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Journal of Bacteriology, October 2002, p. 5563-5571, Vol. 184, No. 20
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.20.5563-5571.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
Received 18 March 2002/ Accepted 8 July 2002
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The Ysa TTSS, which is encoded by a gene cluster in the chromosome of Y. enterocolitica, was recently described and was shown to be required for the secretion of a number of Ysps (17, 46). The functions of Ysps are not known, but similarities between components that form the secretion apparatus of the Ysa TTSS and other contact-dependent TTSSs indicate that this system plays a role in the pathogenesis of Y. enterocolitica. Consistent with this hypothesis, a strain defective for Ysa TTSS function exhibited reduced virulence when mice were infected orally (17). The flagellar TTSS has been shown to secrete a number of Fops (47). Characterization of one Fop revealed that it was the previously described phospholipase YplA (47). This Fop has been shown to contribute to the survival of Y. enterocolitica in the host and inflammation of the gastrointestinal system-associated lymphoid tissue (39).
Since the apparatus that forms each of these secretion systems has conserved features in Y. enterocolitica, it is possible that some substrates may be recognized by more than one secretion system. Consistent with this hypothesis, an earlier study demonstrated that YplA can be exported by the Ysc, Ysa, and flagellar TTSSs (46). Results from the same study also indicated that secretion of some Ysps by the Ysa TTSS was affected by the loss of pYVe8081. Previously, it was thought that the only type III secretion-related genes carried by pYVe8081 were associated with the Ysc TTSS (46). This led to the hypothesis that some Ysps may be encoded by genes located on pYVe8081 and that these proteins were Yops which are exported by both the Ysc and Ysa TTSSs. To begin to address this hypothesis, we further examined the requirement for pYVe8081 in Ysp secretion.
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pir was used to deliver mobilizable plasmids to Y. enterocolitica. For general manipulations, bacteria were cultivated in Luria-Bertani broth (1% tryptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 90 mM NaCl) or on Luria-Bertani agar (Difco). The medium used for the examination of protein secretion by Y. enterocolitica was Luria broth base (L medium; 1% tryptone, 0.5% yeast extract) adjusted to contain NaCl at the final concentrations indicated in the text. When necessary, depletion of calcium from the medium was accomplished by the addition of 20 mM sodium oxalate and 20 mM MgCl2. Antibiotics (in micrograms per milliliter) were used as follows. For Y. enterocolitica, working concentrations were kanamycin, 100; chloramphenicol, 10; tetracycline, 7; nalidixic acid, 20; and gentamicin, 100. For E. coli, working concentrations were kanamycin, 50; chloramphenicol, 25; and tetracycline, 15. |
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TABLE 1. Strains and plasmids
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Construction of yopN, yopP, and yopE mutants.
Insertion mutations in yopN, yopP, and yopE were constructed as follows using previously described procedures (19). A fragment of DNA corresponding to an internal region of each open reading frame was amplified by PCR from wild-type Y. enterocolitica genomic DNA. The primers for yopN were YopN1 (5' TGT AGA TCT GCA CTA AGC GC 3') and YopN2 (5' TGC AGA TAG TCA GCG GC 3'), those for yopP were YopP1 (5' GAT ATA GCG GAT GGA TCC 3') and YopP2 (5' CTT ATT GTG GGG TAA AGG 3'), and those for yopE were YopE1(5' TAT TTC TAC ATC ACT GCC CC 3') and YopE2 (5' AAT TGA TGC ATC TGT TGC GC 3'). Each DNA fragment was cloned into pCR Blunt II TOPO to create pGY449, pGY375, and pGY450, respectively (Table 1). The DNA fragments were then subcloned into the suicide vector pEP185.2. The yopN fragment was subcloned by cutting pGY449 with KpnI and XhoI. The corresponding 0.47-kb fragment was then ligated with pEP185.2 that had been digested with KpnI and XhoI to generate pGY451 (Table 1). The yopP fragment was subcloned by cutting pGY375 with BamHI to take advantage of a 5' BamHI site in yopP and a 3' BamHI site in the vector. The 0.5-kb BamHI fragment was ligated into the BglII site of pEP185.2 to create pGY381 (Table 1). The yopE fragment was subcloned by cutting pGY450 with KpnI and XhoI. The corresponding 0.6-kb fragment was then ligated with pEP185.2 that had been digested with KpnI and XhoI to generate pGY452 (Table 1). Each of the suicide plasmid derivatives was then mobilized from E. coli S17-1
pir into Y. enterocolitica. Matings were plated on LB medium containing nalidixic acid and chloramphenicol to select for strains that had integrated the plasmid into the targeted locus (Table 1).
