The Shigella flexneri type 3 secretion system is required for tyrosine kinase-dependent protrusion resolution, and vacuole escape during bacterial dissemination

Host PIK3C3 promotes Shigella flexneri spread from cell to cell through vacuole formation

Shigella flexneri is a human intracellular pathogen responsible for bacillary dysentery (bloody diarrhea). S. flexneri invades colonic epithelial cells and spreads from cell to cell, leading to massive epithelial cell fenestration, a critical determinant of pathogenesis. Cell-to-cell spread relies on actin-based motility, which leads to formation of membrane protrusions, as bacteria project into adjacent cells. Membrane protrusions resolve into intermediate structures termed vacuole-like protrusions (VLPs), which remain attached to the primary infected cell by a membranous tether. The resolution of the membranous tether leads to formation of double-membrane vacuoles (DMVs), from which S. flexneri escapes to gain access to the cytosol of adjacent cells. Here, we identify the class III PI3K family member PIK3C3 as a critical determinant of S. flexneri cell-to-cell spread. Inhibition of PIK3C3 decreased the size of infection foci formed by S. flexneri in HT-29 cells. Tracking experiments using live-fluorescence confocal microscopy showed that PIK3C3 is required for efficient resolution of VLPs into DMVs. PIK3C3-dependent accumulation of PtdIns(3)P at the VLP membrane in adjacent cells correlated with the transient recruitment of the membrane scission machinery component Dynamin 2 at the neck of VLPs at the time of DMV formation. By contrast, Listeria monocytogenes did not form VLPs and protrusions resolved directly into DMVs. However, PIK3C3 was also required for L. monocytogenes dissemination, but at the stage of vacuole escape. Finally, we showed that PIK3C3 inhibition decreased S. flexneri dissemination in the infant rabbit model of shigellosis. We propose a model of Shigella dissemination in which vacuole formation relies on the PIK3C3-dependent accumulation of PtdIns(3)P at the VLP stage of cell-to-cell spread, thereby supporting the resolution of VLPs into DMVs through recruitment of the membrane scission machinery component, DNM2.

A translocation-competent pore is required for Shigella flexneri to escape from the double membrane vacuole during intercellular spread

Type 3 secretion systems (T3SSs) enable bacterial virulence by translocating virulence proteins (effectors) into host cells. Shigella flexneri require T3SS to invade and to spread between cells in the colon. In order to spread, S. flexneri forms membrane protrusions that push into the adjacent host cell. These protrusions are resolved into double membrane vacuoles (DMVs) that the bacteria quickly escape. The mechanisms required for escape from the DMV are poorly understood, but the T3SS translocon pore protein IpaC is essential. Here, we show IpaC forms a pore that is competent for translocation of T3SS effectors as bacteria spread between cells. To do so, we used a genetic approach to test mutations of IpaC that disrupt its ability to translocate and to form pores. We show that during spread, IpaC is efficiently inserted into the plasma membrane, the membrane-embedded IpaC forms pore complexes, and the IpaC-dependent pores translocate effectors that are necessary for S. flexneri to escape the DMV. We further show that T3SS activation is regulated through a distinct mechanism at spread compared to at invasion; activation of T3SS secretion does not require pore formation during spread. Thus, we show that a distinct regulation of the T3SS during S. flexneri intercellular spread enables the placement of effectors both around S. flexneri and across membranes of the DMV. Altogether, this study provides new insights into how S. flexneri escapes the DMV.

IMPORTANCE

The type 3 secretion system (T3SS) is required for virulence in many bacterial pathogens that infect humans. The T3SS forms a pore through which virulence proteins are delivered into host cells to enable bacterial infection. Our work investigates the Shigella translocon pore protein IpaC, which is essential not only for bacteria to invade cells, but also for bacteria to spread between cells. An ability to spread between cells is essential for pathogenesis, thus understanding the mechanisms that enable spread is important for understanding how S. flexneri infection causes illness. We show that IpaC delivers virulence factors across the host membrane for S. flexneri to efficiently spread. This study furthers our understanding of the mechanisms involved in T3SS secretion and of translocon pore function during S. flexneri intercellular spread.

Pushing boundaries: mechanisms enabling bacterial pathogens to spread between cells

For multiple intracellular bacterial pathogens, the ability to spread directly into adjacent epithelial cells is an essential step for disease in humans. For pathogens such as Shigella, Listeria, Rickettsia, and Burkholderia, this intercellular movement frequently requires the pathogens to manipulate the host actin cytoskeleton and deform the plasma membrane into structures known as protrusions, which extend into neighboring cells. The protrusion is then typically resolved into a double-membrane vacuole (DMV) from which the pathogen quickly escapes into the cytosol, where additional rounds of intercellular spread occur. Significant progress over the last few years has begun to define the mechanisms by which intracellular bacterial pathogens spread. This review highlights the interactions of bacterial and host factors that drive mechanisms required for intercellular spread with a focus on how protrusion structures form and resolve.

