Regulation of exoprotein expression in Staphylococcus aureus by a locus (sar) distinct from agr.

A single insertion of transposon Tn917LTV1 into the chromosome of a Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolate, strain DB, resulted in a pleiotropic effect on the expression of a number of extracellular and cell-wall-associated proteins. Detailed comparison of phenotypes associated with the mutant, 11D2, and the parent, DB, indicated that the chromosomal locus inactivated as a result of transposon mutagenesis differs from the S. aureus accessory gene regulator locus (agr). In particular, the expression of alpha-hemolysin, which is not detectable in Agr- mutants, was enhanced in mutant 11D2, while it remained at a low level in strain DB. Likewise, protease activity was significantly enhanced in 11D2 compared with DB. In addition, most of the cell-bound proteins were expressed at lower levels in the mutant than the parent strain. This pattern is contrary to that found in switching from Agr+ to Agr- phenotypes. Southern blot hybridization with an agr probe indicated that the inactivated chromosomal locus is distinct from agr. Transduction experiments demonstrated that the phenotypes associated with mutant 11D2 could be transferred to the parental strain DB as well as to RN450, an S. aureus strain with a genetic background similar to strain 8325-4. This locus on the S. aureus chromosome, possibly regulatory in nature, has been designated sar for staphylococcal accessory regulator.

Genetic diversity among the T-protein genes of group A streptococci.

T protein is a trypsin- and pepsin-resistant molecule on the surface of group A streptococci used as a serological tool to differentiate streptococci of this group. The purpose of this study was to determine the relatedness among the T protein genes of the 25 known T serotypes. DNA probes were constructed which represented various regions of the structural gene for the T6 protein, tee6. The probes were assayed for their ability to hybridize HindIII digests of chromosomal DNA from the 25 different T serotypes. Probe pTEE6.3, coding for the entire T6 protein, and pTEE6(1-299), coding for the amino-terminal half of T6, displayed the highest amount of homology, each binding to 10 of 25 T serotypes. Probes coding for sequences in the carboxy-terminal half of T6 showed considerably less homology among T serotypes with one probe hybridizing with only three out of 25. A synthetic oligonucleotide coding for the carboxy-terminal hydrophobic domain of T6, an area conserved to some degree among several bacterial surface proteins, showed homology with only seven out of 25 T serotypes. Hybridization with sequences outside the tee6 coding area provided additional information on the relatedness of certain sets of T serotypes according to restriction-fragment size heterogeneity. Clearly, there is considerable diversity among T-serotype genes. The data suggest that two or more families of structurally variant T proteins exist, which share only the property of proteolytic resistance and/or, perhaps, some biological function.

Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha promotes adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to cultured human endothelial cells.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a potent inflammatory mediator secreted by monocytes during inflammation, was shown to significantly increase the adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. The stimulatory effect of TNF was dose dependent and was bimodal with respect to time; bacterial adhesion peaked after 4 and 16 h of stimulation with recombinant human TNF-alpha. The ability of TNF-alpha to augment staphylococcal adherence to endothelial cells was contingent upon the presence of plasma factors. Thus, the complex interaction among cytokines (such as TNF), plasma factor(s), and the endothelium serves to modulate bacterial adherence to endothelial cells.

The construction and characterization of Neisseria gonorrhoeae lacking protein III in its outer membrane.

