Identification of a protein secretory pathway for the secretion of heat-labile enterotoxin by an enterotoxigenic strain of Escherichia coli

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an enteric pathogen that causes cholera-like diarrhea in humans and animals. ETEC secretes a heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), which resembles cholera toxin, but the actual mechanism of LT secretion is presently unknown. We have identified a previously unrecognized type II protein secretion pathway in the prototypic human ETEC strain, H10407 (serotype O78:H11). The genes for this pathway are absent from E. coli K-12, although examination of the K-12 genome suggests that it probably once possessed them. The secretory pathway bears significant homology at the amino acid level to the type II protein secretory pathway required by Vibrio cholerae for the secretion of cholera toxin. With this in mind, we determined whether the homologous pathway of E. coli H10407 played a role in the secretion of LT. To this end, we inactivated the pathway by inserting a kanamycin-resistance gene into one of the genes (gspD) of the type II secretion pathway by homologous recombination. LT secretion by E. coli H10407 and the gspD mutant was assayed by enzyme immunoassay, and its biological activity was assessed by using Y-1 adrenal cells. This investigation showed that the protein secretory pathway is functional and necessary for the secretion of LT by ETEC. Our findings have revealed the mechanism for the secretion of LT by ETEC, which previously was unknown, and provide further evidence of close biological similarities of the LT and cholera toxin.     

Effects of Vibrio cholerae recombinant strains on rabbit ileum in vivo. Enterotoxin production and myoelectric activity

Previous studies have identified the effects of Vibrio cholerae and its enterotoxin, choleragen (CT A+B+), on the myoelectric activity of rabbit ileal loops in vivo. The response was defined as the migrating action potential complex, the single ring contraction that propels luminal contents aborad. In this study the same rabbit model is used to assess whether migrating action potential complex activity or fluid output is induced by recombinant strains of V. cholerae that produce no subunit of cholera toxin (CT A-B-) or only by the inactive binding subunit (CT A-B+). Three live strains were studied: El Tor wild-type N16961 (CT A+B+) and recombinant strains CVD106 (CT A-B+) and JBK70 (CT A-B-). Controls received sterile culture broth. Migrating action potential complex frequency in animals inoculated with CT A+B+ was significantly increased compared with that in all other experimental groups (P less than 0.01). Fluid output was also increased in animals inoculated with CT A+B+ compared with fluid output in all other groups (P less than 0.05). Migrating action potential complex frequency and fluid output in rabbits given CT A-B+ or CT A-B- did not differ from activity in controls. How these recombinant strains induce diarrhea is unknown, but the mechanism may involve bacterial colonization or production of an unknown toxin.     

聚合酶链反应检测O1群霍乱弧菌肠毒素A亚单位基因

为了加强对霍乱的防治，探索对霍乱弧菌的快速和敏感的检测方法，建立了一种快速标本处理和聚合酶链反应扩增Ｏ１群霍乱弧菌肠毒素Ａ亚单位基因区的诊断方法。     

Heterogeneity of immunotypes of heat-labile enterotoxins of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli of human origin

A new technique, checkerboard immunoblotting (CBIB), has been applied to detect and to differentiate heat-labile enterotoxins, (LTs), from enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli of human origin using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. Optimal conditions of production and release of LTs were defined using CBIB. LT release was enhanced when E. coli cells were treated with 8 M urea. LT production was highest when E. coli strains were incubated with shaking (200 rpm) at 37 degrees C for 12 h in CAYE-2 medium. Two hundred and five strains of E. coli, isolated from patients with diarrhea in Japan, Thailand, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, were examined for LT. Of 133 LT-positive strains, 4 (3%) produced an LT that reacted like H-LT-1 (originally isolated from E. coli strain H-74-114) while 126 strains (94.7%) produced LT that reacted like H-LT-2 (originally isolated from strain H-10407) or H-LT-3 (from strain H-240-3). Three strains of human origin (2.3%) produced an LT that reacted like P-LT (produced by E. coli strains of porcine origin). This study shows that CBIB, a simple, efficient, and practical assay, might be useful for epidemiologic surveys and for evaluation of serologic responses to LTs and antitoxic vaccines.     

