Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Infection and Immunity, December 2000, p. 6656-6662, Vol. 68, No. 12
Enteric Diseases Department, Naval Medical
Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910,1
and Department of Microbiology, National University of
Ireland, Galway, Ireland2
Received 7 June 2000/Returned for modification 9 August
2000/Accepted 7 September 2000
Three genes involved in biosynthesis of the lipooligosaccharide
(LOS) core of Campylobacter jejuni MSC57360, the type
strain of the HS:1 serotype, whose structure mimics GM2
ganglioside, have been cloned and characterized. Mutation of genes
encoding proteins with homology to a sialyl transferase
(cstII) and a putative N-acetylmannosamine
synthetase (neuC1), part of the biosynthetic pathway of
N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuNAc), have identical
phenotypes. The LOS cores of these mutants display identical changes in
electrophoretic mobility, loss of reactivity with cholera toxin (CT),
and enhanced immunoreactivity with a hyperimmune polyclonal antiserum
generated against whole cells of C. jejuni MSC57360. Loss
of sialic acid in the core of the neuC1 mutant was
confirmed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Mutation of a
gene encoding a putative
Campylobacter jejuni and
Campylobacter coli are among the most prevalent causes of
bacterial diarrhea in the world (15, 31). These organisms
are antigenically complex, as demonstrated by the fact that there are
>70 serotypes based on heat-stable (HS) antigens (34) and
>100 serotypes based on the heat-labile serotyping scheme
(26). Campylobacters contain sialic acid moieties both in
lipooligosaccharide (LOS) core structures (3-6, 29) and in
posttranslational modifications on flagellin (9).
Structural analyses of a limited number of campylobacter strains has
revealed LOS-like variability in the outer core (28, 29).
Moreover, the outer cores of strains from multiple serogroups contain
sialic acid moieties in structures which mimic human gangliosides. This
molecular mimicry is thought to result in an autoimmune response responsible for the association of some campylobacter serotypes with
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) (1, 28, 29). However, the biological function of sialylated LOS to pathogenesis of
gastroenteritis by C. jejuni has not been examined experimentally.
Campylobacter spp. are capable of endogenous biosynthesis of
sialic acid (3-6, 9, 29). The genome of C. jejuni NCTC 11168 contains multiple genes which encode proteins
with similarity to prokaryotic enzymes involved in biosynthesis of
sialic acid, N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuNAc)
(33). For example, NCTC 11168 has three copies of genes
encoding proteins with sequence similarity to sialic acid synthases
(25), the enzymes which condense
N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) and phosphenolpyruvate to form
NeuNAc. Mutation of neuB1 (cj1141) resulted in loss of
NeuNAc from the LOS core in NCTC 11168 (25). Mutations in
neuB2 and neuB3 had no affect on LOS but affected
the apparent Mr of flagellin on sodium dodecyl
sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and resulted in loss of motility,
respectively (25). In addition, Gilbert et al. have
described two distinct sialyl transferase activities and a
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Sialylation of Lipooligosaccharide Cores Affects
Immunogenicity and Serum Resistance of Campylobacter
jejuni
![]()
ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
-1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (Cgt) resulted in
LOS cores intermediate in electrophoretic mobility between that of wild
type and the mutants lacking NeuNAc, loss of reactivity with CT, and a
reduced immunoreactivity with hyperimmune antiserum. Chemical analyses
confirmed the loss of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and
the presence of NeuNAc in the cgt mutant. These data suggest that the Cgt enzyme is capable of transferring GalNAc to an
acceptor with or without NeuNAc and that the Cst enzyme is capable of
transferring NeuNAc to an acceptor with or without GalNAc. A mutant
with a nonsialylated LOS core is more sensitive to the bactericidal
effects of human sera than the wild type or the mutant lacking GalNAc.
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
-1,3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GalNAc transferase) in an HS:19 isolate from a GBS patient (16).
Herein, we describe a set of genes responsible for NeuNAc biosynthesis in C. jejuni MSC57360, the type strain of the HS:1
serogroup, which has been shown to contain an LOS core which mimics
GM2 ganglioside in structure (5), as seen in
Fig. 1A. Moreover, we demonstrate that
loss of NeuNAc from the LOS core of MSC57360 affects the immunogenicity
of the core and the serum sensitivity of the bacterium.

View larger version (12K):
[in a new window]
FIG. 1.
