Genetic and Virulence Profiles of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) Isolated From Deployed Military Personnel (DMP) With Travelers' Diarrhea.

To discern if there was a particular genotype associated with clinical enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) strains isolated from deployed military personnel (DMP) with travelers' diarrhea (TD), we characterized a collection of EAEC from DMP deployed to Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kenya, or Honduras. Although we did not identify a specific EAEC genotype associated with TD in DMP, we found that EAEC isolated at the first clinic visit were more likely to encode the dispersin gene aap than EAEC collected at follow-up visits. A majority of the EAEC isolates were typical EAEC that adhered to HEp-2 cells, formed biofilms, and harbored genes for aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAF), AggR, and serine protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae (SPATEs). A separate subset of the EAEC had aggR and genes for SPATEs but encoded a gene highly homologous to that for CS22, a fimbriae more commonly found in enterotoxigenic E. coli. None of these CS22-encoding EAEC formed biofilms in vitro or adhered to HEp-2 cells. Whole genome sequence and single nucleotide polymorphism analyses demonstrated that most of the strains were genetically diverse, but that a few were closely related. Isolation of these related strains occurred within days to more than a year apart, a finding that suggests a persistent source and genomic stability. In an ampicillin-treated mouse model we found that an agg4A+ aar- isolate formed a biofilm in the intestine and caused reduced weight gain in mice, whereas a strain that did not form an in vivo biofilm caused no morbidity. Our diverse strain collection from DMP displays the heterogeneity of EAEC strains isolated from human patients, and our mouse model of infection indicated the genotype agg4A+ aar- and/or capacity to form biofilm in vivo may correlate to disease severity.

Activation of Shigella flexneri type 3 secretion requires a host-induced conformational change to the translocon pore.

Type 3 secretion systems (T3SSs) are conserved bacterial nanomachines that inject virulence proteins (effectors) into eukaryotic cells during infection. Due to their ability to inject heterologous proteins into human cells, these systems are being developed as therapeutic delivery devices. The T3SS assembles a translocon pore in the plasma membrane and then docks onto the pore. Docking activates effector secretion through the pore and into the host cytosol. Here, using Shigella flexneri, a model pathogen for the study of type 3 secretion, we determined the molecular mechanisms by which host intermediate filaments trigger docking and enable effector secretion. We show that the interaction of intermediate filaments with the translocon pore protein IpaC changed the pore's conformation in a manner that was required for docking. Intermediate filaments repositioned residues of the Shigella pore protein IpaC that are located on the surface of the pore and in the pore channel. Restricting these conformational changes blocked docking in an intermediate filament-dependent manner. These data demonstrate that a host-induced conformational change to the pore enables T3SS docking and effector secretion, providing new mechanistic insight into the regulation of type 3 secretion.

Topological Analysis of the Type 3 Secretion System Translocon Pore Protein IpaC following Its Native Delivery to the Plasma Membrane during Infection.

Many Gram-negative bacterial pathogens require a type 3 secretion system (T3SS) to deliver effector proteins into eukaryotic cells. Contact of the tip complex of the T3SS with a target eukaryotic cell initiates secretion of the two bacterial proteins that assemble into the translocon pore in the plasma membrane. The translocon pore functions to regulate effector protein secretion and is the conduit for effector protein translocation across the plasma membrane. To generate insights into how the translocon pore regulates effector protein secretion, we defined the topology of the Shigella translocon pore protein IpaC in the plasma membrane following its native delivery by the T3SS. Using single cysteine substitution mutagenesis and site-directed labeling with a membrane-impermeant chemical probe, we mapped residues accessible from the extracellular surface of the cell. Our data support a model in which the N terminus of IpaC is extracellular and the C terminus of IpaC is intracellular. These findings resolve previously conflicting data on IpaC topology that were based on nonnative delivery of IpaC to membranes. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium also requires the T3SS for effector protein delivery into eukaryotic cells. Although the sequence of IpaC is closely related to the Salmonella translocon pore protein SipC, the two proteins have unique functional attributes during infection. We showed a similar overall topology for SipC and IpaC and identified subtle topological differences between their transmembrane α-helixes and C-terminal regions. Together, our data suggest that topological differences among distinct translocon pore proteins may dictate organism-specific functional differences of the T3SSs during infection.IMPORTANCE The type 3 secretion system (T3SS) is a nanomachine required for virulence of many bacterial pathogens that infect humans. The system delivers bacterial virulence proteins into the cytosol of human cells, where the virulence proteins promote bacterial infection. The T3SS forms a translocon pore in the membranes of target cells. This pore is the portal through which bacterial virulence proteins are delivered by the T3SS into the eukaryotic cytosol. The pore also regulates secretion of these virulence proteins. Our work defines the topology of translocon pore proteins in their native context during infection, resolves previously conflicting reports about the topology of the Shigella translocon pore protein IpaC, and provides new insights into how interactions of the pore with the T3SS likely produce signals that activate secretion of virulence proteins.