Search

Bacteria import vitamins and other essential compounds from their surroundings but also traffic related compounds from the cytosol to the cell envelope where they serve various functions. Studying the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes , we find that the modular use of subunits from a prominent class of bacterial transporters enables the import of environmental vitamin B 2 cofactors and the extracytosolic trafficking of a vitamin B 2 -derived cofactor that facilitates redox reactions in the cell envelope.

Biosyntheses of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and its downstream folic acid metabolites are essential for one-carbon metabolism in all life forms and the targets of sulfonamide and trimethoprim antibiotics. In this study, we identified and characterized two genes (pabA and pabBC) required for PABA biosynthesis in Listeria monocytogenes. Mutants in PABA biosynthesis were able to grow normally in rich media but not in defined media lacking PABA, but growth was restored by the addition of PABA or its downstream metabolites. PABA biosynthesis mutants were attenuated for intracellular growth in bone marrow-derived macrophages, produced extremely small plaques in fibroblast monolayers, and were highly attenuated for virulence in mice. PABA biosynthesis genes were upregulated upon infection and induced during growth in broth in a strain in which the master virulence regulator, PrfA, was genetically locked in its active state (PrfA*). To gain further insight into why PABA mutants were so attenuated, we screened for transposon-induced suppressor mutations that formed larger plaques. Suppressor mutants in relA, which are predicted to have higher levels of (p)ppGpp, and mutants in codY, which is a GTP-binding repressor of many biosynthetic genes, partially rescued the plaque defect but, notably, restored the capacity of the mutants to escape from phagosomes and induce the polymerization of host cell actin. However, these suppressor mutant strains remained attenuated for virulence in mice. These data suggest that even though folic acid metabolites exist in host cells and might be available during infection, de novo synthesis of PABA is required for L. monocytogenes pathogenesis.

Cellular respiration is essential for multiple bacterial pathogens and a validated antibiotic target. In addition to driving oxidative phosphorylation, bacterial respiration has a variety of ancillary functions that obscure its contribution to pathogenesis. We find here that the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes encodes two respiratory pathways which are partially functionally redundant and indispensable for pathogenesis. Loss of respiration decreased NAD+ regeneration, but this could be specifically reversed by heterologous expression of a water-forming NADH oxidase (NOX). NOX expression fully rescued intracellular growth defects and increased L. monocytogenes loads >1000-fold in a mouse infection model. Consistent with NAD+ regeneration maintaining L. monocytogenes viability and enabling immune evasion, a respiration-deficient strain exhibited elevated bacteriolysis within the host cytosol and NOX expression rescued this phenotype. These studies show that NAD+ regeneration represents a major role of L. monocytogenes respiration and highlight the nuanced relationship between bacterial metabolism, physiology, and pathogenesis.

Significance Riboflavin (vitamin B 2 ) is converted into flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which are essential cofactors for many redox reactions across all domains of life. Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that cannot synthesize riboflavin and must therefore obtain flavins from the host. In this study, we show that a previously identified riboflavin transporter (RibU) is essential for virulence and intracellular growth, but rather than transporting riboflavin, RibU transports FMN and FAD directly from the host cell cytosol. Mutants unable to convert riboflavin to FMN and FAD retained their capacity to grow intracellularly and were virulent, but they were unable to grow extracellularly and were thus converted from facultative to obligate intracellular pathogens.

Flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are essential riboflavin-derived cofactors involved in a myriad of redox reactions across all forms of life. Nevertheless, the basis of flavin acquisition strategies by riboflavin auxotrophic pathogens remains poorly defined. In this study, we examined how the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, a riboflavin auxotroph, acquires flavins during infection. A L. monocytogenes mutant lacking the putative riboflavin transporter (RibU) was completely avirulent in mice but had no detectable growth defect in nutrient-rich media. However, unlike wild type, the RibU mutant was unable to grow in defined media supplemented with FMN or FAD or to replicate in macrophages starved for riboflavin. Consistent with RibU functioning to scavenge FMN and FAD inside host cells, a mutant unable to convert riboflavin to FMN or FAD retained virulence and grew in cultured macrophages and in spleens and livers of infected mice. However, this FMN- and FAD-requiring strain was unable to grow in the gallbladder or intestines, where L. monocytogenes normally grows extracellularly, suggesting that these sites do not contain sufficient flavin cofactors to promote replication. Thus, by deleting genes required to synthesize FMN and FAD, we converted L. monocytogenes from a facultative to an obligate intracellular pathogen. Collectively, these data indicate that L. monocytogenes requires riboflavin to grow extracellularly in vivo but scavenges FMN and FAD to grow in host cells.

