Survival of Enterococcus faecalis in mouse peritoneal macrophages.

Enterococcus faecalis was tested for the ability to persist in mouse peritoneal macrophages in two separate studies. In the first study, the intracellular survival of serum-passaged E. faecalis 418 and two isogenic mutants [cytolytic strain FA2-2(pAM714) and non-cytolytic strain FA2-2(pAM771)] was compared with that of Escherichia coli DH5alpha by infecting BALB/c mice intraperitoneally and then monitoring the survival of the bacteria within lavaged peritoneal macrophages over a 72-h period. All E. faecalis isolates were serum passaged to enhance the production of cytolysin. E. faecalis 418, FA2-2(pAM714), and FA2-2(pAM771) survived at a significantly higher level (P = 0.0001) than did E. coli DH5alpha at 24, 48, and 72 h. Internalized E. faecalis 418, FA2-2(pAM714), and FA2-2(pAM771) decreased 10-, 55-, and 31-fold, respectively, over the 72-h infection period, while internalized E. coli DH5alpha decreased 20, 542-fold. The difference in the rate of survival of E. faecalis strains and E. coli DH5alpha was most prominent between 6 and 48 h postinfection (P = 0.0001); however, no significant difference in killing was observed between 48 and 72 h postinfection. In the second study, additional E. faecalis strains from clinical sources, including DS16C2, MGH-2, OG1X, and the cytolytic strain FA2-2(pAM714), were compared with the nonpathogenic gram-positive bacterium, Lactococcus lactis K1, for the ability to survive in mouse peritoneal macrophages. In these experiments, the E. faecalis strains and L. lactis K1 were grown in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth to ensure that there were equal quantities of injected bacteria. E. faecalis FA2-2(pAM714), DS16C2, MGH-2, and OG1X survived significantly better (P < 0.0001) than did L. lactis K1 at each time point. L. lactis K1 was rapidly destroyed by the macrophages, and by 24 h postinfection, viable L. lactis could not be recovered. E. faecalis FA2-2(pAM714), DS16C2, MGH-2, and OG1X declined at an equivalent rate over the 72-h infection period, and there was no significant difference in survival or rate of decline among the strains. E. faecalis FA2-2(pAM714), MGH-2, DS16C2, and OG1X exhibited an overall decrease of 25-, 55-, 186-, and 129-fold respectively, between 6 and 72 h postinfection. The overall reduction by 1.3 to 2.27 log units is slightly higher than that seen for serum-passaged E. faecalis strains and may be attributable to the higher level of uptake of serum-passaged E. faecalis than of E. faecalis grown in BHI broth. Electron microscopy of infected macrophages revealed that E. faecalis 418 was present within an intact phagocytic vacuole at 6 h postinfection but that by 24 h the infected macrophages were disorganized, the vacuolar membrane was degraded, and the bacterial cells had entered the cytoplasm. Macrophage destruction occurred by 48 h, and the bacteria were released. In conclusion, the results of these experiments indicate that E. faecalis can persist for an extended period in mouse peritoneal macrophages.

Outbreak of Salmonella infantis infection in a large animal veterinary teaching hospital.

During the past 11 years, there have been numerous reports of outbreaks of salmonellosis involving horses in veterinary teaching hospitals. Some of these outbreaks have been associated with Salmonella serotypes not commonly associated with infection of horses. Salmonella infantis is among the more common Salmonella serotypes isolated from human beings, and is an important pathogen in the broiler chicken industry. However, it was not commonly isolated from horses or cattle on a national basis between 1993 and 1995. In this report, we describe an outbreak of S infantis infection among large animals, primarily horses, in a veterinary teaching hospital and the control measures that were implemented. Factors that appeared to be key in control of this outbreak in this hospital included providing biosecurity training sessions for hospital personnel, adopting a standard operating procedure manual for biosecurity procedures, installing additional handwashing sinks throughout the facility, painting the interior of the facility with a nontoxic readily cleanable paint, replacing the dirt flooring in 4 stalls with concrete flooring, and removing noncleanable surfaces such as rubber stall mats, wooden hay storage bins, and open grain bins. Our experience with this outbreak suggests that although it is virtually impossible to eliminate Salmonella organisms from the environment, minimizing contamination is possible. Prevention of nosocomial infection must be approached in a multifaceted manner and care must be taken to search out covert sources of contamination, especially if standard intervention procedures do not prevent spread of the disease.