RACK1 promotes Shigella flexneri actin-mediated invasion, motility, and cell-to-cell spreading

Shigella flexneri is an intracellular bacterium that hijacks the host actin cytoskeleton to invade and disseminate within the colonic epithelium. Shigella's virulence factors induce actin polymerization, leading to bacterial uptake, actin tail formation, actin-mediated motility, and cell-to-cell spreading. Many host factors involved in the Shigella-prompted actin rearrangements remain elusive. Here, we studied the role of a host protein receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) in actin cytoskeleton dynamics and Shigella infection. We used time-lapse imaging to demonstrate that RACK1 facilitates Shigella-induced actin cytoskeleton remodeling at multiple levels during infection of epithelial cells. Silencing RACK1 expression impaired Shigella-induced rapid polymerizing structures, reducing host cell invasion, bacterial motility, and cell-to-cell spreading. In uninfected cells, RACK1 silencing reduced jasplakinolide-mediated filamentous actin aggregate formation and negatively affected actin turnover in fast polymerizing structures, such as membrane ruffles. Our findings provide a role of RACK1 in actin cytoskeleton dynamics and Shigella infection.

Synaptopodin is necessary for Shigella flexneri intercellular spread

For many intracellular pathogens, their virulence depends on an ability to spread between cells of an epithelial layer. For intercellular spread to occur, these pathogens deform the plasma membrane into a protrusion structure that is engulfed by the neighboring cell. Although the polymerization of actin is essential for spread, how these pathogens manipulate the actin cytoskeleton in a manner that enables protrusion formation is still incompletely understood. Here, we identify the mammalian actin binding protein synaptopodin as required for efficient intercellular spread. Using a model cytosolic pathogen, Shigella flexneri , we show that synaptopodin contributes to organization of actin around bacteria and increases the length of the actin tail at the posterior pole of the bacteria. We show that synaptopodin presence enables protrusions to form and to resolve at a greater rate, indicating that greater stability of the actin tail enables the bacteria to push against the membrane with greater force. We demonstrate that synaptopodin recruitment around bacteria requires the bacterial protein IcsA, and we show that this recruitment is further enhanced in a type 3 secretion system dependent manner. These data establish synaptopodin as required for intracellular bacteria to reprogram the actin cytoskeleton in a manner that enables efficient protrusion formation and enhance our understanding of the cellular function of synaptopodin.

Authors Summary

Intercellular spread is essential for many cytosolic dwelling pathogens during their infectious life cycle. Despite knowing the steps required for intercellular spread, relatively little is known about the host-pathogen interactions that enable these steps to occur. Here, we identify a requirement for the actin binding protein synaptopodin during intercellular spread by cytosolic bacteria. We show synaptopodin is necessary for the stability and recruitment of polymerized actin around bacteria. We also demonstrate synaptopodin is necessary to form plasma membrane structures known as protrusions that are necessary for the movement of these bacteria between cells. Thus, these findings implicate synaptopodin as an important actin-binding protein for the virulence of intracellular pathogens that require the actin cytoskeleton for their spread between cells.

The type 3 secretion effector IpgD promotes S. flexneri dissemination

The bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri causes 270 million cases of bacillary dysentery worldwide every year, resulting in more than 200,000 deaths. S. flexneri pathogenic properties rely on its ability to invade epithelial cells and spread from cell to cell within the colonic epithelium. This dissemination process relies on actin-based motility in the cytosol of infected cells and formation of membrane protrusions that project into adjacent cells and resolve into double-membrane vacuoles (DMVs) from which the pathogen escapes, thereby achieving cell-to-cell spread. S. flexneri dissemination is facilitated by the type 3 secretion system (T3SS) through poorly understood mechanisms. Here, we show that the T3SS effector IpgD facilitates the resolution of membrane protrusions into DMVs during S. flexneri dissemination. The phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphatase activity of IpgD decreases PtdIns(4,5)P₂ levels in membrane protrusions, thereby counteracting de novo cortical actin formation in protrusions, a process that restricts the resolution of protrusions into DMVs. Finally, using an infant rabbit model of shigellosis, we show that IpgD is required for efficient cell-to-cell spread in vivo and contributes to the severity of dysentery.

