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Infection and Immunity, March 2006, p. 1962-1966, Vol. 74, No. 3
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/IAI.74.3.1962-1966.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, S.A. 5005, Australia
Received 10 November 2005/ Accepted 22 November 2005
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The translocation of Stx from the gut lumen into underlying tissues is a crucial step in pathogenesis, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) are now thought to facilitate this process. Recruitment of PMNs to the gut epithelium is postulated to increase paracellular permeability and break down the tight junction barrier, thereby increasing toxin uptake (5). The presence of low doses of Stx1 can also induce both the respiratory burst and superoxide production in PMNs, resulting in localized tissue damage, increased absorption of Stx, and also the induction of Stx2-encoding bacteriophages (7, 24). PMNs have also been reported to play a role in the transport of Stx from the gut to remote target sites (18, 19). These findings stimulated interest in determining the STEC factors responsible for recruiting PMNs to the site of infection. Treatment of intestinal epithelial cells with purified Stx has been shown to induce expression of interleukin 8 (IL-8), a potent PMN chemoattractant (3), as well as other members of the CXC chemokine family, in a dose-dependent manner, via a ribotoxic stress response pathway (20, 21). However, a more recent study using live STEC strains with defined mutations in various virulence-related genes has shown that flagellin (FliC) rather than Stx was responsible for the bulk of the proinflammatory chemokine responses of Hct-8 cells to STEC infection (17). In the present study, the direct contribution of FliC to the pathogenesis of STEC disease was investigated using a streptomycin-treated mouse model.
Bacterial strains.
The O113:H21 STEC strain 98NK2, which was responsible for an outbreak of HUS in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1998, has been described previously (13). A derivative of this strain (98NK2
fliC), in which nucleotides 64 to 1281 of the fliC gene have been replaced with a (nonpolar) kanamycin resistance cartridge, has also been described previously (17). Spontaneous streptomycin (Str)-resistant derivatives of these strains were isolated by growth on LB agar with a 50-µg streptomycin disk, as previously described (15), and were designated 98NK2SR and 98NK2
fliCSR, respectively. Western blot analysis of whole-cell lysates of these strains, using H21 antiserum, showed a 51-kDa immunoreactive species (the expected size of H21 FliC) in 98NK2SR but no H21 flagellin expression in 98NK2
fliCSR (result not shown). Motility of 98NK2SR and 98NK2
fliCSR was also assessed by growth on semisolid LB agar. The significant difference in the diameters of spread (47 ± 2 mm and 3 ± 1 mm, respectively; P < 0.0001) confirmed that the latter strain was nonmotile. In order to confirm that neither introduction of the
fliC mutation nor selection for streptomycin resistance affected production or secretion of Stx2, supernatants from fresh overnight LB broth cultures of 98NK2, 98NK2
fliC, 98NK2SR and 98NK2
fliCSR were assayed for cytotoxicity on Vero cells as described previously (12); in each case, the Stx2 titer was identical (40,960 50% tissue culture infective doses per ml). To assess general protein synthesis, the four strains were grown in LB in the presence of [3H]leucine and incorporation of label into trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material was measured over 3 h. There was no significant difference in [3H]leucine incorporation in any of the strains at any time point (1, 2, or 3 h) (result not shown).
Virulence in the streptomycin-treated mouse model.
Animal experimentation was conducted in accordance with the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes and was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the University of Adelaide. Groups of 16 BALB/c mice (5- to 6-week-old males) were pretreated for 24 h with Str (5 mg/ml in drinking water) to inhibit the normal gut microflora, thereby enabling streptomycin-resistant STEC to colonize the gastrointestinal tract as previously described (12). Mice were then fed approximately 108 CFU of strain 98NK2SR or 98NK2
fliCSR, suspended in 50 µl 10% NaHCO3 and 20% sucrose. Fecal pellets were collected at intervals thereafter and plated onto LB agar containing Str for CFU determination (Fig. 1). One day after challenge, pellets contained approximately (5.9 ± 1.3) x 109 and (6.8 ± 1.5) x 109 CFU/g, for 98NK2SR- and 98NK2
fliCSR-treated mice, respectively. Thereafter, colonization levels of 98NK2SR and 98NK2
fliCSR gradually declined to approximately (9.3 ± 3.1) x 108 and (7.0 ± 3.0) x 108 CFU/g, respectively, by day 12 (Fig. 1). There were no significant differences in the levels of colonization of mice challenged with either strain at any time point.
