RESUMO
Long-term infection of the stomach with Helicobacter pylori can cause gastric cancer. However, the mechanisms by which the bacteria adapt to the stomach environment are poorly understood. Here, we show that a small non-coding RNA of H. pylori (HPnc4160, also known as IsoB or NikS) regulates the pathogen's adaptation to the host environment as well as bacterial oncoprotein production. In a rodent model of H. pylori infection, the genomes of bacteria isolated from the stomach possess an increased number of T-repeats upstream of the HPnc4160-coding region, and this leads to reduced HPnc4160 expression. We use RNA-seq and iTRAQ analyses to identify eight targets of HPnc4160, including genes encoding outer membrane proteins and oncoprotein CagA. Mutant strains with HPnc4160 deficiency display increased colonization ability of the mouse stomach, in comparison with the wild-type strain. Furthermore, HPnc4160 expression is lower in clinical isolates from gastric cancer patients than in isolates derived from non-cancer patients, while the expression of HPnc4160's targets is higher in the isolates from gastric cancer patients. Therefore, the small RNA HPnc4160 regulates H. pylori adaptation to the host environment and, potentially, gastric carcinogenesis.
Assuntos
Adaptação Fisiológica/genética , Infecções por Helicobacter/patologia , Helicobacter pylori/fisiologia , RNA Bacteriano/metabolismo , Pequeno RNA não Traduzido/metabolismo , Neoplasias Gástricas/microbiologia , Animais , Antígenos de Bactérias/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Carcinogênese , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Mucosa Gástrica/microbiologia , Mucosa Gástrica/patologia , Regulação Bacteriana da Expressão Gênica/fisiologia , Genoma Bacteriano/genética , Gerbillinae , Infecções por Helicobacter/microbiologia , Helicobacter pylori/isolamento & purificação , Helicobacter pylori/patogenicidade , Interações entre Hospedeiro e Microrganismos , Humanos , Masculino , Mutação , RNA Bacteriano/genética , Pequeno RNA não Traduzido/genética , RNA-Seq , Neoplasias Gástricas/patologiaRESUMO
Helicobacter pylori, a pathogenic bacterium that colonizes in the human stomach, harbors DNA repair genes to counter the gastric environment during chronic infection. In addition, H. pylori adapts to the host environment by undergoing antigenic phase variation caused by genomic mutations. The emergence of mutations in nucleotide sequences is one of the major factors underlying drug resistance and genetic diversity in bacteria. However, it is not clear how DNA repair genes contribute to driving the genetic change of H. pylori during chronic infection. To elucidate the physiological roles of DNA repair genes, we generated DNA repair-deficient strains of H. pylori (ΔuvrA, ΔuvrB, ΔruvA, Δnth, ΔmutY, ΔmutS, and Δung). We performed susceptibility testing to rifampicin in vitro and found that ΔmutY exhibited the highest mutation frequency among the mutants. The number of bacteria colonizing the stomach was significantly lower with ΔmutY strain compared with wild-type strains in a Mongolian gerbil model of H. pylori infection. Furthermore, we performed a genomic sequence analysis of the strains isolated from the Mongolian gerbil stomachs eight weeks after infection. We found that the isolated ΔmutY strains exhibited a high frequency of spontaneous G:C to T:A mutations. However, the frequency of phase variations in the ΔmutY strain was almost similar to the wild-type strain. These results suggest that MutY may play a role in modes of gastric environmental adaptation distinct from phase variation.
Assuntos
Adaptação Fisiológica , DNA Glicosilases/genética , Helicobacter pylori/genética , Mutação/genética , Estômago/microbiologia , Animais , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Reparo do DNA/genética , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Gerbillinae , Infecções por Helicobacter/microbiologia , Helicobacter pylori/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Taxa de Mutação , NF-kappa B/metabolismoRESUMO
Phenazines are redox-active small molecules that play significant roles in the interactions between pseudomonads and diverse eukaryotes, including fungi. When Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans were cocultured on solid medium, a red pigmentation developed that was dependent on P. aeruginosa phenazine biosynthetic genes. Through a genetic screen in combination with biochemical experiments, it was found that a P. aeruginosa-produced precursor to pyocyanin, proposed to be 5-methyl-phenazinium-1-carboxylate (5MPCA), was necessary for the formation of the red pigmentation. The 5MPCA-derived pigment was found to accumulate exclusively within fungal cells, where it retained the ability to be reversibly oxidized and reduced, and its detection correlated with decreased fungal viability. Pyocyanin was not required for pigment formation or fungal killing. Spectral analyses showed that the partially purified pigment from within the fungus differed from aeruginosins A and B, two red phenazine derivatives formed late in P. aeruginosa cultures. The red pigment isolated from C. albicans that had been cocultured with P. aeruginosa was heterogeneous and difficult to release from fungal cells, suggesting its modification within the fungus. These findings suggest that intracellular targeting of some phenazines may contribute to their toxicity and that this strategy could be useful in developing new antifungals.