The intracellular pathogen Shigella flexneri is the causative agent of bacillary dysentery (blood in stool). Invasion of epithelial cells and cell-to-cell spread are critical determinants of S. flexneri pathogenesis. Cell-to-cell spread relies on the formation of membrane protrusions that project into adjacent cells and resolve into vacuoles. The molecular mechanisms supporting this dissemination process are poorly understood. In this study, we show that S. flexneri employs the phosphatidylinositol phosphatase activity of the T3SS effector protein IpgD to manipulate phosphoinositides in the protrusion membrane. Manipulation of phosphoinositide signaling restricts the formation of actin networks underneath the protrusion membrane, which would otherwise prevent the scission of protrusions into vacuoles. We also demonstrate that IpgD is required for efficient dissemination in the colon of infant rabbits and contributes to the severity of disease. This study exemplifies how manipulation of phosphoinositide signaling by intracellular pathogens supports bacterial pathogenesis.

The type three secretion system effector protein IpgB1 promotes Shigella flexneri cell-to-cell spread through double-membrane vacuole escape

S. flexneri is an important human pathogen that causes bacillary dysentery. During infection, S. flexneri invades colonic epithelial cells, hijacks the host cell cytoskeleton to move in the cytosol of infected cells, and spreads from cell to cell through formation of membrane protrusions that project into adjacent cells and resolve into double membrane vacuoles (DMVs). S. flexneri cell-to-cell spread requires the integrity of the bacterial type three secretion system (T3SS). However, the exact role of the T3SS effector proteins in the dissemination process remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the role of the T3SS effector protein IpgB1 in S. flexneri dissemination. IpgB1 was previously characterized as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) that contributes to invasion. In addition to the invasion defect, we showed that the ipgB1 mutant formed smaller infection foci in HT-29 cells. Complementation of this phenotype required the GEF activity of IpgB1. Using live confocal microscopy, we showed that the ipgB1 mutant is specifically impaired in DMV escape. Depletion of Rac1, the host cell target of IpgB1 during invasion, as well as pharmacological inhibition of Rac1 signaling, reduced cell-to-cell spread and DMV escape. In a targeted siRNA screen, we uncovered that RhoA depletion restored ipgB1 cell-to-cell spread and DMV escape, revealing a critical role for the IpgB1-Rac1 axis in antagonizing RhoA-mediated restriction of DMV escape. Using an infant rabbit model of shigellosis, we showed that the ipgB1 mutant formed fewer and smaller infection foci in the colon of infected animals, which correlated with attenuated symptoms of disease, including epithelial fenestration and bloody diarrhea. Our results demonstrate that, in addition to its role during invasion, IpgB1 modulates Rho family small GTPase signaling to promote cell-to-cell spread, DMV escape, and S. flexneri pathogenesis.

High-Throughput CRISPR Screens To Dissect Macrophage-Shigella Interactions

Shigellosis causes most diarrheal deaths worldwide, particularly affecting children. Shigella invades and replicates in the epithelium of the large intestine, eliciting inflammation and tissue destruction. To understand how Shigella rewires macrophages prior to epithelium invasion, we performed genome-wide and focused secondary CRISPR knockout and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) screens in Shigella flexneri-infected human monocytic THP-1 cells. Knockdown of the Toll-like receptor 1/2 signaling pathway significantly reduced proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine production, enhanced host cell survival, and controlled intracellular pathogen growth. Knockdown of the enzymatic component of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex enhanced THP-1 cell survival. Small-molecule inhibitors blocking key components of these pathways had similar effects; these were validated with human monocyte-derived macrophages, which closely mimic the in vivo physiological state of macrophages postinfection. High-throughput CRISPR screens can elucidate how S. flexneri triggers inflammation and redirects host pyruvate catabolism for energy acquisition before killing macrophages, pointing to new shigellosis therapies.

Shigella flexneri subverts host polarized exocytosis to enhance cell-to-cell spread

Shigella flexneri is a gram-negative bacterial pathogen that causes dysentery. Critical for disease is the ability of Shigella to use an actin-based motility (ABM) process to spread between cells of the colonic epithelium. ABM transports bacteria to the periphery of host cells, allowing the formation of plasma membrane protrusions that mediate spread to adjacent cells. Here we demonstrate that efficient protrusion formation and cell-to-cell spread of Shigella involves bacterial stimulation of host polarized exocytosis. Using an exocytic probe, we found that exocytosis is locally upregulated in bacterial protrusions in a manner that depends on the Shigella type III secretion system. Experiments involving RNA interference (RNAi) indicate that efficient bacterial protrusion formation and spread require the exocyst, a mammalian multi-protein complex known to mediate polarized exocytosis. In addition, the exocyst component Exo70 and the exocyst regulator RalA were recruited to Shigella protrusions, suggesting that bacteria manipulate exocyst function. Importantly, RNAi-mediated depletion of exocyst proteins or RalA reduced the frequency of protrusion formation and also the lengths of protrusions, demonstrating that the exocyst controls both the initiation and elongation of protrusions. Collectively, our results reveal that Shigella co-opts the exocyst complex to disseminate efficiently in host cell monolayers.

