Distinct roles of secreted HtrA proteases from gram-negative pathogens in cleaving the junctional protein and tumor suppressor E-cadherin

The periplasmic chaperone and serine protease HtrA is important for bacterial stress responses and protein quality control. Recently, we discovered that HtrA from Helicobacter pylori is secreted and cleaves E-cadherin to disrupt the epithelial barrier, but it remained unknown whether this maybe a general virulence mechanism. Here, we show that important other pathogens including enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, and Campylobacter jejuni, but not Neisseria gonorrhoeae, cleaved E-cadherin on host cells. HtrA deletion in C. jejuni led to severe defects in E-cadherin cleavage, loss of cell adherence, paracellular transmigration, and basolateral invasion. Computational modeling of HtrAs revealed a conserved pocket in the active center exhibiting pronounced proteolytic activity. Differential E-cadherin cleavage was determined by an alanine-to-glutamine exchange in the active center of neisserial HtrA. These data suggest that HtrA-mediated E-cadherin cleavage is a prevalent pathogenic mechanism of multiple gram-negative bacteria representing an attractive novel target for therapeutic intervention to combat bacterial infections.     

The salt‐sensitive structure and zinc inhibition of Borrelia burgdorferi protease BbHtrA

HtrA serine proteases are highly conserved and essential ATP‐independent proteases with chaperone activity. Bacteria express a variable number of HtrA homologues that contribute to the virulence and pathogenicity of bacterial pathogens. Lyme disease spirochetes possess a single HtrA protease homologue, Borrelia burgdorferi HtrA (BbHtrA). Previous studies established that, like the human orthologue HtrA1, BbHtrA is proteolytically active against numerous extracellular proteins in vitro. In this study, we utilized size exclusion chromatography and blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN‐PAGE) to demonstrate BbHtrA oligomeric structures that were substrate independent and salt sensitive. Examination of the influence of transition metals on the activity of BbHtrA revealed that this protease is inhibited by Zn²⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Mn²⁺. Extending this analysis to two other HtrA proteases, E. coli DegP and HtrA1, revealed that all three HtrA proteases were reversibly inhibited by ZnCl₂ at all micro molar concentrations examined. Commercial inhibitors for HtrA proteases are not available and physiologic HtrA inhibitors are unknown. Our observation of conserved zinc inhibition of HtrA proteases will facilitate structural and functional studies of additional members of this important class of proteases.     

Characterisation of worldwide Helicobacter pylori strains reveals genetic conservation and essentiality of serine protease HtrA

HtrA proteases and chaperones exhibit important roles in periplasmic protein quality control and stress responses. The genetic inactivation of htrA has been described for many bacterial pathogens. However, in some cases such as the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, HtrA is secreted where it cleaves the tumour‐suppressor E‐cadherin interfering with gastric disease development, but the generation of htrA mutants is still lacking. Here, we show that the htrA gene locus is highly conserved in worldwide strains. HtrA presence was confirmed in 992 H. pylori isolates in gastric biopsy material from infected patients. Differential RNA‐sequencing (dRNA‐seq) indicated that htrA is encoded in an operon with two subsequent genes, HP1020 and HP1021. Genetic mutagenesis and complementation studies revealed that HP1020 and HP1021, but not htrA, can be mutated. In addition, we demonstrate that suppression of HtrA proteolytic activity with a newly developed inhibitor is sufficient to effectively kill H. pylori, but not other bacteria. We show that Helicobacter htrA is an essential bifunctional gene with crucial intracellular and extracellular functions. Thus, we describe here the first microbe in which htrA is an indispensable gene, a situation unique in the bacterial kingdom. HtrA can therefore be considered a promising new target for anti‐bacterial therapy.     

De‐O‐acetylation of peptidoglycan regulates glycan chain extension and affects in vivo survival of Neisseria meningitidis

Peptidoglycan O‐acetylation is a modification found in many bacteria. In Gram‐positive pathogens, it contributes to virulence by conferring resistance to host lysozyme. However, in Gram‐negative pathogens, its contribution to physiology and virulence is unknown. We examined the contribution of patA, patB and ape1 to peptidoglycan O‐acetylation in the major human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis (Nm). Using genetic expression of all possible combinations of the three genes in Escherichia coli and Nm, we confirmed that PatA and PatB were required for PG O‐acetylation, while ApeI removed the O‐acetyl group. ApeI was active on all O‐acetylated muropeptides produced by PatA and PatB during heterologous expression in E. coli and was also active on several PG structures in vitro. Interestingly, in Nm, ApeI was found to preferentially de‐O‐acetylate muropeptides with tripeptide stems (GM3), suggesting that its activity is highly regulated. Accordingly, de‐O‐acetylation of GM3 regulated glycan chain elongation and cell size. Additionally, the virulence of Nm lacking ApeI was drastically reduced suggesting that regulation of glycan chain length by O‐acetylation contributes to bacterial fitness in the host. Altogether, our results suggest that ApeI represents an attractive target for new drug development.     

