Bacterial surface lipoproteins mediate epithelial microinvasion by Streptococcus pneumoniae

cm but not TIGR4 lgt::cm was significantly attenuated in epithelial adherence and microinvasion compared to their respective wild-type strains. To test the hypothesis that differential lipoprotein repertoires in TIGR4 and BHN418 lead to the intraspecies variation in epithelial microinvasion, we employed a motif-based genome analysis and identified an additional 525 a.a. lipoprotein (pneumococcal accessory lipoprotein A; palA) encoded by BHN418 that is absent in TIGR4. The gene encoding palA sits within a putative genetic island present in ~10% of global pneumococcal isolates. While palA was enriched in the carriage and otitis media pneumococcal strains, neither mutation nor overexpression of the gene encoding this lipoprotein significantly changed microinvasion patterns. In conclusion, mutation of lgt attenuates epithelial inflammatory responses during pneumococcal-epithelial interactions, with intraspecies variation in the effect on microinvasion. Differential lipoprotein repertoires encoded by the different strains do not explain these differences in microinvasion. Rather, we postulate that post-translational modifications of lipoproteins may account for the differences in microinvasion.IMPORTANCEStreptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an important mucosal pathogen, estimated to cause over 500,000 deaths annually. Nasopharyngeal colonization is considered a necessary prerequisite for disease, yet many people are transiently and asymptomatically colonized by pneumococci without becoming unwell. It is therefore important to better understand how the colonization process is controlled at the epithelial surface. Controlled human infection studies revealed the presence of pneumococci within the epithelium of healthy volunteers (microinvasion). In this study, we focused on the regulation of epithelial microinvasion by pneumococcal lipoproteins. We found that pneumococcal lipoproteins induce epithelial inflammation but that differing lipoprotein repertoires do not significantly impact the magnitude of microinvasion. Targeting mucosal innate immunity and epithelial microinvasion alongside the induction of an adaptive immune response may be effective in preventing pneumococcal colonization and disease.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - year:2024

Enthalten in:

Infection and immunity - (2024) vom: 17. Apr., Seite e0044723

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Chan, Jia Mun [VerfasserIn]
Ramos-Sevillano, Elisa [VerfasserIn]
Betts, Modupeh [VerfasserIn]
Wilson, Holly U [VerfasserIn]
Weight, Caroline M [VerfasserIn]
Houhou-Ousalah, Ambrine [VerfasserIn]
Pollara, Gabriele [VerfasserIn]
Brown, Jeremy S [VerfasserIn]
Heyderman, Robert S [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Bacterial lipoproteins
Epithelium
Host-microbe interactions
Journal Article
Microinvasion
Streptococcus pneumoniae

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 17.04.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status Publisher

doi:

10.1128/iai.00447-23

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM371189381