Resident CD11c+ lung cells are impaired by anthrax toxins after spore infection

Bacillus anthracis secretes 2 toxins: lethal toxin (LT) and edema toxin (ET). We investigated their role in the physiopathologic mechanisms of inhalational anthrax by evaluating murine lung dendritic cell (LDC) functions after infection with B. anthracis strains secreting LT, ET, or both or with a nontoxinogenic strain. Three lung cell populations gated on CD11c/CD11b expression were obtained after lung digestion: (1) CD11c(high)/CD11b(low) (alveolar macrophages), (2) CD11c(intermediate (int))/CD11b(int) (LDCs), and (3) CD11c(low)/CD11b(high) (interstitial macrophages or monocytes). After infection with LT-secreting strains, a decrease in costimulatory molecule expression on LDCs was observed. All CD11c+ cells infected with a nontoxinogenic strain secreted tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- alpha , interleukin (IL)-10, and IL-6. LT-secreting strains inhibited overall cytokine secretion, whereas the ET-secreting strain inhibited only TNF- alpha secretion and increased IL-6 secretion. Similar results were obtained after preincubation with purified toxins. Our results suggest that anthrax toxins secreted during infection impair LDC function and suppress the innate immune response.     

Identification of a conserved bacterial protein secretion system in Vibrio cholerae using the Dictyostelium host model system

The bacterium Vibrio cholerae, like other human pathogens that reside in environmental reservoirs, survives predation by unicellular eukaryotes. Strains of the O1 and O139 serogroups cause cholera, whereas non-O1/non-O139 strains cause human infections through poorly defined mechanisms. Using Dictyostelium discoideum as a model host, we have identified a virulence mechanism in a non-O1/non-O139 V. cholerae strain that involves extracellular translocation of proteins that lack N-terminal hydrophobic leader sequences. Accordingly, we have named these genes "VAS" genes for virulence-associated secretion, and we propose that these genes encode a prototypic "type VI" secretion system. We show that vas genes are required for cytotoxicity of V. cholerae cells toward Dictyostelium amoebae and mammalian J774 macrophages by a contact-dependent mechanism. A large number of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens carry genes homologous to vas genes and potential effector proteins secreted by this pathway (i.e., hemolysin-coregulated protein and VgrG). Mutations in vas homologs in other bacterial species have been reported to attenuate virulence in animals and cultured macrophages. Thus, the genes encoding the VAS-related, type VI secretion system likely play an important conserved function in microbial pathogenesis and represent an additional class of targets for vaccine and antimicrobial drug-based therapies.     

Molecular cloning of Vibrio cholerae enterotoxin genes in Escherichia coli K-12.

Hybridization probes derived from the A and B subunit genes of the heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of Escherichia coli were used to analyze DNA from Vibrio cholera strain 569B for cholera toxin gene sequences. Southern blot analysis indicated that the cholera toxin A and B subunit genes were each duplicated in the strain. One of the two toxin subunit gene pairs was cloned as a 5.1-kilobase DNA insert in plasmid pBR322. E. coli cells carrying the recombinant plasmid pJM17 were shown to produce cholera toxin, which was found to be largely cell associated. Protein chemical analysis indicated that the toxin was in its unnicked form and required additional proteolytic processing by trypsin to exhibit full toxicity in tissue culture. The alteration in E. coli of the secretion and proteolytic processing of cholera toxin parallels that previously observed for LT. An in vitro generated insertion mutation in the A subunit gene on pJM17 was shown to abolish production of the A chain but still allow production of the B chain. These observations, together with restriction mapping data, have demonstrated that the cholera toxin and LT genes are very similar in their genetic organization.     

