Article
Immunology
Shuai Gao, Dailin Yuan, Lingyu Gao, Fan Yang, Xu'ai Lin, Stijn van der Veen
Summary: Neisseria gonorrhoeae interacts tightly with mucosal epithelia through its type IV pilus, while pilus-negative gonococci residing in early and late endosomes are detected and targeted by nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 1 (NOD1). NOD1 subsequently forms a complex with immunity-related guanosine triphosphatase M (IRGM) and autophagy-related 16-like 1 (ATG16L1) to activate autophagy and recruit microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) to the intracellular bacteria. IRGM furthermore directly recruits syntaxin 17 (STX17), which is able to form tethering complexes with the lysosome. These findings demonstrate key roles for NOD1 and IRGM in the sensing of intracellular N gonorrhoeae and subsequent directing of the bacterium to the lysosome for degradation.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Thomas Steiner, Marie Zachary, Susanne Bauer, Martin J. Mueller, Markus Krischke, Sandra Radziej, Maximilian Klepsch, Bruno Huettel, Wolfgang Eisenreich, Thomas Rudel, Dagmar Beier
Summary: Through transcriptome and metabolome analysis, we have demonstrated the significant role of the sibling sRNAs NgncR_162/163 in the regulation of metabolic pathways, particularly in the biosynthesis of amino acids and nucleotides.
Article
Microbiology
Patrick M. Schlievert, Samuel H. Kilgore, Andrea Benavides, Aloysius J. Klingelhutz
Summary: Bacterial and fungal pathogens can cause diseases across mucosal and skin surfaces. This study reveals that potential vaginal pathogens stimulate the production of chemokine IL-8 through CD40, while Neisseria gonorrhoeae does not. The findings provide a potential therapeutic target for disease treatment.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Aimee D. Potter, Christopher M. Baiocco, Jason A. Papin, Alison K. Criss
Summary: The World Health Organization has designated Gc as a high-priority pathogen for research and development of new antimicrobials. Bacterial metabolism is a promising target for new antimicrobials, as metabolic enzymes are widely conserved among bacterial strains and are critical for nutrient acquisition and survival within the human host. This study used genome-scale metabolic modeling to characterize the core metabolic pathways of Gc and uncover its metabolic adaptation during culture with primary human immune cells. The results show the importance of metabolic adaptation in Gc pathogenesis and highlight new therapeutic targets for drug-resistant gonorrhea.
Article
Microbiology
Qian Yu, Liang-Chun Wang, Sofia Di Benigno, Daniel C. Stein, Wenxia Song
Summary: The study demonstrates that Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) preferentially invades non-polarized epithelial cells over polarized epithelial cells. In non-polarized cells, GC invasion is associated with ezrin phosphorylation, F-actin and ezrin recruitment to adherence sites, and elongation of GC-associated microvilli. Conversely, reduced GC invasion in polarized cells is linked to nonmuscle myosin II-mediated F-actin disassembly and microvilli denudation at adherence sites.
Article
Microbiology
Alexandra L. Sacharok, Eric A. Porsch, Taylor A. Yount, Orlaith Keenan, Joseph W. St Geme III
Summary: The study confirms that PilC1 and PilC2 are adhesins in the gram-negative bacterium Kingella kingae, and they have adhesive activity and twitching motility, mainly located in the N-terminal domain of the proteins.
Article
Microbiology
Grace P. Carreno-Florez, Brian R. Kocak, Matthew R. Hendricks, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Katrina B. Mar, Jessica Kosanovich, Rachel L. Cumberland, Greg M. Delgoffe, Sruti Shiva, Kerry M. Empey, John W. Schoggins, Jennifer M. Bomberger
Summary: Viral infections can make the host susceptible to secondary bacterial infections, and this study identified specific interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that promote Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. The mechanism of action was also investigated, revealing the role of hexokinase 2 (HK2) in mediating metabolic changes and lactate secretion to enhance bacterial infection. These findings improve our understanding of how the host immune response can lead to viral-bacterial co-infection.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Saleela M. Ruwanpura, Louise McLeod, Lovisa F. Dousha, Huei J. Seow, Alison C. West, Alice J. West, Teresa Weng, Mohammad Alanazi, Martin MacDonald, Paul T. King, Philip G. Bardin, Cem Gabay, Dennis M. Klinman, Steven Bozinovski, Ross Vlahos, Gary P. Anderson, Stefan Rose-John, Mohamed I. Saad, Brendan J. Jenkins
Summary: Pulmonary emphysema is associated with dysregulated innate immune responses. In this study, the authors investigated the role of innate immune inflammasome complexes in promoting emphysema. They found that ASC, Caspase-1, and AIM2 were up-regulated in emphysematous patients and mouse models of emphysema. AIM2 was associated with elevated levels of IL-1 beta. Blockade of AIM2 and IL-1 receptor ameliorated emphysema in mice. IL-6 trans-signaling was also found to augment AIM2 expression in emphysema.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Fabian G. Martinez, Ryszard A. Zielke, Cyrielle E. Fougeroux, Lixin Li, Adam F. Sander, Aleksandra E. Sikora
Summary: This study explored a versatile and efficient Tag/Catcher-AP205 capsid VLP (cVLP) vaccine platform for the development of an effective and safe vaccine against gonorrhea. The results showed that the vaccine induced high levels of antibodies and had significant complement-dependent serum bactericidal activity in mice. Subcutaneous administration with an intranasal boost also elicited immune responses in both systemic and vaginal compartments.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pawel Laniewski, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: This study demonstrated that 3D cervical epithelial cells colonized with cervicovaginal microbiota faithfully reproduce the immunometabolic microenvironment previously observed in clinical studies and can successfully be used as a robust tool to evaluate host responses to commensal and pathogenic bacteria in the female reproductive tract.
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Damian Gajecki, Jakub Gawrys, Jerzy Wisniewski, Paulina Fortuna, Ewa Szahidewicz-Krupska, Adrian Doroszko
Summary: The study reveals significant differences in the nitric oxide metabolic pathway in patients with type 2 diabetes, particularly in the plasma compartment. Erythrocytes serve as a buffer with higher nitric oxide bioavailability, less affected by diabetes-related deviations. Individuals with type 2 diabetes show endothelial dysfunction.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Markus Kieler, Melanie Hofmann, Gernot Schabbauer
Summary: Macrophages play a crucial role in innate immune responses, regulating host inflammation and tissue homeostasis through different polarization states. Amino acid metabolism and related pathways are fundamentally involved in the intrinsic regulation of macrophage polarization and function.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Mary E. Salliss, Jason D. Maarsingh, Camryn Garza, Pawel Laniewski, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: This study used a human three-dimensional cervical epithelial cell model and metabolomics analysis to investigate the immunometabolic contribution of three members of the Veillonellaceae family to the pathogenesis of bacterial vaginosis. Different bacteria infections induced distinct metabolic and immune responses, providing unique insights into the specific contributions of Veillonellaceae members to women's health and BV.
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alex Rivera-Millot, Luke B. Harrison, Frederic J. Veyrier
Summary: Bacteria use different strategies to manage toxic copper, depending on their lifestyle and environment. Environmental bacteria and opportunistic pathogens have diverse copper regulation systems to respond to changes, while obligate symbiotic bacteria have specialized and efficient regulation systems for stable host environments.
EMERGING TOPICS IN LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
