禽沙门菌诱导宿主免疫应答的特性

沙门菌病(Salmonellosis)是全世界最普遍的食源性疾病之一,不仅对养殖业造成经济损失,还对人类安全构成威胁。禽沙门菌感染肠道后,可诱导肠上皮细胞表达多种TLRs和炎症反应的发生,在分泌的趋化因子作用下免疫效应细胞迁移到感染部位。细菌通过肠上皮细胞屏障后被巨噬细胞或树突状细胞吞噬,其中巨噬细胞是沙门菌的主要定殖场所。天然免疫系统将抗原递呈给淋巴细胞后,机体能够在2–3周内通过以Th1为主的免疫应答清除在肠道和深层组织中的沙门菌。而宿主特异性血清型鸡白痢沙门菌从肠道侵入后,在肝脾和其他器官中定殖,进而引发全身感染。早期感染阶段不会引起肠道炎症反应,主要诱导以Th2为主的免疫应答,而Th1型应答相对较弱,有利于鸡白痢沙门菌在机体内的持续存在和感染。本文围绕禽沙门菌的致病机理和免疫应答特性进行阐述,尤其对鸡白痢沙门菌免疫逃逸和持续载菌的特性进行深入分析,为禽沙门菌病的防控提供新靶标和新见解。     

2型猪链球菌脑膜炎小鼠模型的构建及其转录组学分析

【背景】2型猪链球菌(Streptococcus suis serotype 2, S. suis 2)可感染宿主引起严重的脑膜炎,对养猪业和人类公共卫生安全构成重大威胁。【目的】构建S. suis 2感染小鼠脑膜炎模型,并对其脑组织进行转录组学分析,为揭示S.suis2感染宿主后引起脑膜炎的分子机制和发现潜在的治疗靶点提供理论依据。【方法】采用S. suis 2感染小鼠,并对其脑组织进行病理组织学分析确认构建脑膜炎小鼠后,对其脑组织进行转录组学分析,对比S.suis2感染和未感染小鼠的差异表达基因,并对差异表达基因进行基因本体论(geneontology,GO)功能、京都基因和基因组百科全书(Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, KEGG)通路富集和韦恩分析。【结果】脑病理组织学分析结果显示,S. suis 2感染的小鼠脑膜中有大量的炎症细胞浸润,并且血管周围出现“袖套”现象,并能从感染小鼠的组织器官中再分离出攻毒的S. suis 2菌株,结果证明构建了S. suis 2感染脑膜炎小鼠模型。转录组学分析结果表明,感染S.suis2与未感染的...     

Gene Expression Profiles of Chicken Embryo Fibroblasts in Response to Salmonella Enteritidis Infection

The response of chicken to non-typhoidal Salmonella infection is becoming well characterised but the role of particular cell types in this response is still far from being understood. Therefore, in this study we characterised the response of chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) to infection with two different S. Enteritidis strains by microarray analysis. The expression of chicken genes identified as significantly up- or down-regulated (≥3-fold) by microarray analysis was verified by real-time PCR followed by functional classification of the genes and prediction of interactions between the proteins using Gene Ontology and STRING Database. Finally the expression of the newly identified genes was tested in HD11 macrophages and in vivo in chickens. Altogether 19 genes were induced in CEFs after S. Enteritidis infection. Twelve of them were also induced in HD11 macrophages and thirteen in the caecum of orally infected chickens. The majority of these genes were assigned different functions in the immune response, however five of them (LOC101750351, K123, BU460569, MOBKL2C and G0S2) have not been associated with the response of chicken to Salmonella infection so far. K123 and G0S2 were the only ’non-immune’ genes inducible by S. Enteritidis in fibroblasts, HD11 macrophages and in the caecum after oral infection. The function of K123 is unknown but G0S2 is involved in lipid metabolism and in β-oxidation of fatty acids in mitochondria.     