Intracellular pathogens are responsible for an enormous amount of worldwide morbidity and mortality, and each has evolved specialized strategies to establish and maintain their replicative niche. Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that secretes a pore-forming cytolysin called listeriolysin O (LLO), which disrupts the phagosomal membrane and, thereby, allows the bacteria access to their replicative niche in the cytosol. Nonsynonymous and synonymous mutations in a PEST-like domain near the LLO N terminus cause enhanced LLO translation during intracellular growth, leading to host cell death and loss of virulence. Here, we explore the mechanism of translational control and show that there is extensive codon restriction within the PEST-encoding region of the LLO messenger RNA (mRNA) (hly). This region has considerable complementarity with the 5' UTR and is predicted to form an extensive secondary structure that overlaps the ribosome binding site. Analysis of both 5' UTR and synonymous mutations in the PEST-like domain that are predicted to disrupt the secondary structure resulted in up to a 10,000-fold drop in virulence during mouse infection, while compensatory double mutants restored virulence to WT levels. We showed by dynamic protein radiolabeling that LLO synthesis was growth phase-dependent. These data provide a mechanism to explain how the bacteria regulate translation of LLO to promote translation during starvation in a phagosome while repressing it during growth in the cytosol. These studies also provide a molecular explanation for codon bias at the 5' end of this essential determinant of pathogenesis.

Cellular respiration is essential for multiple bacterial pathogens and a validated antibiotic target. In addition to driving oxidative phosphorylation, bacterial respiration has a variety of ancillary functions that obscure its contribution to pathogenesis. We find here that the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes encodes two respiratory pathways which are partially functionally redundant and indispensable for pathogenesis. Loss of respiration decreased NAD+ regeneration, but this could be specifically reversed by heterologous expression of a water-forming NADH oxidase (NOX). NOX expression fully rescued intracellular growth defects and increased L. monocytogenes loads >1,000-fold in a mouse infection model. Consistent with NAD+ regeneration maintaining L. monocytogenes viability and enabling immune evasion, a respiration-deficient strain exhibited elevated bacteriolysis within the host cytosol and NOX rescued this phenotype. These studies show that NAD+ regeneration, rather than oxidative phosphorylation, represents the primary role of L. monocytogenes respiration and highlight the nuanced relationship between bacterial metabolism, physiology, and pathogenesis.

Type I interferons (IFNs) are essential for anti-viral immunity, but often impair protective immune responses during bacterial infections. An important question is how type I IFNs are strongly induced during viral infections, and yet are appropriately restrained during bacterial infections. TheSuper susceptibility to tuberculosis 1 (Sst1)locus in mice confers resistance to diverse bacterial infections. Here we provide evidence thatSp140is a gene encoded within theSst1locus that represses type I IFN transcription during bacterial infections. We generatedSp140-/-mice and find they are susceptible to infection byLegionella pneumophilaandMycobacterium tuberculosis.Susceptibility ofSp140-/-mice to bacterial infection was rescued by crosses to mice lacking the type I IFN receptor(Ifnar-/-). Our results implicateSp140as an important negative regulator of type I IFNs that is essential for resistance to bacterial infections.Impact StatementRepression of type I interferons by SP140 is essential for resistance toLegionella pneumophilaandMycobacterium tuberculosis.

Intracellular pathogens are responsible for an enormous amount of worldwide morbidity and mortality, and each has evolved specialized strategies to establish and maintain their replicative niche. Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that secretes a pore-forming cytolysin called listeriolysin O (LLO), which disrupts the phagosomal membrane and, thereby, allows the bacteria access to their replicative niche in the cytosol. Nonsynonymous and synonymous mutations in a PEST-like domain near the LLO N terminus cause enhanced LLO translation during intracellular growth, leading to host cell death and loss of virulence. Here, we explore the mechanism of translational control and show that there is extensive codon restriction within the PEST-encoding region of the LLO messenger RNA (mRNA) (hly). This region has considerable complementarity with the 5′ UTR and is predicted to form an extensive secondary structure that overlaps the ribosome binding site. Analysis of both 5′ UTR and synonymous mutations in the PEST-like domain that are predicted to disrupt the secondary structure resulted in up to a 10,000-fold drop in virulence during mouse infection, while compensatory double mutants restored virulence to WT levels. We showed by dynamic protein radiolabeling that LLO synthesis was growth phase-dependent. These data provide a mechanism to explain how the bacteria regulate translation of LLO to promote translation during starvation in a phagosome while repressing it during growth in the cytosol. These studies also provide a molecular explanation for codon bias at the 5′ end of this essential determinant of pathogenesis.

The facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, like many related Firmicutes, uses the nucleotide second messenger cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP) to adapt to changes in nutrient availability, osmotic stress, and the presence of cell wall-acting antibiotics. In rich medium, c-di-AMP is essential; however, mutations in cbpB, the gene encoding c-di-AMP binding protein B, suppress essentiality. In this study, we identified that the reason for cbpB-dependent essentiality is through induction of the stringent response by RelA. RelA is a bifunctional RelA/SpoT homolog (RSH) that modulates levels of (p)ppGpp, a secondary messenger that orchestrates the stringent response through multiple allosteric interactions. We performed a forward genetic suppressor screen on bacteria lacking c-di-AMP to identify genomic mutations that rescued growth while cbpB was constitutively expressed and identified mutations in the synthetase domain of RelA. The synthetase domain of RelA was also identified as an interacting partner of CbpB in a yeast-2-hybrid screen. Biochemical analyses confirmed that free CbpB activates RelA while c-di-AMP inhibits its activation. We solved the crystal structure of CbpB bound and unbound to c-di-AMP and provide insight into the region important for c-di-AMP binding and RelA activation. The results of this study show that CbpB completes a homeostatic regulatory circuit between c-di-AMP and (p)ppGpp in Listeria monocytogenes. IMPORTANCE Bacteria must efficiently maintain homeostasis of essential molecules to survive in the environment. We found that the levels of c-di-AMP and (p)ppGpp, two nucleotide second messengers that are highly conserved throughout the microbial world, coexist in a homeostatic loop in the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Here, we found that cyclic di-AMP binding protein B (CbpB) acts as a c-di-AMP sensor that promotes the synthesis of (p)ppGpp by binding to RelA when c-di-AMP levels are low. Addition of c-di-AMP prevented RelA activation by binding and sequestering CbpB. Previous studies showed that (p)ppGpp binds and inhibits c-di-AMP phosphodiesterases, resulting in an increase in c-di-AMP. This pathway is controlled via direct enzymatic regulation and indicates an additional mechanism of ribosome-independent stringent activation.

