Skip to main content
PMC home page
The EMBO Journal logoLink to The EMBO Journal
. 1995 Sep 1;14(17):4187–4195. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1995.tb00092.x

Functional conservation of the secretion and translocation machinery for virulence proteins of yersiniae, salmonellae and shigellae.

R Rosqvist 1, S Håkansson 1, A Forsberg 1, H Wolf-Watz 1
PMCID: PMC394501  PMID: 7556059

Abstract

Virulent bacteria of the genera Yersinia, Shigella and Salmonella secrete a number of virulence determinants, Yops, Ipas and Sips respectively, by a type III secretion pathway. The IpaB protein of Shigella flexneri was expressed in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and found to be secreted under the same conditions required for Yop secretion. Likewise, YopE was secreted by the wild-type strain LT2 of Salmonella typhimurium, but YopE was not secreted by the isogenic invA mutant. Secretion of both IpaB and YopE required their respective chaperones, IpgC and YerA. In addition, yopE-containing S. typhimurium expressed a YopE-mediated cytotoxicity on cultured HeLa cells. YopE was detected in the cytosol of the infected HeLa cells and the amount of translocated YopE correlated with the degree of cytotoxicity. Both translocation and cytotoxicity were prevented by the addition of gentamicin. Treatment of HeLa cells with cytochalasin D prior to infection prevented internalization of bacteria, but translocation of YopE was still observed. These results favour the hypothesis that YopE is translocated through the plasma membrane by surface-located bacteria. We propose that virulent Salmonella and Shigella deliver virulence effector molecules into the target cell through the utilization of a functionally conserved secretion/translocation machinery similar to that shown for Yersinia.

Full text

PDF
4187

Images in this article

4188Image
on p.4188
4189Image
on p.4189
4190Image
on p.4190
4190Image
on p.4190
4191Image
on p.4191