Identification and characterization of splenic adherent cells forming densely-packed colonies

It is thought that the spleen contains stem cells that differentiate into somatic cells other than immune cells. We investigated the presence of these hypothetical splenic cells with stem cell characteristics and identified adherent cells forming densely-packed colonies (Splenic Adherent Colony-forming Cell; SACC) in the spleen. Splenic Adherent Colony-forming Cell was positive for alkaline phosphatase staining and stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-1 antigen. However, the self-renewal properties of SACCs were limited because they stopped cell proliferation once colonies visible to the naked eye were formed. Gene expression analyses by semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed the significant expression of c-Myc and Klf4, whereas faint or no expression was evident for Nanog, Oct3/4, and Sox2. Global expression analyses by DNA microarray and subsequent gene ontology analyses revealed that the expression levels of genes related to the immune system were significantly lower in SACCs than in control splenic cells. In contrast, genes unrelated to the immune system, such as those involved in cell adhesion and axon guidance, were relatively highly expressed in SACCs compared with control splenic cells. Taken together, we identified a novel cell type residing in the spleen that is different from the hypothetical splenic stem cell, but which bears some, but not all, characteristics that represent an undifferentiated state.     

Splenic gene expression profiling in White Leghorn layer inoculated with the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) is a foodborne pathogen that can threaten human health through contaminated poultry products. Live poultry, chicken eggs and meat are primary sources of human salmonellosis. To understand the genetic resistance of egg‐type chickens in response to SE inoculation, global gene expression in the spleen of 20‐week‐old White Leghorn was measured using the Agilent 4 × 44 K chicken microarray at 7 and 14 days following SE inoculation (dpi). Results showed that there were 1363 genes significantly differentially expressed between inoculated and non‐inoculated groups at 7 dpi (I7/N7), of which 682 were up‐regulated and 681 were down‐regulated genes. By contrast, 688 differentially expressed genes were observed at 14 dpi (I14/N14), of which 371 were up‐regulated genes and 317 were down‐regulated genes. There were 33 and 28 immune‐related genes significantly differentially expressed in the comparisons of I7/N7 and I14/N14 respectively. Functional annotation revealed that several Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to immunity were significantly enriched between the inoculated and non‐inoculated groups at 14 dpi but not at 7 dpi, despite a similar number of immune‐related genes identified between I7/N7 and I14/N14. The immune response to SE inoculation changes with different time points following SE inoculation. The complicated interaction between the immune system and metabolism contributes to the immune responses to SE inoculation of egg‐type chickens at 14 dpi at the onset of lay. GC, TNFSF8, CD86, CD274, BLB1 and BLB2 play important roles in response to SE inoculation. The results from this study will deepen the current understanding of the genetic response of the egg‐type chicken to SE inoculation at the onset of egg laying.     

Prevalence and Fimbrial Genotype Distribution of Poultry Salmonella Isolates in China (2006 to 2012)

In this study, a total of 323 Salmonella enterica strains were isolated from 3,566 rectal swab samples of 51 poultry farms in seven regions of 12 provinces of China between 2006 and 2012. The prevalences of Salmonella sp. carriage were 12.4% in geese (66 positive/533 samples), 10.4% in turkeys (32/309), 9.8% in chickens (167/1,706), 6.8% in ducks (41/601), and 4.1% in pigeons (17/417), respectively. These isolates belonged to 20 serovars, in which the most frequent serovars were S. enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar Pullorum (herein, S. Pullorum) (55 isolates, 17.0%), S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (50 isolates, 15.5%), and S. enterica serovar Enteritidis (39 isolates, 12.1%). Overall, S. Typhimurium was the most commonly detected serovar; among the individual species, S. Pullorum was most commonly isolated from chickens, S. Enteritidis was most common in ducks, S. Typhimurium was most common in geese and pigeons, and S. enterica serovar Saintpaul was most common in turkeys. PCR determination of 20 fimbrial genes demonstrated the presence of bcfD, csgA, fimA, stdB, and sthE genes and the absence of staA and stgA genes in these isolates, and other loci were variably distributed, with frequency values ranging from 11.8 to 99.1%. These 323 Salmonella isolates were subdivided into 41 different fimbrial genotypes, and of these isolate, 285 strains (88.2%) had 12 to 14 fimbrial genes. Our findings indicated that the Salmonella isolates from different poultry species were phenotypically and genetically diverse and that some fimbrial genes are more frequently associated with serovars or serogroups.     