SUMMARYMacrophages activate robust antimicrobial functions upon engulfing virulent bacteria, yet a wide array of pathogens paradoxically thrive within these innate immune cells. To probe the pathogen-macrophage interface, we used proteomics to comprehensively quantify changes in post-translational modifications (PTMs) of host proteins during infection with three evolutionarily diverse intracellular pathogens:Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Salmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium, andListeria monocytogenes. Comparing global phosphorylation and ubiquitylation patterns identified extensive reprogramming of cellular pathways during infection, with ubiquitylation patterns revealing unique pathogen-specific molecular response signatures undetectable by transcriptional profiling. Differential PTM changes during infection with attenuatedM. tuberculosiscells lacking the ESX-1 virulence determinant revealed extensive modification of phagosome dynamics and antiviral type I interferon activation. We found thatM. tuberculosis-mediated activation of the antiviral OASL1-IRF7 pathway promotes bacterial replication, uncovering a new mechanism of virus-bacterial synergy. Our data reveals remarkable specificity in innate cellular responses to complex stimuli and provides a resource for deeper understanding of host-pathogen interactions.

Listeria monocytogenes is a rapidly growing, Gram-positive, facultative intracellular pathogen that has been used for over 5 decades as a model to study basic aspects of infection and immunity. In a murine intravenous infection model, immunisation with a sublethal infection of L. monocytogenes initially leads to rapid intracellular multiplication followed by clearance of the bacteria and ultimately culminates in the development of long-lived cell-mediated immunity (CMI) mediated by antigen-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells. Importantly, effective immunisation requires live, replicating bacteria. In this review, we summarise the cell and immunobiology of L. monocytogenes infection and discuss aspects of its pathogenesis that we suspect lead to robust CMI. We suggest five specific features of L. monocytogenes infection that positively impact the development of CMI: (a) the bacteria have a predilection for professional antigen-presenting cells; (b) the bacteria escape from phagosomes, grow, and secrete antigens into the host cell cytosol; (c) bacterial-secreted proteins enter the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I pathway of antigen processing and presentation; (d) the bacteria do not induce rapid host cell death; and (e) cytosolic bacteria induce a cytokine response that favours CMI. Collectively, these features make L. monocytogenes an attractive vaccine vector for both infectious disease applications and cancer immunotherapy.

Isoprenoids are an essential and diverse class of molecules, present in all forms of life, that are synthesized from an essential common precursor derived from either the mevalonate pathway or the nonmevalonate pathway. Most bacteria have one pathway or the other, but the Gram-positive, facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is unusual because it carries all the genes for both pathways. While the mevalonate pathway has previously been reported to be essential, here we demonstrate that the nonmevalonate pathway can support growth of strains 10403S and EGD-e, but only anaerobically. L. monocytogenes lacking the gene hmgR, encoding the rate-limiting enzyme of the mevalonate pathway, had a doubling time of 4 h under anaerobic conditions, in contrast to the 45 min doubling time of the wild type. In contrast, deleting hmgR in two clinical isolates resulted in mutants that grew significantly faster, doubling in approximately 2 h anaerobically, although they still failed to grow under aerobic conditions without mevalonate. The difference in anaerobic growth rate was traced to three amino acid changes in the nonmevalonate pathway enzyme GcpE, and these changes were sufficient to increase the growth rate of 10403S to the rate observed in the clinical isolates. Despite an increased growth rate, virulence was still dependent on the mevalonate pathway in 10403S strains expressing the more active GcpE allele.

Listeriolysin O (LLO) is a pore-forming cytolysin that allows Listeria monocytogenes to escape from phagocytic vacuoles and enter the host cell cytosol. LLO is expressed continuously during infection, but it has been a challenge to evaluate the importance of LLO secreted in the host cell cytosol because deletion of the gene encoding LLO (hly) prevents localization of L. monocytogenes to the cytosol. Here, we describe a L. monocytogenes strain (hlyfl) in which hly is flanked by loxP sites and Cre recombinase is under the transcriptional control of the L. monocytogenes actA promoter, which is highly induced in the host cell cytosol. In less than 2 h after infection of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs), bacteria were 100% non-hemolytic. hlyfl grew intracellularly to levels 10-fold greater than wildtype L. monocytogenes and was less cytotoxic. In an intravenous mouse model, 90% of bacteria were non-hemolytic within three hours in the spleen and eight hours in the liver. The loss of LLO led to a 2-log virulence defect in the spleen and a 4-log virulence defect in the liver compared to WT L. monocytogenes. Thus, the production of LLO in the cytosol has significant impact on the pathogenicity of L. monocytogenes.

