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RNA thermosensors facilitate Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae immune evasion.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial meningitis is a major cause of death and disability in children worldwide. Two human restricted respiratory pathogens, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, are the major causative agents of bacterial meningitis, attributing to 200,000 deaths annually. These pathogens are often part of the nasopharyngeal microflora of healthy carriers. However, what factors elicit them to disseminate and cause invasive diseases, remain unknown. Elevated temperature and fever are hallmarks of inflammation triggered by infections and can act as warning signals to pathogens. Here, we investigate whether these respiratory pathogens can sense environmental temperature to evade host complement-mediated killing. We show that productions of two vital virulence factors and vaccine components, the polysaccharide capsules and factor H binding proteins, are temperature dependent, thus influencing serum/opsonophagocytic killing of the bacteria. We identify and characterise four novel RNA thermosensors in S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae, responsible for capsular biosynthesis and production of factor H binding proteins. Our data suggest that these bacteria might have independently co-evolved thermosensing abilities with different RNA sequences but distinct secondary structures to evade the immune system.

SUBMITTER: Eichner H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8084184 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:We aimed to investigate the nasopharyngeal colonization (NPC) by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Staphylococcus aureus in the elderly population and to assess the demographic factors associated with NPC. This was an observational cohort study in which outpatients aged ?60 years were enrolled from April to August 2017, with a follow-up visit from September through December 2017. Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were collected, bacteria were detected and isolated, and isolates were subjected to phenotypic and molecular characterization using standard microbiological techniques. At enrolment, the rates of S. aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), H. influenzae, and S. pneumoniae among 776 elderly outpatients were 15.9%, 2.3%, 2.5%, and 2.2%, respectively. Toxin production was detected in 21.1% of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus, and three SCCmec types were identified: II/IIb, IVa, and VI. At the follow-up visit, all carriage rates were similar (p > 0.05) to the rates at enrolment. Most of S. pneumoniae serotypes were not included in pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs), except for 7F, 3, and 19A. All strains of H. influenzae were non-typeable. Previous use of antibiotics and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination (p < 0.05) were risk factors for S. aureus and MRSA carriage; S. aureus colonization was also associated with chronic kidney disease (p = 0.021). S. pneumoniae carriage was associated with male gender (p = 0.032) and an absence of diabetes (p = 0.034), while not receiving an influenza vaccine (p = 0.049) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = 0.031) were risk factors for H. influenzae colonization. The frailty of study participants was not associated with colonization status. We found a higher S. aureus carriage rate compared with the S. pneumoniae- and H. influenzae-carriage rates in a well-attended population in a geriatric outpatient clinic. This is one of the few studies conducted in Brazil that can support future colonization studies among elderly individuals.

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RNA thermosensors facilitate Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae immune evasion.

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