Type 3 secretion system induced leukotriene B4 synthesis by leukocytes is actively inhibited by Yersinia pestis to evade early immune recognition

Subverting the host immune response to inhibit inflammation is a key virulence strategy of Yersinia pestis. The inflammatory cascade is tightly controlled via the sequential action of lipid and protein mediators of inflammation. Because delayed inflammation is essential for Y. pestis to cause lethal infection, defining the Y. pestis mechanisms to manipulate the inflammatory cascade is necessary to understand this pathogen's virulence. While previous studies have established that Y. pestis actively inhibits the expression of host proteins that mediate inflammation, there is currently a gap in our understanding of the inflammatory lipid mediator response during plague. Here we used the murine model to define the kinetics of the synthesis of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), a pro-inflammatory lipid chemoattractant and immune cell activator, within the lungs during pneumonic plague. Furthermore, we demonstrated that exogenous administration of LTB4 prior to infection limited bacterial proliferation, suggesting that the absence of LTB4 synthesis during plague contributes to Y. pestis immune evasion. Using primary leukocytes from mice and humans further revealed that Y. pestis actively inhibits the synthesis of LTB4. Finally, using Y. pestis mutants in the Ysc type 3 secretion system (T3SS) and Yersinia outer protein (Yop) effectors, we demonstrate that leukocytes recognize the T3SS to initiate the rapid synthesis of LTB4. However, several Yop effectors secreted through the T3SS effectively inhibit this host response. Together, these data demonstrate that Y. pestis actively inhibits the synthesis of the inflammatory lipid LTB4 contributing to the delay in the inflammatory cascade required for rapid recruitment of leukocytes to sites of infection.

Single domain antibodies against enteric pathogen virulence factors are active as curli fiber fusions on probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917

Enteric microbial pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Shigella and Cryptosporidium species, take a particularly heavy toll in low-income countries and are highly associated with infant mortality. We describe here a means to display anti-infective agents on the surface of a probiotic bacterium. Because of their stability and versatility, VHHs, the variable domains of camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies, have potential as components of novel agents to treat or prevent enteric infectious disease. We isolated and characterized VHHs targeting several enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) virulence factors: flagellin (Fla), which is required for bacterial motility and promotes colonization; both intimin and the translocated intimin receptor (Tir), which together play key roles in attachment to enterocytes; and E. coli secreted protein A (EspA), an essential component of the type III secretion system (T3SS) that is required for virulence. Several VHHs that recognize Fla, intimin, or Tir blocked function in vitro. The probiotic strain E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) produces on the bacterial surface curli fibers, which are the major proteinaceous component of E. coli biofilms. A subset of Fla-, intimin-, or Tir-binding VHHs, as well as VHHs that recognize either a T3SS of another important bacterial pathogen (Shigella flexneri), a soluble bacterial toxin (Shiga toxin or Clostridioides difficile toxin TcdA), or a major surface antigen of an important eukaryotic pathogen (Cryptosporidium parvum) were fused to CsgA, the major curli fiber subunit. Scanning electron micrographs indicated CsgA-VHH fusions were assembled into curli fibers on the EcN surface, and Congo Red binding indicated that these recombinant curli fibers were produced at high levels. Ectopic production of these VHHs conferred on EcN the cognate binding activity and, in the case of anti-Shiga toxin, was neutralizing. Taken together, these results demonstrate the potential of the curli-based pathogen sequestration strategy described herein and contribute to the development of novel VHH-based gut therapeutics.

Robust Th1 cellular and humoral responses generated by the Yersinia pestis rF1-V subunit vaccine formulated to contain an agonist of the CD137 pathway do not translate into increased protection against pneumonic plague

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague and is a re-emerging pathogen that also has the potential as a biological weapon, necessitating the development of a preventive vaccine. Despite intense efforts for the last several decades, there is currently not a vaccine approved by the FDA. The rF1-V vaccine adjuvanted with Alhydrogel is a lead candidate subunit vaccine for plague and generates a strong Th2-mediate humoral response with a modest Th1 cellular response. As immune protection against Y. pestis requires both humoral and Th1 cellular responses, modifying the rF1-V subunit vaccine formulation to include a robust inducer of Th1 responses may improve efficacy. Thus, we reformulated the subunit vaccine to include SA-4-1BBL, an agonist of the CD137 costimulatory pathway and a potent inducer of Th1 response, and assessed its protective efficacy against pneumonic plague. We herein show for the first time a sex bias in the prophylactic efficacy of the Alhydrogel adjuvanted rF1-V vaccine, with female mice showing better protection against pneumonic plague than male. The sex bias for protection was irrespective of the generation of comparable levels of rF1-V-specific antibody titers and Th1 cellular responses in both sexes. The subunit vaccine reformulated with SA-4-1BBL generated robust Th1 cellular and humoral responses. A prime-boost vaccination scheme involving prime with rF1-V + Alhydrogel and boost with the rF1-V + SA-4-1BBL provided protection in male mice against pneumonic plague. In marked contrast, prime and boost with rF1-V reformulated with both adjuvants resulted in the loss of protection against pneumonic plague, despite generating high levels of humoral and Th1 cellular responses. While unexpected, these findings demonstrate the complexity of immune mechanisms required for protection. Elucidating mechanisms responsible for these differences in protection will help to guide the development of better prophylactic subunit vaccines effective against pneumonic plague.