Mineral-respiring bacteria use a process called extracellular electron transfer to route their respiratory electron transport chain to insoluble electron acceptors on the exterior of the cell. We recently characterized a flavin-based extracellular electron transfer system that is present in the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, as well as many other Gram-positive bacteria, and which highlights a more generalized role for extracellular electron transfer in microbial metabolism. Here we identify a family of putative extracellular reductases that possess a conserved posttranslational flavinylation modification. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that divergent flavinylated extracellular reductase subfamilies possess distinct and often unidentified substrate specificities. We show that flavinylation of a member of the fumarate reductase subfamily allows this enzyme to receive electrons from the extracellular electron transfer system and support L. monocytogenes growth. We demonstrate that this represents a generalizable mechanism by finding that a L. monocytogenes strain engineered to express a flavinylated extracellular urocanate reductase uses urocanate by a related mechanism and to a similar effect. These studies thus identify an enzyme family that exploits a modular flavin-based electron transfer strategy to reduce distinct extracellular substrates and support a multifunctional view of the role of extracellular electron transfer activities in microbial physiology.

Listeria monocytogenes maintains capabilities for free-living growth in the environment and for intracellular replication in a wide range of hosts, including livestock and humans. Here, we characterized an enterocolitis model of foodborne L. monocytogenes infection. This work highlights a multiorgan trafficking circuit and reveals a fitness advantage for bacteria that successfully complete this cycle. Because virulence factors play critical roles in systemic dissemination and multiple bottlenecks occur as the bacterial population colonizes different tissue sites, this multiorgan trafficking circuit likely provides purifying selection of virulence genes. This study also serves as a foundation for future work using the L. monocytogenes-induced enterocolitis model to investigate the biology of L. monocytogenes in the intestinal environment., Listeria monocytogenes can cause a life-threatening illness when the foodborne pathogen spreads beyond the intestinal tract to distant organs. Many aspects of the intestinal phase of L. monocytogenes pathogenesis remain unknown. Here, we present a foodborne infection model using C57BL/6 mice that have been pretreated with streptomycin. In this model, as few as 100 L. monocytogenes CFU were required to cause self-limiting enterocolitis, and systemic dissemination followed previously reported routes. Using this model, we report that listeriolysin O (LLO) and actin assembly-inducing protein (ActA), two critical virulence determinants, were necessary for intestinal pathology and systemic spread but were dispensable for intestinal growth. Sequence tag-based analysis of microbial populations (STAMP) was used to investigate the within-host population dynamics of wild-type and LLO-deficient strains. The wild-type bacterial population experienced severe bottlenecks over the course of infection, and by 5 days, the intestinal population was highly enriched for bacteria originating from the gallbladder. In contrast, LLO-deficient strains did not efficiently disseminate and gain access to the gallbladder, and the intestinal population remained diverse. These findings suggest that systemic spread and establishment of a bacterial reservoir in the gallbladder imparts an intraspecies advantage in intestinal occupancy. Since intestinal L. monocytogenes is ultimately released into the environment, within-host population bottlenecks may provide purifying selection of virulence genes.

Agents that remodel the tumor microenvironment (TME), prime functional tumor-specific T cells, and block inhibitory signaling pathways are essential components of effective immunotherapy. We are evaluating live-attenuated, double-deleted Listeria monocytogenes expressing tumor antigens (LADD-Ag) in the clinic. Here we show in numerous mouse models that while treatment with nonrecombinant LADD induced some changes in the TME, no antitumor efficacy was observed, even when combined with immune checkpoint blockade. In contrast, LADD-Ag promoted tumor rejection by priming tumor-specific KLRG1+PD1loCD62L− CD8+ T cells. These IFNγ-producing effector CD8+ T cells infiltrated the tumor and converted the tumor from an immunosuppressive to an inflamed microenvironment that was characterized by a decrease in regulatory T cells (Treg) levels, a proinflammatory cytokine milieu, and the shift of M2 macrophages to an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)+CD206− M1 phenotype. Remarkably, these LADD-Ag–induced tumor-specific T cells persisted for more than 2 months after primary tumor challenge and rapidly controlled secondary tumor challenge. Our results indicate that the striking antitumor efficacy observed in mice with LADD-based immunotherapy stems from TME remodeling which is a direct consequence of eliciting potent, systemic tumor-specific CD8+ T cells.