Construction of other mutant strains. To create a yscR ysaV double mutant, pGY352 (Table 1) was transferred into YVM356 as described above. Recombinants were selected as strains resistant to nalidixic acid, kanamycin, and chloramphenicol. One recombinant was saved and designated strain GY1087 (yscR::mini-Tn5 Km2 ysaV::pEP185.2).
Preparation of extracellular proteins, SDS-PAGE, and Western blot analysis.
Extracellular proteins were prepared as described previously (46). Y. enterocolitica strains were grown overnight in Luria broth and subcultured at 1:30 into 5 ml of appropriate medium to induce secretion of Ysps or Yops as indicated in the text. Cultures were grown at 26 or 37°C for 6 h and then used to isolate secreted proteins. At the time of harvesting, the optical density at 600 nm (OD600) of the culture was determined. Bacterial cells were removed by centrifugation in a microcentrifuge at 8,000 x g for 5 min. The upper two-thirds of the supernatant was removed and centrifuged again. The upper two-thirds of the supernatant was then removed and passed through a 0.22-µm-pore-size filter. Proteins were concentrated by precipitation with 10% (wt/vol) ice-cold trichloroacetic acid and washed with ice-cold acetone. All samples were resuspended in sample buffer containing 2-mercaptoethanol and heated to 95°C for 5 min. Resuspension volumes were adjusted according to the OD600 of the cultures so that an equivalent amount of each sample was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Proteins were visualized by staining them with silver (3) or were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes for Western blot analysis. The membranes were blocked with 2% skim milk in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 1 h. Rabbit polyclonal antibody in 0.2% skim milk and 0.05% Tween 20 in PBS were then added at the following dilutions:
-YopN, 1:20,000;
-YopP, 1:2,000; and
-YopE, 1:20,000. After being extensively washed, the membranes were incubated with goat
-rabbit immunoglobulin G-horseradish peroxidase (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) at a dilution of 1:20,000. Western blots were visualized by chemiluminescence (ECL kit; Amersham).
TNF-
biological assays.
The use of a biological assay to monitor the effects of Yersinia on the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-
) by host cells was established previously (4, 27). The methods used in this study were the same as those previously described with slight modifications. Murine J774A.1 macrophage-like cells (ATCC TIB-67) were plated at 5 x 104/ml in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM)-10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) the day before assays were to be performed. One hour before infection, the medium was removed, the cells were washed in serum-free DMEM, and the medium was replaced with DMEM-5% FBS. Prior to the infection of macrophages, bacteria were grown overnight in L broth and subcultured to an OD600 of 0.2 in appropriate medium. To induce the Ysa TTSS, bacteria were cultured in L medium with 0.29 M NaCl for 1 h at 26°C. To induce the Ysc TTSS, bacteria were cultivated in calcium-limited L medium at 37°C for 1 h. Just prior to infection, the OD600 of the cultures was again determined to establish the appropriate volume of culture needed to infect macrophages at a multiplicity of infection of 80. Infection was initiated by adding bacteria to cell monolayers and synchronized by centrifugation of the culture plates for 5 min at 250 x g. Incubation was continued at 26°C in 5% CO2 for induction of the Ysa TTSS and at 37°C in 5% CO2 for induction of the Ysc TTSS, after which aliquots of the supernatants were harvested at appropriate times and tested for the presence of TNF-
. Detection of TNF-
was completed using a biological assay with WEHI-13VAR cells (ATCC CRL-2148). The day before assays were to be performed, 100-µl aliquots of WEHI-13VAR cells were plated in 96-well plates at 3 x 105/ml in RPMI containing 10% FBS. Immediately before the assays, the medium was removed from the WEHI-13VAR cells and replaced with 50 µl of RPMI containing 5% FBS, 1 µg of actinomycin D (Sigma)/ml, and 200 µg of gentamicin/ml. Supernatants from infected macrophages (50 µl) were added to the WEHI-13VAR cells, and the plates were incubated for 20 to 24 h at 37°C in 5% CO2. The medium was removed, the cells were washed once with PBS, and 50 µl of 0.5% crystal violet in 20% methanol was added. After 5 min at room temperature, the wells were rinsed with distilled H2O and 100 µl of 1% SDS was added to solubilize the crystal violet. The plates were incubated for 30 min at 37°C, after which the OD562 of each sample was measured in a microplate reader. The responsiveness of WEHI-13VAR cells to TNF-
was calculated as described previously (4). Accordingly, the amount of TNF-
production is reported as the percent maximal release and is the average ± standard deviation of four independent experiments performed in triplicate. As a control to be sure that culture media did not induce toxic effects, the growth rates of the WEHI-13VAR cells in 50% DMEM-50% RPMI and in 100% RPMI were compared. There was no difference in cell counts after 48 h at 37°C in 5% CO2 (data not shown).