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allaoui A., Sansonetti P. J., Parsot C. MxiD, an outer membrane protein necessary for the secretion of the Shigella flexneri lpa invasins. Mol Microbiol. 1993 Jan;7(1):59–68. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01097.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Allaoui A., Sansonetti P. J., Parsot C. MxiJ, a lipoprotein involved in secretion of Shigella Ipa invasins, is homologous to YscJ, a secretion factor of the Yersinia Yop proteins. J Bacteriol. 1992 Dec;174(23):7661–7669. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.23.7661-7669.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Allaoui A., Woestyn S., Sluiters C., Cornelis G. R. YscU, a Yersinia enterocolitica inner membrane protein involved in Yop secretion. J Bacteriol. 1994 Aug;176(15):4534–4542. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.15.4534-4542.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Andrews G. P., Hromockyj A. E., Coker C., Maurelli A. T. Two novel virulence loci, mxiA and mxiB, in Shigella flexneri 2a facilitate excretion of invasion plasmid antigens. Infect Immun. 1991 Jun;59(6):1997–2005. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.6.1997-2005.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Andrews G. P., Maurelli A. T. mxiA of Shigella flexneri 2a, which facilitates export of invasion plasmid antigens, encodes a homolog of the low-calcium-response protein, LcrD, of Yersinia pestis. Infect Immun. 1992 Aug;60(8):3287–3295. doi: 10.1128/iai.60.8.3287-3295.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Baudry B., Kaczorek M., Sansonetti P. J. Nucleotide sequence of the invasion plasmid antigen B and C genes (ipaB and ipaC) of Shigella flexneri. Microb Pathog. 1988 May;4(5):345–357. doi: 10.1016/0882-4010(88)90062-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bergman T., Erickson K., Galyov E., Persson C., Wolf-Watz H. The lcrB (yscN/U) gene cluster of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is involved in Yop secretion and shows high homology to the spa gene clusters of Shigella flexneri and Salmonella typhimurium. J Bacteriol. 1994 May;176(9):2619–2626. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.9.2619-2626.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bliska J. B., Copass M. C., Falkow S. The Yersinia pseudotuberculosis adhesin YadA mediates intimate bacterial attachment to and entry into HEp-2 cells. Infect Immun. 1993 Sep;61(9):3914–3921. doi: 10.1128/iai.61.9.3914-3921.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Bölin I., Wolf-Watz H. Molecular cloning of the temperature-inducible outer membrane protein 1 of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Infect Immun. 1984 Jan;43(1):72–78. doi: 10.1128/iai.43.1.72-78.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Collazo C. M., Zierler M. K., Galán J. E. Functional analysis of the Salmonella typhimurium invasion genes invl and invJ and identification of a target of the protein secretion apparatus encoded in the inv locus. Mol Microbiol. 1995 Jan;15(1):25–38. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1995.tb02218.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Eichelberg K., Ginocchio C. C., Galán J. E. Molecular and functional characterization of the Salmonella typhimurium invasion genes invB and invC: homology of InvC to the F0F1 ATPase family of proteins. J Bacteriol. 1994 Aug;176(15):4501–4510. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.15.4501-4510.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Fields K. A., Plano G. V., Straley S. C. A low-Ca2+ response (LCR) secretion (ysc) locus lies within the lcrB region of the LCR plasmid in Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1994 Feb;176(3):569–579. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.3.569-579.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Finlay B. B., Falkow S. Comparison of the invasion strategies used by Salmonella cholerae-suis, Shigella flexneri and Yersinia enterocolitica to enter cultured animal cells: endosome acidification is not required for bacterial invasion or intracellular replication. Biochimie. 1988 Aug;70(8):1089–1099. doi: 10.1016/0300-9084(88)90271-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Flanagan M. D., Lin S. Cytochalasins block actin filament elongation by binding to high affinity sites associated with F-actin. J Biol Chem. 1980 Feb 10;255(3):835–838. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Forsberg A., Bölin I., Norlander L., Wolf-Watz H. Molecular cloning and expression of calcium-regulated, plasmid-coded proteins of Y. pseudotuberculosis. Microb Pathog. 1987 Feb;2(2):123–137. doi: 10.1016/0882-4010(87)90104-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Forsberg A., Rosqvist R., Wolf-Watz H. Regulation and polarized transfer of the Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) involved in antiphagocytosis. Trends Microbiol. 1994 Jan;2(1):14–19. doi: 10.1016/0966-842x(94)90339-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Forsberg A., Wolf-Watz H. Genetic analysis of the yopE region of Yersinia spp.: identification of a novel conserved locus, yerA, regulating yopE expression. J Bacteriol. 1990 Mar;172(3):1547–1555. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.3.1547-1555.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Forsberg A., Wolf-Watz H. The virulence protein Yop5 of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is regulated at transcriptional level by plasmid-plB1-encoded trans-acting elements controlled by temperature and calcium. Mol Microbiol. 1988 Jan;2(1):121–133. