Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yi-Ywan M. Chen, Hsing-Yi Wang, Chia-Hua Wu, Yu-Juan Lin, Cheng-Hsun Chiu
Summary: Although gene clusters encoding Tfp are commonly found in Streptococcus sanguinis, not all strains exhibit surface-dependent twitching motility. Tfp can serve as a ligand for host cell colonization, and Tfp retraction is essential for biofilm stability. The twitching phenotype is strain-specific and sensitive to growth media.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Christine Hehnly, Aiqin Shi, Paddy Ssentongo, Lijun Zhang, Albert Isaacs, Sarah U. Morton, Nicholas Streck, Petra Erdmann-Gilmore, Igor Tolstoy, R. Reid Townsend, David D. Limbrick, Joseph N. Paulson, Jessica E. Ericson, Michael Y. Galperin, Steven J. Schiff, James R. Broach
Summary: Postinfectious hydrocephalus is associated with Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus infection. Comparative genomic and proteomic analysis identified potential virulence factors in the pathogenic strains. The findings provide insights into the diagnosis and treatment of Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Article
Microbiology
Jean-Philippe Barnier, Daniel Euphrasie, Olivier Join-Lambert, Mathilde Audry, Sophia Schonherr-Hellec, Taliah Schmitt, Sandrine Bourdoulous, Mathieu Coureuil, Xavier Nassif, Mohamed El Behi
Summary: Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of bacterial meningitis and fatal sepsis, as it can adhere to human endothelial cells and colonize microvessels using type IV pili (TFP). TFP dynamics, facilitated by PilT ATPase, play a crucial role in promoting sustained bacteremia and lethality in a humanized mouse model, highlighting the significance of pilus retraction in the pathogenesis and outcome of meningococcal sepsis.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Davide Campoccia, Lucio Montanaro, Carla Renata Arciola
Summary: This article introduces the research progress on extracellular DNA (eDNA) in biofilms, highlighting the significant impact of eDNA on the pathogenesis of chronic clinical infections. The macromolecule plays a crucial role in the structural organization of bacterial biofilms through interactions with other molecular components.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Nelli Vahvelainen, Esra Bozkurt, Terhi Maula, Anders Johansson, Marja T. Pollanen, Riikka Ihalin
Summary: AaPilA, a type IV prepilin homolog of the periodontal pathogen A. actinomycetemcomitans, interacts with DNA and certain cytokines, stimulating host immune cells and potentially acting as a virulence factor.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Aishwarya Devaraj, Juan F. Gonzalez, Bradley Eichar, Gatan Thilliez, Robert A. Kingsley, Stephen Baker, Marc W. Allard, Lauren O. Bakaletz, John S. Gunn, Steven D. Goodman
Summary: Salmonella Typhi is the primary causative agent of typhoid fever, with 3-5% of individuals developing chronic carriage that is difficult to treat and serving as reservoirs for further outbreaks. Phenotypically distinct chronic carrier strains form thicker biofilms with higher levels of extracellular DNA and DNABII proteins, and specific antibody disruption of these proteins could potentially offer a therapeutic solution for chronic carriage.
Article
Microbiology
Feng Liu, Wei Peng, Kang Yan, Jing Huang, Fangyan Yuan, Qigai He, Huanchun Chen, Weicheng Bei
Summary: This study revealed the important role of CpxAR in the resistance of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae to heat stress by directly suppressing the expression of the type IV pilin protein ApfA.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Nancy Allard, Kevin Neil, Frederic Grenier, Sebastien Rodrigue
Summary: This study describes the type IV pilus (T4P) carried by TP114, a conjugative plasmid with high dissemination rates in the mouse intestinal tract. It is found that the minor pilin PilV acts as an adhesin that efficiently selects target cells for conjugative transfer, and the pilV gene can be rapidly modified by a shufflon, thus modulating the recipient bacteria during conjugation. The study highlights the role of mating pair stabilization in both broth and the gut microbiome, and provides insights into expanding the host spectrum of a plasmid by remodeling the PilV adhesin.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Miaoxiao Wang, Xiaoli Chen, Yinyin Ma, Yue-Qin Tang, David R. Johnson, Yong Nie, Xiao-Lei Wu
Summary: Microbes in biofilms form spatial patterns and intermixing is an important determinant of community-level properties. This study investigates how spatial patterning and intermixing are influenced by the type IV pilus in an engineered synthetic consortium. The findings demonstrate the role of type IV pilus in mitigating spatial intermixing and provide insights for the engineering of high-performance synthetic microbial communities in spatially structured environments.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bingliang Xie, Jian Wang, Yong Nie, Jing Tian, Zerui Wang, Dongwei Chen, Beiyu Hu, Xiao-Lei Wu, Wenbin Du
Summary: Recent studies have identified a novel microbial community called TM7, which is an obligate symbiont that binds to its host through twitching-like motility mediated by type IV pili (T4P). This research provides insights into the lifestyle of TM7 and the diversity of CPR bacteria.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Pratick Khara, Liqiang Song, Peter J. Christie, Bo Hu
Summary: The study reveals the central roles of bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) in antibiotic resistance spread and virulence. By using CryoET, the structure of the plasmid pKM101-encoded T4SS in its native context was solved. The findings highlight the importance of comparative in vitro and in vivo analyses of T4SS nanomachines and support targeting the VirB4 ATPases as potential strategies for suppressing the action of T4SS nanomachines.