The Early Innate Response of Chickens to Salmonella enterica Is Dependent on the Presence of O-Antigen but Not on Serovar Classification

Salmonella vaccines used in poultry in the EU are based on attenuated strains of either Salmonella serovar Enteritidis or Typhimurium which results in a decrease in S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium but may allow other Salmonella serovars to fill an empty ecological niche. In this study we were therefore interested in the early interactions of chicken immune system with S. Infantis compared to S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium, and a role of O-antigen in these interactions. To reach this aim, we orally infected newly hatched chickens with 7 wild type strains of Salmonella serovars Enteritidis, Typhimurium and Infantis as well as with their rfaL mutants and characterized the early Salmonella-chicken interactions. Inflammation was characterized in the cecum 4 days post-infection by measuring expression of 43 different genes. All wild type strains stimulated a greater inflammatory response than any of the rfaL mutants. However, there were large differences in chicken responses to different wild type strains not reflecting their serovar classification. The initial interaction between newly-hatched chickens and Salmonella was found to be dependent on the presence of O-antigen but not on its structure, i.e. not on serovar classification. In addition, we observed that the expression of calbindin or aquaporin 8 in the cecum did not change if inflammatory gene expression remained within a 10 fold fluctuation, indicating the buffering capacity of the cecum, preserving normal gut functions even in the presence of minor inflammatory stimuli.     

Prognostic value of tumour microenvironment-related genes by TCGA database in rectal cancer

Rectal cancer is a common malignant tumour and the progression is highly affected by the tumour microenvironment (TME). This study intended to assess the relationship between TME and prognosis, and explore prognostic genes of rectal cancer. The gene expression profile of rectal cancer was obtained from TCGA and immune/stromal scores were calculated by Estimation of Stromal and Immune cells in Malignant Tumors using Expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm. The correlation between immune/stromal scores and survival time as well as clinical characteristics were evaluated. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified according to the stromal/immune scores, and the functional enrichment analyses were conducted to explore functions and pathways of DEGs. The survival analyses were conducted to clarify the DEGs with prognostic value, and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was performed to explore the interrelation of prognostic DEGs. Finally, we validated prognostic DEGs using data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database by PrognoScan, and we verified these genes at the protein levels using the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases. We downloaded gene expression profiles of 83 rectal cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The Kaplan-Meier plot demonstrated that low-immune score was associated with worse clinical outcome (P = .034), metastasis (M1 vs. M0, P = .031) and lymphatic invasion (+ vs. -, P < .001). A total of 540 genes were screened as DEGs with 539 up-regulated genes and 1 down-regulated gene. In addition, 60 DEGs were identified associated with overall survival. Functional enrichment analyses and PPI networks showed that the DEGs are mainly participated in immune process, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Finally, 19 prognostic genes were verified by GSE17536 and GSE17537 from GEO, and five genes (ADAM23, ARHGAP20, ICOS, IRF4, MMRN1) were significantly different in tumour tissues compared with normal tissues at the protein level. In summary, our study demonstrated the associations between TME and prognosis as well as clinical characteristics of rectal cancer. Moreover, we explored and verified microenvironment-related genes, which may be the potential key prognostic genes of rectal cancer. Further clinical samples and functional studies are needed to validate this finding.     

Microarray and comparative genomics-based identification of genes and gene regulatory regions of the mouse immune system

Background  

In this study we have built and mined a gene expression database composed of 65 diverse mouse tissues for genes preferentially expressed in immune tissues and cell types. Using expression pattern criteria, we identified 360 genes with preferential expression in thymus, spleen, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, lymph nodes (unstimulated or stimulated), orin vitroactivated T-cells.     

外源糖原调控猪链球菌基因表达的转录组分析

【背景】碳水化合物的利用与猪链球菌在宿主体内的定殖和致病性密切相关。感染期间,宿主细胞释放的糖原可能是猪链球菌重要的碳源。【目的】从转录组学角度解析猪链球菌全基因转录水平对外源糖原诱导的响应,特别是毒力基因。【方法】将猪链球菌2型强毒株分别用糖原和葡萄糖进行液体培养,通过高通量转录组测序,比较分析糖原对猪链球菌代谢通路和毒力基因差异表达的影响,并通过体外试验和攻毒试验进行验证。【结果】猪链球菌在糖原培养基中生长良好。转录组数据显示,糖原培养条件下的猪链球菌共有908个基因差异表达,基因组占比46.07%,其中501个基因上调表达,407个基因下调表达。富集分析结果表明,糖原影响了猪链球菌广泛的基础代谢过程,但糖酵解途径保持稳定。30个毒力基因的表达水平发生变化,重要的毒力因子SLY、ApuA、ArcABC等的基因转录水平大幅度升高(倍数>20)。糖原培养后的猪链球菌的溶血活性、黏附和侵入能力显著上升,对受试动物的毒力增强,证实猪链球菌能够响应糖原诱导,糖原能调控猪链球菌的致病性。【结论】外源糖原的利用显著影响了猪链球菌的基因表达谱,这种对碳源的响应是细菌对不断变化的生存环境的适应...     

