Host-Microbe Biology
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyBacterial Pathogens Hijack the Innate Immune Response by Activation of the Reverse Transsulfuration PathwayMacrophages are professional immune cells that ingest and kill microbes. In this study, we show that different pathogenic bacteria induce the expression of cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH) in macrophages. This enzyme is involved in a metabolic pathway called the reverse transsulfuration pathway, which leads to the production of numerous metabolites, including cystathionine. Phagocytized bacteria use cystathionine to better survive in...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyType VII Secretion Substrates of Pathogenic Mycobacteria Are Processed by a Surface ProteaseAspartic proteases are common in eukaryotes and retroviruses but are relatively rare among bacteria (N. D. Rawlings and A. Bateman, BMC Genomics 10:437, 2009, https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-10-437). In contrast to eukaryotic aspartic proteases, bacterial aspartic proteases are generally located in the cytoplasm. We have identified a surface-associated mycobacterial aspartic...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyShielding the Next Generation: Symbiotic Bacteria from a Reproductive Organ Protect Bobtail Squid Eggs from Fungal FoulingOrganisms must have strategies to ensure successful reproduction. Some animals that deposit eggs protect their embryos from fouling/disease with the help of microorganisms. Although beneficial bacteria are hypothesized to contribute to egg defense in some organisms, the mechanisms of this protection remain largely unknown, with the exception of a few recently described systems. Using both experimental and analytical approaches, we...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Conserved Streptococcal Virulence Regulator Controls the Expression of a Distinct Class of M-Like ProteinsM proteins are surface-anchored virulence factors in group A streptococci, human pathogens. Here, we identified an M-like protein, SzM, and its positive regulator, SezV, in Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (SEZ), an important group of pathogens for domesticated animals, including horses and pigs. SzM and SezV homologues were found in the genomes of...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNeurotropism of Enterovirus D68 Isolates Is Independent of Sialic Acid and Is Not a Recently Acquired PhenotypeSince 2014, numerous outbreaks of childhood infections with enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) have occurred worldwide. Most infections are associated with flu-like symptoms, but paralysis may develop in young children. It has been suggested that infection only with recent viral isolates can cause paralysis. To address the hypothesis that EV-D68 has recently acquired neurotropism, murine organotypic brain slice cultures, induced human motor...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMolecular Mechanism of SR Protein Kinase 1 Inhibition by the Herpes Virus Protein ICP27Serine arginine (SR) proteins are a family of mRNA regulatory proteins that can modulate spliceosome association with different splice sites and therefore regulate alternative splicing. Phosphorylation within SR proteins is necessary for splice-site recognition, and this is catalyzed by SR protein kinase 1 (SRPK1). The herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) protein ICP27 has been shown previously to interact with and downregulate SRPK1 activity...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Microbiota Promotes Arterial Thrombosis in Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Deficient MiceOur results demonstrate a functional role for the commensal microbiota in atherothrombosis. In a ferric chloride injury model of the carotid artery, GF C57BL/6J mice had increased occlusion times compared to colonized controls. Interestingly, in late atherosclerosis, HFD-fed GF Ldlr−/− mice had reduced plaque rupture-induced thrombus growth in the carotid artery and diminished ex vivo thrombus formation...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyStaphylococcus aureus Infects Osteoclasts and Replicates IntracellularlyThe inflammation of bone tissue is called osteomyelitis, and most cases are caused by an infection with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. To date, the bone-building cells, osteoblasts, have been implicated in the progression of these infections, but not much is known about how the bone-resorbing cells, osteoclasts, participate. In this study, we show that...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySystem-Wide Characterization of MoArf GTPase Family Proteins and Adaptor Protein MoGga1 Involved in the Development and Pathogenicity of Magnaporthe oryzaeMagnaporthe oryzae is the causal agent of rice blast, representing the most devastating diseases of rice worldwide, which results in losses of amounts of rice that could feed more than 60 million people each year. Arf (ADP ribosylation factor) small GTPase family proteins are involved in vesicle trafficking and organelle maintenance in eukaryotic cells. To investigate...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyRemasking of Candida albicans β-Glucan in Response to Environmental pH Is Regulated by Quorum SensingCandida albicans is part of the microbiota of the skin and gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts of humans and has coevolved with us for millennia. During that period, C. albicans has developed strategies to modulate the host’s innate immune responses, by regulating the exposure of key epitopes...