Project description:In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the sensor kinases DosT and DosS activate the transcriptional regulator DosR, resulting in the induction of the DosR regulon, important for anaerobic survival and perhaps latent infection. The individual and collective roles of these sensors has been postulated biochemically, but their roles have remained unclear in vivo. This work demonstrates distinct and additive roles for each sensor during anaerobic dormancy. Both sensors are necessary for wild type levels of DosR regulon induction, and concomitantly, full induction of the regulon is required for wild type anaerobic survival. In the anaerobic model, DosT plays an early role, responding to hypoxia. DosT then induces the regulon and with it DosS, which sustains and further induces the regulon. DosT then loses its functionality as oxygen becomes limited, and DosS alone maintains induction of the genes from that point forward. Thus, M. tuberculosis has evolved a system whereby it responds to hypoxic conditions in a stepwise fashion as it enters an anaerobic state.
Project description:In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the sensor kinases DosT and DosS activate the transcriptional regulator DosR, resulting in the induction of the DosR regulon, important for anaerobic survival and perhaps latent infection. The individual and collective roles of these sensors has been postulated biochemically, but their roles have remained unclear in vivo. This work demonstrates distinct and additive roles for each sensor during anaerobic dormancy. Both sensors are necessary for wild type levels of DosR regulon induction, and concomitantly, full induction of the regulon is required for wild type anaerobic survival. In the anaerobic model, DosT plays an early role, responding to hypoxia. DosT then induces the regulon and with it DosS, which sustains and further induces the regulon. DosT then loses its functionality as oxygen becomes limited, and DosS alone maintains induction of the genes from that point forward. Thus, M. tuberculosis has evolved a system whereby it responds to hypoxic conditions in a stepwise fashion as it enters an anaerobic state. Various DosS and DosT mutant strains were analyzed against wild type (reference strain H37Rv, identical conditions as mutant) under various conditions: day 6 in an anaerobic dormancy model, 4 or 24 hours in a GasPak model, or log phase with the addition of a nitric oxide donor. Experiments were repeated in triplicate or quadruplicate.
Project description:The DosR regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is involved in respiration-limiting conditions and its induction is controlled by two histidine kinases, DosS and DosT. Recent experimental evidence indicates DosS senses either molecular oxygen or a redox change. This report demonstrates that DosS responds to a reduced electron transport system (ETS), although this does not rule out a role for oxygen in silencing signaling. Under aerobic conditions induction of the DosR regulon by DosS but not DosT was observed after the addition of ascorbate, a powerful cytochrome c reductant, demonstrating DosS responds to a redox signal even in the presence of high oxygen tension. During hypoxic conditions regulon induction was attenuated by treatment with compounds that occluded electron flow into the menaquinone pool or decreased the size of the menaquinone pool itself. Increased regulon expression during hypoxia was observed when exogenous menaquinone was added, demonstrating the menaquinone pool is a limiting factor in regulon induction. Taken together these data indicate that a reduced menaquinone pool directly or indirectly triggers induction of the DosR regulon via DosS. Biochemical analysis of menaquinones upon entry into hypoxic/anaerobic conditions demonstrated the disappearance of the unsaturated species and low-level maintenance of the mono-saturated menaquinone. Relative to the unsaturated form, an analog of the saturated form is better able to induce signaling via DosS, rescue inhibition of menaquinone synthesis, and is less toxic. The menaquinone pool is central to the ETS and therefore provides a mechanistic link between the respiratory state of the bacilli and DosS signaling.