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FIG. 1. Colonization of mice with STEC strains 98NK2SR and 98NK2 fliCSR. Streptomycin-treated BALB/c mice were orally inoculated with 108 CFU of 98NK2SR or 98NK2 fliCSR. At days 1, 3, 6, and 12 after challenge, fecal pellets were collected and weighed, and dilutions of homogenates were plated on LB agar supplemented with 50 µg/ml Str. Data are CFU/g of feces. Values are means ± standard errors of the mean (error bars) (n = 4 per group for days 1, 3, and 6; n = 2 per group on day 12); log-transformed data were analyzed by Student's t test.
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fliCSR showed signs of hind limb paralysis and ataxia in the 4 h prior to death; the remaining mice appeared to be healthy. As shown in Fig. 2, 9 of 16 mice (56%) challenged with 98NK2SR died during the course of the experiment (median survival time, 7.6 days), but only 3 of 16 mice (19%) challenged with 98NK2
fliCSR died (median survival time, >14 days). This difference in survival rate was statistically significant (P < 0.025 by the
2 test), directly implicating flagellin in the virulence of 98NK2 in the streptomycin-treated mouse model.
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FIG. 2. Survival of mice challenged with STEC strains 98NK2SR and 98NK2 fliCSR. Groups of 16 streptomycin-pretreated BALB/c mice were orally inoculated with 108 CFU of 98NK2 or 98NK2 fliC as described in the text, and their survival time was recorded. The median survival time for each group is indicated by a horizontal bar.
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fliCSR. At 1 and 2 days after challenge, mice were anesthetized by inhalation of Halothane, and blood samples taken via cardiac puncture were collected into EDTA tubes. Blood cell smears were freshly made from 5 µl of EDTA blood, air dried, and fixed by dipping in methanol for 2 min. Smears were then Giemsa stained for 4 min and examined by light microscopy. The percentage of PMNs was determined by differential counting of 100 leukocytes. Infection with either 98NK2SR or 98NK2
fliCSR resulted in a significant elevation of peripheral blood PMNs after 1 day relative to uninfected control mice, but there was no significant difference between the two infected groups (Fig. 3). After 2 days, peripheral blood PMN counts for the infected groups were not significantly different from those of the controls (Fig. 3).
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FIG. 3. Peripheral blood PMN counts in mice infected with STEC strain 98NK2SR or 98NK2 fliCSR, expressed as a percentage of total leukocytes. Values that are significantly different from the values for uninfected mice are indicated by asterisks (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01).
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fliCSR relative to uninfected control mice after 1 day (Fig. 4), but not after 2 days (result not shown). These findings are consistent with the peripheral blood PMN counts shown in Fig. 3. However, in colonic tissue, there was no difference in PMN staining between infected and uninfected mice on either day 1 (Fig. 4) or day 2 (result not shown). Furthermore, there was no obvious difference in PMN staining of ileal or colonic tissue between mice infected with 98NK2SR and those infected with 98NK2
fliCSR on either day. Thus, it appears that the significant difference in virulence between 98NK2SR and 98NK2
fliCSR cannot be attributed to differences in the level or duration of PMN recruitment to the site of infection.
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FIG. 4. Sections of ileum and colon from mice infected with or without the indicated STEC strain for 1 day were stained for the neutrophil-specific antigen Ly-6G and examined by fluorescence microscopy as described in the text. Bars, 0.5 mm.