(A) Structure of the LOS core of MSC57360
(5). Abbreviations: PEA, O-phosphoethanolamine;
KDO, 3-deoxy-D-manno-2-octulosonic acid;
LDHep,
L-glycero-D-manno-heptose;
Glc, glucose; Gal, galactose; GalNAc, N-acetylgalactosamine;
NeuNAc, N-acetylneuraminic acid. (B) Sialic acid locus of
MSC57360. The lengths of the following ORFs were as indicated:
cst, 881 bp; neuB1, 1,029 bp; neuC1,
1,113 bp; and cgt-neuA, 1,608 bp. The position of insertion
of a chloramphenicol resistance (Cmr) cassette is indicated
by the arrows below the line. The insertion into neuC1 was
constructed by insertion of the Cmr cassette into a unique
NdeI site which is located 118 bp into the ORF. The
insertions into cst and cgt-neuA were constructed
by in vitro transposition, and the position was determined by DNA
sequence analysis, as described in Materials and Methods. The position
of the insertion into cst was 12 bp into the ORF, and the
insertion into the cgt-neuA gene was located 396 bp into the
ORF. In all three mutants the Cmr cassette was inserted in
the same orientation as the genes are transcribed.
| |
MATERIALS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Strains and growth conditions.
C. jejuni MSC57360
(5) was a gift from John Penner, University of Toronto.
C. jejuni strains were routinely grown on Mueller-Hinton (MH) agar, supplemented with kanamycin (50 µg/ml) or chloramphenicol (15 µg/ml) when appropriate at 37°C in a microaerobic environment. Escherichia coli XL-1 Blue was the host for
ZAP Express,
and DH5
was the host for routine cloning. E. coli strains
were grown on Luria agar, supplemented with ampicillin (50 µg/ml),
kanamycin (50 µg/ml), or chloramphenicol (20 µg/ml) when appropriate.
Molecular cloning.
Restriction enzymes and modifying enzymes
were purchased from New England Biolabs (Beverly, Mass.) and used as
recommended by the supplier. MSC57360 genes were cloned from a partial
Sau3A library constructed in
ZAP Express (Stratagene, La
Jolla, Calif.). The library was probed with a PCR product specific for
cj1142 of NCTC 11168 (see below) which had been purified by agarose gel electrophoresis and labeled by random priming (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, Ind.) with [32P]dCTP (New England Nuclear,
Boston, Mass.). Positive clones were plaque purified, rehybridized,
and, once a pure population of positive phage was obtained, excised to
the phagemid pBK-CMV, according to the instructions of the manufacturer.
DNA sequence analysis. Plasmid DNAs were sequenced on both strands using terminator chemistries and Taq cycle sequencing kits from Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems (Foster City, Calif.) and analyzed on an Applied Biosystems model 377 DNA sequencer. Custom primers were synthesized on an Applied Biosystems model 292 DNA-RNA synthesizer. Sequences were assembled using Sequencher (Gene Codes Corporation, Ann Arbor, Mich.) and analyzed using MacVector (Oxford Molecular, Oxford, United Kingdom). DNA and protein searches were performed using BLAST analyses via the National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bethesda, Md., and the Sanger Genomic Sequencing Site (http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/C. jejuni).
Site-specific mutagenesis of campylobacter genes.
The
neuC1 mutant was constructed by insertion of a campylobacter
chloramphenicol resistance cassette (50) into an
NdeI site as indicated in Fig. 1. The orientation of the
Cmr cassette was confirmed by PCR to be in the same
orientation as the target gene. All other mutants were constructed
using the in vitro Tn5-based transposition system
(17) in which the Cmr cassette from pRY109 was
first cloned into EZ::TN pMOD transposon vector (Epicentre,
Madison, Wis.). The transposon was PCR amplified with primers specified
by Epicentre and used in an in vitro transposition system with the
target plasmid DNAs, pMSC203 and pMSC209. The reaction was transformed
into E. coli DH5
by standard methods, and plasmid DNAs
from individual transformants were sequenced using primers which read
out from within the Cmr cassette (48) to
determine the insertion point and orientation with respect to
transcription of the target gene. Selected insertions were transferred
into C. jejuni MSC57360 by natural transformation (19) with selection on MH agar supplemented with 15 µg of
chloramphenicol per ml.
Complementation in trans.
The complete 4.2-kb insert
in the pBK-CMV (the excision plasmid of
ZAP Express)-based plasmid,
pMSC209, was subcloned using sites bracketing the insert in the
multiple cloning site (EcoRI-SalI) into the
Kmr campylobacter shuttle plasmid, pRY107 (50).
This insert, which extended from 1,058 bp upstream of the start of
cst to 138 bp into the start of cgt, contained
all of cst, neuB1, and neuC1. This
plasmid, termed pMSC1420, was conjugatively mobilized from DH5
(RK212.2) (11) into MSC57360 neuC1 with selection
on trimethoprim (10 µg/ml), chloramphenicol (20 µg/ml), and
kanamycin (50 µg/ml) as previously described (19).
Purification of LOS. Biomass of C. jejuni MSC57360 and mutant strains, which had been grown as described above, was subjected to hot phenol-water extraction (49). Subsequently, the crude LOS from the water phase of extracts was purified by enzymatic treatments with RNase A, DNase II, and proteinase K and by ultracentrifugation, as described previously (30).
