Bps polysaccharide of Bordetella pertussis resists antimicrobial peptides by functioning as a dual surface shield and decoy and converts Escherichia coli into a respiratory pathogen.

Infections and disease caused by the obligate human pathogen Bordetella pertussis (Bp) are increasing, despite widespread vaccinations. The current acellular pertussis vaccines remain ineffective against nasopharyngeal colonization, carriage, and transmission. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that Bordetella polysaccharide (Bps), a member of the poly-ß-1,6-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (PNAG/PGA) family of polysaccharides promotes respiratory tract colonization of Bp by resisting killing by antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Genetic deletion of the bpsA-D locus, as well as treatment with the specific glycoside hydrolase Dispersin B, increased susceptibility to AMP-mediated killing. Bps was found to be both cell surface-associated and released during laboratory growth and mouse infections. Addition of bacterial supernatants containing Bps and purified Bps increased B. pertussis resistance to AMPs. By utilizing ELISA, immunoblot and flow cytometry assays, we show that Bps functions as a dual surface shield and decoy. Co-inoculation of C57BL/6J mice with a Bps-proficient strain enhanced respiratory tract survival of the Bps-deficient strain. In combination, the presented results highlight the critical role of Bps as a central driver of B. pertussis pathogenesis. Heterologous production of Bps in a non-pathogenic E. coli K12 strain increased AMP resistance in vitro, and augmented bacterial survival and pathology in the mouse respiratory tract. These studies can serve as a foundation for other PNAG/PGA polysaccharides and for the development of an effective Bp vaccine that includes Bps.

The Bps polysaccharide of Bordetella pertussis promotes colonization and biofilm formation in the nose by functioning as an adhesin.

Many respiratory pathogens establish persistent infection or a carrier state in the human nasopharynx without overt disease symptoms but the presence of these in the lungs usually results in disease. Although the anatomy and microenvironments between nasopharynx and lungs are different, a virulence factor with an organ-specific function in the colonization of the nasopharynx is unknown. In contrast to the severity of pertussis and mortality in non-vaccinated young children, Bordetella pertussis results in milder and prolonged cough in vaccinated adolescents and adults. Individuals harbouring bacteria in the nasopharynx serve as reservoirs for intrafamilial and nosocomial transmission. We show that the Bps polysaccharide of B. pertussis is critical for initial colonization of the mouse nose and the trachea but not of the lungs. Our data reveal a biofilm lifestyle for B. pertussis in the nose and the requirement of Bps in this developmental process. Bps functions as an adhesin by promoting adherence of B. pertussis and Escherichia coli to human nasal but not to human lung epithelia. Patient serum specifically recognized Bps suggesting its expression during natural human infections. We describe the first bacterial factor that exhibits a differential role in colonization and adherence between the nasopharynx and the lungs.

Cross-species protection mediated by a Bordetella bronchiseptica strain lacking antigenic homologs present in acellular pertussis vaccines.

The Bordetella species are Gram-negative bacterial pathogens that are characterized by long-term colonization of the mammalian respiratory tract and are causative agents of respiratory diseases in humans and animals. Despite widespread and efficient vaccination, there has been a world-wide resurgence of pertussis, which remains the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in developed countries. It has been proposed that current acellular vaccines (Pa) composed of only a few bacterial proteins may be less efficacious because of vaccine-induced antigenic shifts and adaptations. To gain insight into the development of a newer generation of vaccines, we constructed a Bordetella bronchiseptica strain (LPaV) that does not express the antigenic homologs included in any of the Pa vaccines currently in use. This strain also lacks adenylate cyclase toxin, an essential virulence factor, and BipA, a surface protein. While LPaV colonized the mouse nose as efficiently as the wild-type strain, it was highly deficient in colonization of the lower respiratory tract and was attenuated in induction of inflammation and injury to the lungs. Strikingly, to our surprise, we found that in an intranasal murine challenge model, LPaV elicited cross-species protection against both B. bronchiseptica and Bordetella pertussis. Our data suggest the presence of immunogenic protective components other than those included in the pertussis vaccine. Combined with the whole-genome sequences of many Bordetella spp. that are available, the results of this study should serve as a platform for strategic development of the next generation of acellular pertussis vaccines.

