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Chemiluminescence of Acanthamoeba castellanii.

ABSTRACT: 1. Chemiluminescence of Acanthomoeba castellanii in the presence of O2 was of similar intensity in organisms harvested early or late during exponential growth [when cyanide (1 mM) stimulates or inhibits respiration respectively]. 2. Cyanide (up to 1.5 mM) stimulated photoemission in both types of organism by 250--300 photons/s per 10(7) cells above the value observed under aerobic conditions. 3. 'Dibromothymoquinone' (2,5-dibromo-6-isopropyl-3-methyl-p-benzoquinone) (up to 80 microM) further increased chemiluminescence. 4. Similar responses were also demonstrated in whole homogenates and in subcellular fractions; 36% of the chemiluminescence was provided by a fraction sedimenting at 100000g-min, and 20% in that fraction that was non-sedimentable at 200000g-min. 5. Mitochondrial substrates (succinate, 2-oxoglutarate, NADH) in the presence or absence of ADP and Pi or peroxisomal substrates (glycollate, urate or ethanol) gave no increases in light emission by whole homogenates or in any of the fractions. 6. It is suggested that reactions responsible for production of chemiluminescence are those primarily producing superoxide anions and leading to lipid peroxidation and singlet-oxygen formation. Photoemission enhancement and superoxide dismutase inhibition showed similar cyanide concentration-dependencies.

SUBMITTER: Lloyd D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1161685 | biostudies-other | 1979 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:The respiratory pathogenic bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica can persistently survive in terrestrial and aquatic environments, providing a source of infection. However, the environmental lifestyle of the bacterium is poorly understood. In this study, expecting repeated encounters of the bacteria with environmental protists, we explored the interaction between B. bronchiseptica and a representative environmental amoeba, Acanthamoeba castellanii, and found that the bacteria resisted amoeba digestion and entered contractile vacuoles (CVs), which are intracellular compartments involved in osmoregulation, to escape amoeba cells. In prolonged coculture, A. castellanii supported the proliferation of B. bronchiseptica. The avirulent Bvg- phase, but not the virulent Bvg+ phase, of the bacteria was advantageous for survival in the amoebae. We further demonstrate that two Bvg+ phase-specific virulence factors, filamentous hemagglutinin and fimbriae, were targeted for predation by A. castellanii. These results are evidence that the BvgAS two-component system, the master regulator for Bvg phase conversion, plays an indispensable role in the survival of B. bronchiseptica in amoebae. IMPORTANCE The pathogenic bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica, which causes respiratory diseases in various mammals, exhibits distinct Bvg+ and Bvg- phenotypes. The former represents the virulent phase, in which the bacteria express a set of virulence factors, while the role of the latter in the bacterial life cycle remains to be understood. In this study, we demonstrate that B. bronchiseptica in the Bvg- phase, but not the Bvg+ phase, survives and proliferates in coculture with Acanthamoeba castellanii, an environmental amoeba. Two Bvg+ phase-specific virulence factors, filamentous hemagglutinin and fimbriae, were targeted by A. castellanii predation. B. bronchiseptica turns into the Bvg- phase at temperatures in which the bacteria normally encounter these amoebae. These findings demonstrate that the Bvg- phase of B. bronchiseptica is advantageous for survival outside mammalian hosts and that the bacteria can utilize protists as transient hosts in natural environments.

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Chemiluminescence of Acanthamoeba castellanii.

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