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Volume 154, Issue 7

A novel cell wall-anchored peptidoglycan hydrolase (autolysin), IspC, essential for virulence: genetic and proteomic analysis Free

Abstract

We have recently concluded that a 86 kDa immunogenic surface protein, IspC, is a cell wall-anchored peptidoglycan hydrolase (autolysin), capable of degrading the cell wall peptidoglycan of the bacterium itself. To determine if this enzyme has any biological functions and/or plays a role in virulence, we in-frame-deleted the gene from the chromosome. This Δ mutant exhibited complete abrogation of expression of IspC and displayed no defects in growth, colony and microscopic morphologies, or biochemical characteristics. Lack of IspC led to attenuated virulence in mice, evidenced by a significant reduction in bacterial counts in livers and brains and no mortality compared with the wild-type. Furthermore, the data from assays using various eukaryotic cells for adhesion, invasion, actin tail formation, plaque formation and intracellular growth indicated that the mutant was severely attenuated in virulence in a cell culture model in a cell type-dependent manner. The findings that (i) the mutant was impaired for adhesion to certain eukaryotic cells, and (ii) both purified IspC and its C-terminal cell wall-binding domain were capable of binding sheep choroid plexus (SCP) epithelial cells and Vero cells, supported the role of IspC as an adhesin in virulence. The Δ mutant exhibited a marked defect in adhesion to and invasion of SCP cells but not human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), suggesting that IspC is necessary for crossing the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier. Proteomic and immunological analysis showed a reduced surface expression of some known or putative virulence factors (e.g. ActA, InlC2 and a flagellin homologue, FlaA) due to IspC deficiency. Altogether, this study demonstrates that IspC, expressed as a minor autolysin , is not important for cell division or separation but is essential for full virulence of .

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  • Accepted:
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  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): CWBD, cell wall-binding domain , GW module, glycine–tryptophan dipeptide module and TEM, transmission electron microscopy.
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2008-07-01
2024-04-19
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A novel cell wall-anchored peptidoglycan hydrolase (autolysin), IspC, essential for Listeria monocytogenes virulence: genetic and proteomic analysis
Microbiology 154, 1900 (2008); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.2007/015172-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.2007/015172-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.2007/015172-0
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