A direct spectropolarimetric assay of arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase.

Arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase (API) catalyzes the reversible isomerization of Ribulose 5-phosphate (Ru5P) to Arabinose 5-Phosphate (Ar5P) for the production of 3-deoxy-2-octulosonic acid 8-phosphate (KDO), a component of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria. API is an attractive target for therapeutic development against gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The current assay method of API activity utilizes a general reaction for keto sugar determination in a secondary, 3-h color development reaction with 25 N sulfuric acid which poses hazard to both personnel and instrumentation. We therefore aimed to develop a more user friendly assay of the enzyme. Since Ru5P absorbs in the UV region and contains at least 2 chiral centers, it can be expected to display circular dichroism (CD). A wavelength scan revealed indeed Ru5P displays a pronounced negative ellipticity of 30,560 mDeg M-1cm-1 at 279 nm in Tris buffer pH 9.1 but Ar5P does not have any CD. API enzymatic reactions were monitored directly and continuously in real time by following the disappearance of CD from the Ru5P substrate, or by the appearance of CD from Ar5P substrate. The CD signal at this wavelength was not affected by absorption of the enzyme protein or of small molecules, or turbidity of the solution. Common additives in protein and enzyme reaction mixtures such as detergents, metals, and 5% dimethylsulfoxide did not interfere with the CD signal. Assay reactions of 1-3 min consistently yielded reproducible results. Introduction of accessories in a spectropolarimeter will easily adapt this assay to high throughput format for screening thousands of small molecules as inhibitor candidates of API.

The D-alanyl-d-alanine carboxypeptidase enzyme is essential for virulence in the Schu S4 strain of Francisella tularensis and a dacD mutant is able to provide protection against a pneumonic challenge.

Low molecular mass penicillin binding proteins (LMM PBP) are bacterial enzymes involved in the final steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis. In Escherichia coli, most LMM PBP exhibit dd-carboxypeptidase activity, are not essential for growth in routine laboratory media, and contributions to virulent phenotypes remain largely unknown. The Francisella tularensis Schu S4 genome harbors the dacD gene (FTT_1029), which encodes a LMM PBP with homology to PBP6b of E. coli. Disruption of this locus in the fully virulent Schu S4 strain resulted in a mutant that could not grow in Chamberlain's Defined Medium and exhibited severe morphological defects. Further characterization studies demonstrated that the growth defects of the dacD mutant were pH-dependent, and could be partially restored by growth at neutral pH or fully restored by genetic complementation. Infection of murine macrophage-like cells showed that the Schu S4 dacD mutant is capable of intracellular replication. However, this mutant was attenuated in BALB/c mice following intranasal challenge (LD50 = 603 CFU) as compared to mice challenged with the parent (LD50 = 1 CFU) or complemented strain (LD50 = 1 CFU). Additionally, mice that survived infection with the dacD mutant showed significant protection against subsequent challenge with the parent strain. Collectively, these results indicate that the DacD protein of F. tularensis is essential for growth in low pH environments and virulence in vivo. These results also suggest that a PBP mutant could serve as the basis of a novel, live attenuated vaccine strain.

Characterization of tetratricopeptide repeat-like proteins in Francisella tularensis and identification of a novel locus required for virulence.

Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious bacterium that causes the potentially lethal disease tularemia. This extremely virulent bacterium is able to replicate in the cytosolic compartments of infected macrophages. To invade macrophages and to cope with their intracellular environment, Francisella requires multiple virulence factors, which are still being identified. Proteins containing tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR)-like domains seem to be promising targets to investigate, since these proteins have been reported to be directly involved in virulence-associated functions of bacterial pathogens. Here, we studied the role of the FTS_0201, FTS_0778, and FTS_1680 genes, which encode putative TPR-like proteins in Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica FSC200. Mutants defective in protein expression were prepared by TargeTron insertion mutagenesis. We found that the locus FTS_1680 and its ortholog FTT_0166c in the highly virulent Francisella tularensis type A strain SchuS4 are required for proper intracellular replication, full virulence in mice, and heat stress tolerance. Additionally, the FTS_1680-encoded protein was identified as a membrane-associated protein required for full cytopathogenicity in macrophages. Our study thus identifies FTS_1680/FTT_0166c as a new virulence factor in Francisella tularensis.

PanG, a new ketopantoate reductase involved in pantothenate synthesis.