Purification from Fusobacterium mortiferum ATCC 25557 of a 6-phosphoryl-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl:6-phosphoglucohydrolase that hydrolyzes maltose 6-phosphate and related phospho-alpha-D-glucosides.

6-Phosphoryl-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl:6-phosphoglucohydrolase (6-phospho-alpha-glucosidase) has been purified from Fusobacterium mortiferum ATCC 25557. p-Nitrophenyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside 6-phosphate (pNP alpha Glc6P) served as the chromogenic substrate for detection and assay of enzyme activity. The O2-sensitive, metal-dependent phospho-alpha-glucosidase was stabilized during purification by inclusion of dithiothreitol and Mn2+ ion in chromatography buffers. Various 6-phosphoryl-O-alpha-linked glucosides, including maltose 6-phosphate, pNP alpha Glc6P, trehalose 6-phosphate, and sucrose 6-phosphate, were hydrolyzed by the enzyme to yield D-glucose 6-phosphate and aglycone moieties in a 1:1 molar ratio. 6-Phospho-alpha-glucosidase (M(r) of approximately 49,000; pI of approximately 4.9) is activated by Fe2+, Mn2+, Co2+, and Ni2+, and the maximum rate of pNP alpha Glc6P hydrolysis occurs at 40 degrees C within the pH range 7.0 to 7.5. The sequence of the first 32 amino acids of 6-phospho-alpha-glucosidase exhibits 67% identity (90% similarity) to that deduced for the N terminus of a putative phospho-beta-glucosidase (designated ORF f212) encoded by glvG in Escherichia coli. Western blots involving highly specific polyclonal antibody against 6-phospho-alpha-glucosidase and spectrophotometric analyses with pNP alpha Glc6P revealed only low levels of the enzyme in glucose-, mannose-, or fructose-grown cells of F. mortiferum. Synthesis of 6-phospho-alpha-glucosidase increased dramatically during growth of the organism on alpha-glucosides, such as maltose, alpha-methylglucoside, trehalose, turanose, and palatinose.

beta-Cystathionase from Bordetella avium. Role(s) of lysine 214 and cysteine residues in activity and cytotoxicity.

beta-Cystathionase (EC 4.4.1.8) from Bordetella avium is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of L-cystine to yield pyruvic acid, NH3, and thiocysteine. The latter compound is highly toxic toward MC3T3-E1 osteogenic cells, rat osteosarcoma cells, and other cell lines maintained in tissue culture (Gentry-Weeks, C. R., Keith, J. M., and Thompson, J. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 7298-7314). Site-directed mutagenesis has established that lysine 214 of the sequence TKYVGGHSD, is primarily responsible for internal aldimine binding of PLP in the holoenzyme. Translation of the DNA sequence of the beta-cystathionase gene (metC) from B. avium, reveals 4 cysteine residues/enzyme subunit (M(r) = 42,600), and spectrophotometric analysis with 4,4'-dithiodipyridine showed that there were no disulfide linkages in the native protein. beta-Cystathionase is inhibited by sulfhydryl-reactive agents, including N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). To elucidate the mechanism of NEM inhibition, each of the 4 cysteine residues at positions 88, 117, 279, and 309 was individually replaced by alanine or glycine. The mutant proteins C88A, C117G, C279G, and C309A were purified to homogeneity, and each was assayed for enzyme activity, PLP-binding, NEM sensitivity, and susceptibility to chymotrypsin digestion. The activities of mutant proteins C88A and C279G were comparable with that of the native enzyme, and since both forms were inhibited by NEM, neither cysteine 88 nor 279 are prerequisite for enzyme activity. By elimination, cysteine residues 117 and 309 must be the targets for alkylation, and resultant inactivation of beta-cystathionase, by the -SH reactive agent. Substitution of cysteine 117 and 309 with glycine and alanine, respectively, yielded the inactive proteins C117G and C309A. PLP was not detectable in these proteins, and their absorption spectra lacked the peak (at 420 nm) that is characteristic of internal PLP-Schiff base formation. Edman degradation revealed that C117G (M(r) approximately 36,000) also lacked the first 63 amino acids comprising the N terminus of the native protein. The beta-cystathionase mutants C117G and C309A showed enhanced susceptibility to chymotrypsin digestion. Cysteine residues 117 and 309 may reside in conformationally sensitive environments, and in the native enzyme these amino acids most probably serve a structural function. Toxicity assays performed with the various mutant proteins obtained by site-directed mutagenesis established that only catalytically active forms of beta-cystathionase were were cytotoxic for tissue culture cells.