Production of leukotrienes in gonadotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated pituitary cells: potential role in luteinizing hormone release.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulated the formation of two major metabolites of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway, leukotriene (LT) B4 and LTC4, as well as luteinizing hormone (LH) release in primary cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells. Several lines of evidence suggested the presence of a GnRH-dependent pituitary endocrine system in which LTs act as second messengers for LH release: (i) GnRH-dependent LT formation was observed within 1 min and immediately preceded GnRH-induced LH release, whereas exogenous LTs stimulated LH release at low concentrations; (ii) the dose responses of GnRH-induced LT production and LH release were similar and both effects required the presence of extracellular Ca2+ ions; (iii) GnRH-induced LH release was blocked by up to 45% following the administration of several LT receptor antagonists; (iv) LTE4 action on LH secretion was entirely abolished by LT receptor antagonists; and (v) an activator of protein kinase C acted synergistically with LTE4 to induce LH release. The major source of LT formation in the pituitary cell cultures appeared to be the gonadotrophs, as shown by GnRH receptor desensitization experiments. The results demonstrate the presence of a GnRH-activatable 5-lipoxygenase pathway in anterior pituitary cells and provide strong support for the hypothesis that LTs play a role in LH release in the GnRH signaling pathway.     

Isolation of enterotoxin structural gene deletion mutations in Vibrio cholerae induced by two mutagenic vibriophages.

Phenotypically nontoxinogenic mutants of Vibrio cholerae were isolated after infection with either of two mutagenic vibriophages, VcAI and VcA2ctsl. DNA isolated from these mutants was analyzed for toxin gene sequences by the Southern blotting method with 32P-labeled probes derived from the cloned A and B subunit genes for the heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli, designated LT. Several of the mutant isolates were shown by this method to have lost all sequences hybridizing to the LT probes, indicating that these clones contain deletion mutations that removed the structural gene(s) for cholera toxin. The mutants were prototrophic and grew normally, in vitro, demonstrating that the toxin is not essential for the growth and viability of V. cholerae. Moreover, the toxin gene deletion mutants multiplied well in vivo in ligated rabbit intestine. Because of these growth properties and the stability of deletion mutations, these strains are promising candidates for testing as live oral vaccine strains for protection against cholera.     

Accessory cholera enterotoxin (Ace), the third toxin of a Vibrio cholerae virulence cassette.

Vibrio cholerae causes the potentially lethal disease cholera through the elaboration of the intestinal secretogen cholera toxin. A second toxin of V. cholerae, Zot, decreases intestinal tissue resistance by modifying intercellular tight junctions. In this report, a third toxin of V. cholerae, Ace (accessory cholera enterotoxin), is described. Ace increases short-circuit current in Ussing chambers and causes fluid secretion in ligated rabbit ileal loops. The predicted protein sequence of Ace shows striking similarity to eukaryotic ion-transporting ATPases, including the product of the cystic fibrosis gene. The gene encoding Ace is located immediately upstream of the genes encoding Zot and cholera toxin. The ctx, zot, and ace genes, which are located on a dynamic sector of the chromosome, comprise a V. cholerae "virulence cassette."     

Expression of diphtheria toxin fragment A and hormone-toxin fusion proteins in toxin-resistant yeast mutants.

Mutants of the eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae, previously selected for resistance to diphtheria toxin, were investigated for their suitability as hosts for the expression of tox-related proteins. The structural gene for the toxin, encoding the fragment A catalytic domain, was modified for efficient intracellular expression in eukaryotes and placed downstream of the yeast GAL1 promoter element in a plasmid. Transformed mutant yeast grown in galactose, which induces that promoter, were viable and contained active fragment A. In contrast, sensitive, wild-type cells harboring this plasmid grew normally under repressing conditions but were killed when the GAL1 promoter was induced. Additional constructions were also prepared that included sequences encoding either the lymphocyte growth factor interleukin 2 or alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone along with the lipid-associating domains of fragment B and the leader peptide of the Kluyveromyces lactis killer toxin. Resistant mutant strains transformed with these plasmids efficiently expressed and secreted the expected chimeric toxins.     

Bacillus anthracis produces membrane-derived vesicles containing biologically active toxins

