressed across tissues, but at higher levels in liver, suggesting that both isoforms would develop different roles. The unique LEP transcript showed expression in backfat and muscle. The effects of gene variants on transcript expression revealed interesting results. The LEPRc.1987C>T polymorphism showed opposite effects on LEPRb and LEPRa hypothalamic expression. In addition, one out of the 16 polymorphisms identified in the LEPR promoter region revealed high differential expression in hepatic LEPRa. These results suggest a LEPR isoform-specific regulation at tissue level. Conversely, non-differential expression of LEP conditional on the analyzed polymorphisms could be detected, indicating that its regulation is likely affected by other mechanisms rather than gene sequence variants. The present study has allowed a transcriptional characterization of LEP and LEPR isoforms on a range of tissues. Their expression patterns seem to indicate that both molecules develop peripheral roles apart from their known hypothalamic signal transduction function.

Thalidomide modulates Mycobacterium leprae-induced NF-κB pathway and lower cytokine response.

It is widely accepted that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) plays a critical role in the development of tissue and nerve damage in leprosy and during the reactional episodes of acute inflammation. Thalidomide (N-α-phthalimidoglutarimide), a drug used to treat leprosy reaction, modulates immune response, inhibits inflammation and NF-κB activity. Here we investigated whether thalidomide inhibits NF-κB activation induced by Mycobacterium leprae, p38 and ERK1/2 MAPK activation. EMSA and supershift assays were performed to investigate NF-κB activation in response to M. leprae and its modulation following in vitro treatment with thalidomide. Luciferase assay was assayed in transfected THP-1 cells to determine NF-κB transcriptional activity. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were used to investigate p65 accumulation in the nucleus. Immunoblotting was used to investigate p38 and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Following activation of PBMC and monocytes with M. leprae, the formation and nuclear localization of NF-κB complexes composed mainly of p65/p50 and p50/p50 dimers was observed. Induction of NF-κB activation and DNA binding activity was inhibited by thalidomide. The drug also reduced M. leprae-induced TNF-α production and inhibited p38 and ERK1/2 activation. Definition of the activation mechanisms in cells stimulated with M. leprae can lead to the development of new therapy applications to modulate NF-κB activation and to control the inflammatory manifestations due to enhanced TNF-α response as observed in leprosy and in leprosy reactions.

Mycobacterium leprae downregulates the expression of PHEX in Schwann cells and osteoblasts.

Neuropathy and bone deformities, lifelong sequelae of leprosy that persist after treatment, result in significant impairment to patients and compromise their social rehabilitation. Phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidase on the X chromosome (PHEX) is a Zn-metalloendopeptidase, which is abundantly expressed in osteoblasts and many other cell types, such as Schwann cells, and has been implicated in phosphate metabolism and X-linked rickets. Here, we demonstrate that Mycobacterium leprae stimulation downregulates PHEX transcription and protein expression in a human schwannoma cell line (ST88-14) and human osteoblast lineage. Modulation of PHEX expression was observed to a lesser extent in cells stimulated with other species of mycobacteria, but was not observed in cultures treated with latex beads or with the facultative intracellular bacterium Salmonella typhimurium. Direct downregulation of PHEX by M. leprae could be involved in the bone resorption observed in leprosy patients. This is the first report to describe PHEX modulation by an infectious agent.

Mycobacterium leprae downregulates the expression of PHEX in Schwann cells and osteoblasts

Neuropathy and bone deformities, lifelong sequelae of leprosy that persist after treatment, result in significant impairment to patients and compromise their social rehabilitation. Phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidase on the X chromosome (PHEX) is a Zn-metalloendopeptidase, which is abundantly expressed in osteoblasts and many other cell types, such as Schwann cells, and has been implicated in phosphate metabolism and X-linked rickets. Here, we demonstrate that Mycobacterium leprae stimulation downregulates PHEX transcription and protein expression in a human schwannoma cell line (ST88-14) and human osteoblast lineage. Modulation of PHEX expression was observed to a lesser extent in cells stimulated with other species of mycobacteria, but was not observed in cultures treated with latex beads or with the facultative intracellular bacterium Salmonella typhimurium. Direct downregulation of PHEX by M. leprae could be involved in the bone resorption observed in leprosy patients. This is the first report to describe PHEX modulation by an infectious agent.

Implications of high level pseudogene transcription in Mycobacterium leprae.

BACKGROUND: The Mycobacterium leprae genome has less than 50% coding capacity and 1,133 pseudogenes. Preliminary evidence suggests that some pseudogenes are expressed. Therefore, defining pseudogene transcriptional and translational potentials of this genome should increase our understanding of their impact on M. leprae physiology. RESULTS: Gene expression analysis identified transcripts from 49% of all M. leprae genes including 57% of all ORFs and 43% of all pseudogenes in the genome. Transcribed pseudogenes were randomly distributed throughout the chromosome. Factors resulting in pseudogene transcription included: 1) co-orientation of transcribed pseudogenes with transcribed ORFs within or exclusive of operon-like structures; 2) the paucity of intrinsic stem-loop transcriptional terminators between transcribed ORFs and downstream pseudogenes; and 3) predicted pseudogene promoters. Mechanisms for translational "silencing" of pseudogene transcripts included the lack of both translational start codons and strong Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequences. Transcribed pseudogenes also contained multiple "in-frame" stop codons and high Ka/Ks ratios, compared to that of homologs in M. tuberculosis and ORFs in M. leprae. A pseudogene transcript containing an active promoter, strong SD site, a start codon, but containing two in frame stop codons yielded a protein product when expressed in E. coli. CONCLUSION: Approximately half of M. leprae's transcriptome consists of inactive gene products consuming energy and resources without potential benefit to M. leprae. Presently it is unclear what additional detrimental affect(s) this large number of inactive mRNAs has on the functional capability of this organism. Translation of these pseudogenes may play an important role in overall energy consumption and resultant pathophysiological characteristics of M. leprae. However, this study also demonstrated that multiple translational "silencing" mechanisms are present, reducing additional energy and resource expenditure required for protein production from the vast majority of these transcripts.