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Fürste J. P., Pansegrau W., Frank R., Blöcker H., Scholz P., Bagdasarian M., Lanka E. Molecular cloning of the plasmid RP4 primase region in a multi-host-range tacP expression vector. Gene. 1986;48(1):119–131. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(86)90358-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Galán J. E., Curtiss R., 3rd Cloning and molecular characterization of genes whose products allow Salmonella typhimurium to penetrate tissue culture cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(16):6383–6387. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.16.6383. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Galán J. E., Ginocchio C., Costeas P. Molecular and functional characterization of the Salmonella invasion gene invA: homology of InvA to members of a new protein family. J Bacteriol. 1992 Jul;174(13):4338–4349. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.13.4338-4349.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ginocchio C. C., Galán J. E. Functional conservation among members of the Salmonella typhimurium InvA family of proteins. Infect Immun. 1995 Feb;63(2):729–732. doi: 10.1128/iai.63.2.729-732.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Groisman E. A., Ochman H. Cognate gene clusters govern invasion of host epithelial cells by Salmonella typhimurium and Shigella flexneri. EMBO J. 1993 Oct;12(10):3779–3787. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1993.tb06056.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Hale T. L., Bonventre P. F. Shigella infection of Henle intestinal epithelial cells: role of the bacterium. Infect Immun. 1979 Jun;24(3):879–886. doi: 10.1128/iai.24.3.879-886.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Hale T. L., Oaks E. V., Formal S. B. Identification and antigenic characterization of virulence-associated, plasmid-coded proteins of Shigella spp. and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1985 Dec;50(3):620–629. doi: 10.1128/iai.50.3.620-629.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Håkansson S., Bergman T., Vanooteghem J. C., Cornelis G., Wolf-Watz H. YopB and YopD constitute a novel class of Yersinia Yop proteins. Infect Immun. 1993 Jan;61(1):71–80. doi: 10.1128/iai.61.1.71-80.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Kaniga K., Bossio J. C., Galán J. E. The Salmonella typhimurium invasion genes invF and invG encode homologues of the AraC and PulD family of proteins. Mol Microbiol. 1994 Aug;13(4):555–568. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb00450.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Kihlström E., Nilsson L. Endocytosis of Salmonella typhimurium 395 MS and MR10 by HeLa cells. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand B. 1977 Oct;85B(5):322–328. doi: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1977.tb01982.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Michiels T., Cornelis G. R. Secretion of hybrid proteins by the Yersinia Yop export system. J Bacteriol. 1991 Mar;173(5):1677–1685. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.5.1677-1685.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Michiels T., Vanooteghem J. C., Lambert de Rouvroit C., China B., Gustin A., Boudry P., Cornelis G. R. Analysis of virC, an operon involved in the secretion of Yop proteins by Yersinia enterocolitica. J Bacteriol. 1991 Aug;173(16):4994–5009. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.16.4994-5009.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Ménard R., Sansonetti P. J., Parsot C. Nonpolar mutagenesis of the ipa genes defines IpaB, IpaC, and IpaD as effectors of Shigella flexneri entry into epithelial cells. J Bacteriol. 1993 Sep;175(18):5899–5906. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.18.5899-5906.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Ménard R., Sansonetti P., Parsot C., Vasselon T. Extracellular association and cytoplasmic partitioning of the IpaB and IpaC invasins of S. flexneri. Cell. 1994 Nov 4;79(3):515–525. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(94)90260-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Oaks E. V., Hale T. L., Formal S. B. Serum immune response to Shigella protein antigens in rhesus monkeys and humans infected with Shigella spp. Infect Immun. 1986 Jul;53(1):57–63. doi: 10.1128/iai.53.1.57-63.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Plano G. V., Barve S. S., Straley S. C. LcrD, a membrane-bound regulator of the Yersinia pestis low-calcium response. J Bacteriol. 1991 Nov;173(22):7293–7303. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.22.7293-7303.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Plano G. V., Straley S. C. Multiple effects of lcrD mutations in Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1993 Jun;175(11):3536–3545. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.11.3536-3545.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Pál T., Pácsa A. S., Emödy L., Vörös S., Sélley E. Modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting enteroinvasive Escherichia coli and virulent Shigella strains. J Clin Microbiol. 1985 Mar;21(3):415–418. doi: 10.1128/jcm.21.3.415-418.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Rimpiläinen M., Forsberg A., Wolf-Watz H. A novel protein, LcrQ, involved in the low-calcium response of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis shows extensive homology to YopH. J Bacteriol. 1992 May;174(10):3355–3363. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.10.3355-3363.