Host Genome-Wide Association Study of Infant Susceptibility to Shigella-Associated Diarrhea

Shigella is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhea globally and the causative agent of shigellosis and bacillary dysentery. Associated with 80 to 165 million cases of diarrhea and >13% of diarrheal deaths, in many regions, Shigella exposure is ubiquitous while infection is heterogenous. To characterize host-genetic susceptibility to Shigella-associated diarrhea, we performed two independent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) including Bangladeshi infants from the PROVIDE and CBC birth cohorts in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Cases were infants with Shigella-associated diarrhea (n = 143) and controls were infants with no Shigella-associated diarrhea in the first 13 months of life (n = 446). Shigella-associated diarrhea was identified via quantitative PCR (qPCR) threshold cycle (C_T ) distributions for the ipaH gene, carried by all four Shigella species and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli Host GWAS were performed under an additive genetic model. A joint analysis identified protective loci on chromosomes 11 (rs582240, within the KRT18P59 pseudogene; P = 6.40 × 10^-8; odds ratio [OR], 0.43) and 8 (rs12550437, within the lincRNA RP11-115J16.1; P = 1.49 × 10^-7; OR, 0.48). Conditional analyses identified two previously suggestive loci, a protective locus on chromosome 7 (rs10266841, within the 3' untranslated region [UTR] of CYTH3; P _conditional = 1.48 × 10^-7; OR, 0.44) and a risk-associated locus on chromosome 10 (rs2801847, an intronic variant within MPP7; P _conditional = 8.37 × 10^-8; OR, 5.51). These loci have all been indirectly linked to bacterial type 3 secretion system (T3SS) activity, its components, and bacterial effectors delivered into host cells. Host genetic factors that may affect bacterial T3SS activity and are associated with the host response to Shigella-associated diarrhea may provide insight into vaccine and drug development efforts for Shigella-associated diarrheal disease.

Shigella flexneri Disruption of Cellular Tension Promotes Intercellular Spread

During infection, some bacterial pathogens invade the eukaryotic cytosol and spread between cells of an epithelial monolayer. Intercellular spread occurs when these pathogens push against the plasma membrane, forming protrusions that are engulfed by adjacent cells. Here, we show that IpaC, a Shigella flexneri type 3 secretion system protein, binds the host cell-adhesion protein β-catenin and facilitates efficient protrusion formation. S. flexneri producing a point mutant of IpaC that cannot interact with β-catenin is defective in protrusion formation and spread. Spread is restored by chemical reduction of intercellular tension or genetic depletion of β-catenin, and the magnitude of the protrusion defect correlates with membrane tension, indicating that IpaC reduces membrane tension, which facilitates protrusion formation. IpaC stabilizes adherens junctions and does not alter β-catenin localization at the membrane. Thus, Shigella, like other bacterial pathogens, reduces intercellular tension to efficiently spread between cells.

Vacuolar escape of foodborne bacterial pathogens

The intracellular pathogens Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, Shigella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus are major causes of foodborne illnesses. Following the ingestion of contaminated food or beverages, pathogens can invade epithelial cells, immune cells and other cell types. Pathogens survive and proliferate intracellularly via two main strategies. First, the pathogens can remain in membrane-bound vacuoles and tailor organellar trafficking to evade host-cell defenses and gain access to nutrients. Second, pathogens can rupture the vacuolar membrane and proliferate within the nutrient-rich cytosol of the host cell. Although this virulence strategy of vacuolar escape is well known for L. monocytogenes and Shigella spp., it has recently become clear that S. aureus and Salmonella spp. also gain access to the cytosol, and that this is important for their survival and growth. In this Review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of how these intracellular pathogens rupture the vacuolar membrane by secreting a combination of proteins that lyse the membranes or that remodel the lipids of the vacuolar membrane, such as phospholipases. In addition, we also propose that oxidation of the vacuolar membrane also contributes to cytosolic pathogen escape. Understanding these escape mechanisms could aid in the identification of new therapeutic approaches to combat foodborne pathogens.

Critical role of bacterial dissemination in an infant rabbit model of bacillary dysentery

The bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri causes 270 million cases of bacillary dysentery (blood in stool) worldwide every year, resulting in more than 200,000 deaths. A major challenge in combating bacillary dysentery is the lack of a small-animal model that recapitulates the symptoms observed in infected individuals, including bloody diarrhea. Here, we show that similar to humans, infant rabbits infected with S. flexneri experience severe inflammation, massive ulceration of the colonic mucosa, and bloody diarrhea. T3SS-dependent invasion of epithelial cells is necessary and sufficient for mediating immune cell infiltration and vascular lesions. However, massive ulceration of the colonic mucosa, bloody diarrhea, and dramatic weight loss are strictly contingent on the ability of the bacteria to spread from cell to cell. The infant rabbit model features bacterial dissemination as a critical determinant of S. flexneri pathogenesis and provides a unique small-animal model for research and development of therapeutic interventions.