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fliCSR in terms of their capacity to colonize the gut (Fig. 1), it was possible that the fliC mutation might affect the nature of any interaction between the STEC bacteria and the mucosa. This was examined by subjecting ileal and colonic tissue sections to immunofluorescence microscopy using 1:200 polyclonal rabbit anti-E. coli O113 serum (Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide, Australia) and 1:100 Alexa 488-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit immunoglobulin (Molecular Probes). There was very little detectable staining of bacteria in any of the ileal tissue sections, regardless of challenge organism (result not shown). However, for colonic sections, there was evidence of a close interaction between 98NK2SR and the epithelial cell surface, including penetration of occasional bacteria into the cells (Fig. 5). In contrast, 98NK2
fliCSR was detected principally in the lumen, with little evidence of direct interaction with the epithelial surface (Fig. 5). This difference in host cell interaction was not, however, reflected in in vitro adherence assays. We found no significant difference between the adherence of wild-type 98NK2 and the fliC mutant to either Hct-8 (human colonic epithelial) or HEp-2 cells (result not shown).
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FIG. 5. Sections of colon from mice infected with the indicated STEC strain for 1 day were stained for O113 antigen and examined by fluorescence microscopy as described in the text. Bars, 0.2 mm.
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We have previously shown that H21 and other common STEC flagellin types (e.g., H7) are potent inducers of IL-8 and other CXC chemokine responses in human colonic epithelial cells in vitro (17). In cases of human STEC disease, elevated IL-8 levels in plasma have been shown to correlate with both leukocytosis and poor prognosis (2, 6, 9, 10, 25). We postulated that chemokine induction by STEC flagellin would translate into increased PMN recruitment to the intestinal epithelium in vivo and that this would increase penetration of Stx2 from the gut lumen into underlying tissues, as proposed by Hurley et al. (5). However, although there was a clear difference in virulence, we could find no evidence for a difference in PMN recruitment to the intestinal mucosa between mice challenged with the wild-type or fliC mutant STEC strains. Furthermore, although STEC infection resulted in elevated PMN counts in peripheral blood relative to uninfected mice, there was no difference in PMN counts between groups infected with strains 98NK2SR and 98NK2
fliCSR. On the other hand, although there was no difference in gut colonization as judged by fecal CFU counts, we did see a marked difference in the intimacy of interaction between the STEC strains themselves and the colonic, but not the ileal, mucosa. Wild-type 98NK2SR was closely associated with the epithelial surface, while 98NK2
fliCSR largely remained in the lumen. These findings are consistent with the known role of flagella as mediators of adherence to, and invasion of, epithelial cells by a range of pathogenic bacteria (16). Flagella are known to contribute to adherence and invasion by facilitating penetration of the mucous layer covering the gastrointestinal mucosa, thereby providing the pathogen with access to receptors on epithelial cells (16). However, there is evidence that, at least in some pathogens, flagella can also contribute to colonization by acting directly as adhesins. Giron et al. (4) have shown that fliC mutants of enteropathogenic E. coli are defective in adherence to epithelial cell lines in vitro and that H2 and H6 flagella purified from enteropathogenic E. coli, but not H7 flagella from STEC, are capable of directly binding to HeLa cells. Our own findings did not support a role for H21 FliC in adherence of 98NK2 to Hct-8 or HEp-2 cells in vitro. Best et al. (1) have recently reported that H7 flagella contribute significantly to gastrointestinal colonization of chickens by nontoxigenic E. coli O157:H7. However, it is not clear from the latter study whether the beneficial contribution of H7 flagella to colonization is due to enhanced penetration of mucus or direct FliC-mediated adherence.
Notwithstanding the above uncertainties regarding the manner in which flagellin contributes to gut colonization, our finding that FliC contributes directly to STEC virulence in streptomycin-treated mice provides a model system in which to explore the protective efficacy of STEC FliC-based vaccines. Vaccines based on STEC adherence factors, such as intimin, are already being tested for capacity to prevent colonization of livestock, and supplementation with common STEC FliC types may further minimize carriage and hence entry of STEC into the human food chain.
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