Protein III (PIII) is a highly conserved, antigenically stable gonococcal outer membrane protein that is closely associated with the major outer membrane protein, protein I (PI). We have previously reported the cloning of the PIII gene. This gene was inserted into the Eco RI site of the runaway plasmid pMOB45. The beta-lactamase (beta la) Bam HI restriction fragment from the gonococcal plasmid pFA3 was inserted at the Xba I site in the PIII gene. The plasmid construct was Hae III methylated and the PIII/beta la insert was excised with Eco RI and used to transform gonococcal strain F62. One beta la+, ampicillin-resistant transformant was isolated and designated 2D. A Western blot of 2D whole cell lysate was probed with affinity-purified polyclonal PIII antisera. No PIII reactivity was detected. Southern blot analysis was performed on F62 and 2D chromosomal DNA that were cut with Eco RI or Cla I. A PIII DNA probe hybridized with fragments 2.2 kb larger in strain 2D than strain F62. This corresponds to the size of the beta la insert. A beta la-specific probe hybridized with the same 2D restriction fragments as above, but did not react with any F62 fragments, confirming that homologous recombination had occurred. There were minimal phenotypic changes between 2D and its parent strain, F62. Chromosomal DNA from 2D was able to transform gonococcal strains F62, UU1, and Pgh 3-2, rendering these PIII-. 2D and other PIII- transformants can now be used to study the role of PIII in gonococcal physiology, metabolism, membrane structure, and pathogenesis. Moreover, we now have organisms from which we can purify gonococcal proteins without PIII contamination.

Gonococcal pilin variants in experimental gonorrhea.

When pilus+ Gc were introduced into a male subject's urethra, they gave rise to pilus+ variants whose pilin mRNAs differed from that of input Gc. The differences stemmed from the Gc genome's single complete pilin gene having undergone gene conversion by different partial pilin genes' sequences and by different length stretches of a single partial pilin gene. In some instances, the variant's pilin mRNA appeared to reflect two independent gene-conversion events that used sequences from two different partial pilin genes. The resulting variants' pilins exhibited antigenic differences compared with the pilin polypeptide of input Gc; these differences were discernible by immunoblotting with mAbs. Amino acid and antigenic changes occurred in a segment of the variants' pilin polypeptides that previously was thought to be conserved or constant in sequence.

Gene conversion variations generate structurally distinct pilin polypeptides in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Pilus+ to pilus- phenotype change occurs in Neisseria gonorrhoeae through gene conversion of the gonococcus' complete, expressed pilin gene by nucleotides homologous to the pilS1 copy 5 partial pilin gene; assembly missense pilin is synthesized but pili are not. Reversion to pilus+ occurs by a subsequent recombinational event that replaces the complete pilin gene's pilS1 copy 5-like sequence with nucleotides from a different partial gene to effect expression of an orthodox (i.e., pilus producing) pilin. Sibling pilus+ revertants of common parentage can carry different sequences in their expressed pilin genes because they have undergone nonidentical gene conversion events such as recombinations with sequences from different partial genes, or recombinations with different length nucleotide stretches of the same partial gene; either can yield structurally and antigenically variant pilin polypeptides.

Cloning of the recA gene of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and construction of gonococcal recA mutants.

Interspecific complementation of an Escherichia coli recA mutant was used to identify recombinant plasmids within a genomic cosmid library derived from Neisseria gonorrhoeae that carry the gonococcal recA gene. These plasmids complement the E. coli recA mutation in both homologous recombination functions and resistance to DNA damaging agents. Subcloning, deletion mapping, and transposon Tn5 mutagenesis were used to localize the gonococcal gene responsible for suppression of the E. coli RecA- phenotype. Defined mutations in and near the cloned gonococcal recA gene were constructed in vitro and concurrently associated with a selectable genetic marker for N. gonorrhoeae and the mutated alleles were then reintroduced into the gonococcal chromosome by transformation-mediated marker rescue. This work resulted in the construction of two isogenic strains of N. gonorrhoeae, one of which expresses a reduced proficiency in homologous recombination activity and DNA repair function while the other displays an absolute deficiency in these capacities. These gonococcal mutants behaved similarly to recA mutants of other procaryotic species and displayed phenotypes consistent with the data obtained by heterospecific complementation in an E. coli recA host. The functional activities of the recA gene products of N. gonorrhoeae and E. coli appear to be highly conserved.