Summary: There are a limited number of adjuvants that elicit effective cell-based immunity required for protection against intracellular bacterial pathogens. Here, we report that STING-activating cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) formulated in a protein subunit vaccine elicit long-lasting protective immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the mouse model. Subcutaneous administration of this vaccine provides equivalent protection to that of the live attenuated vaccine strain Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Protection is STING dependent but type I IFN independent and correlates with an increased frequency of a recently described subset of CXCR3-expressing T cells that localize to the lung parenchyma. Intranasal delivery results in superior protection compared with BCG, significantly boosts BCG-based immunity, and elicits both Th1 and Th17 immune responses, the latter of which correlates with enhanced protection. Thus, a CDN-adjuvanted protein subunit vaccine has the capability of eliciting a multi-faceted immune response that results in protection from infection by an intracellular pathogen. : Van Dis et al. demonstrate that STING-activating cyclic dinucleotides provide significant protection when used as adjuvants in a protein subunit vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and show that mucosal administration of this vaccine elicits a Th17 immune response that correlates with enhanced protection. Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, vaccine adjuvant, cyclic dinucleotides, Th17

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, food-borne pathogen that lives a biphasic lifestyle, cycling between the environment and as a facultative intracellular pathogen of mammals. Upon entry into host cells, L. monocytogenes upregulates expression of glutathione synthase (GshF) and its product, glutathione (GSH), which is an allosteric activator of the master virulence regulator PrfA. Although gshF mutants are highly attenuated for virulence in mice and form very small plaques in host cell monolayers, these virulence defects can be fully rescued by mutations that lock PrfA in its active conformation, referred to as PrfA*. While PrfA activation can be recapitulated in vitro by the addition of reducing agents, the precise biological cue(s) experienced by L. monocytogenes that lead to PrfA activation are not known. Here we performed a genetic screen to identify additional small-plaque mutants that were rescued by PrfA* and identified gloA, which encodes glyoxalase A, a component of a GSH-dependent methylglyoxal (MG) detoxification system. MG is a toxic byproduct of metabolism produced by both the host and pathogen, which if accumulated, causes DNA damage and protein glycation. As a facultative intracellular pathogen, L. monocytogenes must protect itself from MG produced by its own metabolic processes and that of its host. We report that gloA mutants grow normally in broth, are sensitive to exogenous MG and severely attenuated upon IV infection in mice, but are fully rescued for virulence in a PrfA* background. We demonstrate that transcriptional activation of gshF increased upon MG challenge in vitro, and while this resulted in higher levels of GSH for wild-type L. monocytogenes, the glyoxalase mutants had decreased levels of GSH, presumably due to the accumulation of the GSH-MG hemithioacetal adduct. These data suggest that MG acts as a host cue that leads to GSH production and activation of PrfA., Author summary Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that dramatically changes gene expression upon infection of host cells by activating its major virulence regulator PrfA. The allosteric activator of PrfA is glutathione (GSH) that is produced by the bacterial glutathione synthase GshF. The requirement for GshF can be bypassed by PrfA mutations (PrfA*) that are locked in their active form. In this study we screened for additional mutations that prevented virulence gene expression but were rescued by PrfA*. One of these mutations was in gloA, which encodes glyoxylase A, which detoxifies methylglyoxal (MG) in a glutathione-dependent fashion. In response to MG, gloA mutants up-regulated gshF mRNA but have lower levels of available GSH. These and other data suggest that MG production by the host activates gshF expression leading to elevated GSH levels and increased virulence gene expression.

Cyclic diadenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is a conserved nucleotide second messenger critical for bacterial growth and resistance to cell wall-active antibiotics. In Listeria monocytogenes, the sole diadenylate cyclase, DacA, is essential in rich, but not synthetic media and ΔdacA mutants are highly sensitive to the β-lactam antibiotic cefuroxime. In this study, loss of function mutations in the oligopeptide importer (oppABCDF) and glycine betaine importer (gbuABC) allowed ΔdacA mutants to grow in rich medium. Since oligopeptides were sufficient to inhibit growth of the ΔdacA mutant we hypothesized that oligopeptides act as osmolytes, similar to glycine betaine, to disrupt intracellular osmotic pressure. Supplementation with salt stabilized the ΔdacA mutant in rich medium and restored cefuroxime resistance. Additional suppressor mutations in the acetyl-CoA binding site of pyruvate carboxylase (PycA) rescued cefuroxime resistance and resulted in a 100-fold increase in virulence of the ΔdacA mutant. PycA is inhibited by c-di-AMP and these mutations prompted us to examine the role of TCA cycle enzymes. Inactivation of citrate synthase, but not down-stream enzymes suppressed ΔdacA phenotypes. These data suggested that c-di-AMP modulates central metabolism at the pyruvate node to moderate citrate production and indeed, the ΔdacA mutant accumulated six times the concentration of citrate present in wild-type bacteria.

Live-attenuated Listeria monocytogenes has shown encouraging potential as an immunotherapy platform in preclinical and clinical settings. However, additional safety measures will enable application across malignant and infectious diseases. Here, we describe a new vaccine platform, termed Lm-RIID (L. monocytogenes recombinase-induced intracellular death), that induces the deletion of genes required for bacterial viability yet maintains potent T cell responses to encoded antigens., Live-attenuated Listeria monocytogenes has shown encouraging potential as an immunotherapy platform in preclinical and clinical settings. However, additional safety measures will enable application across malignant and infectious diseases. Here, we describe a new vaccine platform, termed Lm-RIID (L. monocytogenes recombinase-induced intracellular death), that induces the deletion of genes required for bacterial viability yet maintains potent T cell responses to encoded antigens. Lm-RIID grows normally in broth but commits suicide inside host cells by inducing Cre recombinase and deleting essential genes flanked by loxP sites, resulting in a self-limiting infection even in immunocompromised mice. Lm-RIID vaccination of mice induces potent CD8+ T cells and protects against virulent challenges, similar to live L. monocytogenes vaccines. When combined with α-PD-1, Lm-RIID is as effective as live-attenuated L. monocytogenes in a therapeutic tumor model. This impressive efficacy, together with the increased clearance rate, makes Lm-RIID ideal for prophylactic immunization against diseases that require T cells for protection.