Thin-layer chromatography analysis and chemical characterization of LOS. The purified LOS preparations from C. jejuni MSC57360 and the neuC1 and cgt-neuA1 mutants were tested for reaction with the ganglioside-binding ligands of cholera toxin (CT) using a thin-layer chromatography-immunostaining technique with peroxidase conjugates of both ligands according to the procedure of Prendergast et al. (38). For chemical analysis, NeuNAc was detected and characterized as its peracetylated methyl ketoside methyl ester derivative, which was obtained after acidic methanolysis (1 M HCl, 86°C, 1 h) of LOS and peracetylation under the conditions described previously (30). Analysis of these derivatives was performed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) using a Hewlett-Packard 5890 series II gas chromatograph equipped with an HP-5 fused-silica capillary column and temperature program of 170°C for 3 min, increasing to 260°C at 3°C/min, and by GLC-mass spectrometry (MS) using the same chromatograph attached to a mass selective detector (model 5971A). Bound NeuNAc was estimated colorimetrically in a modified Ehrlich reaction assay (9) and also quantitated by determination of peracetylated methyl ketoside methyl esters in GLC. The methylated core oligosaccharides were examined in fast atom bombardment (FAB)-MS. First, core oligosaccharide was liberated from LOS by mild acid hydrolysis with 1% acetic acid at 100°C for 1 h and isolated by gel permeation chromatography, and the oligosaccharides (400 to 500 µg) were methylated (6). Subsequently, the FAB-MS spectra of the permethylated sample in methanol (1 to 2 µl) were recorded using an instrument equipped with an Ion Tech saddle field gun under the conditions described previously (6). Interpretations of positive ion mass spectra of permethylated derivatives were as used in earlier studies (4-6).
Generation of polyclonal antiserum against whole cells of MSC57360. The experiments were conducted according to the principles set forth previously (8a). A New Zealand White rabbit was immunized intramuscularly with whole cells of C. jejuni MSC57360 which had been inactivated in 0.5% formaldehyde and washed extensively in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). For the first immunization the antigen was adjuvanted with Freund's complete adjuvant. For a second boost, given 2 weeks after the first immunization, the antigen was mixed with Freund's incomplete adjuvant. The animal was exsanguinated 2 weeks after the second immunization.
Electrophoresis and Western blotting. Campylobacter whole cells were digested with proteinase K (21) and electrophoresed on either 16% Tricine gels (Novex, San Diego, Calif.) or SDS-12.5% PAGE gels. LOS cores were visualized by silver staining (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.). Horseradish peroxidase-labeled CT (Calbiochem, La Jolla, Calif.) was used at a final concentration of 1 µg/ml and was detected with 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.). Rabbit polyclonal antibody (described above) was used at a final dilution of 1:500 and detected with goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (Caltag, Burlingame, CA).
Flagellin purification. Flagellin was purified from campylobacter strains as described by Power et al. (37).
IEF of flagellins. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) was performed using ampholytes with a pI range of 4 to 6 (Biolyte4/6; Bio-Rad) as described previously (8).
Serum sensitivity assays. Serum sensitivity assays were done by a modification of the method of Blaser et al. (8). C. jejuni strains were grown overnight in MH biphasic cultures at 37°C, washed in PBS, pH 7.4, and adjusted to a concentration of 106 CFU/ml. Campylobacter cells (100-µl aliquots) were incubated in pools of human sera diluted to a final concentration of 10% in PBS for 30 and 60 min at 37°C. Controls consisted of bacteria incubated in PBS. Serum controls consisted of pooled human sera which had been heated to 56°C for 45 min to inactivate complement. Following the incubation period, CFU were enumerated on MH agar.
Statistical analyses. Individual results from serum sensitivity assays were compared by using two-tailed t tests assuming equal variance between test samples.
Nucleotide sequence accession number. The DNA sequences described here have been deposited in GenBank under accession number AF257460.
| |
RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Identification and characterization of a set of sialic acid
biosynthetic genes in MSC57360.
PCR primers were designed based on
cj1142, annotated in the genome sequence of NCTC 11168 as
neuC1 (see Materials and Methods), and a PCR product of the
predicted size was generated from C. jejuni MSC57360 DNA.
Direct DNA sequencing of the PCR product confirmed that the DNA encoded
a predicted protein with significant sequence similarity to the
siaA gene product of Neisseria menigitidis (11, 41), as well as lower scores to the neuC
gene product of E. coli K1 (51; data not
shown). This PCR product was used as a probe to clone the full-length
gene from a
ZAP Express library of MSC57360. Several overlapping
clones were identified, and two, pMSC209 and pMSC203, were used as
templates for DNA sequence analysis. The results confirmed that
homologs of the Neisseria pathway for sialic acid
biosynthesis were located on these clones in an apparent operon, as
seen in Fig. 1B. Moreover, the gene order is identical to that
described for the HS:2 strain, NCTC 11168 (25, 33).