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FIG. 1. Secretion of YspG, YspH, and YspJ is affected by the loss of pYVe8081 but does not require the Ysc TTSS. Secreted proteins were isolated, concentrated from culture supernatants, and separated by SDS-PAGE. The proteins were then visualized by staining them with silver. (A) Cultures were grown at 26°C in L medium supplemented with 290 mM NaCl to induce Ysp production. Lanes: 1, JB580v (wild type); 2, GY4499 (ysaT); 3, GY4478 (pYVe8081-); 4, YVM356 (yscR); 5, YVM351 (yscU); 6, YVM373 (yscC); 7, GY4555 (yscK); 8, YVM377 (yscL). Each lane contains the equivalent of 1 ml of culture supernatant at an OD600 of 1.0. Ysps are assigned according to size on the left, and the approximate locations of molecular mass standards (in kilodaltons) are indicated on the right. (B) Cultures were grown at 37°C in L medium depleted of calcium by the addition of 20 mM sodium oxalate and 20 mM MgCl2 to induce Yop production. The lanes are as listed for panel A. Each lane contains the equivalent of 0.5 ml of culture supernatant at an OD600 of 1.0. Yops are assigned according to size on the left, and the approximate locations of molecular mass standards (in kilodaltons) are indicated on the right.
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FIG. 2. Comparison of proteins secreted by selected strains of Y. enterocolitica grown under Ysa TTSS- or Ysc TTSS-inducing conditions. (A) Analysis of secreted proteins by SDS-PAGE. Lanes: 1 and 2, Ysp and Yop preparations from cultures of JB580v (Wild Type); 3 and 4, Ysp and Yop preparations from cultures of GY4478 (pYVe8081-). The secreted proteins were prepared and separated as described in the legend to Fig. 1. The cultures for lanes 1 and 3 were grown at 26°C in L medium supplemented with 290 mM NaCl to induce Ysp production, and the lanes contain the equivalent of 1 ml of culture supernatant at an OD600 of 1.0. The cultures for lanes 2 and 4 were grown at 37°C in L medium depleted of calcium by the addition of 20 mMsodium oxalate and 20 mM MgCl2 to induce Yop production, and the lanes contain the equivalent of 0.5 ml of culture supernatant at an OD600 of 1.0. The proteins were visualized by staining them with silver. The locations of selected Ysps and Yops are assigned according to size on the left and right, respectively. (B) Immunoblot analysis of secreted proteins with polyclonal antibodies directed against YopN, YopP, and YopE. The lanes are as described for panel A. Proteins were prepared and separated as indicated in the legend to panel A and then transferred to nitrocellulose membranes and probed with either -YopN, -YopP, or -YopE antibody as indicated on the right side of each panel. The lanes contain the equivalent of 2 and 0.25 ml of culture supernatant at an OD600 of 1.0 for cultures induced for Ysp production and Yop production, respectively.
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FIG. 3. Secretion of YspG, YspH, and YspJ is blocked by mutations in yopN, yopP, and yopE, respectively. (A) Cultures were grown at 26°C in L medium supplemented with 290 mM NaCl to induce Ysp production. (B) Cultures were grown at 37°C in L medium depleted of calcium by the addition of 20 mM sodium oxalate and 20 mM MgCl2 to induce Yop production. Lanes: 1, molecular mass markers; 2, JB580v (Wild Type); 3, GY4764 (yopN); 4, GY4618 (yopP); 5, GY4765 (yopE); 6, GY4428 (ysaV); 7, YVM356 (yscR); 8, GY4488 (pYVe8081-). The locations of selected Ysps and Yops are assigned according to size on the left of each panel. The secreted proteins were isolated and analyzed as described in the legend to Fig. 1. The molecular mass standards are approximately 77, 50, 35, and 20 kDa.
