Project description:Comparison of gene expression between the virulent Rickettsia rickettsii R strain and avirulent Rickettsia rickettsii Iowa. Keywords: virulent vs avirulent Virulent Rickettsia rickettsii R strain in triplicate was compared to avirulent Rickettsia rickettsii Iowa in triplicate
Project description:Comparison of gene expression between the virulent Rickettsia rickettsii R strain and avirulent Rickettsia rickettsii Iowa. Keywords: virulent vs avirulent
Project description:Macrophages provide a crucial environment for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) to multiply during typhoid fever, yet our understanding of how human macrophages and S. Typhi interact remains limited. In this study, we delve into the dynamics of S. Typhi replication within human macrophages and the resulting heterogeneous transcriptomic responses of macrophages during infection. Our study reveals key factors that influence macrophage diversity, uncovering distinct immune and metabolic pathways associated with different stages of S. Typhi intracellular replication in macrophages. Of note, we found that macrophages harboring replicating S. Typhi are skewed towards an M1 pro-inflammatory state, whereas macrophages containing non-replicating S. Typhi exhibit neither a distinct M1 pro-inflammatory nor M2 anti-inflammatory state. Additionally, macrophages with replicating S. Typhi were characterized by the increased expression of genes associated with STAT3 phosphorylation and the activation of the STAT3 transcription factor. Our results shed light on transcriptomic pathways involved in the susceptibility of human macrophages to intracellular S. Typhi replication, thereby providing crucial insight into host phenotypes that restrict and support S. Typhi infection.
Project description:Rickettsia spp. can cause mild to severe human disease. These intracellular bacteria are associated with arthropods, nematodes and trematodes, and usually, are efficiently transmitted transovarially to the progeny of the invertebrate host. We recently demonstrated foreign gene acquisition by lateral gene transfer in Rickettsia genomes. The unexpected presence of laterally transferred toxin-antitoxin (TA) genetic elements (including vapBC) in several Rickettsia genomes has not been connected with the pathogenic process or the host-bacteria relationship. We suspect that vapBC are selfish genetic elements that addict eukaryotic hosts to Rickettsia. We identified a statistical link between the transovarial transmission of Rickettsia in invertebrate hosts and the presence of TA operons, specifically vapBC, in the Rickettsia genome. These TA are neighboring to type IV secretion genes. Tunel assays and whole-genome expression of infected cells showed that antibiotic eradication of TA-containing Rickettsia from the host in cell culture initiates a proapoptotic program. Rickettsia VapC toxins inhibit the growth of transformed Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Rickettsia toxin presents in vitro RNase activity. Annexin-V staining and time-lapse video showed that intracytoplasmic injections of VapC toxins in cells cause apoptosis. These data demonstrate that host cells may develop a dependence on Rickettsia spp. expressing the vapBC operon. This would constitute a new evolutionary “mafia strategy” of intracellular bacteria based on host addiction.
Project description:These findings establish minion as a novel microprotein required for muscle development, and define a two-component program for the induction of mammalian cell fusion.
Project description:The green rice leafhopper Nephotettix cincticeps have two mutualistic symbiotic bacteria (Candidatus Sulcia muelleri and Candidatus Nasuia deltocephalinicola) in its symbiont special organ bacteriome and are also infected to rickettsia. In order to determine immune challenge is induced or not by rickettsia infection in N. cincticeps, we investigated gene expression between rickettsia-infected and rifampicin treated uninfected N. cincticeps colonies.