LuxS promotes biofilm maturation and persistence of nontypeable haemophilus influenzae in vivo via modulation of lipooligosaccharides on the bacterial surface.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is an extremely common airway commensal which can cause opportunistic infections that are usually localized to airway mucosal surfaces. During many of these infections, NTHI forms biofilm communities that promote persistence in vivo. For many bacterial species, density-dependent quorum-signaling networks can affect biofilm formation and/or maturation. Mutation of luxS, a determinant of the autoinducer 2 (AI-2) quorum signal pathway, increases NTHI virulence in the chinchilla model for otitis media infections. For example, bacterial counts in middle-ear fluids and the severity of the host inflammatory response were increased in luxS mutants compared with parental strains. As these phenotypes are consistent with those that we have observed for biofilm-defective NTHI mutants, we hypothesized that luxS may affect NTHI biofilms. A luxS mutant was generated using the well-characterized NTHI 86-028NP strain and tested to determine the effects of the mutation on biofilm phenotypes in vitro and bacterial persistence and disease severity during experimental otitis media. Quantitation of the biofilm structure by confocal microscopy and COMSTAT analysis revealed significantly reduced biomass for NTHI 86-028NP luxS biofilms, which was restored by a soluble mediator in NTHI 86-028NP supernatants. Analysis of lipooligosaccharide moieties using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting showed decreased levels of biofilm-associated glycoforms in the NTHI 86-028NP luxS strain. Infection studies showed that NTHI 86-028NP luxS had a significant persistence defect in vivo during chronic otitis media infection. Based on these data, we concluded that a luxS-dependent soluble mediator modulates the composition of the NTHI lipooligosaccharides, resulting in effects on biofilm maturation and bacterial persistence in vivo.

Active and passive immunizations with Bordetella colonization factor A protect mice against respiratory challenge with Bordetella bronchiseptica.

Bordetella colonization factor A (BcfA) is an outer membrane immunogenic protein, which is critical for efficient colonization of the murine respiratory tract. These properties of BcfA prompted us to examine its utility in inducing a protective immune response against Bordetella bronchiseptica in a mouse model of intranasal infection. Mice vaccinated with BcfA demonstrated reduced pathology in the lungs and harbored lower bacterial burdens in the respiratory tract. Immunization with BcfA led to the generation of BcfA-specific antibodies in both the sera and lungs, and passive immunization led to the reduction of B. bronchiseptica in the tracheas and lungs. These results suggest that protection after immunization with BcfA is mediated in part by antibodies against BcfA. To further investigate the mechanism of BcfA-induced immune clearance, we examined the role of neutrophils and macrophages. Our results demonstrate that neutrophils are critical for anti-BcfA antibody-mediated clearance and that opsonization with anti-BcfA serum enhances phagocytosis of B. bronchiseptica by murine macrophages. We show that immunization with BcfA results in the production of gamma interferon and subclasses of immunoglobulin G antibodies that are consistent with the induction of a Th1-type immune response. In combination, our findings suggest that the mechanism of BcfA-mediated immunity involves humoral and cellular responses. Expression of BcfA is conserved among multiple clinical isolates of B. bronchiseptica. Our results demonstrate the striking protective efficacy of BcfA-mediated immunization, thereby highlighting its utility as a potential vaccine candidate. These results also provide a model for the development of cell-free vaccines against B. bronchiseptica.

The Bordetella Bps polysaccharide is critical for biofilm development in the mouse respiratory tract.

Bordetellae are respiratory pathogens that infect both humans and animals. Bordetella bronchiseptica establishes asymptomatic and long-term to life-long infections of animal nasopharynges. While the human pathogen Bordetella pertussis is the etiological agent of the acute disease whooping cough in infants and young children, it is now being increasingly isolated from the nasopharynges of vaccinated adolescents and adults who sometimes show milder symptoms, such as prolonged cough illness. Although it has been shown that Bordetella can form biofilms in vitro, nothing is known about its biofilm mode of existence in mammalian hosts. Using indirect immunofluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, we examined nasal tissues from mice infected with B. bronchiseptica. Our results demonstrate that a wild-type strain formed robust biofilms that were adherent to the nasal epithelium and displayed architectural attributes characteristic of a number of bacterial biofilms formed on inert surfaces. We have previously shown that the Bordetella Bps polysaccharide encoded by the bpsABCD locus is critical for the stability and maintenance of three-dimensional structures of biofilms. We show here that Bps is essential for the formation of efficient nasal biofilms and is required for the colonization of the nose. Our results document a biofilm lifestyle for Bordetella in mammalian respiratory tracts and highlight the essential role of the Bps polysaccharide in this process and in persistence of the nares.

Mutational analysis of the Escherichia coli DEAD box protein CsdA.

The Escherichia coli cold shock protein CsdA is a member of the DEAD box family of ATP-dependent RNA helicases, which share a core of nine conserved motifs. The DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) motif for which this family is named has been demonstrated to be essential for ATP hydrolysis. We show here that CsdA exhibits in vitro ATPase and helicase activities in the presence of short RNA duplexes with either 3' or 5' extensions at 15 degrees C. In contrast to wild-type CsdA, a DQAD variant of CsdA (Glu-157-->Gln) had no detectible helicase or ATPase activity at 15 degrees C in vitro. A plasmid encoding the DQAD variant was also unable to suppress the impaired growth of the csdA null mutant at 15 degrees C. Plasmid-encoded CsdADelta444, which lacks most of the carboxy-terminal extension, enhanced the growth of a csdA null mutant at 25 degrees C but not at 15 degrees C; this truncated protein also has limited in vitro activity at 15 degrees C. These results support the physiological function of CsdA as a DEAD box ATP-dependent RNA helicase at low temperature.