-2,3 linkage to D-galactose and by
an
-2,8 linkage to NeuNAc (16). The MSC57360 protein also
shows 32% identity and 33% similarity to CstI, an
-2,3 sialyl
transferase also found in C. jejuni OH4384 (16).
|
-1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (Cgt)
enzymes (GalNAc transferases) from OH4384 and another C. jejuni HS:19 isolate (16). Thus, this ORF in both
MSC57360 and NCTC 11168 appears to represent a fusion of the
cgt and neuA1 genes.
Insertional mutagenesis of MSC57360 LOS genes.
A
Cmr cassette (50) was inserted as a
SmaI-ended fragment into a unique NdeI site
within neuC1 which had been blunted by treatment with
Klenow enzyme. This plasmid, called pMSC203::Cm was used to
transform MSC57360. Subsequent mutations into cst and
cgt-neuA were generated in E. coli DH5
by in
vitro transposition of a Cmr cassette (50) as
described in Materials and Methods. The position and orientation of the
transposon insertions into individual plasmids was determined by DNA
sequence analysis, and selected insertions were transformed into
MSC57360. All C. jejuni transformants were characterized by
PCR to confirm that the insert had integrated via double crossover
(data not shown).
|
|
Chemical characterization of the LOS core of the neuC1
and cgt-neuA mutants of MSC57360.
Upon methanolysis
followed by peracetylation of LOS of wild-type MSC57360 and
cgt-neuA, the peracetylated methyl ketoside methyl ester
derivative of NeuNAc was detected by GLC and combined GLC-MS. The
NeuNAc derivative from the LOS was identical in all parameters in
GLC-MS to authentic NeuNAc which underwent the same derivatization
procedure. Unlike these LOSs, NeuNAc was not detected in the
neuC1 mutant LOS when a colorimetric assay was used or when
more-sensitive detection by GLC-MS was utilized. Furthermore, to
confirm the loss of NeuNAc from the LOS of this strain, core oligosaccharides were liberated from LOSs of wild-type MSC5730 and the
neuC1 mutant, methylated, and subsequently analyzed in FAB-MS. As shown in Fig. 4, the
permethylated core oligosaccharides of wild-type MSC57360 possessed a
pseudomolecular ion, m/z = 2596 [M + H]+, and the mass spectrum included daughter ions
indicative of sialylation, particularly m/z = 376. In
contrast, the mass spectrum of the neuC1 mutant lacked the
latter ion, and the pseudomolecular ion, m/z = 2234
[M + H]+, was sufficiently less because of the
absence of NeuNAc. The results, therefore, support the loss of NeuNAc
from the neuC1 mutant. Furthermore, FAB-MS analysis of the
methylated core oligosaccharide of cgt-neuA mutant LOS
yielded a pseudomolecular ion, m/z = 2336 [M + H]+, which was sufficiently less than that of wild-type
MSC57360 because of the absence of an N-acetylhexosamine
(HexNAc) residue. Consistent with this, the mass spectrum lacked the
daughter ion m/z = 260 but contained daughter ions
indicative of sialylation, including m/z = 376.
Moreover, NeuNAc was detected by GLC-MS analysis of cgt-neuA
mutant LOS after methanolysis and peracetylation as described above.
Thus, the core oligosaccharide of cgt-neuA mutant LOS lacks
terminal HexNAc but is sialylated.
|
Effect of sia mutations of MSC57360 flagellin.
Flagellins of Campylobacter spp. have been shown to contain
sialic acid, which affects the glycoform pattern in IEF gels (9, 18). Flagellins were purified from MSC57360 wild type and the cst, neuC1, and cgt-neuC1 mutants, and
the IEF patterns were examined. Figure 5
shows that there was no difference in the IEF pattern of flagellin from
wild-type MSC57360 (lane 3) and the neuC1 mutant (lane 4).
Similarly, there was no difference in the IEF pattern of flagellins
isolated from either the cst or cgt-neuA mutants (data not shown), indicating that these MSC57360 genes are not involved
in biosynthesis of the posttranslational modifications of flagellin.
Flagellin from C. coli VC167 and a ptmB mutant
encoding a CMP-NeuNAc synthetase (18) are shown for
comparison. Interestingly, the wild-type flagellins from VC167 and
MSC57360 display markedly distinct IEF patterns, suggesting differences
in the posttranslational modifications of these proteins.
|
Loss of sialic acid in LOS results in increased serum
sensitivity.