A murine model of diarrhea, growth impairment and metabolic disturbances with Shigella flexneri infection and the role of zinc deficiency

Shigella is one of the major enteric pathogens worldwide. We present a murine model of S. flexneri infection and investigate the role of zinc deficiency (ZD). C57BL/6 mice fed either standard chow (HC) or ZD diets were pretreated with an antibiotic cocktail and received S. flexneri strain 2457T orally. Antibiotic pre-treated ZD mice showed higher S. flexneri colonization than non-treated mice. ZD mice showed persistent colonization for at least 50 days post-infection (pi). S. flexneri-infected mice showed significant weight loss, diarrhea and increased levels of fecal MPO and LCN in both HC and ZD fed mice. S. flexneri preferentially colonized the colon, caused epithelial disruption and inflammatory cell infiltrate, and promoted cytokine production which correlated with weight loss and histopathological changes. Infection with S. flexneri ΔmxiG (critical for type 3 secretion system) did not cause weight loss or diarrhea, and had decreased stool shedding duration and tissue burden. Several biochemical changes related to energy, inflammation and gut-microbial metabolism were observed. Zinc supplementation increased weight gains and reduced intestinal inflammation and stool shedding in ZD infected mice. In conclusion, young antibiotic-treated mice provide a new model of oral S. flexneri infection, with ZD promoting prolonged infection outcomes.

Spatial, Temporal, and Functional Assessment of LC3-Dependent Autophagy in Shigella flexneri Dissemination

Shigella flexneri disseminates within the colonic mucosa by displaying actin-based motility in the cytosol of epithelial cells. Motile bacteria form membrane protrusions that project into adjacent cells and resolve into double-membrane vacuoles (DMVs) from which the bacteria escape, thereby achieving cell-to-cell spread. During dissemination, S. flexneri is targeted by LC3-dependent autophagy, a host cell defense mechanism against intracellular pathogens. The S. flexneri type III secretion system effector protein IcsB was initially proposed to counteract the recruitment of the LC3-dependent autophagy machinery to cytosolic bacteria. However, a recent study proposed that LC3 was recruited to bacteria in DMVs formed during cell-to-cell spread. To resolve the controversy and clarify the role of autophagy in S. flexneri infection, we tracked dissemination using live confocal microscopy and determined the spatial and temporal recruitment of LC3 to bacteria. This approach demonstrated that (i) LC3 was exclusively recruited to wild-type or icsB bacteria located in DMVs and (ii) the icsB mutant was defective in cell-to-cell spread due to failure to escape LC3-positive as well as LC3-negative DMVs. Failure of S. flexneri to escape DMVs correlated with late LC3 recruitment, suggesting that LC3 recruitment is the consequence and not the cause of DMV escape failure. Inhibition of autophagy had no positive impact on the spreading of wild-type or icsB mutant bacteria. Our results unambiguously demonstrate that IcsB is required for DMV escape during cell-to-cell spread, regardless of LC3 recruitment, and do not support the previously proposed notion that autophagy counters S. flexneri dissemination.

Shigella and Enteroinvasive Escherichia Coli

Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) are gram-negative bacteria responsible for bacillary dysentery (shigellosis) in humans, which is characterized by invasion and inflammatory destruction of the human colonic epithelium. Different EIEC and Shigella subgroups rose independently from commensal E. coli through patho-adaptive evolution that included loss of functional genes interfering with the virulence and/or with the intracellular lifestyle of the bacteria, as well as acquisition of genetic elements harboring virulence genes. Among the latter is the large virulence plasmid encoding for a type three secretion system (T3SS), which enables translocation of virulence proteins (effectors) from the bacterium directly into the host cell cytoplasm. These effectors enable the pathogen to subvert epithelial cell functions, promoting its own uptake, replication in the host cytosol, and dissemination to adjacent cells while concomitantly inhibiting pro-inflammatory cell death. Furthermore, T3SS effectors are directly involved in Shigella manipulation of immune cells causing their dysfunction and promoting cell death. In the current chapter, we first describe the evolution of the enteroinvasive pathovars and then summarize the overall knowledge concerning the pathogenesis of these bacteria, with a particular focus on Shigella flexneri. Subversion of host cell functions in the human gut, both epithelial and immune cells, by different virulence factors is especially highlighted.

