Project description:Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease of global importance. Despite its prevalence, pathogenesis is still poorly understood. Recent discoveries have placed miRNAs in the regulation of the infection process of several bacterial diseases. Here, we suggest that post-transcriptional regulation, mediated by miRNAs, may play a role in host response to infection in leptospirosis in a species and virulence-specific manner.
Project description:The overall goal of these experiments was to determine how human endothelial cells respond to pathogenic Leptospira interrogans. Leptospira interrogans causes leptospirosis, the most widespread zoonotic infection in the world. A hallmark of leptospirosis is widespread endothelial damage, which in severe cases leads to hemorrhage. In these experiments, we infected two endothelial cell lines with pathogenic Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola strain Ca12-005, and as controls, with the non-pathogenic Leptospira biflexa serovar Patoc strain Pfra. As additional controls, uninfected cells were also included in the analyses.
Project description:The overall goal of these experiments was to determine how human endothelial cells respond to pathogenic Leptospira interrogans. Leptospira interrogans causes leptospirosis, the most widespread zoonotic infection in the world. A hallmark of leptospirosis is widespread endothelial damage, which in severe cases leads to hemorrhage. In these experiments, we infected two endothelial cell lines with pathogenic Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola strain Ca12-005, and as controls, with the non-pathogenic Leptospira biflexa serovar Patoc strain Pfra. As additional controls, uninfected cells were also included in the analyses.
Project description:Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease of global importance. Despite its prevalence, pathogenesis is still poorly understood. Our aim was to discover transcripts responsable for pathogenicity of leptospirosis. We compared the transcriptome profiles of saprophyte, attenuated and virulent strain of Leptospira spp.
Project description:Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases in the world. It is caused by the pathogen Leptospira that results in multiple-organ failure, in particular of the kidney. Outer membrane lipoprotein is the suspected virulence factor of Leptospira. In Leptospira spp LipL41 is one major lipoprotein and is highly conserved. Previous study suggests that LipL41 bears hemin-binding ability and might play a possible role in iron regulation and storage. However, the characterization of hemin-binding ability of LipL41 is still unclear. Here the hemin-binding ability of LipL41 was examined, yielding a K d = 0.59 ± 0.14 ?M. Two possible heme regulatory motifs (HRMs), C[P/S], were found in LipL41 at (140)Cys-Ser and (220)Cys-Pro. The mutation study indicates that Cys140 and Cys220 might be cooperatively involved in hemin binding. A supramolecular assembly of LipL41 was determined by transmission electron microscopy. The LipL41 oligomer consists of 36 molecules and folds as a double-layered particle. At the C-terminus of LipL41, there are two tetratricopeptide repeats (TPRs), which might be involved in the protein-protein interaction of the supramolecular assembly.
Project description:BackgroundLeptospirosis is a complex zoonotic disease mostly caused by a group of eight pathogenic species (L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. kirschneri, L. mayottensis, L. noguchii, L. santarosai, L. weilii, L. alexanderi), with a wide spectrum of animal reservoirs and patient outcomes. Leptospira interrogans is considered as the leading causative agent of leptospirosis worldwide and it is the most studied species. However, the genomic features and phylogeography of other Leptospira pathogenic species remain to be determined.Methodology/principal findingsHere we investigated the genome diversity of the main pathogenic Leptospira species based on a collection of 914 genomes from strains isolated around the world. Genome analyses revealed species-specific genome size and GC content, and an open pangenome in the pathogenic species, except for L. mayottensis. Taking advantage of a new set of genomes of L. santarosai strains isolated from patients in Costa Rica, we took a closer look at this species. L. santarosai strains are largely distributed in America, including the Caribbean islands, with over 96% of the available genomes originating from this continent. Phylogenetic analysis showed high genetic diversity within L. santarosai, and the clonal groups identified by cgMLST were strongly associated with geographical areas. Serotype identification based on serogrouping and/or analysis of the O-antigen biosynthesis gene loci further confirmed the great diversity of strains within the species.Conclusions/significanceIn conclusion, we report a comprehensive genome analysis of pathogenic Leptospira species with a focus on L. santarosai. Our study sheds new light onto the genomic diversity, evolutionary history, and epidemiology of leptospirosis in America and globally. Our findings also expand our knowledge of the genes driving O-antigen diversity. In addition, our work provides a framework for understanding the virulence and spread of L. santarosai and for improving its surveillance in both humans and animals.
Project description:The region of Antioquia in northeastern Colombia has the highest number of reported leptospirosis cases in the country. It also shows high seroprevalence indexes in the general population and socio-environmental conditions favourable for the transmission of the disease between humans and animals. In this study, 25 Leptospira isolates from Colombia's Antioquia department were identified to the species level as L. santarosai (12), L. interrogans (9) and L. meyeri (4) using phylogenetic analysis of the Amidohydrolase gene. Typing at the serovar level was performed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and monoclonal antibodies. The serovars Canalzonae, Babudieri, Alice, Beye, and Copenhageni have been identified as causing human or animal infections in Antioquia, Colombia. The four environmental isolates were not identified to the serovar level. L. santarosai serovar Canalzonae and Alice were identified as new etiologic agents of human leptospirosis in Antioquia, Colombia. This paper reports species and serovars that were previously unknown in the region.