Toxicity of Bordetella avium beta-cystathionase toward MC3T3-E1 osteogenic cells.

Bordetella avium is the etiological agent of an upper respiratory disease in birds which, symptomatically and pathologically, resembles bordetellosis in humans. Studies of the virulence of this organism revealed a novel cytotoxic protein, designated osteotoxin, that was lethal for MC3T3-E1 osteogenic cells, fetal bovine trabecular cells, UMR106-01(BSP) rat osteosarcoma cells, and embryonic bovine tracheal cells. The osteotoxin lacked dermonecrotic toxin activity, exhibited no cross-reactivity with antibody against B. avium dermonecrotic toxin, and was non-proteolytic. Osteotoxin (M(r) approximately 80,000 by gel filtration, pI 5.4) was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from B. avium 197. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometric analyses showed that the native protein was a homodimer and that each of the non-covalently linked subunits (M(r) approximately 41,000) contained one molecule of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Microsequencing of the first 32 amino acids from the NH2 terminus allowed the synthesis of two oligonucleotide probes, which, together with polyclonal antibody to the purified protein, facilitated cloning, sequencing, and expression of the osteotoxin gene product in Escherichia coli. The open reading frame encodes a polypeptide of 396 amino acid residues (M(r) = 42,606, calculated pI 5.9), whose sequence exhibits approximately 38% identity (approximately 60% similarity) to pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent beta-cystathionase(s) from E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and rat liver. The characteristic motif, TKYXXGHSD, associated with binding the cofactor in these enzymes is also present in osteotoxin. Physicochemical and enzymatic analyses established the coidentity of osteotoxin with beta-cystathionase. The region upstream of the beta-cystathionase (metC) gene in B. avium 197 lacked regulatory sequences ("Met boxes") described for metC in enteric species, and enzyme production was not repressed by methionine. Incubation of MC3T3-E1 osteogenic cells in medium containing L-[35S]cystine and purified beta-cystathionase resulted in 35S-labeling of the enzyme and at least one major MC3T3-E1 cell protein (M(r) approximately 50,000). cytotoxicity can be attributed to: 1) beta-cystathionase-catalyzed cleavage of L-cystine in the medium and formation of reactive sulfane-containing derivative(s), and 2) transfer of sulfane sulfur to metabolically sensitive or structurally important proteins in the osteogenic cells.

Cloning and sequencing of a gene encoding a 21-kilodalton outer membrane protein from Bordetella avium and expression of the gene in Salmonella typhimurium.

Three gene libraries of Bordetella avium 197 DNA were prepared in Escherichia coli LE392 by using the cosmid vectors pCP13 and pYA2329, a derivative of pCP13 specifying spectinomycin resistance. The cosmid libraries were screened with convalescent-phase anti-B. avium turkey sera and polyclonal rabbit antisera against B. avium 197 outer membrane proteins. One E. coli recombinant clone produced a 56-kDa protein which reacted with convalescent-phase serum from a turkey infected with B. avium 197. In addition, five E. coli recombinant clones were identified which produced B. avium outer membrane proteins with molecular masses of 21, 38, 40, 43, and 48 kDa. At least one of these E. coli clones, which encoded the 21-kDa protein, reacted with both convalescent-phase turkey sera and antibody against B. avium 197 outer membrane proteins. The gene for the 21-kDa outer membrane protein was localized by Tn5seq1 mutagenesis, and the nucleotide sequence was determined by dideoxy sequencing. DNA sequence analysis of the 21-kDa protein revealed an open reading frame of 582 bases that resulted in a predicted protein of 194 amino acids. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of the gene encoding the 21-kDa outer membrane protein with protein sequences in the National Biomedical Research Foundation protein sequence data base indicated significant homology to the OmpA proteins of Shigella dysenteriae, Enterobacter aerogenes, E. coli, and Salmonella typhimurium and to Neisseria gonorrhoeae outer membrane protein III, Haemophilus influenzae protein P6, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa porin protein F. The gene (ompA) encoding the B. avium 21-kDa protein hybridized with 4.1-kb DNA fragments from EcoRI-digested, chromosomal DNA of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica and with 6.0- and 3.2-kb DNA fragments from EcoRI-digested, chromosomal DNA of B. avium and B. avium-like DNA, respectively. A 6.75-kb DNA fragment encoding the B. avium 21-kDa protein was subcloned into the Asd+ vector pYA292, and the construct was introduced into the avirulent delta cya delta crp delta asd S. typhimurium chi 3987 for oral immunization of birds. The gene encoding the 21-kDa protein was expressed equivalently in B. avium 197, delta asd E. coli chi 6097, and S. typhimurium chi 3987 and was localized primarily in the cytoplasmic membrane and outer membrane. In preliminary studies on oral inoculation of turkey poults with S. typhimurium chi 3987 expressing the gene encoding the B. avium 21-kDa protein, it was determined that a single dose of the recombinant Salmonella vaccine failed to elicit serum antibodies against the 21-kDa protein and challenge with wild-type B. avium 197 resulted in colonization of the trachea and thymus with B. avium 197.