Figure 6 compares the
sensitivities of wild-type MSC57360 and the neuC1 and
cgt-neuA mutants to normal human sera. Bacteria were
incubated with normal human serum and the same serum which had been
heated to inactivate complement. Bacterial counts were determined at 0, 30, and 60 min of incubation. (Results are given as means ± standard errors.) After 30 min of incubation the cgt-neuA mutant showed serum sensitivity (70% ± 10.0% survival) comparable to
that of the wild type (60% ± 3.0% survival; P = 0.07), but the survival of the neuC1 mutant (27% ± 8.0%) was significantly reduced compared to the wild type
(P = 0.0001). After 60 min of incubation, survival of
the wild type and cgt-neuA was reduced to 37% ± 12.0% and
44% ± 30.0%, respectively. Survival of the neuC1 mutant
was 9% ± 6.0% (P = 0.01). Heat inactivation of the serum pools resulted in loss of all bactericidal activity (data not
shown).
|
| |
DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Sialic acid is an important surface component of a number of bacterial pathogens. The similarity of the polysialic acid capsules of E. coli K1 and meningococci with the embryonic form of the neural cell adhesion molecule is thought to be responsible for the poor immunogenicity of these neuropathogens (13). Moreover, sialylated capsules and LOS are known to render bacteria resistant to complement killing (14, 36, 39, 44-47) and can affect bacterial interactions with neutrophils (40, 47) and epithelial cells (44, 45). Although considerable attention has focused on the relationship of the sialylated LOS cores of C. jejuni and the development of GBS (1, 28), the function of sialylation in the pathogenesis of diarrheal diseases has not been considered. In an effort to begin to elucidate this role, we have generated mutations affecting the core of the type strain of the HS:1 serogroup, which has a defined LOS core structure with GM2 ganglioside mimicry.
The genetic locus of MSC57360 described here is involved in
biosynthesis of LOS cores, as are the corresponding genetic loci described for HS:19 and HS:2 strains (16, 25). Mutation of the neuC1 and cst genes resulted in identical
phenotypes of LOS cores, each with the same change in electrophoretic
mobility, loss of reactivity with CT, and enhanced immunoreactivity
with a polyclonal antibody against whole cells of the strain. Chemical analyses of the core of the neuC1 mutant confirmed the loss
of NeuNAc. The loss of sialic acid in the core of the cst
mutant suggests that, unlike the situation described in the GBS isolate OH4384, MSC57360 does not contain a second copy of a sialyl transferase with
-2,3-sialyltransferase activity. Moreover, BLASTP analysis suggests that NCTC 11168 also contains a single sialyl transferase with
homology to those described in OH4384 (16).
Both C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and MSC57360 have a gene which
appears to be a fusion of genes encoding Cgt and a CMP-NeuNAc
synthetase. Although this ORF was annotated by Parkhill et al. as a
CMP-NeuNAc synthetase (33), the protein appears to function
in MSC57360 as a GalNAc transferase. The core mobility displayed by a
mutant in this gene was intermediate between that of the wild type and the cst and neuC1 mutants, suggesting that the
cgt mutant core was still sialylated, and FAB-MS
analyses confirmed the loss of GalNAc and the presence of sialic
acid. This is in contrast to the data of Gilbert et al. (16)
who reported that the galactosyltransferase activity of Cgt from OH4384
was specific for a sialylated acceptor. In MSC57360 it appears that the
Cgt enzyme can transfer GalNAc to a nonsialylated acceptor, and,
conversely, Cst can transfer NeuNAc to a core lacking GalNAc. If sialic
acid were added to a precursor structure (Fig. 7A), there would exist
an intermediate structure which is identical to the core of the type
strain of HS:2 (6) (Fig. 7B).
This structure, which is also the predicted core of the cgt
mutant, would be expected to be poorly immunogenic. If the GalNAc were
added to the core first, there would be no ganglioside mimicry in the
intermediate (Fig. 7C), and it would be expected to be immunogenic,
similar to the core of the cst mutant. The presence of
antibodies in polyclonal antisera generated against whole cells of
MSC57360 suggests that such immunogenic intermediate structures are
present in low amounts in the population of LOS cores.
|
Interestingly, mutation of ORF4, which is a fusion of cgt (16) and neuA, results in the loss of GalNAc but not NeuNAc from the LOS core. This suggests that the fusion protein has either lost CMP-NeuNAc synthetase activity or that there are additional copies of genes encoding enzymes with the same function. Indeed, NCTC 11168, in addition to containing cj1143 (neuA1), contains two other copies of neuA alleles, cj1311 (neuA2) and cj1331 (neuA3 or ptmB). The neuA3 or ptmB allele has been shown to be involved in posttranslational modification of flagellin of C. coli VC167 (17) (Fig. 5), but the role of this gene in LOS biosynthesis in VC167, whose core is uncharacterized, remains open. Clearly, the role of the multiple neuA alleles in Campylobacter spp. requires additional study.
The presence of NeuNAc in the LOS core of MSC57360 results in decreased immunogenicity of the core and increased resistance to serum killing by complement. In Neisseria the presence of sialic acid on LOS also results in serum resistance but reduces the ability of the bacteria to be internalized into some eukaryotic cells (44, 45). There is a tremendous range in the ability of different strains of C. jejuni to be internalized into intestinal epithelial cells (22-24, 32) as well as differences in the behavior of different strains in various animal models of virulence (7; D. Burr and P. Guerry, unpublished data). There are no reports of which we are aware on the virulence of MSC57360 in animal models, but the strain invades INT407 cells at levels below those of E. coli K-12 (data not shown). However, having established the function of these genes in a strain of known LOS core structure, we are now examining the effect of LOS sialylation on pathogenesis of virulent strains of C. jejuni.
| |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
We thank John Penner for strain MSC57360, Don Burr for generation of antiserum against MSC57360, Peter Doig for advice on IEF gels, and Isabelle Walker for excellent technical assistance.