Bacterial membrane vesicles deliver peptidoglycan to NOD1 in epithelial cells

Gram‐negative bacterial peptidoglycan is specifically recognized by the host intracellular sensor NOD1, resulting in the generation of innate immune responses. Although epithelial cells are normally refractory to external stimulation with peptidoglycan, these cells have been shown to respond in a NOD1‐dependent manner to Gram‐negative pathogens that can either invade or secrete factors into host cells. In the present work, we report that Gram‐negative bacteria can deliver peptidoglycan to cytosolic NOD1 in host cells via a novel mechanism involving outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). We purified OMVs from the Gram‐negative mucosal pathogens: Helicobacter pylori, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Neisseria gonorrhoea and demonstrated that these peptidoglycan containing OMVs upregulated NF‐κB and NOD1‐dependent responses in vitro. These OMVs entered epithelial cells through lipid rafts thereby inducing NOD1‐dependent responses in vitro. Moreover, OMVs delivered intragastrically to mice‐induced innate and adaptive immune responses via a NOD1‐dependent but TLR‐independent mechanism. Collectively, our findings identify OMVs as a generalized mechanism whereby Gram‐negative bacteria deliver peptidoglycan to cytosolic NOD1. We propose that OMVs released by bacteria in vivo may promote inflammation and pathology in infected hosts.     

Campylobacter jejuni outer membrane vesicle‐associated proteolytic activity promotes bacterial invasion by mediating cleavage of intestinal epithelial cell E‐cadherin and occludin

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) play an important role in the pathogenicity of Gram‐negative bacteria. Campylobacter jejuni produces OMVs that trigger IL‐8, IL‐6, hBD‐3 and TNF‐α responses from T84 intestinal epithelial cells and are cytotoxic to Caco‐2 IECs and Galleria mellonella larvae. Proteomic analysis of 11168H OMVs identified the presence of three proteases, HtrA, Cj0511 and Cj1365c. In this study, 11168H OMVs were shown to possess proteolytic activity that was reduced by pretreatment with specific serine protease inhibitors. OMVs isolated from 11168H htrA, Cj0511 or Cj1365c mutants possess significantly reduced proteolytic activity. 11168H OMVs are able to cleave both E‐cadherin and occludin, but this cleavage is reduced with OMVs pretreated with serine protease inhibitors and also with OMVs isolated from htrA or Cj1365c mutants. Co‐incubation of T84 monolayers with 11168H OMVs results in a visible reduction in both E‐cadherin and occludin. The addition of 11168H OMVs to the co‐culture of live 11168H bacteria with T84 cells results in enhanced levels of bacterial adhesion and invasion in a time‐dependent and dose‐dependent manner. Further investigation of the cleavage of host cell structural proteins by C. jejuni OMVs should enhance our understanding of the interactions of this important pathogen with intestinal epithelial cells.     

NaxD is a deacetylase required for lipid A modification and Francisella pathogenesis

Modification of specific Gram‐negative bacterial cell envelope components, such as capsule, O‐antigen and lipid A, are often essential for the successful establishment of infection. Francisella species express lipid A molecules with unique characteristics involved in circumventing host defences, which significantly contribute to their virulence. In this study, we show that NaxD, a member of the highly conserved YdjC superfamily, is a deacetylase required for an important modification of the outer membrane component lipid A in Francisella. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that NaxD is essential for the modification of a lipid A phosphate with galactosamine in Francisella novicida, a model organism for the study of highly virulent Francisella tularensis. Significantly, enzymatic assays confirmed that this protein is necessary for deacetylation of its substrate. In addition, NaxD was involved in resistance to the antimicrobial peptide polymyxin B and critical for replication in macrophages and in vivo virulence. Importantly, this protein is also required for lipid A modification in F. tularensis as well as Bordetella bronchiseptica. Since NaxD homologues are conserved among many Gram‐negative pathogens, this work has broad implications for our understanding of host subversion mechanisms of other virulent bacteria.     