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Rosqvist R., Bölin I., Wolf-Watz H. Inhibition of phagocytosis in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis: a virulence plasmid-encoded ability involving the Yop2b protein. Infect Immun. 1988 Aug;56(8):2139–2143. doi: 10.1128/iai.56.8.2139-2143.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Rosqvist R., Forsberg A., Rimpiläinen M., Bergman T., Wolf-Watz H. The cytotoxic protein YopE of Yersinia obstructs the primary host defence. Mol Microbiol. 1990 Apr;4(4):657–667. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1990.tb00635.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Rosqvist R., Forsberg A., Wolf-Watz H. Intracellular targeting of the Yersinia YopE cytotoxin in mammalian cells induces actin microfilament disruption. Infect Immun. 1991 Dec;59(12):4562–4569. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.12.4562-4569.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Rosqvist R., Magnusson K. E., Wolf-Watz H. Target cell contact triggers expression and polarized transfer of Yersinia YopE cytotoxin into mammalian cells. EMBO J. 1994 Feb 15;13(4):964–972. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1994.tb06341.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Salmond G. P., Reeves P. J. Membrane traffic wardens and protein secretion in gram-negative bacteria. Trends Biochem Sci. 1993 Jan;18(1):7–12. doi: 10.1016/0968-0004(93)90080-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Sansonetti P. J., Kopecko D. J., Formal S. B. Involvement of a plasmid in the invasive ability of Shigella flexneri. Infect Immun. 1982 Mar;35(3):852–860. doi: 10.1128/iai.35.3.852-860.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Sasakawa C., Adler B., Tobe T., Okada N., Nagai S., Komatsu K., Yoshikawa M. Functional organization and nucleotide sequence of virulence Region-2 on the large virulence plasmid in Shigella flexneri 2a. Mol Microbiol. 1989 Sep;3(9):1191–1201. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1989.tb00269.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Sasakawa C., Komatsu K., Tobe T., Suzuki T., Yoshikawa M. Eight genes in region 5 that form an operon are essential for invasion of epithelial cells by Shigella flexneri 2a. J Bacteriol. 1993 Apr;175(8):2334–2346. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.8.2334-2346.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Sory M. P., Cornelis G. R. Translocation of a hybrid YopE-adenylate cyclase from Yersinia enterocolitica into HeLa cells. Mol Microbiol. 1994 Nov;14(3):583–594. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb02191.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Straley S. C., Plano G. V., Skrzypek E., Haddix P. L., Fields K. A. Regulation by Ca2+ in the Yersinia low-Ca2+ response. Mol Microbiol. 1993 Jun;8(6):1005–1010. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01644.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Straley S. C., Skrzypek E., Plano G. V., Bliska J. B. Yops of Yersinia spp. pathogenic for humans. Infect Immun. 1993 Aug;61(8):3105–3110. doi: 10.1128/iai.61.8.3105-3110.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Van Gijsegem F., Genin S., Boucher C. Conservation of secretion pathways for pathogenicity determinants of plant and animal bacteria. Trends Microbiol. 1993 Aug;1(5):175–180. doi: 10.1016/0966-842x(93)90087-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Van Gijsegem F., Gough C., Zischek C., Niqueux E., Arlat M., Genin S., Barberis P., German S., Castello P., Boucher C. The hrp gene locus of Pseudomonas solanacearum, which controls the production of a type III secretion system, encodes eight proteins related to components of the bacterial flagellar biogenesis complex. Mol Microbiol. 1995 Mar;15(6):1095–1114. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1995.tb02284.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Vaudaux P., Waldvogel F. A. Gentamicin antibacterial activity in the presence of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 Dec;16(6):743–749. doi: 10.1128/aac.16.6.743. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Venkatesan M. M., Buysse J. M., Kopecko D. J. Characterization of invasion plasmid antigen genes (ipaBCD) from Shigella flexneri. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Dec;85(23):9317–9321. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.23.9317. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Venkatesan M. M., Buysse J. M., Oaks E. V. Surface presentation of Shigella flexneri invasion plasmid antigens requires the products of the spa locus. J Bacteriol. 1992 Mar;174(6):1990–2001. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.6.1990-2001.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Wattiau P., Bernier B., Deslée P., Michiels T., Cornelis G. R. Individual chaperones required for Yop secretion by Yersinia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Oct 25;91(22):10493–10497. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.22.10493. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Wattiau P., Cornelis G. R. SycE, a chaperone-like protein of Yersinia enterocolitica involved in Ohe secretion of YopE. Mol Microbiol. 1993 Apr;8(1):123–131. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01209.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Woestyn S., Allaoui A., Wattiau P., Cornelis G. R. YscN, the putative energizer of the Yersinia Yop secretion machinery. J Bacteriol. 1994 Mar;176(6):1561–1569. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.6.1561-1569.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The EMBO Journal are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

RESOURCES