Controlled Activity of the Salmonella Invasion-Associated Injectisome Reveals Its Intracellular Role in the Cytosolic Population

The Salmonella invasion-associated type III secretion system (T3SS1) is an essential virulence factor required for entry into nonphagocytic cells and consequent uptake into a Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV). While Salmonella is typically regarded as a vacuolar pathogen, a subset of bacteria escape from the SCV in epithelial cells and eventually hyperreplicate in the cytosol. T3SS1 is downregulated following bacterial entry into mammalian cells, but cytosolic Salmonella cells are T3SS1 induced, suggesting prolonged or resurgent activity of T3SS1 in this population. In order to investigate the postinternalization contributions of T3SS1 to the Salmonella infectious cycle in epithelial cells, we bypassed its requirement for bacterial entry by tagging the T3SS1-energizing ATPase InvC at the C terminus with peptides that are recognized by bacterial tail-specific proteases. This caused a dramatic increase in InvC turnover which rendered even assembled injectisomes inactive. Bacterial strains conditionally expressing these unstable InvC variants were proficient for invasion but underwent rapid and sustained intracellular inactivation of T3SS1 activity when InvC expression ceased. This allowed us to directly implicate T3SS1 activity in cytosolic colonization and bacterial egress. We subsequently identified two T3SS1-delivered effectors, SopB and SipA, that are required for efficient colonization of the epithelial cell cytosol. Overall, our findings support a multifaceted, postinvasion role for T3SS1 and its effectors in defining the cytosolic population of intracellular Salmonella.

A needle-like apparatus, the type III secretion system (T3SS) injectisome, is absolutely required for Salmonella enterica to enter epithelial cells; this requirement has hampered the analysis of its postentry contributions. To identify T3SS1-dependent intracellular activities, in this study we overcame this limitation by developing a conditional inactivation in the T3SS whereby T3SS activity is chemically induced during culture in liquid broth, permitting bacterial entry into epithelial cells, but is quickly and perpetually inactivated in the absence of inducer. In this sense, the mutant acts like wild-type bacteria when extracellular and as a T3SS mutant once it enters a host cell. This “conditional” mutant allowed us to directly link activity of this T3SS with nascent vacuole lysis, cytosolic proliferation, and cellular egress, demonstrating that the invasion-associated T3SS also contributes to essential intracellular stages of the S. enterica infectious cycle.

Cardiolipin Synthesis and Outer Membrane Localization Are Required for Shigella flexneri Virulence

Cardiolipin, an anionic phospholipid that resides at the poles of the inner and outer membranes, is synthesized primarily by the putative cardiolipin synthase ClsA in Shigella flexneri. An S. flexneri clsA mutant had no cardiolipin detected within its membrane, grew normally in vitro, and invaded cultured epithelial cells, but it failed to form plaques in epithelial cell monolayers, indicating that cardiolipin is required for virulence. The clsA mutant was initially motile within the host cell cytoplasm but formed filaments and lost motility during replication and failed to spread efficiently to neighboring cells. Mutation of pbgA, which encodes the transporter for cardiolipin from the inner membrane to the outer membrane, also resulted in loss of plaque formation. The S. flexneri pbgA mutant had normal levels of cardiolipin in the inner membrane, but no cardiolipin was detected in the outer membrane. The pbgA mutant invaded and replicated normally within cultured epithelial cells but failed to localize the actin polymerization protein IcsA properly on the bacterial surface and was unable to spread to neighboring cells. The clsA mutant, but not the pbgA mutant, had increased phosphatidylglycerol in the outer membrane. This appeared to compensate partially for the loss of cardiolipin in the outer membrane, allowing some IcsA localization in the outer membrane of the clsA mutant. We propose a dual function for cardiolipin in S. flexneri pathogenesis. In the inner membrane, cardiolipin is essential for proper cell division during intracellular growth. In the outer membrane, cardiolipin facilitates proper presentation of IcsA on the bacterial surface.

The human pathogen Shigella flexneri causes bacterial dysentery by invading colonic epithelial cells, rapidly multiplying within their cytoplasm, and then spreading intercellularly to neighboring cells. Worldwide, Shigella spp. infect hundreds of millions of people annually, with fatality rates up to 15%. Antibiotic treatment of Shigella infections is compromised by increasing antibiotic resistance, and there is no approved vaccine to prevent future infections. This has created a growing need to understand Shigella pathogenesis and identify new targets for antimicrobial therapeutics. Here we show a previously unknown role of phospholipids in S. flexneri pathogenesis. We demonstrate that cardiolipin is required in the outer membrane for proper surface localization of IcsA and in the inner membrane for cell division during growth in the host cell cytoplasm.