Quinolone resistance phenotype and genetic characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella enterica</Emphasis> serovar Pullorum isolates in China,during 2011 to 2016

Background

Pullorum disease, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum), is one of the most important bacterial infections in the poultry industry in developing countries, including China. To examine the prevalence and characteristics of S. Pullorum, the Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) genotypes, fluoroquinolones resistance, and biofilm-forming abilities of S. Pullorum isolates were investigated, collected from 2011 to 2016 in China.

Results

Thirty S. Pullorum isolates collected from 2011 to 2016 were analyzed. Quinolones susceptibility testing showed that 90% of the isolates were resistant to the first generation of quinolines nalidixic acid, but the resistance rates to different fluoroquinolones agents were lower than 13.3%; for some there was even no resistance. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed that ST-92 was the dominating genotype, accounting for 90.0% of all S. pullorum strains. The remaining three isolates were of the new reported sequence type ST-2151. Interestingly, the Asp87Gly substitution in quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) of GyrA was only observed in the three strains of ST-2151, suggesting a potential correlation between Asp87Gly substitution and sequence type (p?<?0.05). However, Asp87Gly substitution could not confer the resistant to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin of these isolates. The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) gene was not found in any of the tested isolates. Furthermore, an assay measuring biofilm-forming abilities showed that 46.7% of the isolates were non-biofilm producers, while 53.3% could form very weak biofilms, which might explain the relatively lower resistance to fluoroquinolones.

Conclusions

We reported a high resistance rate to the first generation of quinolines nalidixic acid and relatively low resistance rates to fluoroquinolones in S. Pullorum isolates. In addition, weak biofilm-forming abilities were found, which might be an important reason of the low fluoroquinolones resistance rates of S. Pullorum isolates. ST-92 was the dominating genotype demonstrated by MLST, and the new sequence type ST-2151 showed a potential correlation with Asp87Gly substitution in QRDR of GyrA. We believe the characterization of these S. Pullorum isolates will be helpful to develop prevention and control strategies.

     

α‐Hemolysin enhances Staphylococcus aureus internalization and survival within mast cells by modulating the expression of β1 integrin

Mast cells (MCs) are important sentinels of the host defence against invading pathogens. We previously reported that Staphylococcus aureus evaded the extracellular antimicrobial activities of MCs by promoting its internalization within these cells via β1 integrins. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms governing this process. We found that S. aureus responded to the antimicrobial mediators released by MCs by up‐regulating the expression of α‐hemolysin (Hla), fibronectin‐binding protein A and several regulatory systems. We also found that S. aureus induced the up‐regulation of β1 integrin expression on MCs and that this effect was mediated by Hla‐ADAM10 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10) interaction. Thus, deletion of Hla or inhibition of Hla‐ADAM10 interaction significantly impaired S. aureus internalization within MCs. Furthermore, purified Hla but not the inactive Hla_H35L induced up‐regulation of β1 integrin expression in MCs in a dose‐dependent manner. Our data support a model in which S. aureus counter‐reacts the extracellular microbicidal mechanisms of MCs by increasing expression of fibronectin‐binding proteins and by inducing Hla‐ADAM10‐mediated up‐regulation of β1 integrin in MCs. The up‐regulation of bacterial fibronectin‐binding proteins, concomitantly with the increased expression of its receptor β1 integrin on the MCs, resulted in enhanced S. aureus internalization through the binding of fibronectin‐binding proteins to integrin β1 via fibronectin.     

