Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrheal disease in humans and animals. During salmonellosis, S. Typhimurium colonizes epithelial cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. S. Typhimurium has an unusual lifestyle in epithelial cells that begins within an endocytic-derived Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV), followed by escape into the cytosol, epithelial cell lysis and bacterial release. The cytosol is a more permissive environment than the SCV and supports rapid bacterial growth. The physicochemical conditions encountered by S. Typhimurium within the epithelial cytosol, and the bacterial genes required for cytosolic colonization, remain largely unknown. Here we have exploited the parallel colonization strategies of S. Typhimurium in epithelial cells to decipher the two niche-specific bacterial virulence programs. By combining a population-based RNA-seq approach with single-cell microscopic analysis, we identified bacterial genes with cytosol-induced or vacuole-induced expression signatures. Using these genes as environmental biosensors, we defined that Salmonella is exposed to oxidative stress and iron and manganese deprivation in the cytosol and zinc and magnesium deprivation in the SCV. Furthermore, iron availability was critical for optimal S. Typhimurium replication in the cytosol, as well as entC, fepB, soxS, mntH and sitA. Virulence genes that are typically associated with extracellular bacteria, namely Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) and SPI4, showed increased expression in the cytosol compared to vacuole. Our study reveals that the cytosolic and vacuolar S. Typhimurium virulence gene programs are unique to, and tailored for, residence within distinct intracellular compartments. This archetypical vacuole-adapted pathogen therefore requires extensive transcriptional reprogramming to successfully colonize the mammalian cytosol.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the main etiologic agent. Fimbriae assembled on the bacterial surface are essential for adhesion to the urinary tract epithelium. In this study, the FimH, CsgA, and PapG adhesins were fused to generate biomolecules for use as potential target vaccines against UTIs. The fusion protein design was generated using bioinformatics tools, and template fusion gene sequences were synthesized by GenScript in the following order fimH-csgA-papG-fimH-csgA (fcpfc) linked to the nucleotide sequence encoding the [EAAAK]5 peptide. Monomeric (fimH, csgA, and papG), dimeric (fimH-csgA), and trimeric (fimH-csgA-papG) genes were cloned into the pLATE31 expression vector and generated products of 1040, 539, 1139, 1442, and 2444 bp, respectively. Fusion protein expression in BL21 E. coli was induced with 1 mM IPTG, and His-tagged proteins were purified under denaturing conditions and refolded by dialysis using C-buffer. Coomassie blue-stained SDS-PAGE gels and Western blot analysis revealed bands of 29.5, 11.9, 33.9, 44.9, and 82.1 kDa, corresponding to FimH, CsgA, PapG, FC, and FCP proteins, respectively. Mass spectrometry analysis by MALDI-TOF/TOF revealed specific peptides that confirmed the fusion protein structures. Dynamic light scattering analysis revealed the polydispersed state of the fusion proteins. FimH, CsgA, and PapG stimulated the release of 372–398 pg/mL IL-6; interestingly, FC and FCP stimulated the release of 464.79 pg/mL (p ≤ 0.018) and 521.24 pg/mL (p ≤ 0.002) IL-6, respectively. In addition, FC and FCP stimulated the release of 398.52 pg/mL (p ≤ 0.001) and 450.40 pg/mL (p ≤ 0.002) IL-8, respectively. High levels of IgA and IgG antibodies in human sera reacted against the fusion proteins, and under identical conditions, low levels of IgA and IgG antibodies were detected in human urine. Rabbit polyclonal antibodies generated against FimH, CsgA, PapG, FC, and FCP blocked the adhesion of E. coli strain CFT073 to HTB5 bladder cells. In conclusion, the FC and FCP proteins were highly stable, demonstrated antigenic properties, and induced cytokine release (IL-6 and IL-8); furthermore, antibodies generated against these proteins showed protection against bacterial adhesion.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major cause of morbidity in children under 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries and a leading cause of traveler's diarrhea worldwide. The ability of ETEC to colonize the intestinal epithelium is mediated by fimbrial adhesins, such as CS21 (Longus). This adhesin is a type IVb pilus involved in adherence to intestinal cells in vitro and bacterial self-aggregation. Fourteen open reading frames have been proposed to be involved in CS21 assembly, hitherto only the lngA and lngB genes, coding for the major (LngA) and minor (LngB) structural subunit, have been characterized. In this study, we investigated the role of the LngA, LngB, LngC, LngD, LngH, and LngP proteins in the assembly of CS21 in ETEC strain E9034A. The deletion of the lngA, lngB, lngC, lngD, lngH, or lngP genes, abolished CS21 assembly in ETEC strain E9034A and the adherence to HT-29 cells was reduced 90%, compared to wild-type strain. Subcellular localization prediction of CS21 proteins was similar to other well-known type IV pili homologs. We showed that LngP is the prepilin peptidase of LngA, and that ETEC strain E9034A has another peptidase capable of processing LngA, although with less efficiency. Additionally, we present immuno-electron microscopy images to show that the LngB protein could be localized at the tip of CS21. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the LngA, LngB, LngC, LngD, LngH, and LngP proteins are essential for CS21 assembly, as well as for bacterial aggregation and adherence to HT-29 cells.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of diarrhea worldwide. Adhesion to the human intestinal tract is crucial for colonization. ETEC adhesive structures have been extensively studied; however, colonization dynamics remain uncharacterized. The aim of this study was to track bioluminescent ETEC during in vivo infection. The promoter region of dnaK was fused with the luc gene, resulting in the pRMkluc vector. E. coli K-12 and ETEC FMU073332 strains were electroporated with pRMkluc. E. coli K-12 pRMkluc was bioluminescent; in contrast, the E. coli K-12 control strain did not emit bioluminescence. The highest light emission was measured at 1.9 OD600 (9 h) and quantified over time. The signal was detected starting at time 0 and up to 12 h. Streptomycin-treated BALB/c mice were orogastrically inoculated with either ETEC FMU073332 pRMkluc or E. coli K-12 pRMkluc (control), and bacterial colonization was determined by measuring bacterial shedding in the feces. ETEC FMU073332 pRMkluc shedding started and stopped after inoculation of the control strain, indicating that mouse intestinal colonization by ETEC FMU073332 pRMkluc lasted longer than colonization by the control. The bioluminescence signal of ETEC FMU073332 pRMkluc was captured starting at the time of inoculation until 12 h after inoculation. The bioluminescent signal emitted by ETEC FMU073332 pRMkluc in the proximal mouse ileum was located, and the control signal was identified in the cecum. The detection of maximal light emission and bioluminescence duration allowed us to follow ETEC during in vivo infection. ETEC showed an enhanced colonization and tropism in the mouse intestine compared with those in the control strain. Here, we report the first study of ETEC colonization in the mouse intestine accompanied by in vivo imaging.