Streptococcus pneumoniae Serine Protease HtrA,but Not SFP or PrtA,Is a Major Virulence Factor in Pneumonia

Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae is a common causative pathogen in pneumonia. Serine protease orthologs expressed by a variety of bacteria have been found of importance for virulence. Previous studies have identified two serine proteases in S. pneumoniae, HtrA (high-temperature requirement A) and PrtA (cell wall-associated serine protease A), that contributed to virulence in models of pneumonia and intraperitoneal infection respectively. We here sought to identify additional S. pneumoniae serine proteases and determine their role in virulence. The S. pneumoniae D39 genome contains five putative serine proteases, of which HtrA, Subtilase Family Protein (SFP) and PrtA were selected for insertional mutagenesis because they are predicted to be secreted and surface exposed. Mutant D39 strains lacking serine proteases were constructed by in-frame insertion deletion mutagenesis. Pneumonia was induced by intranasal infection of mice with wild-type or mutant D39. After high dose infection, only D39ΔhtrA showed reduced virulence, as reflected by strongly reduced bacterial loads, diminished dissemination and decreased lung inflammation. D39ΔprtA induced significantly less lung inflammation together with smaller infiltrated lung surface, but without influencing bacterial loads. After low dose infection, D39ΔhtrA again showed strongly reduced bacterial loads; notably, pneumococcal burdens were also modestly lower in lungs after infection with D39Δsfp. These data confirm the important role for HtrA in S. pneumoniae virulence. PrtA contributes to lung damage in high dose pneumonia; it does not however contribute to bacterial outgrowth in pneumococcal pneumonia. SFP may facilitate S. pneumoniae growth after low dose infection.     

Manipulation of the host cell death pathway by Shigella

Host cells deploy multiple defences against microbial infection. One prominent host defence mechanism, the death of infected cells, plays a pivotal role in clearing damaged cells, eliminating pathogens, removing replicative niches, exposing intracellular bacterial pathogens to extracellular immune surveillance and presenting bacteria‐derived antigens to the adaptive immune system. Although cell death can occur under either physiological or pathophysiological conditions, it acts as an innate defence mechanism against bacterial pathogens by limiting their persistent colonization. However, many bacterial pathogens, including Shigella, have evolved mechanisms that manipulate host cell death for their own benefit.     

Helicobacter pylori HtrA is a new secreted virulence factor that cleaves E‐cadherin to disrupt intercellular adhesion

Mammalian and prokaryotic high‐temperature requirement A (HtrA) proteins are chaperones and serine proteases with important roles in protein quality control. Here, we describe an entirely new function of HtrA and identify it as a new secreted virulence factor from Helicobacter pylori, which cleaves the ectodomain of the cell‐adhesion protein E‐cadherin. E‐cadherin shedding disrupts epithelial barrier functions allowing H. pylori designed to access the intercellular space. We then designed a small‐molecule inhibitor that efficiently blocks HtrA activity, E‐cadherin cleavage and intercellular entry of H. pylori.     

Streptococcus mutans requires mature rhamnose‐glucose polysaccharides for proper pathophysiology,morphogenesis and cellular division

The cell wall of Gram‐positive bacteria has been shown to mediate environmental stress tolerance, antibiotic susceptibility, host immune evasion and overall virulence. The majority of these traits have been demonstrated for the well‐studied system of wall teichoic acid (WTA) synthesis, a common cell wall polysaccharide among Gram‐positive organisms. Streptococcus mutans, a Gram‐positive odontopathogen that contributes to the enamel‐destructive disease dental caries, lacks the capabilities to generate WTA. Instead, the cell wall of S. mutans is highly decorated with rhamnose‐glucose polysaccharides (RGP), for which functional roles are poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that the RGP has a distinct role in protecting S. mutans from a variety of stress conditions pertinent to pathogenic capability. Mutant strains with disrupted RGP synthesis failed to properly localize cell division complexes, suffered from aberrant septum formation and exhibited enhanced cellular autolysis. Surprisingly, mutant strains of S. mutans with impairment in RGP side chain modification grew into elongated chains and also failed to properly localize the presumed cell wall hydrolase, GbpB. Our results indicate that fully mature RGP has distinct protective and morphogenic roles for S. mutans, and these structures are functionally homologous to the WTA of other Gram‐positive bacteria.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlamydia trachomatis</Emphasis>responds to heat shock,penicillin induced persistence,and IFN-gamma persistence by altering levels of the extracytoplasmic stress response protease HtrA

Background  

Chlamydia trachomatis, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide and a leading cause of preventable blindness. HtrA is a virulence and stress response periplasmic serine protease and molecular chaperone found in many bacteria. Recombinant purified C. trachomatis HtrA has been previously shown to have both activities. This investigation examined the physiological role of Chlamydia trachomatis HtrA.     