海产品嗜冷菌波罗的海希瓦氏菌中3个冷激蛋白功能分析

【目的】波罗的海希瓦氏菌是冷藏海产品中常见的腐败菌,而该菌中关于冷激蛋白的功能研究尚未见报道。本研究从分子生物学角度分析波罗的海希瓦氏菌中3个冷激蛋白各自的功能。【方法】采用BEAST软件分析γ-变形菌纲中部分食源性微生物的冷激蛋白进化时间,接着利用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测波罗的海希瓦氏菌3个冷激蛋白基因的表达规律,进而构建3个冷激蛋白的基因敲除株,分析敲除株在不同温度和不同环境胁迫条件下的生长状况、群体感应现象以及致腐能力,最后构建3个冷激蛋白的异源表达菌株并分析它们在不同温度和不同环境胁迫条件下的生长状况。【结果】波罗的海希瓦氏菌中鉴定到3个冷激蛋白,分别为cspC、cspD、cspG。所有γ-变形菌纲的cspD基因单独聚成一支,并于1 109.6百万年前与其他csp基因相分离,波罗的海希瓦氏菌的cspC和cspG在858.8百万年前互相分开。cspG基因是波罗的海希瓦氏菌低温生存的必需基因,且广泛响应环境胁迫条件;cspC基因对cspG基因功能的实施起辅助作用;cspD不响应冷激,但却会随生长阶段的变化而发生变化。此外,cspC基因和cspG基因在低温条件下与细菌的致腐能力相关。【结论】波罗的海希瓦氏菌3个冷激蛋白基因各有不同,且cspC基因和cspG基因与该菌致腐能力有关,这为今后研究腐败菌的冷适应和致腐机制提供了新思路。     

鳜源致病性舒伯特气单胞菌的分离鉴定及药敏试验

【背景】舒伯特气单胞菌(Aeromonas schubertii)广泛分布于淡、海水水体和底泥中,致病株已在我国养殖鳢科鱼类中流行,也感染其他经济鱼类,导致暴发性死亡。【目的】对病鳜(Siniperca chuatsi)的病原进行鉴定,确定分离菌的致病性及药物敏感性,为该病临床治疗提供参考。【方法】采集病鳜脾肾组织进行PCR或RT-PCR扩增其常见病毒,采集病鳜肝脏和腹水分离培养细菌,PCR扩增代表菌株的gyrB、16S rRNA和毒力基因,鉴定其生理生化特征,并进行药物敏感性试验和人工感染试验。【结果】病鳜的传染性脾肾坏死病毒、鳜蛙病毒、鳜弹状病毒检测结果为阴性,肝脏和腹水均存在大量细菌;代表菌株Gui210820被鉴定为舒伯特气单胞菌,携带溶血素、气溶素、弹性蛋白酶和磷脂酶毒力基因,腹腔注射感染鳜的半数致死浓度(LD50)为3.16×105 CFU/mL;菌株Gui210820对四环素、卡那霉素、复方新诺明等6种抗菌药物耐药,对强力霉素中介,对恩诺沙星、新霉素、氟苯尼考等11种抗菌药物敏感。【结论】本试验从病鳜组织分离到致病性舒伯特气单胞菌,水产准许用药物恩诺沙星、新霉素、氟苯尼考...     

金黄色葡萄球菌壁磷壁酸致病与免疫的分子机制研究进展

金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)壁磷壁酸(wall teichoic acids, WTAs)是多元醇经由磷酸二酯键共价连接组成的细胞壁表面阴离子糖类聚合物,参与调节细胞壁的稳态并介导细菌毒力。金黄色葡萄球菌WTAs与宿主细胞表面特定的受体结合,可诱导天然免疫和获得性免疫应答。此外,金黄色葡萄球菌WTAs还参与调控毒力基因的表达,有助于细菌的定殖感染,在基因工程靶标治疗和噬菌体药物治疗方面具有广泛的应用前景。本文对金黄色葡萄球菌WTAs的合成进行了概述,综述了WTAs对宿主免疫应答的调控作用,以及在细菌对宿主侵袭与定殖中的致病机制,并归纳WTAs的耐药分子机制和作为药物治疗靶标的研究现状。这些研究为揭示WTAs的致病与免疫分子机制提供研究思路,为预防和治疗金黄色葡萄球菌的感染提供新的策略。