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FIG. 4. Restoration of YspH and YopP secretion by complementation of the yopP mutation. Cultures were grown at 26°C in L medium supplemented with 290 mM NaCl to induce Ysp production for the samples in lanes 1 to 5. Cultures were grown at 37°C in L medium depleted of calcium by the addition of 20 mM sodium oxalate and 20 mM MgCl2 to induce Yop production for the samples in lanes 6 to 10. Lanes: 1 and 6, JB580/pTM100 (Wild Type); 2 and 7, GY4618/pTM100 (yopP, control); 3 and 8, GY4618/pGY423 (yopP, yopOP+); 4 and 9, GY4618/pGY415 (yopP and yopP+); 5 and 10, GY4478/pGY415 (pYVe8081- and yopP+). The locations of selected Ysps and Yops are assigned according to size on the left and right, respectively. The secreted proteins were isolated and analyzed as described in the legend to Fig. 1.
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production by macrophages.
It is well documented that translocation of YopP (YopJ in Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. pestis) into macrophages leads to suppression of TNF-
production (4, 27). It has also been shown that YopP is required for stimulating macrophage apoptosis (22, 23, 37). Because evidence presented here indicates that YopP is secreted by the chromosomally encoded Ysa TTSS, we hypothesized that secretion of YopP by this system would lead to YopP-dependent phenotypes in macrophages. To address this possibility, we examined the effect of YopP on the release of TNF-
by infected macrophages (Fig. 5). First, it was demonstrated that bacteria grown in calcium-limited media at 37°C exhibited a requirement for a functional Ysc TTSS and YopP in order to suppress TNF-
production by macrophages (Fig. 5A). This result is consistent with those of previous studies (4, 27). Under these conditions, the abilities of mutants defective for the Ysa TTSS to suppress TNF-
production did not appear to be affected. The experiment was then modified to favor expression of the Ysa TTSS by growing the bacteria used to infect macrophages in a medium containing 290 mM NaCl at 26°C and infecting macrophages at 26°C (Fig. 5A). Interestingly, Y. enterocolitica retained the ability to suppress secretion of TNF-
by macrophages under these conditions. Suppression of TNF-
production required both the Ysa TTSS and YopP but no longer required the Ysc TTSS (Fig. 5A). This suggested that YopP was targeted to macrophages by the Ysa TTSS. Consistent with these results, complementation of the yopP mutation with a plasmid-encoded copy of the yopP locus restored the ability of this mutant to suppress TNF-
production under both Ysa and Ysc TTSS-inducing conditions (Fig. 5B). Taken together, these results confirm that the absence of YopP leads to increased TNF-
production by Y. enterocolitica-infected macrophages. It also indicates that YopP is exported and targeted by both the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs.
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FIG. 5. Mutations in yopP affect Ysa and Ysc TTSS-dependent suppression of TNF- release by Y. enterocolitica-infected macrophages. (A) Macrophages were infected for 2 h with selected strains of Y. enterocolitica as indicated from left to right: control (mock infection), JB580v (wild type [WT]), GY4618 (yopP), GY4499 (ysaT), GY4428 (ysaV), GY4478 (pYVe8081-), YVM356 (yscR), and GY1087 (yscR, ysaV). Macrophage infections were conducted under Ysa TTSS-inducing conditions or Ysc TTSS-inducing conditions as described in the text. The detection of TNF- production by macrophages was completed using a biological assay as described in Materials and Methods. The results are displayed as the average ± standard deviation of four independent experiments performed in triplicate. The data were statistically analyzed using Student's t test to compare values obtained for infection with the WT strain to infections with each mutant. Values that have differences with a P value of <0.01 (*) and <0.001 (**) are indicated. (B) Complementation of a yopP mutation restores Ysa TTSS- and Ysc TTSS-dependent suppression of TNF- release by infected macrophages. Macrophages were infected for 2 h with selected strains of Y. enterocolitica as indicated from left to right: control (mock infection), JB580v (WT), GY4618/pTM100 (yopP), GY4618/pGY423 (yopP, yopOP+), and GY4618/pGY415 (yopP and yopP+). Macrophage infections were conducted under Ysa TTSS-inducing conditions or Ysc TTSS-inducing conditions as described in the text. Detection of TNF- production by macrophages was completed and the data were analyzed as described for panel A.
