The mechanism of two-phase motility in the spirochete
            <i>Leptospira</i>
            : Swimming and crawling

Tahara, Hajime; Takabe, Kyosuke; Sasaki, Yuya; Kasuga, Kie; Kawamoto, Akihiro; Koizumi, Nobuo; Nakamura, Shuichi

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar7975

Cited by 41 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…1A). The rotation of the PFs in the periplasmic space gyrates both ends of the cell body and rotates the coiled cell body allowing Leptospira not only to swim in fluids but also to crawl over solid surfaces 20,21 . Adherence and entry of pathogenic leptospires in the conjunctival epithelium 4 and in the paracellular routes of hepatocytes 22 were previously observed using scanning electron microscopy, raising the possibility that adhesion to the host tissue surfaces and subsequent surface movements are determinants of the host-dependent leptospiral pathogenicity.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4D). The crawling motility of Leptospira is caused by the attachment of the spirochete cell body to surfaces via adhesive cell surface components 20,24 . The successive alternation in the attachment and detachment of adhesins allows for this progressive movement by the spirochetes, however, an excessively strong adhesion can inhibit crawling 20 .…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The crawling motility of Leptospira is caused by the attachment of the spirochete cell body to surfaces via adhesive cell surface components 20,24 . The successive alternation in the attachment and detachment of adhesins allows for this progressive movement by the spirochetes, however, an excessively strong adhesion can inhibit crawling 20 . LPS, the molecular basis for the identification of the different Leptospira serovars 2,9 , is thought to be a crucial adhesin important for this crawling motion 20 .…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The successive alternation in the attachment and detachment of adhesins allows for this progressive movement by the spirochetes, however, an excessively strong adhesion can inhibit crawling 20 . LPS, the molecular basis for the identification of the different Leptospira serovars 2,9 , is thought to be a crucial adhesin important for this crawling motion 20 . Thus, it is possible that compatibility of the serological characteristics of leptospires and the surface properties of the host tissue might affect the crawling behavior over the tissue surfaces and the subsequent clinical consequences.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insight into motility-dependent pathogenicity of the zoonotic spirocheteLeptospira

Koizumi

Nakamura

2020

Preprint

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Bacterial pathogens can infect particular hosts or have a broad range of host species. 20 Mechanisms of host preferences involve complicated host-pathogen associations 21 such as bacterial adherence, gene regulation, and the host's immune responses 1 . 22 Here, we show the role of adhesivity and motility of the zoonotic spirochete 23 Leptospira in host-dependent pathogenicity. Leptospira spp. are classified into more 24 than 300 serovars and whereas infection of susceptible mammals can cause clinical 25 symptoms, it can also result in an asymptomatic colonization in some cases, thereby 26 generating maintenance hosts 2-5 . Although the severity of leptospirosis is generally 27 dependent on a combination of Leptospira serovars and host species, the scenarios 28 leading to such diverse consequences of infection remain unclear. To investigate the 29 underlying mechanisms of the different outcomes of Leptospira infection, we infected 30 kidney cells with various prepared pairs of Leptospira serovars and analyzed the 31 Leptospira dynamics on the host cells. Quantitatively monitoring the behavior of 32 individual Leptospira cells showed that adherence and movement on the host cell 33 surface, called "crawling" correlated with the severity of infection in the host. In the 34 2 most severe cases, a large fraction of leptospires attached to the host cells and 35 persistently traveled long distances using the crawling mechanism. The biophysical 36 implications of the kinetics and kinematic features of these bacterial pathogens were 37 found to be critical factors for disease severity in their hosts. 38 Some bacterial pathogens are specialized to invade a very limited array of hosts, 39 whereas others can infect multiple host species. The host range differs for each pathogen 40 and the clinical symptoms depend on each host-pathogen combination. For example, 41 Bacillus anthracis primarily infects livestock and wild herbivores, transmitting to humans via 42 direct or indirect contact with infected animals or animal products. However, its occurrence in 43 carnivores is rare. Salmonellosis is caused by over 2000 serovars of Salmonella enterica 44 and its transmission occurs from reptile reservoirs to a wide range of susceptible hosts 45 including humans and other mammals. Virulence in the case of plant bacterial pathogens 46 like Actinobacteria spp. and Pantoea spp. is host specific, and is believed to be related to the 47 structure of the root microbiome and other factors that optimize their symbiosis (e.g., plant 48 hormones, drought stress, temperature and salinity) 6,7 . In some cases, the mechanisms 49 correlating host dependency to bacterial pathogenicity have been investigated. A correlation 50 was found between the host range of the opportunistic food-poisoning bacterium Listeria 51 monocytogenes and its host binding affinity through the listerial protein internalin A, which 52 interacted with E-cadherin in intestinal epithelial cells thereby facilitating its invasion 8 . Here, 53 we show that the adhesivity and motil...