[Comprehensive analysis of RNA expression of Mycobacterium leprae and clinical and biological significance].

Completion of Mycobacterium leprae genome sequence revealed that there are many pseudogenes and non-coding regions, but rather small numbers of protein-coding genes. This result indicates that M. leprae is a very unique organism, and this future is important to understand the biological nature and/or pathogenicity of M. leprae, which remain unclear. We attempted to find the biological nature of M. leprae by detecting the gene and pseudogene regions transcribed at high level. We detected the genomic regions including pseudogenes and demonstrated that six out of twelve high expression regions were pseudogenes. In addition, its transcription level was changed when M. leprae infects macrophage. RNA was detected from genes, pseudogenes and non-coding regions. The expression levels of these regions were different among patients and a part of them is disappeared just after treatment. These results suggested that RNA derived from pseudogene and non-coding region have some function concerning the infection and/or intracellular parasitism and that the analysis of pseudogene and non-coding region expression pattern of M. leprae is available as a criterion for therapeutic effect and disease type of leprosy, and a prognostic marker.

C-type lectin DC-SIGN modulates Toll-like receptor signaling via Raf-1 kinase-dependent acetylation of transcription factor NF-kappaB.

Adaptive immune responses by dendritic cells (DCs) are critically controlled by Toll-like receptor (TLR) function. Little is known about modulation of TLR-specific signaling by other pathogen receptors. Here, we have identified a molecular signaling pathway induced by the C-type lectin DC-SIGN that modulates TLR signaling at the level of the transcription factor NF-kappaB. We demonstrated that pathogens trigger DC-SIGN on human DCs to activate the serine and threonine kinase Raf-1, which subsequently leads to acetylation of the NF-kappaB subunit p65, but only after TLR-induced activation of NF-kappaB. Acetylation of p65 both prolonged and increased IL10 transcription to enhance anti-inflammatory cytokine responses. We demonstrated that different pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. leprae, Candida albicans, measles virus, and human immunodeficiency virus-1 interacted with DC-SIGN to activate the Raf-1-acetylation-dependent signaling pathway to modulate signaling by different TLRs. Thus, this pathway is involved in regulation of adaptive immunity by DCs to bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens.

Genome and transcriptome scale portrait of sigma factors in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the etiological agent of Johne's disease (JD), a chronic gastroenteritis of ruminants and other animals, including primates. Many evidences suggested association of MAP to Crohn's disease, a chronic granulomatous gastrointestinal disease of humans with strong similarities with JD. The present study attempts to evaluate global gene regulation in MAP, which has not been addressed previously, despite the availability of MAP genome sequence. For this purpose, we investigated: (i) the presence of sigma factors and their relationship to sigma factors of other mycobacteria (M. avium subsp.avium, M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. leprae and M. smegmatis), and (ii) their expression during different growth conditions and in vitro infection of intestinal epithelial Caco2 cells. MAP genome contains 19 putative sigma factor, but only 12 belong to gene families common to other mycobacteria. Gene expression was evaluated with Real-Time PCR during growth in 7H9 medium and mycobactin J, in 7H9 medium plus mycobactin J and lisozyme, and during infection of Caco2 cells: very different expression patterns were observed and, on the whole, only 7 sigma factors were found to be expressed. sigJ was upregulated during the infection of Caco2 cells. Even if only few sigma factors were expressed in the three conditions tested, the overall high numbers of MAP sigma factors suggests a noteworthy flexibility of this pathogen. Thus, this first report on expression of MAP sigma factors opens the way to an extensive characterization of global gene regulation, as a key to understand strategies of survival and mechanisms of infections used by this organism.

Cell wall involvement in the glycerol response to high osmolarity in the halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii.

Osmotic stress was studied through the induction of the gene coding for glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (DhGPD1) in the halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii. This yeast responded to modifications in turgor pressure by stimulating the transcription of DhGPD1 when exposed to solutes that cause turgor stress (NaCl or sorbitol), but did not respond to water stress mediated by ethanol. In contrast to what has been documented to occur in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, D. hansenii protoplasts did not show induction in the transcription of DhGPD1 showing a limitation in their response to solute stress. The results presented indicate that the presence of the cell wall is of significance for the induction of DhGPD1 and hence for osmotic regulation in halotolerant D. hansenii. It appears that the main osmosensor that links high osmolarity with glycerol accumulation may be of a different nature in this yeast.