Extracellular vesicle production is a ubiquitous process in Gram-negative bacteria, but little is known about such process in Gram-positive bacteria. We report the isolation of extracellular vesicles from the supernatants of Bacillus anthracis, a Gram-positive bacillus that is a powerful agent for biological warfare. B. anthracis vesicles formed at the outer layer of the bacterial cell had double-membrane spheres and ranged from 50 to 150 nm in diameter. Immunoelectron microscopy with mAbs to protective antigen, lethal factor, edema toxin, and anthrolysin revealed toxin components and anthrolysin in vesicles, with some vesicles containing more than one toxin component. Toxin-containing vesicles were also visualized inside B. anthracis-infected macrophages. ELISA and immunoblot analysis of vesicle preparations confirmed the presence of B. anthracis toxin components. A mAb to protective antigen protected macrophages against vesicles from an anthrolysin-deficient strain, but not against vesicles from Sterne 34F2 and Sterne δT strains, consistent with the notion that vesicles delivered both toxin and anthrolysin to host cells. Vesicles were immunogenic in BALB/c mice, which produced a robust IgM response to toxin components. Furthermore, vesicle-immunized mice lived significantly longer than controls after B. anthracis challenge. Our results indicate that toxin secretion in B. anthracis is, at least, partially vesicle-associated, thus allowing concentrated delivery of toxin components to target host cells, a mechanism that may increase toxin potency. Our observations may have important implications for the design of vaccines, for passive antibody strategies, and provide a previously unexplored system for studying secretory pathways in Gram-positive bacteria.     

Development of oral vaccines based on recombinant proteins derived from cholera toxin]

In this paper a new approach to create antigens through genetic engineering is discussed. In this particular case the subunits of V. cholerae toxin are used as heterologous epitope carries. In this paper the manipulation of A and B subunits is described. This manipulation allows both the insertion of epitopes to the B subunit and the use of subunit A in the construction of recombinant antigens similar to the ones derived from subunit B.     

Nucleotide sequence of the cDNA encoding the precursor of the beta subunit of rat lutropin.

We have determined the nucleotide sequences of cDNAs encoding the precursor of the beta subunit of rat lutropin, a polypeptide hormone that regulates gonadal function, including the development of gametes and the production of steroid sex hormones. The cDNAs were prepared from poly(A)+ RNA derived from the pituitary glands of rats 4 weeks after ovariectomy and were cloned in bacterial plasmids. Bacterial colonies containing transfected plasmids were screened by hybridization with a 32P-labeled cDNA encoding the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin, a protein that is related in structure to lutropin. Several recombinant plasmids were detected that by nucleotide sequence analyses contained coding sequences for the precursor of the beta subunit of lutropin. Complete determination of the nucleotide sequences of these cDNAs, as well as of cDNA reverse-transcribed from pituitary poly(A)+ RNA by using a synthetic pentadecanucleotide as a primer of RNA, provided the entire 141-codon sequence of the precursor of the beta subunit of rat lutropin. The precursor consists of a 20 amino acid leader (signal) peptide and an apoprotein of 121 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of the rat lutropin beta subunit shows similarity to the beta subunits of the ovine/bovine, porcine, and human lutropins (81, 86, and 74% of amino acids identical, respectively). Blot hybridization of pituitary RNAs separated by electrophoresis on agarose gels showed that the mRNA encoding the lutropin beta subunit consists of approximately 700 bases. The availability of cDNAs for both the alpha and beta subunits of lutropin will facilitate studies of the regulation of lutropin expression.     

Recombinant system for overexpression of cholera toxin B subunit in Vibrio cholerae as a basis for vaccine development

We have constructed an overexpression system in which the gene encoding the B subunit of cholera toxin (CTB) was placed under the control of the strong tacP promoter in a wide host range plasmid. Recombinant nontoxigenic classical and E1 Tor Vibrio cholerae strains of different serotypes harboring this plasmid excreted 10- to 100-fold higher amounts of CTB than any other wild-type or recombinant strain tested and may therefore be useful killed oral vaccine strains. The manipulations to place the CTB gene under tacP also included, by design, the introduction of single enzyme restriction sites for gene fusions to the CTB amino terminus. Cloning into these sites allows construction of CTB-derived hybrid proteins carrying various putative vaccine peptide antigens.     

Production and regulation of inhibin subunits in pituitary gonadotropes

Two related proteins, inhibin and activin, are produced and secreted by the gonads and act at the pituitary to regulate FSH secretion. In the present study, the alpha and beta B, but not the beta A, polypeptide subunits of inhibin were localized in the cytoplasm of FSH- and LH-immunoreactive (ir) gonadotropes. Ovariectomy (OVX) increased the size and number of cells immunoreactive for inhibin-alpha and -beta B as well as the mRNAs encoding these subunits. Treatment with estrogen prevented these effects. These results suggest that pituitary gonadotropes are sources, as well as targets, of inhibin-related peptides, whose expression in the pituitary is modulated by ovarian factors.     