Pantothenate, commonly referred to as vitamin B(5), is an essential molecule in the metabolism of living organisms and forms the core of coenzyme A. Unlike humans, some bacteria and plants are capable of de novo biosynthesis of pantothenate, making this pathway a potential target for drug development. Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis Schu S4 is a zoonotic bacterial pathogen that is able to synthesize pantothenate but is lacking the known ketopantoate reductase (KPR) genes, panE and ilvC, found in the canonical Escherichia coli pathway. Described herein is a gene encoding a novel KPR, for which we propose the name panG (FTT1388), which is conserved in all sequenced Francisella species and is the sole KPR in Schu S4. Homologs of this KPR are present in other pathogenic bacteria such as Enterococcus faecalis, Coxiella burnetii, and Clostridium difficile. Both the homologous gene from E. faecalis V583 (EF1861) and E. coli panE functionally complemented Francisella novicida lacking any KPR. Furthermore, panG from F. novicida can complement an E. coli KPR double mutant. A Schu S4 ΔpanG strain is a pantothenate auxotroph and was genetically and chemically complemented with panG in trans or with the addition of pantolactone. There was no virulence defect in the Schu S4 ΔpanG strain compared to the wild type in a mouse model of pneumonic tularemia. In summary, we characterized the pantothenate pathway in Francisella novicida and F. tularensis and identified an unknown and previously uncharacterized KPR that can convert 2-dehydropantoate to pantoate, PanG.

Deletion of ripA alleviates suppression of the inflammasome and MAPK by Francisella tularensis.

Francisella tularensis is a facultative intracellular pathogen and potential biothreat agent. Evasion of the immune response contributes to the extraordinary virulence of this organism although the mechanism is unclear. Whereas wild-type strains induced low levels of cytokines, an F. tularensis ripA deletion mutant (LVSΔripA) provoked significant release of IL-1ß, IL-18, and TNF-α by resting macrophages. IL-1ß and IL-18 secretion was dependent on inflammasome components pyrin-caspase recruitment domain/apoptotic speck-containing protein with a caspase recruitment domain and caspase-1, and the TLR/IL-1R signaling molecule MyD88 was required for inflammatory cytokine synthesis. Complementation of LVSΔripA with a plasmid encoding ripA restored immune evasion. Similar findings were observed in a human monocytic line. The presence of ripA nearly eliminated activation of MAPKs including ERK1/2, JNK, and p38, and pharmacologic inhibitors of these three MAPKs reduced cytokine induction by LVSΔripA. Animals infected with LVSΔripA mounted a stronger IL-1ß and TNF-α response than that of mice infected with wild-type live vaccine strain. This analysis revealed novel immune evasive mechanisms of F. tularensis.

Effects of the putative transcriptional regulator IclR on Francisella tularensis pathogenesis.

Francisella tularensis is a highly virulent Gram-negative bacterium and is the etiological agent of the disease tularemia. IclR, a presumed transcriptional regulator, is required for full virulence of the animal pathogen, F. tularensis subspecies novicida U112 (53). In this study, we investigated the contribution of IclR to the intracellular growth, virulence, and gene regulation of human pathogenic F. tularensis subspecies. Deletion of iclR from the live vaccine strain (LVS) and SchuS4 strain of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica and F. tularensis subsp. tularensis, respectively, did not affect their abilities to replicate within macrophages or epithelial cells. In contrast to F. tularensis subsp. novicida iclR mutants, LVS and SchuS4 ΔiclR strains were as virulent as their wild-type parental strains in intranasal inoculation mouse models of tularemia. Furthermore, wild-type LVS and LVSΔiclR were equally cytotoxic and induced equivalent levels of interleukin-1ß expression by infected bone marrow-derived macrophages. Microarray analysis revealed that the relative expression of a limited number of genes differed significantly between LVS wild-type and ΔiclR strains. Interestingly, many of the identified genes were disrupted in LVS and SchuS4 but not in their corresponding F. tularensis subsp. novicida U112 homologs. Thus, despite the impact of iclR deletion on gene expression, and in contrast to the effects of iclR deletion on F. tularensis subsp. novicida virulence, IclR does not contribute significantly to the virulence or pathogenesis of F. tularensis LVS or SchuS4.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in 4 US soldiers, South Korea, 2005.