Gene conversion involving the pilin structural gene correlates with pilus+ in equilibrium with pilus- changes in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Gonococci (Gc) exhibit pilus+----pilus- "phase transitions" at high frequency, but only some of the pilus- Gc can revert to pilus+ phenotype. We examined reversible phase transitions between pilus+ Gc and a particular pilus- variant (P-rp+ phenotype) whose pilin mRNA carries a unique block of nucleotides encoding an "assembly missense" pilin polypeptide. The results show that Gc pilus+ in equilibrium with P-rp+ transitions can result from intragenic recombination in which there is nonreciprocal exchange of partially homologous DNA sequences from a partial pilin gene (in silent, storage form) into the expression locus' complete pilin gene. Hence Gc pilus phase variation, like pilus antigenic variation, can occur by gene conversion of the pilin structural gene expression locus.

Cloning of the structural genes of three H8 antigens and of protein III of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

A bank of gonococcal DNA was constructed in the lambda gt11 expression vector. immunological screening of the bank resulted in the isolation of a clone that contains the structural gene of protein III. In addition, several clones reactive with mAbs specific for the H8 antigen were isolated. DNA hybridization studies revealed that these H8-reactive clones were derived from three different gonococcal genes. When the products produced by these clones were used to absorb antibodies from a rabbit antiserum, and the eluted antibodies were used in immunological studies, it could be shown that the parent gonococcus expressed the product of two of these H8 genes, and in strain R10, these had Mr of approximately 19,700 21,200 respectively. The larger form has not been recognized hitherto because the epitope reactive with the H8 mAb may be masked in this product.

An unusual Neisseria isolated from conjunctival cultures in rural Egypt.

Seven isolates of an unusual Neisseria sp. were obtained from eye cultures of children in two rural Egyptian villages. These Neisseria utilized only glucose, they exhibited a positive reaction when tested with antisera to crude antigen from Neisseria meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae, and they did not react with the fluorescent antibody tests for N. gonorrhoeae or with the monoclonal antibodies used to serotype gonococci. The Egyptian isolates had colony morphology more typical of meningococci than gonococci and showed opaque and transparent colony variants. On SDS-PAGE, the major outer-membrane proteins had different patterns than those noted for comparable proteins of meningococci and gonococci; heat-modifiable outer-membrane proteins were present. Four of the six isolates examined had cryptic plasmids of 2.8 megadaltons, which were slightly larger than the cryptic plasmid of N. gonorrhoeae. These plasmids were homologous to the gonococcal cryptic plasmid, but had different restriction enzyme fragment patterns. The DNA from the Egyptian isolates, like DNA from N. meningitidis but unlike DNA from N. gonorrhoeae, could be cut with the restriction enzyme HaeIII. The frequency of transformation into a temperature-sensitive mutant of N. gonorrhoeae was 0.2 for the Egyptian isolates and 0.1 for N. meningitidis, a frequency that was 5-10-fold lower than that for the N. gonorrhoeae control isolates. Whole-cell DNA from the Egyptian isolates showed 68%-73% homology with N. gonorrhoeae and 57%-63% with N. meningitidis. On the basis of our observations, the Egyptian isolates are distinct from N. meningitidis and may represent a variant of N. gonorrhoeae. We suggest that the isolates be called Neisseria gonorrhoeae ssp. kochii.

Piliation control mechanisms in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Gonococci (Gc) undergo pilus+ to pilus- "phase transitions" readily in vitro. In the present study we sequenced pilin mRNA from reverting, pilus- Gc by oligonucleotide primer extension and compared these pilin mRNA sequences with those expressed by their pilus+ predecessors and pilus+ revertants. The results suggest that genetic rearrangement within the pilin structural gene can generate defective pilin gene products, resulting in a pilus- phenotype. These pilus- Gc give rise to pilus+ revertants upon reconstitution of their modified pilin gene.

Cloning and sequencing of a Moraxella bovis pilin gene.