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The observation of Ysa TTSS-dependent secretion of YopP provided the opportunity to examine how this system might affect the activities of host cells. It is already established that the activity of YopP as an effector requires it to be translocated into host cells. The potential for YopP targeting by the Ysa TTSS was tested by examining the effects of Ysa and Ysc TTSS functions on YopP-dependent suppression of TNF-
release by infected macrophages. This analysis confirmed that previously described laboratory conditions known to induce Ysc TTSS function lead to YopP-dependent suppression of TNF-
production by macrophages. However, Ysa TTSS function was required for YopP-dependent suppression of TNF-
production by infected macrophages when experimental conditions were adjusted to induce the Ysa TTSS. These inducing conditions require a temperature that is lower than the expected temperature of a mammalian host. This apparent discrepancy may simply indicate that other environmental conditions in the host contribute to induction of the Ysa TTSS. Nonetheless, the results presented here illustrate the potential for different TTSSs of Y. enterocolitica to export an overlapping group of substrates. They also demonstrate that the Ysa TTSS can deliver effector proteins into host cells.
The first functional evidence that indicated sharing of substrates by different TTSSs of Y. enterocolitica was possible came from a study of the secreted phospholipase YplA (46). Under laboratory conditions, this protein is exported by the flagellar TTSS, but it can also be exported by the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs. Because regulation of YplA production is coupled with the expression of flagellar genes, it is difficult to establish if this protein is exported by alternate pathways in vivo (40). Additional studies will be required to determine if proteins other than YopN, YopP, and YopE are exported by the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs under conditions that are different from those used in this study and those in vivo. Studies of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium have suggested that this bacterium also utilizes two different TTSSs to target some proteins to the host environment (20).
Yersinia infection of mammalian cells has been shown to lead to a rapid induction of multiple MAP kinase pathways. This rapid induction is followed by an inhibition that requires the activity of YopP in Y. enterocolitica and its equivalent, designated YopJ, in Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis (4, 27, 34-36, 38). One effect of YopP/J activity is that blocking MAP kinase cascades limits production of inflammatory mediators like TNF-
(4, 27). In addition, YopP/J stimulates apoptosis in macrophages by modifying the caspase cascade (12, 22, 23, 37). The mechanism by which YopP/J may influence these pathways appears to be quite complicated (for a review, see reference 24). While it is not fully understood how YopP/J causes these effects, YopP/J binds to members of the MKK family and IKKß (25). YopP/J is also thought to act as a ubiquitin-like protease, resulting in decreased cellular levels of free SUMO-1 and increased levels of SUMO-1-conjugated proteins, which would affect the stability of putative host regulatory proteins (26). The net effect of YopP/J activity, whether direct or indirect, leads to multiple effects on host cells, including down-regulation of the NF-
B signaling pathway, MAP kinase pathways, and cytokine induction (27, 36). YopE also affects the activities of host cells by acting as a GTPase-activating protein for the Rho family of small GTP-binding proteins, including RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42 (1, 45). This family of proteins is involved in modulating host cell actin polymerization. The net effect of YopE function is the loss of host cell actin filaments and impairment of phagocytic activity. YopN has been shown to be involved in coordinating the secretion of Yop proteins by the Ysc TTSS (5, 13). It is possible that YopN also has a role in coordinating protein secretion by the Ysa TTSS. Given the multiple effects of YopN, YopP/J, and YopE on host cellular responses, the secretion of effectors by both the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs of Y. enterocolitica may be an attempt by this species to influence the host immune response by targeting different types of cells or by acting at different stages of an infection.
Other evidence also indicates that the Ysa and Ysc TTSSs may contribute to different stages of infection. The Ysa TTSS appears to influence pathogenesis in mice when they are orally infected with Y. enterocolitica but not when they are infected by an intraperitoneal route (17). In contrast, the Ysc TTSS is essential for pathogenesis in mice regardless of the route of infection (9). Perhaps the Ysa TTSS is primed to affect Y. enterocolitica interactions with the host at an early stage of infection in order to limit initial innate immune responses. Subsequently, induction of the Ysc TTSS may be necessary to extend the influence of YopP and YopE on the immune response. The consequence of targeting effectors by two different TTSSs may be that Y. enterocolitica can influence both the innate immune system and the subsequent adaptive immunity of the host.
-YopN,
-YopP, and
-YopE polyclonal antibodies. This work was supported by University of California start-up funds and an Academic Senate Faculty Research Award.
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production and down regulation of the MAP kinases p38 and JNK. Mol. Microbiol. 27:953-965.[CrossRef][Medline]
B: involvement in the induction of programmed cell death and in suppression of macrophage tumor necrosis factor production. J. Exp. Med. 187:1069-1079.
B activation and cytokine expression: YopJ contains a eukaryotic SH2-like domain that is essential for its repressive activity. Mol. Microbiol. 28:1067-1079.[CrossRef][Medline]
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