Four US soldiers acquired hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome while training near the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, in 2005. Hantaan virus sequences were amplified by reverse transcription-PCR from patient serum samples and from lung tissues of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius) captured at training sites. Epidemiologic investigations specified the ecology of possible sites of patient infection.

Environmental and intracellular regulation of Francisella tularensis ripA.

BACKGROUND: Francisella tularensis is a highly virulent, facultative intracellular pathogen and the etiologic agent of the zoonotic disease Tularemia. RipA is a cytoplasmic membrane protein that is conserved among Francisella species and is required for intracellular growth. F. tularensis ripA deletion mutants escape the phagosome of infected cells, but unlike wild type organisms fail to replicate in the host cell cytoplasm. RESULTS: Further analysis of ripA with respect to environmental effects on the growth of mutant strains and expression levels revealed that RipA is required for optimal growth at pH 7.5 but not pH 6.5. Using a combination of RT-PCR, ripA-lacZ transcriptional and translational fusions, and a RipA-tetracysteine tag fusion protein we found that both ripA transcription and RipA protein levels were elevated in organisms grown at pH 7.5 as compared to organisms grown at pH 5.5. A number of genes, including iglA, that are required for intracellular growth are regulated by the transcriptional regulators MglA and SspA, and are induced upon infection of host cells. We quantified ripA and iglA expression at different stages of intracellular growth and found that the expression of each increased between 1 and 6 hours post infection. Given the similar intracellular expression patterns of ripA and iglA and that MglA and SspA are positive regulators of iglA we tested the impact of mglA and sspA deletions on ripA and iglA expression. In the deletion mutant strains iglA expression was reduced dramatically as expected, however ripA expression was increased over 2-fold. CONCLUSION: Expression of ripA is required for growth at neutral pH, is pH sensitive, and is responsive to the intracellular environment. The intracellular expression pattern of ripA coincided with iglA, which is positively regulated by MglA and SspA. However, in contrast to their positive impact on iglA expression, MglA and SspA negatively impacted ripA expression in vitro.

RipA, a cytoplasmic membrane protein conserved among Francisella species, is required for intracellular survival.

Francisella tularensis is a highly virulent bacterial pathogen that invades and replicates within numerous host cell types, including macrophages and epithelial cells. In an effort to better understand this process, we screened a transposon insertion library of the F. tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) for mutant strains that invaded but failed to replicate within alveolar epithelial cell lines. One such strain isolated from this screen contained an insertion in the gene FTL_1914, which is conserved among all sequenced Francisella species yet lacks significant homology to any gene with known function. A deletion strain lacking FTL_1914 was constructed. This strain did not replicate in either epithelial or macrophage-like cells, and intracellular replication was restored by the wild-type allele in trans. Based on the deletion mutant phenotype, FTL_1914 was termed ripA (required for intracellular proliferation, factor A). Following uptake by J774.A1 cells, F. tularensis LVS Delta ripA colocalized with LAMP-1 then escaped the phagosome at the same rate and frequency as wild-type LVS-infected cells. Electron micrographs of the F. tularensis LVS Delta ripA mutant demonstrated the reentry of the mutant bacteria into double membrane vacuoles characteristic of autophagosomes in a process that was not dependent on replication. The F. tularensis LVS Delta ripA mutant was significantly impaired in its ability to persist in the lung and in its capacity to disseminate and colonize the liver and spleen in a mouse model of pulmonary tularemia. The RipA protein was expressed during growth in laboratory media and localized to the cytoplasmic membrane. Thus, RipA is a cytoplasmic membrane protein conserved among Francisella species that is required for intracellular replication within the host cell cytoplasm as well as disease progression, dissemination, and virulence.

A spontaneous mutation in kdsD, a biosynthesis gene for 3 Deoxy-D-manno-Octulosonic Acid, occurred in a ciprofloxacin resistant strain of Francisella tularensis and caused a high level of attenuation in murine models of tularemia.