Article
Microbiology
Keane J. Dye, Nancy J. Vogelaar, Megan O'Hara, Pablo Sobrado, Webster Santos, Paul R. Carlier, Zhaomin Yang
Summary: With the rise of antibiotic resistance, antivirulence has emerged as an alternative strategy for bacterial infections. In this study, we identified and validated two PilB inhibitors that effectively inhibit T4P assembly, offering potential for the development of anti-T4P chemotherapeutics.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shawn H. Lin, Dacheng Zhao, Vivian Deng, Veronica K. Birdsall, Suzanne Ho, Olga Buzovetsky, Candice M. Etson, Ishita Mukerji
Summary: Integration host factor (IHF) is a nucleoid-associated protein that plays multiple roles in DNA packaging, integration, and recombination. IHF can bind to DNA four-way or Holliday junctions (HJ) with high affinity, regardless of the presence of a consensus sequence. Binding of IHF shifts the population distribution of junction conformations towards the open conformation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Himani Amin, Aravindan Ilangovan, Tiago R. D. Costa
Summary: DNA transfer between bacterial cells is facilitated by conjugative type 4 secretion systems (T4SSs), with the structure of the complete T4SS outer-membrane core complex (OMCC) revealing distinct symmetries in its central inner and peripheral outer ring regions. This highly dynamic complex has implications for pilus extension and retraction during conjugation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Leslie A. Ronish, Ben Sidner, Yafan Yu, Kurt H. Piepenbrink
Summary: This study discovered the ability of two pilin subunits, PilJ and PilW, in Clostridioides difficile to bind DNA in vitro. Interrupting these genes resulted in defects in biofilm formation. The results provide further insight into the relationship between type IV pilus function and biofilm formation in C. difficile.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Kenneth L. Brockman, Joseph A. Jurcisek, John M. Atack, Yogitha N. Srikhanta, Michael P. Jennings, Lauren O. Bakaletz
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joseph A. Jurcisek, Kenneth L. Brockman, Laura A. Novotny, Steven D. Goodman, Lauren O. Bakaletz
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2017)
Article
Immunology
Frank H. Robledo-Avila, Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, Kenneth L. Brockman, Benjamin T. Kopp, Amal O. Amer, Karen McCoy, Lauren O. Bakaletz, Santiago Partida-Sanchez
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Microbiology
Kenneth L. Brockman, Patrick N. Azzari, M. Taylor Branstool, John M. Atack, Benjamin L. Schulz, Freda E. -C. Jen, Michael P. Jennings, Lauren O. Bakaletz
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kenneth L. Brockman, M. Taylor Branstool, John M. Atack, Frank Robledo-Avila, Santiago Partida-Sanchez, Michael P. Jennings, Lauren O. Bakaletz
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2017)
Article
Microbiology
Elaine M. Mokrzan, Laura A. Novotny, Kenneth L. Brockman, Lauren O. Bakaletz
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kenneth L. Brockman, Sheetal Shirodkar, Trevor J. Croft, Rini Banerjee, Daad A. Saffarini
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Immunology
Frank H. Robledo-Avila, Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, Kenneth L. Brockman, Santiago Partida-Sanchez
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Immunology
Frank H. Robledo-Avila, Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, Santiago Partida-Sanchez, Kenneth L. Brockman
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Immunology
Zachary N. Phillips, Preeti Garai, Greg Tram, Gael Martin, Annelies Van den Bergh, Asma-Ul Husna, Megan Staples, Keith Grimwood, Amy Jennison, Patrice Guillon, Mark von Itzstein, Michael P. Jennings, Kenneth L. Brockman, John M. Atack
Summary: Lay is an autotransporter protein found in pathogenic Haemophilus and Neisseria species. Its expression status is reversible and related to pathogenicity in non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae. Understanding the role of Lay can provide insights into different pathological processes.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Preeti Garai, John M. Atack, Brandon M. Wills, Michael P. Jennings, Lauren O. Bakaletz, Kenneth L. Brockman
Summary: This study investigated the role of ModA phasevarions in regulating the adherence of NTHi to specific host substrates in the respiratory tract. The findings suggest that NTHi adherence is substrate-specific and dependent on the ModA allele encoded, with adhesins Protein E and P4 playing a significant role. Understanding the substrate-specific regulation of NTHi adherence by ModA phasevarions can aid in the development of targeted vaccines and therapeutics against NTHi.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Brandon M. Wills, Preeti Garai, Molly O. Riegert, Felix T. Sanchez, Adam M. Pickrum, Dara W. Frank, Kenneth L. Brockman
Summary: Achromobacter xylosoxidans (Ax) is an opportunistic pathogen that causes various infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals with cystic fibrosis. Current investigations have mainly focused on the clinical epidemiology and genomic comparisons of Ax isolates, with limited knowledge about disease pathology or the role of specific virulence factors in tissue invasion or damage. In this study, an acute Ax lung infection model was established in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised mice, revealing a correlation between in vitro cytotoxicity and disease severity in a host environment. The results showed that Ax-induced disease was more severe in CF mice compared to C57BL/6J mice, and it was associated with higher bacterial burden and increased proinflammatory responses. Mutants with disruptions in predicted virulence factors demonstrated the importance of the type III secretion system, Vi capsule, antisigma-E factor, and ArtA adhesin in disease severity. This acute infection model provides a valuable tool for studying the infectivity of diverse Ax isolates and identifying virulence factors crucial for bacterial persistence and disease progression.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Immunology
Frank Hanz Robledo-Avila, Juan de Dios Ruiz Rosado, Kenneth L. Brockman, Santiago Partida-Sanchez
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
John M. Atack, Christopher J. Day, Jessica Poole, Kenneth L. Brockman, Jamie R. L. Timms, Linda E. Winter, Thomas Haselhorst, Lauren O. Bakaletz, Stephen J. Barenkamp, Michael P. Jennings