Isolation and characterization of Bordetella avium phase variants.

Two spontaneous phase variants of Bordetella avium were isolated at a frequency of 2 x 10(-4) by colony immunoblot assay of B. avium with antibody against B. avium dermonecrotic toxin. The two phase variants, designated GOBL309 and GOBL312, lack dermonecrotic toxin and four outer membrane proteins with molecular masses of 93, 48, 38, and 27 kDa but retain the ability to agglutinate guinea pig erythrocytes. The proteins which are not expressed by GOBL309 and GOBL312 correspond to five proteins which are phenotypically modulated in B. avium by growth in the presence of nicotinic acid or MgSO4. Growth of the phase variants in supplemented Stainer-Scholte media containing nicotinamide did not alter expression of these five proteins. Intranasal inoculation of the spontaneous phase variants into 3-day-old turkeys and reisolation of B. avium at 2 weeks postinoculation resulted in the recovery of B. avium which had the wild-type phenotype, colonized the turkey tracheas, and produced the four outer membrane proteins and dermonecrotic toxin. Hybridization of B. avium and B. avium-like chromosomal DNA with internal portions of the Bordetella pertussis virulence regulatory genes, bvgA and bvgS, revealed that B. avium and B. avium-like isolates contain 5.3- and 5.7-kb DNA fragments, respectively, which are homologous to bvgS. B. avium and B. avium-like chromosomal DNA failed to hybridize to B. pertussis bvgA.

Dermonecrotic toxin and tracheal cytotoxin, putative virulence factors of Bordetella avium.

We examined Bordetella avium for virulence factors common to Bordetella pertussis, including pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, adenylate cyclase, dermonecrotic toxin, and tracheal cytotoxin. B. avium produced a dermonecrotic toxin and a tracheal cytotoxin. The dermonecrotic toxin of B. avium is a 155,000-molecular-weight, heat-labile protein which was lethal for mice, guinea pigs, young chickens, and turkey poults and produced dermonecrosis when injected intradermally into guinea pigs, chickens, and turkey poults. High-pressure liquid chromatography of B. avium culture supernatant fluid revealed the presence of a tracheal cytotoxin chemically identical to that produced by B. pertussis. B. avium isolates were negative for B. pertussis-like filamentous hemagglutinin and pertussis toxin when assayed with antibody against B. pertussis filamentous hemagglutinin and pertussis toxin. Furthermore, B. avium failed to induce the clustered CHO cell morphology characteristic of pertussis toxin. Adenylate cyclase assays indicated that B. avium does not produce an extracytoplasmic adenylate cyclase, even after passage through embryonated turkey eggs. Since production of virulence proteins by B. pertussis is regulated by growth in media containing nicotinamide or MgSO4 or by growth at reduced temperatures, we determined the effect of these supplements and growth conditions on production of dermonecrotic toxin by B. avium. Production of dermonecrotic toxin in B. avium was not altered by growth in media containing 100 microM FeSO4 or 500 micrograms of nicotinamide per ml or by growth at 25 or 42 degrees C, but production was significantly decreased by growth in media containing 20 mM MgSO4 and slightly reduced by growth in media containing 500 micrograms of nicotinic acid per ml. These studies revealed that B. avium is similar to B. pertussis in that both species produce a dermonecrotic toxin and a tracheal cytotoxin and production of dermonecrotic toxin is regulated by nicotinamide and MgSO4. The presence of dermonecrotic toxin and tracheal cytotoxin in all Bordetella species indicates that these products may be important virulence factors in bordetellosis.