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen that escapes from phagosomes and induces a robust adaptive immune response in mice, while mutants unable to escape phagosomes fail to induce a robust adaptive immune response and suppress the immunity to wildtype bacteria when co-administered. The capacity to suppress immunity can be reversed by blocking IL-10. In this study, we sought to understand the host receptors that lead to secretion of IL-10 in response to phagosome-confined L. monocytogenes (Δhly), with the ultimate goal of generating strains that fail to induce IL-10. We conducted a transposon screen to identify Δhly L. monocytogenes mutants that induced significantly more or less IL-10 secretion in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs). A transposon insertion in lgt, which encodes phosphatidylglycerol-prolipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase and is essential for the formation of lipoproteins, induced significantly reduced IL-10 secretion. Mutants with transposon insertions in pgdA and oatA, which encode peptidoglycan N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase and O-acetyltransferase, are sensitive to lysozyme and induced enhanced IL-10 secretion. A ΔhlyΔpgdAΔoatA strain was killed in BMMs and induced enhanced IL-10 secretion that was dependent on Unc93b1, a trafficking molecule required for signaling of nucleic acid-sensing TLRs. These data revealed that nucleic acids released by bacteriolysis triggered endosomal TLR-mediated IL-10 secretion. Secretion of IL-10 in response to infection with the parental strain was mostly TLR2-dependent, while IL-10 secretion in response to lysozyme-sensitive strains was dependent on TLR2 and Unc93b1. In mice, the IL-10 response to vacuole-confined L. monocytogenes was also dependent on TLR2 and Unc93b1. Co-administration of Δhly and ΔactA resulted in suppressed immunity in WT mice, but not in mice with mutations in Unc93b1. These data revealed that secretion of IL-10 in response to L. monocytogenes infection in vitro is mostly TLR2-dependent and immune suppression by phagosome-confined bacteria in vivo is mostly dependent on endosomal TLRs., Author summary Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterial pathogen that has shown promise as a vaccine-delivery vector because of its ability to stimulate a robust T-cell response. The efficacy of a vaccine is in part tied to how well it avoids inducing the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10. In this work, we investigated the bacterial and host factors that contribute to secretion of IL-10 and immunosuppression following infection with a strain of L. monocytogenes that cannot escape from host cell vacuoles. We identified TLR2 and Unc93b1-dependent nucleic-acid-sensing Toll-like receptors as the primary host mediators of IL-10 secretion and immunosuppression. Unc93b1-dependent TLRs likely recognize nucleic acids released upon bacterial lysis in phagosomes. Strategies that reduce lytic death of bacteria and subsequent recognition of nucleic acids by endosomal TLRs could be used to improve bacteria-based vaccines.

Extracellular electron transfer (EET) describes microbial bioelectrochemical processes in which electrons are transferred from the cytosol to the exterior of the cell1. Mineral-respiring bacteria use elaborate haem-based electron transfer mechanisms2-4 but the existence and mechanistic basis of other EETs remain largely unknown. Here we show that the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes uses a distinctive flavin-based EET mechanism to deliver electrons to iron or an electrode. By performing a forward genetic screen to identify L. monocytogenes mutants with diminished extracellular ferric iron reductase activity, we identified an eight-gene locus that is responsible for EET. This locus encodes a specialized NADH dehydrogenase that segregates EET from aerobic respiration by channelling electrons to a discrete membrane-localized quinone pool. Other proteins facilitate the assembly of an abundant extracellular flavoprotein that, in conjunction with free-molecule flavin shuttles, mediates electron transfer to extracellular acceptors. This system thus establishes a simple electron conduit that is compatible with the single-membranestructure of the Gram-positive cell. Activation of EET supports growth on non-fermentable carbon sources, and an EET mutant exhibited a competitive defect within the mouse gastrointestinal tract. Orthologues of the genes responsible for EET are present in hundreds of species across the Firmicutes phylum, including multiple pathogens and commensal members of the intestinal microbiota, and correlate with EET activity in assayed strains. These findings suggest a greaterprevalence of EET-based growth capabilities and establish a previously underappreciated relevance for electrogenic bacteria across diverse environments, including host-associated microbial communities and infectious disease.