Moraxella bovis pili have been shown to play a major role in both infectivity and protective immunity of bovine infectious keratoconjunctivitis. Sonicated M. bovis DNA from the piliated strain EPP63 was inserted into the vector lambda gt11 with EcoRI linkers. Recombinant phage were screened with an oligonucleotide probe based on the amino-terminal portion of the DNA sequence of a Neisseria gonorrhoeae pilin gene. Two candidate phages produced a protein that comigrated with EPP63 beta pilin in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and bound anti-pilus antisera. The 1.9-kilobase insert from one of these, lambda gt11M182, was subcloned in both orientations into pBR322, forming the plasmids pMxB7 and pMxB9, both of which produced beta pilin, as did pMxB12, a HindIII deletion derivative of pMxB7. In HB101(pMxB12), the M. bovis pilin protein was shown to be primarily localized in the inner membrane. The entire 939-base-pair insert of pMxB12 was sequenced, revealing a ribosome binding site just upstream of the coding region and an AT-rich region further upstream containing some potential RNA polymerase recognition sites. The translation of the sequence predicts a six-amino-acid leader sequence preceding the phenylalanine that begins the mature protein. Codon usage analysis of the M. bovis beta pilin gene revealed greater use of the CUA codon for leucine than usual for a well-expressed Escherichia coli gene. Comparisons of the M. bovis EPP63 beta pilin protein sequence with other pilin gene sequences are presented.

Attachment to and invasion of human fallopian tube mucosa by an IgA1 protease-deficient mutant of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and its wild-type parent.

In an investigation of the possible role of IgA1 protease in the initial encounter of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with human genital mucosa, the pathogenicity of an isogenic, piliated, wild-type gonococcal clone was compared with that of its IgA1 protease-deficient mutant in organ cultures of human fallopian tubes. The fallopian tube mucosa released IgA into the organ culture medium throughout the course of the infection; the rate of release was substantially higher in gonococcus-infected organ cultures. The wild-type gonococcus but not the IgA1 protease-deficient mutant elaborated IgA1 protease into the medium. The rate and extent of attachment, damage, and invasion of the fallopian tube mucosa by the IgA1 protease-deficient mutant were indistinguishable from those by the parental clone. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that, in the initial encounter with previously uninfected human genital mucosa, the production of IgA1 protease is not critical to the ability of the gonococcus to act as a mucosal pathogen.

Deletion of DNA sequence in a nononcogenic variant of Herpesvirus saimiri.

The 110-kilobase-pair stretch of unique sequence DNA of Herpesvirus saimiri is flanked by highly repetitive DNA. Detailed restriction endonuclease mapping has localized the left junction of repetitive and unique DNA to a 100-base-pair region. H. saimiri 11att, a replication competent nononcogenic variant of strain 11, has a deletion of 2.3 kilobase pairs of sequence information that spans this left junction of repetitive and unique DNA.

Nucleotide sequence homology between the immunoglobulin A1 protease genes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus influenzae.

Isolated DNA fragments encoding the immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) protease of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were used as hybridization probes to search for homologous sequences in whole cell DNA from Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae. Significant homology was detected. That the detected homology represented IgA1 protease-specific sequences was confirmed by the cloning of these sequences in Escherichia coli HB101 and demonstrating the expression of IgA1 protease by these transformed cells. Molecular probing of commensal Neisseria and Haemophilus species, which do not elaborate IgA1 protease activity, revealed that they were devoid of sequence homology with the cloned IgA1 protease gene DNA.

Genetic and biochemical analysis of gonococcal IgA1 protease: cloning in Escherichia coli and construction of mutants of gonococci that fail to produce the activity.

The biological significance of bacterial extracellular proteases that specifically cleave human IgA1 is unknown. We have prepared a gene bank of gonococcal chromosomal DNA in Escherichia coli K-12 using a cosmid cloning system. Among these clones, we have identified and characterized an E. coli strain that elaborates an extracellular endopeptidase that is indistinguishable from gonococcal IgA1 protease in its substrate specificity and action on human IgA1. Analysis of recombinant plasmids and examination of plasmid-specific peptides in minicells have shown that the IgA1 protease activity in E. coli is associated with expression of a Mr 140,000 peptide. We have isolated IgA1 protease-deficient mutants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae by reintroduction of physically defined deletions of the cloned gene into the gonococcal chromosome by transformation.