Project description:Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) cultured in the absence of detergent forms biofilm-like cords, a clinical identifier of virulence. Using lung-on-chip and mouse infection models, we show that cord growth in alveolar cells contributes to the suppression of innate immune signalling via nuclear compression. Thereafter, extracellular cords cause contact-dependent phagocyte death but grow intercellularly between epithelial cells. These “mechanopathological” mechanisms explain the greater proportion of alveolar lesions with increased immune infiltration and dissemination defects in cording-deficient Mtb infections. Compression of WT Mtb lipid monolayers induces a phase transition that enables mechanical energy storage. Agent-based simulations demonstrate that the increased energy storage capacity is sufficient for the formation of stable cords that maintain structural integrity despite mechanical perturbation. Moreover, bacteria in cords remain translationally active despite prolonged antibiotic exposure and regrow rapidly upon cessation of treatment. This study provides a conceptual framework for the biophysics of cord architectures and their functional roles in tuberculosis infection and therapy, independent of mechanisms ascribed to single bacteria.
Project description:Comparison of gene expression profile of the whiB4 mutant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the wild type Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RV Mtb WhiB4 mutant mRNA was compared with the mRNA of wtMtb H37RV under aerobic conditons Aerbic conditions OD600 nm of 0.4, MtbWhiB4KO vs wtMtb, biological replicates: 3 wt Mtb H37RV and 3 MtbWhiB4 KO
Project description:In this study, we report the identification and characterization of several regulators in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. WT and mutant Mtb cells were grown in Sauton minimal media to early stationary phase (OD580 = 2 and 4)
Project description:After co-evolving with humans, its only major host, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) restrains immune responses well enough to escape eradication, yet elicits enough immunopathology to ensure its transmission. Here, we provide evidence that this balance is regulated in part by a previously uncharacterized, cytosolic, membrane-associated protein with a novel structural fold, encoded by the Mtb gene rv0431. The protein acts by regulating the quantity and quality of Mtb-derived membrane vesicles bearing TLR2 ligands, including the lipoproteins LpqH and SodC. We propose that rv0431 be named virR (vesiculogenesis and immune response regulator). To our knowledge, VirR is the first bacterial protein identified to regulate vesiculogenesis. Transcriptome sequencing of mouse macrophages uninfected, infected with WT Mtb, or infected with rv0431 mutant Mtb.
Project description:Comparison of gene expression profile of the whiB4 mutant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the wild type Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RV Mtb WhiB4 mutant mRNA was compared with the mRNA of wtMtb H37RV under aerobic conditons
Project description:In this study, we report the identification of a five-locus copper-inducible regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The identification of a copper responsive regulon unique to pathogenic Mycobacteria suggests copper homeostasis must be maintained during an infection. WT and mutant Mtb cells were grown in Sauton's minimal media to early stationary phase (OD580 = 1.5) and treated with 500 mM copper sulfate (CuSO4) for four hours or the absence
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv grown in minimal media with or without detergent for 5 days to investigate basis of differences in vaccine efficacy dependent on growth conditions Two condition experiment, detergent grown vs. grown without detergent. Biological replicates: 3 of each condition, independently grown and harvested. One replicate per array, third array is a dye-flip.
Project description:Triplicate 10mL cultures of M. tuberculosis grown in Sautons media without detergent in planktonic (exponential growth phase at OD600 0.2) compared to pellicle (3 weeks growth without shaking in 5% CO2) conditions.
Project description:The Rv2745c (clgR) gene encodes a Clp protease gene regulator that is induced in response to a variety of stress conditions and potentially plays a role in Mtb pathogenesis. The isogenic Mtb:ΔRv2745c mutant is significantly more sensitive to in vitro redox stress generated by diamide, relative to wild-type Mtb, implicating a role for ClgR in the management of intraphagosomal redox stress. Redox stress led to dysregulation of the σH regulon in the isogenic mutant, Mtb:ΔRv2745c. Induction of clgR in Mtb and Mtb:ΔRv2745c (comp) did not lead to Clp protease induction, indicating that clgR has additional functions that need to be elucidated. Disruption of genes involved in sulfate assimilation also occurred in the knock out, implicating clgR as a possible regulator of downstream signaling cascades that facilitate Mtb survival.