Conformation of protein secreted across bacterial outer membranes: a study of enterotoxin translocation from Vibrio cholerae.

The secretion of enterotoxin by Vibrio cholerae is punctuated by the transient entry of the toxin subunits into the periplasm. In this paper, we show that the subunits oligomerize into an assembled holotoxin within the periplasm prior to their secretion across the outer membrane. The rate of toxin assembly was studied by pulse-labeling cells with [35S]-methionine and then monitoring the turnover of radiolabeled subunits as they assembled within the periplasm. The subunits entered the periplasm as monomers and assembled into oligomers with a half-time of approximately 1 min. Since assembly was a rapid event compared to the rate of toxin efflux from the periplasm, which had a half-time of approximately 13 min, we conclude that all of the subunits that pass through the periplasm assemble before they traverse the outer membrane. The average concentration of subunit monomers and assembled holotoxin within the periplasm was calculated to be approximately 20 and approximately 260 micrograms/ml, respectively. This indicates that the periplasm is a suitably concentrated milieu where spontaneous toxin assembly can occur. Our findings suggest that protein movement across bacterial outer membranes, in apparent contrast to export across other biological membranes, involves translocation of polypeptides that have already folded into tertiary and even quaternary conformations.     

Adsorption potency of 2 clays, smectite and kaolin on bacterial enterotoxins. In vitro study in cell culture and in the intestine of newborn mice

The use of clays in the treatment of enterocolitis is justified by their ability to adsorb viruses, biliary acids and bacterial toxins secreted into the intestinal lumen. We have studied the in vitro inactivation of the LT toxins of Vibrio cholerae and E. coli, the ST toxin of ETEC and the verotoxin of EHEC. These various toxins were incubated with two types of clays, smectite and kaolin, to investigate the influence of dose, pH variations and the duration of contact of the clays with the toxins. Irrespective of their presence or absence in the supernatant, the biological activity of the toxins was assessed in cell culture and in the newborn mouse test. Both clays inactivated the LT toxin. Smectite was more efficient than kaolin as it was active immediately especially at the pH of intestinal chyme. The LT toxins were adsorbed on the clays by hydrogen bonding. This permitted the segregation of the toxins and prevented them from being fixed to the membrane receptors on the cells. The two clays were ineffective against the verotoxin of EHEC when the pH was alkaline although they were more efficient at acid pH. ST toxin of ETEC was slightly adsorbed by smectite and kaolin.     

5-hydroxytryptamine release into human jejunum by cholera toxin.

BACKGROUND: Cholera toxin produces intestinal secretion by activation of the adenylate cyclase complex. However animal studies have shown 5-hydroxytryptamine may be released after exposure to cholera toxin, and thereby contribute to the secretory state. AIM: To determine whether cholera toxin releases 5-hydroxytryptamine in human jejunum. SUBJECTS: Seven male subjects were given a subclinical dose of cholera toxin in a paired, controlled, randomised, double blind study. METHODS: A closed 10 cm segment of upper jejunum was exposed to 15 micrograms of cholera toxin for two hours prior to closed segment perfusion with plasma electrolyte solution containing a non-absorbable volume marker, [14C]-polyethylene glycol. 5-Hydroxytryptamine in jejunal effluent and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in urine (up to seven hours after cholera toxin) were measured by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection. RESULTS: In contrast with controls, all subjects secreted fluid in response to cholera toxin, median-2.1 ml/cm/h (interquartile range-4.1 to -0.1). During seven hours following cholera toxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine was secreted into the lumen (range 31 to 395 nmol/l) but not in control experiments. After exposure to cholera toxin median urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was 5.7 (4.1 to 6.3), which was similar to controls 4.9 (4.1 to 6.3), which was similar to controls 4.9 (4.1 to 6.2). CONCLUSION: Thus, cholera toxin induced a secretory state and promoted the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine into the intestinal lumen, but quantitative changes in urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were not detectable. As an intestinal secretagogue, these findings suggest that 5-hydroxytryptamine may play a part in mediating cholera toxin induced secretion in humans.