This work was supported by Naval Medical Research and Development Command Work Unit nos. 61102A3M161102BS13AK.111 and 62787A.870.A0004, by grant 1 RO1 A143559 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to P.G., and by a grant from the Irish Health Research Board to A.P.M. M.M.P. is a recipient of an Irish Health Board Post-Doctoral Fellowship.
| |
FOOTNOTES |
|---|
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: NMRC, Enteric Diseases Department, National Naval Medical Center, 503 Robert Grant Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910. Phone: (301) 319-7662. Fax: (301) 319-7679. E-mail: guerryp{at}nmrc.navy.mil.
Editor: V. J. DiRita
| |
REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| 1. | Allos, B. M. 1997. Association between Campylobacter infection and Guillain Barre syndrome. J. Infect. Dis. 176(Suppl. 2):S125-128. |
| 2. |
Annunziato, P. W.,
L. F. Wright,
W. F. Vann, and R. P. Silver.
1995.
Nucleotide sequence and genetic analysis of the neuD and neuB genes in region 2 of the polysialic acid gene cluster of Escherichia coli K1.
J. Bacteriol.
177:312-319 |
| 3. | Aspinall, G. O., A. G. McDonald, and H. Pang. 1992. Structures of the O chains from lipopolysaccharides of Campylobacter jejuni serotypes O:23 and O:36. Carbohydr. Res. 231:13-30[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 4. | Aspinall, G. O., A. G. McDonald, H. Pang, L. A. Kurjanczyl, and J. L. Penner. 1994. Lipopolysaccharides of Campylobacter jejuni serotype O:19: structure of core oligosaccharide regions from the serostrain and two bacterial isolates from patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome. Biochemistry 33:241-249[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 5. | Aspinall, G. O., A. G. McDonald, T. S. Raju, H. Pang, A. P. Moran, and J. L. Penner. 1993. Chemical structures of the core regions of Campylobacter jejuni serotypes O:1, O:4, O:23 and O:36 lipopolysaccharides. Eur. J. Biochem. 213:1017-1027[Medline]. |
| 6. | Aspinall, G. O., A. G. McDonald, T. S. Raju, H. Pang, L. A. Kurjanczyk, J. L. Penner, and A. P. Moran. 1993. Chemical structure of the core region of Campylobacter jejuni serotype O:2 lipopolysaccharide. Eur. J. Biochem. 213:1029-1037[Medline]. |
| 7. |
Bacon, D. J.,
R. A. Alm,
D. H. Burr,
L. Hu,
D. J. Kopecko,
C. P. Ewing,
T. J. Trust, and P. Guerry.
2000.
Involvement of a plasmid in the virulence of Campylobacter jejuni 81-176.
Infect. Immun.
68:4384-4390 |
| 8. | Blaser, M. J., P. F. Smith, and P. E. Kohler. 1985. Susceptibility of Campylobacter isolates to the bactericidal activity of human serum. J. Infect. Dis. 151:227-235[Medline]. |
| 8a. | Committee on the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. 1985. Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals. NIH publication 86-23. Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council, Bethesda, Md. |
| 9. | Doig, P., N. Kinsella, P. Guerry, and T. J. Trust. 1995. Characterization of a posttranslational modification of Campylobacter flagellin: identification of a sero-specific glycosyl moiety. Mol. Microbiol. 19:379-387. |
| 10. | Downs, A., and W. Pigman. 1976. Qualitative and quantitative determination of sialic acids. Methods Carbohydr. Chem. 7:233-240. |
| 11. | Edwards, U., A. Muller, S. Hammerschmidt, R. Gerardy-Schahn, and M. Frosch. 1994. Molecular analysis of the biosynthesis pathway of the alpha-2,8 polysialic acid capsule by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. Mol. Microbiol. 14:141-149[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 12. |
Figurski, D. H., and D. R. Helinski.
1979.
Replication of an origin-containing derivative of plasmid RK2 dependent on a plasmid function provided in trans.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
76:1648-1652 |
| 13. | Finne, J., M. Leinonen, and P. N. Makela. 1983. Antigenic similarities between brain components and bacteria causing meninigitis: implications for vaccine development. Lancet ii:355-357. |
| 14. |
Fitzgerald, T. J.
1987.
Activation of the classical and alternative pathways of complement by Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum and Treponema vincentii.
Infect. Immun.