Extracellular motility and cell-to-cell transmission of enterohemorrhagic E. coli is driven by EspFU-mediated actin assembly

Enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC) are closely-related pathogens that attach tightly to intestinal epithelial cells, efface microvilli, and promote cytoskeletal rearrangements into protrusions called actin pedestals. To trigger pedestal formation, EPEC employs the tyrosine phosphorylated transmembrane receptor Tir, while EHEC relies on the multivalent scaffolding protein EspFU. The ability to generate these structures correlates with bacterial colonization in several animal models, but the precise function of pedestals in infection remains unclear. To address this uncertainty, we characterized the colonization properties of EPEC and EHEC during infection of polarized epithelial cells. We found that EPEC and EHEC both formed distinct bacterial communities, or "macrocolonies," that encompassed multiple host cells. Tir and EspFU, as well as the host Arp2/3 complex, were all critical for the expansion of macrocolonies over time. Unexpectedly, EspFU accelerated the formation of larger macrocolonies compared to EPEC Tir, as EspFU-mediated actin assembly drove faster bacterial motility to cell junctions, where bacteria formed a secondary pedestal on a neighboring cell and divided, allowing one of the daughters to disengage and infect the second cell. Collectively, these data reveal that EspFU enhances epithelial colonization by increasing actin-based motility and promoting an efficient method of cell-to-cell transmission.

Rickettsia Sca4 Reduces Vinculin-Mediated Intercellular Tension to Promote Spread

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae are human pathogens that infect cells in the vasculature. They disseminate through host tissues by a process of cell-to-cell spread that involves protrusion formation, engulfment, and vacuolar escape. Other bacterial pathogens rely on actin-based motility to provide a physical force for spread. Here, we show that SFG species Rickettsia parkeri typically lack actin tails during spread and instead manipulate host intercellular tension and mechanotransduction to promote spread. Using transposon mutagenesis, we identified surface cell antigen 4 (Sca4) as a secreted effector of spread that specifically promotes protrusion engulfment. Sca4 interacts with the cell-adhesion protein vinculin and blocks association with vinculin's binding partner, α-catenin. Using traction and monolayer stress microscopy, we show that Sca4 reduces vinculin-dependent mechanotransduction at cell-cell junctions. Our results suggest that Sca4 relieves intercellular tension to promote protrusion engulfment, which represents a distinctive strategy for manipulating cytoskeletal force generation to enable spread.

Evaluation of immunogenicity and protective efficacy of combination heat-killed immunogens from three entero-invasive bacteria in rabbit model

Diarrhea is a very common health problem in both developing and developed countries. Among the major entero-invasive bacteria, Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter cause serious problems in different geographic regions. Recently we have shown immunogenicity and protective efficacy of heat killed multi-serotype Shigella immunogen in different animal models. In our present study, we have advanced our research by preparing a combination heat-killed immunogen of three different entero-invasive bacteria, Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter. After three doses on 0th, 14th and 28th day of oral immunization with tri-valent heat-killed (TVHK) immunogen in rabbit model, the immunogenicity was determined by differential count of white blood cells and immunoglobulin assay at various time points. During oral immunization differential count of lymphocytes increased where as polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) count decreased. Serum IgG and IgA showed significant elevation during oral immunization and remained at a detectable value upto 120 days. Protection study was performed in both, in vitro and in vivo conditions, using bacteriocidal assay and rabbit ligated ileal loop model, respectively, which conferred protection against homologous bacteria. Moreover, immunoblot assay against whole cell lysate and lipopolysaccharide exhibited significant amount of antigen-specific immunoglobulins raised against three different bacteria which proved that proteins along with lipopolysaccharides played a pivotal role in immunogenicity and protective efficacy. This trivalent heat-killed immunogen could be a low-cost, simple, oral, non-living vaccine candidate for future use against invasive diarrhea.

Cellular Aspects of Shigella Pathogenesis: Focus on the Manipulation of Host Cell Processes

Shigella is a Gram-negative bacterium that is responsible for shigellosis. Over the years, the study of Shigella has provided a greater understanding of how the host responds to bacterial infection, and how bacteria have evolved to effectively counter the host defenses. In this review, we provide an update on some of the most recent advances in our understanding of pivotal processes associated with Shigella infection, including the invasion into host cells, the metabolic changes that occur within the bacterium and the infected cell, cell-to-cell spread mechanisms, autophagy and membrane trafficking, inflammatory signaling and cell death. This recent progress sheds a new light into the mechanisms underlying Shigella pathogenesis, and also more generally provides deeper understanding of the complex interplay between host cells and bacterial pathogens in general.

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Shigella flexneri Dissemination