Francisella tularensis, a gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, is the causative agent of tularemia and able to infect many mammalian species, including humans. Because of its ability to cause a lethal infection, low infectious dose, and aerosolizable nature, F. tularensis subspecies tularensis is considered a potential biowarfare agent. Due to its in vitro efficacy, ciprofloxacin is one of the antibiotics recommended for post-exposure prophylaxis of tularemia. In order to identify therapeutics that will be efficacious against infections caused by drug resistant select-agents and to better understand the threat, we sought to characterize an existing ciprofloxacin resistant (CipR) mutant in the Schu S4 strain of F. tularensis by determining its phenotypic characteristics and sequencing the chromosome to identify additional genetic alterations that may have occurred during the selection process. In addition to the previously described genetic alterations, the sequence of the CipR mutant strain revealed several additional mutations. Of particular interest was a frameshift mutation within kdsD which encodes for an enzyme necessary for the production of 3-Deoxy-D-manno-Octulosonic Acid (KDO), an integral component of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A kdsD mutant was constructed in the Schu S4 strain. Although it was not resistant to ciprofloxacin, the kdsD mutant shared many phenotypic characteristics with the CipR mutant, including growth defects under different conditions, sensitivity to hydrophobic agents, altered LPS profiles, and attenuation in multiple models of murine tularemia. This study demonstrates that the KdsD enzyme is essential for Francisella virulence and may be an attractive therapeutic target for developing novel medical countermeasures.

A Yersinia pestis tat mutant is attenuated in bubonic and small-aerosol pneumonic challenge models of infection but not as attenuated by intranasal challenge.

Bacterial proteins destined for the Tat pathway are folded before crossing the inner membrane and are typically identified by an N-terminal signal peptide containing a twin arginine motif. Translocation by the Tat pathway is dependent on the products of genes which encode proteins possessing the binding site of the signal peptide and mediating the actual translocation event. In the fully virulent CO92 strain of Yersinia pestis, the tatA gene was deleted. The mutant was assayed for loss of virulence through various in vitro and in vivo assays. Deletion of the tatA gene resulted in several consequences for the mutant as compared to wild-type. Cell morphology of the mutant bacteria was altered and demonstrated a more elongated form. In addition, while cultures of the mutant strain were able to produce a biofilm, we observed a loss of adhesion of the mutant biofilm structure compared to the biofilm produced by the wild-type strain. Immuno-electron microscopy revealed a partial disruption of the F1 antigen on the surface of the mutant. The virulence of the ΔtatA mutant was assessed in various murine models of plague. The mutant was severely attenuated in the bubonic model with full virulence restored by complementation with the native gene. After small-particle aerosol challenge in a pneumonic model of infection, the mutant was also shown to be attenuated. In contrast, when mice were challenged intranasally with the mutant, very little difference in the LD50 was observed between wild-type and mutant strains. However, an increased time-to-death and delay in bacterial dissemination was observed in mice infected with the ΔtatA mutant as compared to the parent strain. Collectively, these findings demonstrate an essential role for the Tat pathway in the virulence of Y. pestis in bubonic and small-aerosol pneumonic infection but less important role for intranasal challenge.

Characterization of native outer membrane vesicles from lpxL mutant strains of Neisseria meningitidis for use in parenteral vaccination.

Native outer membrane vesicles (NOMV) of Neisseria meningitidis consist of intact outer membrane and contain outer membrane proteins (OMP) and lipooligosaccharides (LOS) in their natural conformation and membrane environment. NOMV have been safely used intranasally in P1 studies with encouraging results, but they are too toxic for parenteral vaccination. We now report the preparation and characterization of lpxL mutants that express LOS with reduced toxicity, and the evaluation of the potential of NOMV from these strains for use as a parenteral vaccine. A series of deletion mutants were prepared with knockouts of one or more of the lpxL1, lpxL2, or synX genes. The deltalpxL2 mutants had a reduced growth rate, reduced level of LOS expression, and increased sensitivity to surfactants. In addition, deltasynX deltalpxL2 double mutants had reduced viability in stationary phase. The deltalpxL1 deltalpxL2 double mutant behaved essentially the same as the deltalpxL2 single mutant. LOS from both lpxL mutant strains exhibited altered migration on polyacrylamide gels. The LOS of deltalpxL2 mutants of L3,7 strains were fully sialylated. NOMV prepared from lpxL2 mutants was about 200-fold less active than wild-type NOMV in rabbit pyrogen tests and in tumor necrosis factor alpha release assays. Bactericidal titers induced in animals by deltalpxL2 mutant NOMV were lower than those induced by deltalpxL1 or wild-type NOMV. However, immunogenicity could be largely restored by use of an adjuvant. These results provide evidence that NOMV from deltalpxL2 mutant strains will be safe and immunogenic in humans when given parenterally.