55:2066-2073 |
| 15. | Freidman, C. R., J. Neimann, H. C. Wegener, and R. V. Tauxe. 2000. Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni infections in the United States and other industrialized nations, p. 121-138. In I. Nachamkin, and M. J. Blaser (ed.), Campylobacter American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C. |
| 16. |
Gilbert, M.,
J.-R. Brisson,
M.-F. Karwaski,
J. Michniewicz,
A.-M. Cunningham,
Y. Wu,
N. M. Young, and W. W. Wakarchuk.
2000.
Biosynthesis of ganglioside mimics in Campylobacter jejuni OH4384.
J. Biol. Chem.
275:3896-3906 |
| 17. |
Goryshin, I. Y., and W. S. Reznikoff.
1998.
Tn5 in vitro transposition.
J. Biol. Chem.
273:7367-7374 |
| 18. | Guerry, P., P. Doig, R. A. Alm, D. H. Burr, N. Kinsella, and T. J. Trust. 1996. Identification and characterization of genes required for posttranslational modification of Campylobacter coli VC167 flagellin. Mol. Microbiol. 19:369-378[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 19. | Guerry, P., R. Yao, R. A. Alm, D. H. Burr, and T. J. Trust. 1994. Systems of experimental genetics for Campylobacter spp. Methods Enzmol. 235:474-481. |
| 20. |
Harris, L. A.,
S. M. Logan,
P. Guerry, and T. J. Trust.
1987.
Antigenic variation of Campylobacter flagella.
J. Bacteriol.
169:5066-5071 |
| 21. |
Hitchcock, P. J., and T. M. Brown.
1983.
Morphological heterogeneity among Salmonella lipopolysaccharide chemotypes in silver-stained polyacrylamide gels.
J. Bacteriol.
154:269-277 |
| 22. |
Hu, L., and D. J. Kopecko.
1999.
Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 associates with microtubules and dynein during invasion of human intestinal cells.
Infect. Immun.
67:4171-4182 |
| 23. | Konkel, M. E., S. F. Hayes, L. A. Joens, and W. Cieplak. 1992. Characteristics of the internalization and intracellular survival of Campylobacter jejuni in human epithelial cells cultures. Microb. Pathog. 13:357-370[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 24. |
Konkel, M. E., and L. A. Jones.
1989.
Adhesion to and invasion of HEp-2 cells by Campylobacter spp.
Infect. Immun.
57:2984-2990 |
| 25. | Linton, D., A. V. Karlyshev, P. G. Hitchen, H. R. Morris, A. Dell, N. A. Gregson, and B. W. Wren. 2000. Multiple N-acetyl neuraminic acid synthetase (neuB) genes in Campylobacter jejuni: identification and characterization of the gene involved in sialylation of lipo-oligosaccharide. Mol. Microbiol. 35:1120-1134[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 26. |
Lior, H.,
D. L. Woodward,
J. A. Edgar,
L. J. Larouche, and P. Gill.
1982.
Serotyping of Campylobacter jejuni by slide agglutination based on heat labile antigenic factors.
J. Clin. Microbiol.
15:761-768 |
| 27. |
Masson, L., and B. E. Holbein.
1983.
Physiology of sialic acid capsular polysaccharide synthesis in serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis.
J. Bacteriol.
154:728-736 |
| 28. |
Moran, A. P.,
B. J. Appelmelk, and G. O. Aspinall.
1996.
Molecular mimicry of host structures by lipopolysaccharides of Campylobacter and Helicobacter spp.: implications in pathogenesis.
J. Endotoxin Res.
3:521-531 |
| 29. | Moran, A. P., and J. L. Penner. 1999. Serotyping of Campylobacter jejuni based on heat-stable antigens: relevance, molecular basis and implications in pathogenesis. J. Appl. Microbiol. 86:361-377[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 30. |
Moran, A. P.,
E. T. Rietschel,
T. U. Kosunen, and U. Zähringer.
1991.
Chemical characterization of Campylobacter jejuni lipopolysaccharides containing N-acetylneuraminic acid and 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-D-glucose.
J. Bacteriol.
173:618-626 |
| 31. | Oberhelman, R. A., and D. N. Taylor. 2000. Campylobacter infections in developing countries, p. 139-153. In I. Nachamkin, and M. J. Blaser (ed.), Campylobacter. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C. |
| 32. |
Oelschlaeger, T. A.,
P. Guerry, and D. J. Kopecko.
1993.
Unusual microtubule-dependent endocytosis mechanisms triggered by Campylobacter jejuni and Citrobacter freundii.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
90:6884-6888 |
| 33. | Parkhill, J., B. W. Wren, K. Mungall, J. M. Ketley, C. Churcher, D. Basham, T. Chillingworth, R. M. Davies, T. Feltwell, S. Holroyd, K. Jagels, A. V. Karlyshev, S. Moule, M. J. Pallen, C. W. Penn, M. A. Quail, M. A. Rajandream, K. M. Rutherford, A. H. M. van Vliet, S. Whitehead, and B. G. Barrell. 2000. The genome sequence of the food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni reveals hypervariable tracts. Nature 403:665-668[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 34. |
Penner, J. L., and J. N. Hennesy.
