This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Heiniger, N.
Right arrow Articles by Aebi, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Heiniger, N.
Right arrow Articles by Aebi, C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, December 2005, p. 8247-8255, Vol. 73, No. 12
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.12.8247-8255.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cold Shock Response of the UspA1 Outer Membrane Adhesin of Moraxella catarrhalis

Nadja Heiniger,1 Rolf Troller,1 Patricia Stutzmann Meier,1 and Christoph Aebi2*

Institute for Infectious Diseases,1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland2

Received 14 July 2005/ Returned for modification 24 August 2005/ Accepted 23 September 2005

Colonization of the human nasopharynx exposes Moraxella catarrhalis, a common cause of otitis media in children and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults, to sudden downshifts in temperature, occurring when the host breathes cold air. We investigated whether in vitro cold shock influences the expressions of the outer membrane adhesins UspA1 and hemagglutinin, which are considered virulence factors, and of an M. catarrhalis homolog of recA, a housekeeping gene, which in Escherichia coli is induced by cold shock. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR was used for measuring mRNA copy number. A screening experiment revealed that a cold shock at 26°C maximally induced the copy number of uspA1. In comparison with 37°C conditions, a 1-hour cold shock at 26°C increased copy numbers of uspA1 and recA by 2.5-fold (11.2 ± 1.8 versus 4.5 ± 0.8 copies/CFU) and 2.7-fold (0.30 ± 0.10 versus 0.11 ± 0.06), respectively, but did not induce transcription of hag. Exposure to 26°C increased surface expression of UspA1, as assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis, and resulted in a significant increase in adherence of strain O35E to Chang human conjunctival cells (97.1% ± 2.0% versus 48.3% ± 9.2% at 37°C; P = 0.01). Cold shock induction of uspA1 and recA was detected in strains belonging to either phylogenetic subpopulation of M. catarrhalis (16S rRNA types 1 and 2/3) and was most pronounced in type 2/3 strains (4- to 25-fold for uspA1), which do not express detectable amounts of UspA1 protein at 37°C. These data indicate that cold shock at a physiologically relevant temperature of 26°C induces the expression of at least one virulence factor (UspA1). To our knowledge, no similar data are available for other nasopharyngeal pathogens.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pediatrics, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland. Phone: 41-31-632-9487. Fax: 41-31-632-9484. E-mail: christoph.aebi{at}insel.ch.

Editor: D. L. Burns

Infection and Immunity, December 2005, p. 8247-8255, Vol. 73, No. 12
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.12.8247-8255.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • de Vries, S. P. W., Bootsma, H. J., Hays, J. P., Hermans, P. W. M. (2009). Molecular Aspects of Moraxella catarrhalis Pathogenesis. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 73: 389-406 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Attia, A. S., Sedillo, J. L., Wang, W., Liu, W., Brautigam, C. A., Winkler, W., Hansen, E. J. (2008). Moraxella catarrhalis Expresses an Unusual Hfq Protein. Infect. Immun. 76: 2520-2530 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Battig, P., Muhlemann, K. (2008). Influence of the spxB Gene on Competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae. J. Bacteriol. 190: 1184-1189 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, W., Reitzer, L., Rasko, D. A., Pearson, M. M., Blick, R. J., Laurence, C., Hansen, E. J. (2007). Metabolic Analysis of Moraxella catarrhalis and the Effect of Selected In Vitro Growth Conditions on Global Gene Expression. Infect. Immun. 75: 4959-4971 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pearson, M. M., Hansen, E. J. (2007). Identification of Gene Products Involved in Biofilm Production by Moraxella catarrhalis ETSU-9 In Vitro. Infect. Immun. 75: 4316-4325 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»