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Listeria monocytogenes grows in the host cytosol and uses the surface protein ActA to promote actin polymerisation and mediate actin-based motility. ActA, along with two secreted bacterial phospholipases C, also mediates avoidance from autophagy, a degradative process that targets intracellular microbes. Although it is known that ActA prevents autophagic recognition of L. monocytogenes in epithelial cells by masking the bacterial surface with host factors, the relative roles of actin polymerisation and actin-based motility in autophagy avoidance are unclear in macrophages. Using pharmacological inhibition of actin polymerisation and a collection of actA mutants, we found that actin polymerisation prevented the colocalisation of L. monocytogenes with polyubiquitin, the autophagy receptor p62, and the autophagy protein LC3 during macrophage infection. In addition, the ability of L. monocytogenes to stimulate actin polymerisation promoted autophagy avoidance and growth in macrophages in the absence of phospholipases C. Time-lapse microscopy using green fluorescent protein-LC3 macrophages and a probe for filamentous actin showed that bacteria undergoing actin-based motility moved away from LC3-positive membranes. Collectively, these results suggested that although actin polymerisation protects the bacterial surface from autophagic recognition, actin-based motility allows escape of L. monocytogenes from autophagic membranes in the macrophage cytosol.

Significance The development of therapeutic cancer vaccines using recombinant microorganisms has been pursued for many decades. However, the underlying mechanisms of therapeutic cancer vaccines remain unclear. Here we compare recombinant Listeria-based cancer vaccines to synthetic long peptide and adenovirus delivery systems for tumor antigens, and describe immunologic correlates of antitumor efficacy of Listeria-based cancer vaccines. Our results show that the profound antitumor efficacy requires tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling that depends on tumor-specific CD8+ T cells induced by live-attenuated double-deleted Listeria monocytogenes expressing cognate tumor antigens. Together, this work highlights the importance of cognate tumor antigen expression by cancer vaccines and pinpoints the relationship between induced tumor antigen-specific immunity and the TME., Agents that remodel the tumor microenvironment (TME), prime functional tumor-specific T cells, and block inhibitory signaling pathways are essential components of effective immunotherapy. We are evaluating live-attenuated, double-deleted Listeria monocytogenes expressing tumor antigens (LADD-Ag) in the clinic. Here we show in numerous mouse models that while treatment with nonrecombinant LADD induced some changes in the TME, no antitumor efficacy was observed, even when combined with immune checkpoint blockade. In contrast, LADD-Ag promoted tumor rejection by priming tumor-specific KLRG1+PD1loCD62L− CD8+ T cells. These IFNγ-producing effector CD8+ T cells infiltrated the tumor and converted the tumor from an immunosuppressive to an inflamed microenvironment that was characterized by a decrease in regulatory T cells (Treg) levels, a proinflammatory cytokine milieu, and the shift of M2 macrophages to an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)+CD206− M1 phenotype. Remarkably, these LADD-Ag–induced tumor-specific T cells persisted for more than 2 months after primary tumor challenge and rapidly controlled secondary tumor challenge. Our results indicate that the striking antitumor efficacy observed in mice with LADD-based immunotherapy stems from TME remodeling which is a direct consequence of eliciting potent, systemic tumor-specific CD8+ T cells.

Xenophagy is a selective macroautophagic process that protects the host cytosol by entrapping and delivering microbes to a degradative compartment. Both noncanonical autophagic pathways and xenophagy are activated by microbes during infection, but the relative importance and function of these distinct processes are not clear. In this study, we used bacterial and host mutants to dissect the contribution of autophagic processes responsible for bacterial growth restriction of Listeria monocytogenesL. monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that escapes from phagosomes, grows in the host cytosol, and avoids autophagy by expressing three determinants of pathogenesis: two secreted phospholipases C (PLCs; PlcA and PlcB) and a surface protein (ActA). We found that shortly after phagocytosis, wild-type (WT) L. monocytogenes escaped from a noncanonical autophagic process that targets damaged vacuoles. During this process, the autophagy marker LC3 localized to single-membrane phagosomes independently of the ULK complex, which is required for initiation of macroautophagy. However, growth restriction of bacteria lacking PlcA, PlcB, and ActA required FIP200 and TBK1, both involved in the engulfment of microbes by xenophagy. Time-lapse video microscopy revealed that deposition of LC3 on L. monocytogenes-containing vacuoles via noncanonical autophagy had no apparent role in restricting bacterial growth and that, upon access to the host cytosol, WT L. monocytogenes utilized PLCs and ActA to avoid subsequent xenophagy. In conclusion, although noncanonical autophagy targets phagosomes, xenophagy was required to restrict the growth of L. monocytogenes, an intracellular pathogen that damages the entry vacuole.

