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The Legionella pneumophila collagen-like protein mediates sedimentation, autoaggregation, and pathogen-phagocyte interactions.

ABSTRACT: Although only partially understood, multicellular behavior is relatively common in bacterial pathogens. Bacterial aggregates can resist various host defenses and colonize their environment more efficiently than planktonic cells. For the waterborne pathogen Legionella pneumophila, little is known about the roles of autoaggregation or the parameters which allow cell-cell interactions to occur. Here, we determined the endogenous and exogenous factors sufficient to allow autoaggregation to take place in L. pneumophila. We show that isolates from Legionella species which do not produce the Legionella collagen-like protein (Lcl) are deficient in autoaggregation. Targeted deletion of the Lcl-encoding gene (lpg2644) and the addition of Lcl ligands impair the autoaggregation of L. pneumophila. In addition, Lcl-induced autoaggregation requires divalent cations. Escherichia coli producing surface-exposed Lcl is able to autoaggregate and shows increased biofilm production. We also demonstrate that L. pneumophila infection of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Hartmanella vermiformis is potentiated under conditions which promote Lcl dependent autoaggregation. Overall, this study shows that L. pneumophila is capable of autoaggregating in a process that is mediated by Lcl in a divalent-cation-dependent manner. It also reveals that Lcl potentiates the ability of L. pneumophila to come in contact, attach, and infect amoebae.

SUBMITTER: Abdel-Nour M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911070 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Legionella pneumophila collagen-like protein mediates sedimentation, autoaggregation, and pathogen-phagocyte interactions.

Abdel-Nour Mena M Duncan Carla C Prashar Akriti A Prashar Akriti A Rao Chitong C Ginevra Christophe C Jarraud Sophie S Low Donald E DE Ensminger Alexander W AW Terebiznik Mauricio R MR Guyard Cyril C

Applied and environmental microbiology 20131213 4

Although only partially understood, multicellular behavior is relatively common in bacterial pathogens. Bacterial aggregates can resist various host defenses and colonize their environment more efficiently than planktonic cells. For the waterborne pathogen Legionella pneumophila, little is known about the roles of autoaggregation or the parameters which allow cell-cell interactions to occur. Here, we determined the endogenous and exogenous factors sufficient to allow autoaggregation to take plac ...[more]

PMID: 24334670

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Project description:The Legionella pneumophila TF3/1 mutant of the Corby strain, which possesses a point mutation in the active site of the O-acetyltransferase, synthesized the polysaccharide chain with a reduced degree of substitution with O-acetyl groups. The mutant did not produce a high-molecular-weight lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fraction above 12 kDa. The disturbances in LPS synthesis have an effect on the composition of other macromolecules (lipids and proteins), as indicated by differences in the infrared absorption spectra between the L. pneumophila Corby strain and its TF3/1 mutant. The wild-type strain contained less N+-CH3 and C-N groups as well as more CH3 groups than the mutant. The fatty acid composition showed that the wild type strain synthesized more branched acyl residues (a15:0, i16:0, and a17:0), a less unsaturated acid (16:1), and a straight-chain acid (18:0) than the mutant. The mutant synthesized approximately twice more a long-chain fatty acid (20:0) than the wild type. The main differences in the phospholipids between both strains were found in the classes of phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylglycerols (PG). Substantial differences in the cell surface topography of these bacteria and their nanomechanical properties were shown by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The wild type strain had no undulated surface and produced numerous vesicles. In the case of the mutant type, the vesicles were not numerous, but there were grooves on the cell surface. The average roughness of the cell surface of the mutant was approximately twofold higher than in the wild-type strain. In turn, the wild-type strain exhibited much better adhesive properties than the mutant. The kinetic study of the interaction between the L. pneumophila strains and Acanthamoeba castellanii monitored by Förster resonance energy transfer revealed a pronounced difference, i.e., almost instantaneous and highly efficient binding of the L. pneumophila Corby strain to the amoeba surface, followed by penetration into the amoeba cells. This process was clearly not as efficient in the case of the mutant. The results point to LPS and, in particular, to the length of the polysaccharide fraction as an important L. pneumophila determinant involved in the process of adhesion to the host cell.

Dataset Information

The Legionella pneumophila collagen-like protein mediates sedimentation, autoaggregation, and pathogen-phagocyte interactions.

Publications

The Legionella pneumophila collagen-like protein mediates sedimentation, autoaggregation, and pathogen-phagocyte interactions.

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