Impact of Gentamicin Concentration and Exposure Time on Intracellular Yersinia pestis

The study of intracellular bacterial pathogens in cell culture hinges on inhibiting extracellular growth of the bacteria in cell culture media. Aminoglycosides, like gentamicin, were originally thought to poorly penetrate eukaryotic cells, and thus, while inhibiting extracellular bacteria, these antibiotics had limited effect on inhibiting the growth of intracellular bacteria. This property led to the development of the antibiotic protection assay to study intracellular pathogens in vitro. More recent studies have demonstrated that aminoglycosides slowly penetrate eukaryotic cells and can even reach intracellular concentrations that inhibit intracellular bacteria. Therefore, important considerations, such as antibiotic concentration, incubation time, and cell type need to be made when designing the antibiotic protection assay to avoid potential false positive/negative observations. Yersinia pestis, which causes the human disease known as the plague, is a facultative intracellular pathogen that can infect and replicate in macrophages. Y. pestis is sensitive to gentamicin and this antibiotic is often employed in the antibiotic protection assay to study the Y. pestis intracellular life cycle. However, a large variety of gentamicin concentrations and incubation periods have been reported in the Y. pestis literature without a clear characterization of the potential influences that variations in the gentamicin protection assay could have on intracellular growth of this pathogen. This raised concerns that variations in the gentamicin protection assay could influence phenotypes and reproducibility of data. To provide a better understanding of the potential consequences that variations in the gentamicin protection assay could have on Y. pestis, we systematically examined the impact of multiple variables of the gentamicin protection assay on Y. pestis intracellular survival in macrophages. We found that prolonged incubation periods with low concentrations of gentamicin, or short incubation periods with higher concentrations of the antibiotic, have a dramatic impact on intracellular growth. Furthermore, the degree of sensitivity of intracellular Y. pestis to gentamicin was also cell type dependent. These data highlight the importance to empirically establish cell type specific gentamicin protection assays to avoid potential artificial data in Y. pestis intracellular studies.

Yersinia pestis Requires Host Rab1b for Survival in Macrophages

Yersinia pestis is a facultative intracellular pathogen that causes the disease known as plague. During infection of macrophages Y. pestis actively evades the normal phagosomal maturation pathway to establish a replicative niche within the cell. However, the mechanisms used by Y. pestis to subvert killing by the macrophage are unknown. Host Rab GTPases are central mediators of vesicular trafficking and are commonly targeted by bacterial pathogens to alter phagosome maturation and killing by macrophages. Here we demonstrate for the first time that host Rab1b is required for Y. pestis to effectively evade killing by macrophages. We also show that Rab1b is specifically recruited to the Yersinia containing vacuole (YCV) and that Y. pestis is unable to subvert YCV acidification when Rab1b expression is knocked down in macrophages. Furthermore, Rab1b knockdown also altered the frequency of association between the YCV with the lysosomal marker Lamp1, suggesting that Rab1b recruitment to the YCV directly inhibits phagosome maturation. Finally, we show that Rab1b knockdown also impacts the pH of the Legionella pneumophila containing vacuole, another pathogen that recruits Rab1b to its vacuole. Together these data identify a novel role for Rab1b in the subversion of phagosome maturation by intracellular pathogens and suggest that recruitment of Rab1b to the pathogen containing vacuole may be a conserved mechanism to control vacuole pH.

Yersinia pestis is the bacterial agent that causes the human disease known as plague. While often considered a historic disease, Y. pestis is endemic in rodent populations on several continents and the World Health Organization considers plague to be a reemerging disease. Much of the success of this pathogen comes from its ability to evade clearance by the innate immune system of its host. One weapon in the Y. pestis arsenal is its ability to resist killing when engulfed by macrophages. Upon invasion of macrophages, Y. pestis actively manipulates the cell to generate a protective vacuolar compartment, called the Yersinia containing vacuole (YCV) that allows the bacterium to evade the normal pathogen killing mechanisms of the macrophage. Here we demonstrate that the host protein Rab1b is recruited to the YCV and is required for Y. pestis to inhibit both the acidification and normal maturation of the phagosome to establish a protective niche within the cell. Rab1b is the first protein, either from the host or Y. pestis, shown to contribute to the biogenesis of the YCV. Furthermore, our data suggest a previously unknown impact of Rab1b recruitment in the phagosome maturation pathway.