The intracellular pathogen Shigella flexneri is the causative agent of bacillary dysentery in humans. The disease is characterized by bacterial invasion of intestinal cells, dissemination within the colonic epithelium through direct spread from cell to cell, and massive inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. Here, we review the mechanisms supporting S. flexneri dissemination. The dissemination process primarily relies on actin assembly at the bacterial pole, which propels the pathogen throughout the cytosol of primary infected cells. Polar actin assembly is supported by polar expression of the bacterial autotransporter family member IcsA, which recruits the N-WASP/ARP2/3 actin assembly machinery. As motile bacteria encounter cell-cell contacts, they form plasma membrane protrusions that project into adjacent cells. In addition to the ARP2/3-dependent actin assembly machinery, protrusion formation relies on formins and myosins. The resolution of protrusions into vacuoles occurs through the collapse of the protrusion neck, leading to the formation of an intermediate membrane-bound compartment termed vacuole-like protrusions (VLPs). VLP formation requires tyrosine kinase and phosphoinositide signaling in protrusions, which relies on the integrity of the bacterial type 3 secretion system (T3SS). The T3SS is also required for escaping double membrane vacuoles through the activity of the T3SS translocases IpaB and IpaC, and the effector proteins VirA and IcsB. Numerous factors supporting envelope biogenesis contribute to IcsA exposure and maintenance at the bacterial pole, including LPS synthesis, membrane proteases, and periplasmic chaperones. Although less characterized, the assembly and function of the T3SS in the context of bacterial dissemination also relies on factors supporting envelope biogenesis. Finally, the dissemination process requires the adaptation of the pathogen to various cellular compartments through transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms.

Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein restricts cell-to-cell spread of Shigella flexneri at the cell periphery

Shigella spp. are intracellular bacterial pathogens that cause diarrhoeal disease in humans. Shigella utilize the host actin cytoskeleton to enter cells, move through the cytoplasm of cells and pass into adjacent cells. Ena/VASP family proteins are highly conserved proteins that participate in actin-dependent dynamic cellular processes. We tested whether Ena/VASP family members VASP (vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein), Mena (mammalian-enabled) or EVL (Ena-VASP-like) contribute to Shigella flexneri spread through cell monolayers. VASP and EVL restricted cell-to-cell spread without significantly altering actin-based motility, whereas Mena had no effect on these processes. Phosphorylation of VASP on Ser153, Ser235 and Thr274 regulated its subcellular distribution and function. VASP derivatives that lack the Ena/VASP homology 1 (EVH1) domain or contain a phosphoablative mutation of Ser153 were defective in restricting S. flexneri spread, indicating that the EVH1 domain and phosphorylation on Ser153 are required for this process. The EVH1 domain and Ser153 of VASP were required for VASP localization to focal adhesions, and localization of VASP to focal adhesions and/or the leading edge was required for restriction of spread. The contribution of the EVH1 domain was from both the donor and the recipient cell, whereas the contribution of Ser153 phosphorylation was only from the donor cell. Thus, unlike host proteins characterized in Shigella pathogenesis that promote bacterial spread, VASP and EVL function to limit it. The ability of VASP and EVL to limit spread highlights the critical role of focal adhesion complexes and/or the leading edge in bacterial passage between cells.

Bacterial spread from cell to cell: beyond actin-based motility

Several intracellular pathogens display the ability to propagate within host tissues by displaying actin-based motility in the cytosol of infected cells. As motile bacteria reach cell-cell contacts they form plasma membrane protrusions that project into adjacent cells and resolve into vacuoles from which the pathogen escapes, thereby achieving spread from cell to cell. Seminal studies have defined the bacterial and cellular factors that support actin-based motility. By contrast, the mechanisms supporting the formation of protrusions and their resolution into vacuoles have remained elusive. Here, we review recent advances in the field showing that Listeria monocytogenes and Shigella flexneri have evolved pathogen-specific mechanisms of bacterial spread from cell to cell.

The class II phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate kinase PIK3C2A promotes Shigella flexneri dissemination through formation of vacuole-like protrusions

Intracellular pathogens such as Shigella flexneri and Listeria monocytogenes achieve dissemination in the intestinal epithelium by displaying actin-based motility in the cytosol of infected cells. As they reach the cell periphery, motile bacteria form plasma membrane protrusions that resolve into vacuoles in adjacent cells, through a poorly understood mechanism. Here, we report on the role of the class II phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate kinase PIK3C2A in S. flexneri dissemination. Time-lapse microscopy revealed that PIK3C2A was required for the resolution of protrusions into vacuoles through the formation of an intermediate membrane-bound compartment that we refer to as a vacuole-like protrusion (VLP). Genetic rescue of PIK3C2A depletion with RNA interference (RNAi)-resistant cDNA constructs demonstrated that VLP formation required the activity of PIK3C2A in primary infected cells. PIK3C2A expression was required for production of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] at the plasma membrane surrounding protrusions. PtdIns(3)P production was not observed in the protrusions formed by L. monocytogenes, whose dissemination did not rely on PIK3C2A. PIK3C2A-mediated PtdIns(3)P production in S. flexneri protrusions was regulated by host cell tyrosine kinase signaling and relied on the integrity of the S. flexneri type 3 secretion system (T3SS). We suggest a model of S. flexneri dissemination in which the formation of VLPs is mediated by the PIK3C2A-dependent production of the signaling lipid PtdIns(3)P in the protrusion membrane, which relies on the T3SS-dependent activation of tyrosine kinase signaling in protrusions.