Chemotactic behavior of Campylobacter jejuni

Abstract

The chemotactic behavior of Campylobacterjejuni was determined in the presence of different amino acids, carbohydrates, organic acids, and preparations and constituents of mucin and bile. L-Fucose was the only carbohydrate and L-aspartate, L-cysteine, L-glutamate, and L-serine were the only amino acids producing a chemotactic (positive) response. Several salts of organic acids, including pyruvate, succinate, fumarate, citrate, malate, and a-ketoglutarate, were also chemoattractants, as were bile (beef, chicken, and oxgall) and mucin (bovine gallbladder and hog gastric). Most constituents of bile tested individually were chemorepellents, but the mucin component was chemoattractant. The chemotactic behavior of C. jejuni toward L-fucose, a constituent of both bile and mucin, may be an important factor in the affinity of the organism for the gallbladder and intestinal tract.

Effect of environmental and chemotactic stimuli on the activity of the Campylobacter jejuni flaA σ28 promoter

“…This requires that the pathogen identify environmental factors so that appropriate genes are expressed and/or repressed. It has been shown that C. jejuni is chemotactically a¡ected by several enteric factors including bovine bile, deoxycholate and Lfucose [10]. It would be expected that sensing the pH, osmolarity and viscosity might also be of importance to an enteric pathogen.…”

“…In the intestinal environment, bile tends to be associated with mucin, a glycoprotein secreted by epithelial cells that forms a viscous overlaying protective layer. A major component of mucin is L-fucose, which comprises 4^14% of the total oligosaccharide component, and is the terminal sugar exposed to the intestinal lumen [10]. The mucin layer [13], and more speci¢cally L-fucose, has been suggested to be a key element required in intestinal colonization with Lfucose acting as a chemoattractant for C. jejuni [10].…”

“…It is likely that detection and acquisition of these molecules are essential for growth, survival and pathogenesis. Hugdahl et al [10] have identi¢ed aspartate and glutamate, as well as the organic acids citrate, fumarate, K-ketoglutarate and succinate, as chemoattractants. All amino acids and organic acids up-regulated £aA promoter activity ( Figs.…”

Mimicking microbial strategies for the design of mucus-permeating nanoparticles for oral immunization

“…The glycocalyx consists in long filaments of diverse glycoproteins and glycolipids well attached to the cell surface of enterocytes as a thin but very robust and compact layer (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) lm thick in the small intestine and around 100 lm in the large intestine). In fact, this layer would be able to detain any macromolecule above 30 nm [14].…”

“…Campylobacter jejuni is a motile bacterium that colonizes the intestine of vertebrates, being a main cause of human acute bacterial gastroenteritis. The evolutionary adaptation to mucosa is such that mucins are chemoattractants for Campylobacter [23] and the bacterium binds avidly to them through specific ligands, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS) [24,25]. Similarly, the intestinal pathogenic protozoa Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia duodenalis express surface lectins to adhere to the intestinal mucins [26,27].…”