Tracking the dynamic interplay between bacterial and host factors during pathogen‐induced vacuole rupture in real time

Escape into the host cell cytosol following invasion of mammalian cells is a common strategy used by invasive pathogens. This requires membrane rupture of the vesicular or vacuolar compartment formed around the bacteria after uptake into the host cell. The mechanism of pathogen‐induced disassembly of the vacuolar membrane is poorly understood. We established a novel, robust and sensitive fluorescence microscopy method that tracks the precise time point of vacuole rupture upon uptake of Gram‐negative bacteria. This revealed that the enteroinvasive pathogen Shigella flexneri escapes rapidly, in less than 10 min, from the vacuole. Our method demonstrated the recruitment of host factors, such as RhoA, to the bacterial entry site and their continued presence at the point of vacuole rupture. We found a novel host marker for ruptured vacuoles, galectin‐3, which appears instantly in the proximity of bacteria after escape into the cytosol. Furthermore, we show that the Salmonella effector proteins, SifA and PipB2, stabilize the vacuole membrane inhibiting bacterial escape from the vacuole. Our novel approach to track vacuole rupture is ideally suited for high‐content and high‐throughput approaches to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms of membrane rupture during invasion by pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites.     

Pathogen espionage: multiple bacterial adrenergic sensors eavesdrop on host communication systems

The interactions between bacterial pathogens and their eukaryotic hosts are vital in determining the outcome of infections. Bacterial pathogens employ molecular sensors to detect and facilitate adaptation to changes in their niche. The sensing of these extracellular signals enables the pathogen to navigate within mammalian hosts. Intercellular bacterial communication is facilitated by the production and sensing of autoinducer (AI) molecules via quorum sensing. More recently, AI‐3 and the host neuroendocrine (NE) hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline were reported to display cross‐talk for the activation of the same signalling pathways. Remarkably, there is increasing evidence to suggest that enteric bacteria sense and respond to the host NE stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline to modulate virulence. These responses can be inhibited by α and β‐adrenergic receptor antagonists implying a bacterial receptor‐based sensing and signalling cascade. In Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, QseC has been proposed as the adrenergic receptor. Strikingly, there is an increasing body of evidence that not all the bacterial adrenergic responses require signalling through QseC. Here we provide additional hypotheses to reconcile these observations implicating the existence of alternative adrenergic receptors including BasS, QseE and CpxA and their associated signalling cascades with major roles in interkingdom communication.     

Staphylococcus aureus protects its immune‐evasion proteins against degradation by neutrophil serine proteases

Neutrophils store large quantities of neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs) that contribute, via multiple mechanisms, to antibacterial immune defences. Even though neutrophils are indispensable in fighting Staphylococcus aureus infections, the importance of NSPs in anti‐staphylococcal defence is yet unknown. However, the fact that S. aureus produces three highly specific inhibitors for NSPs [the extracellular adherence proteins (EAPs) Eap, EapH1 and EapH2], suggests that these proteases are important for host defences against this bacterium. In this study we demonstrate that NSPs can inactivate secreted virulence factors of S. aureus and that EAP proteins function to prevent this degradation. Specifically, we find that a large group of S. aureus immune‐evasion proteins is vulnerable to proteolytic inactivation by NSPs. In most cases, NSP cleavage leads to functional inactivation of virulence proteins. Interestingly, proteins with similar immune‐escape functions appeared to have differential cleavage sensitivity towards NSPs. Using targeted mutagenesis and complementation analyses in S. aureus, we demonstrate that all EAP proteins can protect other virulence factors from NSP degradation in complex bacterial supernatants. These findings show that NSPs inactivate S. aureus virulence factors. Moreover, the protection by EAP proteins can explain why this antibacterial function of NSPs was masked in previous studies. Furthermore, our results indicate that therapeutic inactivation of EAP proteins can help to restore the natural host immune defences against S. aureus.     

A bacterial effector targets host DH‐PH domain RhoGEFs and antagonizes macrophage phagocytosis

Bacterial pathogens often harbour a type III secretion system (TTSS) that injects effector proteins into eukaryotic cells to manipulate host processes and cause diseases. Identification of host targets of bacterial effectors and revealing their mechanism of actions are crucial for understating bacterial virulence. We show that EspH, a type III effector conserved in enteric bacterial pathogens including enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), enterohaemorrhagic E. coli and Citrobacter rodentium, markedly disrupts actin cytoskeleton structure and induces cell rounding up when ectopically expressed or delivered into HeLa cells by the bacterial TTSS. EspH inactivates host Rho GTPase signalling pathway at the level of RhoGEF. EspH directly binds the DH‐PH domain in multiple RhoGEFs, which prevents their binding to Rho and thereby inhibits nucleotide exchange‐mediated Rho activation. Consistently, infection of mouse macrophages with EPEC harbouring EspH attenuates phagocytosis of the bacteria as well as FcγR‐mediated phagocytosis. EspH represents the first example of targeting RhoGEFs by bacterial effectors, and our results also reveal an unprecedented mechanism used by enteric pathogens to counteract the host defence system.