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Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insight into motility-dependent pathogenicity of the zoonotic spirocheteLeptospira

Koizumi

Nakamura

2020

Preprint

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“…Indeed, pull-down assays of purified L. biflexa flagellar filaments recently identified interactions 222 between FcpA and FlaA2 (Sasaki et al, 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

An asymmetric sheath controls flagellar supercoiling and motility in the Leptospira spirochete

Sindelar

Buschiazzo

et al. 2019

Preprint

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One Sentence summary: The corkscrew-like motility of Spirochete bacteria is enabled by a 29 unique, asymmetrically constructed flagellum that wraps around the cell body within the 30 periplasm. 31 Abstract: Spirochete bacteria, including important pathogens, exhibit a distinctive means of 32 swimming via undulations of the entire cell. Motility is powered by the rotation of supercoiled 33 'endoflagella' that wrap around the cell body, confined within the periplasmic space. To 34 investigate the structural basis of flagellar supercoiling, which is critical for motility, we 35 determined the structure of native flagellar filaments from the spirochete Leptospira by 36 integrating high-resolution cryo-electron tomography and X-ray crystallography. We show that 37 these filaments are coated by a highly asymmetric, multi-component sheath layer, contrasting 38 with flagellin-only homopolymers previously observed in exoflagellated bacteria. Distinct sheath 39 proteins localize to the filament inner and outer curvatures to define the supercoiling geometry, 40 explaining a key functional attribute of the spirochete flagellum.41

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Strategies used by Leptospira spirochetes to evade the host complement system

Barbosa

Isaac

2020

FEBS Letters

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Leptospires are highly invasive spirochetes equipped with efficient strategies for dissemination in the host. The Leptospira genus currently comprises 64 species divided into two major clades: the saprophytes composed of nonpathogenic, free-living organisms, and the pathogens encompassing all the species that cause mild or severe infections in humans and animals. While saprophytes are highly susceptible to the lytic action of the complement system, pathogenic (virulent) strains have evolved virulence strategies that allow efficient colonization of a variety of hosts and target organs, including mechanisms to circumvent hosts' innate and acquired immune responses. Pathogenic Leptospira avoid complement-mediated killing by recruiting host complement regulatory proteins and by targeting complement proteins using own and host-expressed proteases. This review outlines the role of complement in eradicating saprophytic Leptospira and the stratagems adopted by pathogenic Leptospira to maneuver the host complement system for their benefit.

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The mechanism of two-phase motility in the spirochete Leptospira : Swimming and crawling

Abstract: Rotation of a helical cell body and mobility of cell-surface adhesins result in surface motility of the spirochete Leptospira.

Cited by 41 publications

References 31 publications

Insight into motility-dependent pathogenicity of the zoonotic spirocheteLeptospira

Insight into motility-dependent pathogenicity of the zoonotic spirocheteLeptospira

An asymmetric sheath controls flagellar supercoiling and motility in the Leptospira spirochete

Strategies used by Leptospira spirochetes to evade the host complement system

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