Although the neonatal and fetal pathogen Group B Streptococcus (GBS) asymptomatically colonizes the vaginal tract of ∼30% of pregnant women, only a fraction of their offspring develops invasive disease. We and others have postulated that these dimorphic clinical phenotypes are driven by strain variability; however, the bacterial factors that promote these divergent clinical phenotypes remain unclear. It was previously shown that GBS produces membrane vesicles (MVs) that contain active virulence factors capable of inducing adverse pregnancy outcomes. Because the relationship between strain variation and vesicle composition or production is unknown, we sought to quantify MV production and examine the protein composition, using label-free proteomics on MVs produced by diverse clinical GBS strains representing three phylogenetically distinct lineages. We found that MV production varied across strains, with certain strains displaying nearly twofold increases in production relative to others. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis of the proteomes revealed that MV composition is lineage-dependent but independent of clinical phenotype. Multiple proteins that contribute to virulence or immunomodulation, including hyaluronidase, C5a peptidase, and sialidases, were differentially abundant in MVs, and were partially responsible for this divergence. Together, these data indicate that production and composition of GBS MVs vary in a strain-dependent manner, suggesting that MVs have lineage-specific functions relating to virulence. Such differences may contribute to variation in clinical phenotypes observed among individuals infected with GBS strains representing distinct lineages.
Microbial infections are a threat to women’s reproductive health. Although reproductive cycles and pregnancy are controlled by sex hormones, the impact of hormones on host–pathogen interactions and immune function in the female reproductive tract are understudied. Furthermore, the changing endocrine environment throughout pregnancy may influence how and when women are susceptible to ascending infection. Because most intrauterine microbial infections originate in the lower reproductive tract, it is vital that future studies determine how different hormonal conditions influence the lower reproductive tract’s susceptibility to infection to understand temporal components of infection susceptibilities across pregnancy. These studies should also extend to nonpregnant women, as it is critical to establish how hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives may influence disease susceptibility. This review summarizes current knowledge of how estrogen and progesterone impact vaginal and cervical mucosal immunity, barrier function, and interactions with microbial communities.
Although the neonatal and fetal pathogen Group B Streptococcus (GBS) asymptomatically colonizes the vaginal tract of ~30% of pregnant women, only a fraction of their offspring develops invasive disease. We and others have postulated that these dimorphic clinical phenotypes are driven by strain variability; however, the bacterial factors that promote these divergent clinical phenotypes remain unclear. It was previously shown that GBS produces membrane vesicles (MVs) that contain active virulence factors capable of inducing adverse pregnancy outcomes. Because the relationship between strain variation and vesicle composition or production is unknown, we sought to quantify MV production and examine the protein composition, using label-free proteomics on MVs produced by diverse clinical GBS strains representing three phylogenetically distinct lineages. We found that MV production varied across strains, with certain strains displaying nearly two-fold increases in production relative to others. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis of the proteomes revealed that MV composition is lineage-dependent but independent of clinical phenotype. Multiple proteins that contribute to virulence or immunomodulation, including hyaluronidase, C5a peptidase, and sialidases, were differentially abundant in MVs, and were partially responsible for this divergence. Together, these data indicate that production and composition of GBS MVs vary in a strain-dependent manner, suggesting that MVs have lineage-specific functions relating to virulence. Such differences may contribute to variation in clinical phenotypes observed among individuals infected with GBS strains representing distinct lineages.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of fetal and neonatal mortality worldwide. Many of the adverse effects associated with invasive GBS are associated with inflammation that leads to chorioamnionitis, preterm birth, sepsis, and meningitis; therefore, understanding bacterial factors that promote inflammation is of critical importance. Membrane vesicles (MVs), which are produced by many pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, may modulate host inflammatory responses. In mice, GBS MVs injected intra-amniotically can induce preterm birth and fetal death. Although it is known that GBS MVs induce large-scale leukocyte recruitment into infected tissues, the immune effectors driving these responses are unclear. Here, we hypothesized that macrophages respond to GBS-derived MVs by producing proinflammatory cytokines and are recognized through one or more pattern recognition receptors. We show that THP-1 macrophage-like cells produce high levels of neutrophil- and monocyte-specific chemokines in response to MVs derived from different clinical isolates of GBS. Interleukin (IL)-1ß was significantly upregulated in response to MVs, which was independent of NF-kB signaling but dependent on both caspase-1 and NLRP3. These data indicate that MVs contain one or more pathogen-associated molecular patterns that can be sensed by the immune system. Furthermore, this study identifies the NLRP3 inflammasome as a novel sensor of GBS MVs. Our data additionally indicate that MVs may serve as immune effectors that can be targeted for immunotherapeutics, particularly given that similar responses were observed across this subset of GBS isolates.
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