1980.
Passive hemaglutination technique for serotyping Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni on the basis of heat-stable antigens.
J. Clin. Microbiol.
12:732-737 |
| 35. | Petersen, M., W. D. Fessner, M. Frosch, and E. Luneberg. 2000. The siaA gene involved in capsule polysaccharide biosynthesis of Neisseria meningitidis B codes for N-acylglucosamine-6-phophate 2-epimerase. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 184:161-164[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 36. | Platt, M. W., N. Correa, and C. Mold. 1994. Growth of group B streptococci in human serum leads to increased cell surface sialic acid and decreased activation of the alternative complement pathway. Can. J. Microbiol. 40:99-105[Medline]. |
| 37. |
Power, M. E.,
P. Guerry,
W. D. McCubbin,
C. M. Kay, and T. J. Trust.
1994.
Structural and antigenic characteristics of Campylobacter coli FlaA flagellin.
J. Bacteriol.
176:3303-3313 |
| 38. |
Prendergast, M. M.,
A. J. Lastovica, and A. P. Moran.
1998.
Lipopolysaccharides from Campylobacter jejuni O:41 strains associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome exhibit mimicry of GM1 ganglioside.
Infect. Immun.
66:3649-3755 |
| 39. |
Ram, S.,
A. K. Sharma,
S. D. Simpson,
S. Gulati,
D. P. McQuillen,
M. K. Pangburn, and P. A. Rice.
1998.
A novel sialic acid binding site on factor H mediates serum resistance of sialylated Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
J. Exp. Med.
187:743-752 |
| 40. |
Rest, R. F., and J. V. Frangipane.
1992.
Growth of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid inhibits nonopsonic (opacity-associated outer membrane protein-mediated) interactions with human neutrophils.
Infect. Immun.
60:989-997 |
| 41. |
Swartley, J. S., and D. S. Stephens.
1994.
Identification of a genetic locus involved in the biosynthesis of N-acetyl-D-mannosamine, a precursor of the ( 2-8)-linked polysialic acid capsule of serogroup B Neisseria menigitidis.
J. Bacteriol.
176:1530-1534 |
| 42. |
Tullius, M. V.,
R. S. Munson, Jr.,
J. Wang, and B. W. Gibson.
1996.
Purification, cloning, and expression of a cytidine 5'-monophosphate N-acteylneuraminic acid synthetase from Haemophilus ducreyi.
J. Biol. Chem.
271:15373-15380 |
| 43. |
Vann, W. F.,
J. J. Tavarez,
J. Crowley,
E. Vimr, and R. P. Silver.
1997.
Purification and characterization of the Escherichia coli K1 neuB gene product N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase.
Glycobiology
7:697-701 |
| 44. | Van Putten, J. P. 1993. Phase variation of lipopolysaccharide directs interconversion of invasive and immunoresistant phenotypes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. EMBO J. 12:4043-4051[Medline]. |
| 45. | van Putten, J. P., and B. D. Robertson. 1995. Molecular mechanisms and implications for infection of lipooligosaccharide variation in Neisseria. Mol. Microbiol. 16:847-853[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 46. | Vogel, U., S. Hammerschmidt, and M. Frosch. 1996. Sialic acids of both the capsule and the sialylated lipooligosaccharide of Neisseria meningitis serogroup B are prerequisites for virulence of meningococci in the infant rat. Med. Microbiol. Immunol. 185:81-87[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 47. | Vogel, U., A. Weinberger, R. Frank, A. Muller, J. Kohl, J. P. Atkinson, and M. Frosch. 1997. Complement factor C3 deposition and serum resistance in isogenic capsule and lipooligosaccharide sialic acid mutants of serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis. Infect. Immun. 65:4022-4029[Abstract]. |
| 48. | Wang, Y., and D. E. Taylor. 1990. Chloramphenicol resistance in Campylobacter coli: nucleotide sequence, expression, and cloning vector construction. Gene 94:23-28[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 49. | Westphal, O., and K. Jann. 1965. Bacterial lipopolysaccharides: extraction with phenol water and further applications of the procedure. Methods Carbohydr. Chem. 5:83-92. |
| 50. | Yao, R., R. A. Alm, T. J. Trust, and P. Guerry. 1993. Construction of new Campylobacter cloning vectors and a new mutational cat cassette. Gene 130:127-130[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 51. |
Zapata, G.,
J. M. Crowley, and W. F. Vann.
1992.
Sequence and expression of the Escherichia coli K1 neuC gene product.
J. Bacteriol.
174:315-319 |
| 52. |
Zapata, G.,
W. F. Vann,
W. Aaronson,
M. S. Lewis, and M. Moos.
1989.
Sequence of the cloned Escherichia coli K1 CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase gene.
J. Biol. Chem.
264:14769-14774 |
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»