Project description:The DosR regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is involved in respiration-limiting conditions and its induction is controlled by two histidine kinases, DosS and DosT. Recent experimental evidence indicates DosS senses either molecular oxygen or a redox change. This report demonstrates that DosS responds to a reduced electron transport system (ETS), although this does not rule out a role for oxygen in silencing signaling. Under aerobic conditions induction of the DosR regulon by DosS but not DosT was observed after the addition of ascorbate, a powerful cytochrome c reductant, demonstrating DosS responds to a redox signal even in the presence of high oxygen tension. During hypoxic conditions regulon induction was attenuated by treatment with compounds that occluded electron flow into the menaquinone pool or decreased the size of the menaquinone pool itself. Increased regulon expression during hypoxia was observed when exogenous menaquinone was added, demonstrating the menaquinone pool is a limiting factor in regulon induction. Taken together these data indicate that a reduced menaquinone pool directly or indirectly triggers induction of the DosR regulon via DosS. Biochemical analysis of menaquinones upon entry into hypoxic/anaerobic conditions demonstrated the disappearance of the unsaturated species and low-level maintenance of the mono-saturated menaquinone. Relative to the unsaturated form, an analog of the saturated form is better able to induce signaling via DosS, rescue inhibition of menaquinone synthesis, and is less toxic. The menaquinone pool is central to the ETS and therefore provides a mechanistic link between the respiratory state of the bacilli and DosS signaling. Aerobically growing logarithmic phase DosS and DosT mutant strains were analyzed after treatment with the cytochrome c reductant ascorbate to examine the effect on DosR signaling caused by reducing the electron transport system. Experiments were repeated in triplicate (dosT mutant) or duplicate (dosS mutant).
Project description:Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of tuberculosis, a disease that affects one-third of the world’s population. The sole extant vaccine for tuberculosis is the live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). We examined 13 representative BCG strains from around the world to ascertain their ability to express DosR-regulated dormancy antigens. These are known to be recognized by T-cells of M. tuberculosis infected individuals, especially those harboring latent infections. Differences in expression of these antigens could be valuable for use as diagnostic markers to distinguish BCG vaccination from latent tuberculosis. We determined that all BCG strains were defective for induction of two dormancy genes, narK2 (Rv1737c) and narX (Rv1736c). NarK2 is known to be necessary for nitrate respiration during anaerobic dormancy. Analysis of the narK2/X promoter region revealed a base substitution mutation in all tested BCG strains and M. bovis in comparison to the M. tuberculosis sequence. We also show that nitrate reduction by BCG strains during dormancy was greatly reduced compared to M. tuberculosis and varied between tested strains. Several dormancy regulon transcriptional differences were also identified among the strains, as well as variation in their growth and survival. These findings demonstrate defects in DosR regulon expression during dormancy and phenotypic variation between commonly used BCG vaccine strains. Keywords: Comparison of induction of a subset of genes between various mycobacterial strains.
Project description:Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of tuberculosis, a disease that affects one-third of the world’s population. The sole extant vaccine for tuberculosis is the live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). We examined 13 representative BCG strains from around the world to ascertain their ability to express DosR-regulated dormancy antigens. These are known to be recognized by T-cells of M. tuberculosis infected individuals, especially those harboring latent infections. Differences in expression of these antigens could be valuable for use as diagnostic markers to distinguish BCG vaccination from latent tuberculosis. We determined that all BCG strains were defective for induction of two dormancy genes, narK2 (Rv1737c) and narX (Rv1736c). NarK2 is known to be necessary for nitrate respiration during anaerobic dormancy. Analysis of the narK2/X promoter region revealed a base substitution mutation in all tested BCG strains and M. bovis in comparison to the M. tuberculosis sequence. We also show that nitrate reduction by BCG strains during dormancy was greatly reduced compared to M. tuberculosis and varied between tested strains. Several dormancy regulon transcriptional differences were also identified among the strains, as well as variation in their growth and survival. These findings demonstrate defects in DosR regulon expression during dormancy and phenotypic variation between commonly used BCG vaccine strains. 12 different BCG strains were examined as well as M. tuberculosis H37Rv and M. bovis. Two arrays per strain were analyzed, one with the addition of nitric oxide and the other utilizing hypoxia treatment, both conditions shown to induce expression of the dormancy regulon. The reference sample for each array was log phase M. tuberculosis H37Rv.
