1887

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Volume 155, Issue 7

A two-component system is required for colonization of host cells by meningococcus Free

Abstract

In order to adapt to changing environments, bacteria have evolved two-component systems (TCSs) that are able to sense and respond to environmental stimuli. The signal perception relies on a sensor protein whose activation allows rapid adaptation through transcriptional regulation achieved by the regulatory protein. The ability to adhere to and grow on the surface of human host cells is an absolute requirement for many pathogens, including , in order to colonize new hosts and to disseminate inside their host. Among the four TCSs encoded in the meningococcus genome, only the PhoQ (MisS)/PhoP (MisR) system has been shown to constitute a functional signal transduction circuit. To investigate the involvement of this TCS in the adaptation process requisite for host cell colonization, we have tested the ability to grow on host cells of a mutant inactivated for the sensor of the TCS. Our results demonstrate the involvement of the TCS in the adaptation of the meningococcus to growth on host cells. We show that the expression of the PhoQ (MisS)/PhoP (MisR) TCS is cell-contact controlled. Furthermore, this TCS controls the regulation of a group of genes, the REP2 regulon, previously shown to be cell-contact regulated and to encode functions crucial for the adaptation of the bacterium to host cell colonization. Thus, we provide evidence that one of the four TCSs existing in contributes to the adaptation of the pathogen to growth on host cells.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Revised:
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Keyword(s): EMSA, electrophoretic mobility shift assay , HUVEC, human umbilical vein endothelial cell and TCS, two-component system
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2009-07-01
2024-04-19
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A two-component system is required for colonization of host cells by meningococcus
Microbiology 155, 2288 (2009); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.027755-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.027755-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.027755-0
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