Project description:Background: Conflicting results have been reported about the role of the two-component sensor and transcriptional regulator DosS/DosR, controlling the expression of the dormancy DosR regulon, for in vivo virulence of M. tuberculosis. Here, we have used a new approach to further analyze the relevance of the dosRS system, by driving DosR (Rv3133c) expression under the control of a constitutive promoter (phsp60). Methodology/Principal Findings: M. tuberculosis H37Rv constitutively expressing the transcriptional regulator DosR (Mtb::DosR) was compared to wild type M. tuberculosis (Mtb+/+) for in vitro growth kinetics and expression of the target genes of the DosR dormancy regulon, for in vivo virulence and for immunogenicity in mice. Under aerobic conditions, hsp60-driven DosR induced the expression of 28 out of 39 tested DosR regulon genes. In vitro growth characteristics were comparable for both strains, but Mtb::DosR showed an attenuated in vivo phenotype in immunocompetent mice, as indicated by reduced bacterial replication, reduced pulmonary immunopathology, reduced cachexia and significantly prolonged survival time as compared Mtb+/+. In immunodeficient SCID mice, Mtb::DosR was fully virulent. RT-qPCR analysis revealed a strong and comparable pulmonary TNF-?? and IL-23 expression following intratracheal infection, whereas IL-12 and IL-17 expression was slightly higher with wild type Mtb+/+. Finally, mice persistently infected with Mtb::DosR for 8 months showed five to tenfold higher lung IFN-?? responses against ten of the 48 DosR regulon encoded antigens (Rv1733c, Rv1734, Rv1738, Rv1996, Rv1997, Rv2029c, Rv2623, Rv2627c, Rv2628 and Rv3127) than mice actively infected with Mtb+/+. In spleen however, DosR regulon encoded antigen specific IFN-?? responses were similar in both groups. Conclusions/Significance. Collectively, these results suggest that increased DosR regulon encoded antigen specific pulmonary T cell responses are responsible for the attenuated phenotype of Mtb::DosR and that infection with Mtb::DosR could be used as a new animal model for studying key aspects of latent tuberculosis. Set of arrays that are part of repeated experiments
Project description:Background: Conflicting results have been reported about the role of the two-component sensor and transcriptional regulator DosS/DosR, controlling the expression of the dormancy DosR regulon, for in vivo virulence of M. tuberculosis. Here, we have used a new approach to further analyze the relevance of the dosRS system, by driving DosR (Rv3133c) expression under the control of a constitutive promoter (phsp60). Methodology/Principal Findings: M. tuberculosis H37Rv constitutively expressing the transcriptional regulator DosR (Mtb::DosR) was compared to wild type M. tuberculosis (Mtb+/+) for in vitro growth kinetics and expression of the target genes of the DosR dormancy regulon, for in vivo virulence and for immunogenicity in mice. Under aerobic conditions, hsp60-driven DosR induced the expression of 28 out of 39 tested DosR regulon genes. In vitro growth characteristics were comparable for both strains, but Mtb::DosR showed an attenuated in vivo phenotype in immunocompetent mice, as indicated by reduced bacterial replication, reduced pulmonary immunopathology, reduced cachexia and significantly prolonged survival time as compared Mtb+/+. In immunodeficient SCID mice, Mtb::DosR was fully virulent. RT-qPCR analysis revealed a strong and comparable pulmonary TNF-?? and IL-23 expression following intratracheal infection, whereas IL-12 and IL-17 expression was slightly higher with wild type Mtb+/+. Finally, mice persistently infected with Mtb::DosR for 8 months showed five to tenfold higher lung IFN-?? responses against ten of the 48 DosR regulon encoded antigens (Rv1733c, Rv1734, Rv1738, Rv1996, Rv1997, Rv2029c, Rv2623, Rv2627c, Rv2628 and Rv3127) than mice actively infected with Mtb+/+. In spleen however, DosR regulon encoded antigen specific IFN-?? responses were similar in both groups. Conclusions/Significance. Collectively, these results suggest that increased DosR regulon encoded antigen specific pulmonary T cell responses are responsible for the attenuated phenotype of Mtb::DosR and that infection with Mtb::DosR could be used as a new animal model for studying key aspects of latent tuberculosis.
Project description:The present study reports the gene expression data of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and H37RvΔdosSΔdosT (DKO) grown on 0.2 % acetate/glucose under aerobic/hypoxic conditions. Acetate was reported to be present in granulomas of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infected guinea pigs which are also hypoxic. By exposing Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and H37RvΔdosSΔdosT to different combinations of granulomatous stresses (acetate/glucose and aerobic/hypoxic conditions) alongwith other experimental data, we were able to delineate a new signaling pathway that activates DevR (DosR) regulon through Acetyl phosphate. The presence of two pathways highlights the importance of targeting DevR and not DevS/DosT for intercepting DevRST signalling cascade.