Upon entry into the host cell cytosol, the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes coordinates the expression of numerous essential virulence factors by allosteric binding of glutathione (GSH) to the Crp-Fnr family transcriptional regulator PrfA. Here, we report that robust virulence gene expression can be recapitulated by growing bacteria in a synthetic medium containing GSH or other chemical reducing agents. Bacteria grown under these conditions were 45-fold more virulent in an acute murine infection model and conferred greater immunity to a subsequent lethal challenge than bacteria grown in conventional media. During cultivation in vitro, PrfA activation was completely dependent on the intracellular levels of GSH, as a glutathione synthase mutant (ΔgshF) was activated by exogenous GSH but not reducing agents. PrfA activation was repressed in a synthetic medium supplemented with oligopeptides, but the repression was relieved by stimulation of the stringent response. These data suggest that cytosolic L. monocytogenes interprets a combination of metabolic and redox cues as a signal to initiate robust virulence gene expression in vivo., IMPORTANCE Intracellular pathogens are responsible for much of the worldwide morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. These pathogens have evolved various strategies to proliferate within individual cells of the host and avoid the host immune response. Through cellular invasion or the use of specialized secretion machinery, all intracellular pathogens must access the host cell cytosol to establish their replicative niches. Determining how these pathogens sense and respond to the intracellular compartment to establish a successful infection is critical to our basic understanding of the pathogenesis of each organism and for the rational design of therapeutic interventions. Listeria monocytogenes is a model intracellular pathogen with robust in vitro and in vivo infection models. Studies of the host-sensing and downstream signaling mechanisms evolved by L. monocytogenes often describe themes of pathogenesis that are broadly applicable to less tractable pathogens. Here, we describe how bacteria use external redox states as a cue to activate virulence.

The bulk of bacterial protein secretion occurs through the conserved SecY translocation channel that is powered by SecA-dependent ATP hydrolysis. Many Gram-positive bacteria, including the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes , possess an additional nonessential specialized ATPase, SecA2. SecA2-dependent secretion is required for normal cell morphology and virulence in L. monocytogenes ; however, the mechanism of export via this pathway is poorly understood. L. monocytogenes secA2 mutants form rough colonies, have septation defects, are impaired for swarming motility, and form small plaques in tissue culture cells. In this study, 70 spontaneous mutants were isolated that restored swarming motility to L. monocytogenes secA2 mutants. Most of the mutants had smooth colony morphology and septated normally, but all were lysozyme sensitive. Five representative mutants were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Four of the five had mutations in proteins encoded by the lmo2769 operon that conferred lysozyme sensitivity and increased swarming but did not rescue virulence defects. A point mutation in secY was identified that conferred smooth colony morphology to secA2 mutants, restored wild-type plaque formation, and increased virulence in mice. This secY mutation resembled a prl suppressor known to expand the repertoire of proteins secreted through the SecY translocation complex. Accordingly, the Δ secA2prlA1 mutant showed wild-type secretion levels of P60, an established SecA2-dependent secreted autolysin. Although the prl mutation largely suppressed almost all of the measurable SecA2-dependent traits, the Δ secA2prlA1 mutant was still less virulent in vivo than the wild-type strain, suggesting that SecA2 function was still required for pathogenesis.

SUMMARYAlthough macrophages are armed with potent anti-bacterial functions, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) replicates inside these innate immune cells. Determinants of macrophage-intrinsic bacterial control, and the Mtb strategies to overcome them are poorly understood. To further study these processes, we used a systematic affinity tag purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) approach to identify 187 Mtb-human protein-protein interactions (PPIs) involving 34 secreted Mtb proteins. This interaction map revealed two new factors involved in Mtb pathogenesis - the secreted Mtb protein, LpqN, and its binding partner, the human ubiquitin ligase CBL. We discovered that an lpqN Mtb mutant is attenuated in macrophages, but growth is restored when CBL is removed. Conversely, Cbl-/- macrophages are resistant to viral infection, indicating that CBL regulates cell-intrinsic polarization between anti-bacterial and anti-viral immunity. Collectively, these findings illustrate the utility of this Mtb-human PPI map as a resource for developing a deeper understanding of the intricate interactions between Mtb and its host.

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. Coxiella burnetii is a gram-negative bacterium that causes acute and chronic Q fever. Because of the severe adverse effect of whole-cell vaccination, identification of immunodominant antigens of C. burnetii has become a major focus of Q fever vaccine development. We hypothesized that secreted C. burnetii type IV secretion system (T4SS) effectors may represent a major class of CD8 + T-cell antigens, owing to their cytosolic localization. Twenty-nine peptides were identified that elicited robust CD8 + T-cell interferon 3 (IFN-3) recall responses from mice infected with C. burnetii. Interestingly, 22 of 29 epitopes were derived from 17 T4SS-related proteins, none of which were identified as immunodominant antigens by using previous antibody-guided approaches. These epitopes were expressed in an attenuated Listeria monocytogenes vaccine strain. Immunization with recombinant L. monocytogenes vaccines induced a robust CD8 + T-cell response and conferred measurable protection against C. burnetii infection in mice. These data suggested that T4SS effectors represent an important class of C. burnetii antigens that can induce CD8 + T-cell responses. We also showed that attenuated L. monocytogenes vaccine vectors are an efficient antigen-delivery platform that can be used to induce robust protective CD8 + T-cell immune responses against C. burnetii infection.

Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) represent a family of homologous pore-forming proteins secreted by many Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. CDCs mediate membrane binding partly through a conserved C-terminal undecapeptide, which contains a single cysteine residue. While mutational changes to other residues in the undecapeptide typically have severe effects, mutation of the cysteine residue to alanine has minor effects on overall protein function. Thus, the role of this highly conserved reactive cysteine residue remains largely unknown. We report here that the CDC listeriolysin O (LLO), secreted by the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes , was posttranslationally modified by S-glutathionylation at this conserved cysteine residue and that either endogenously synthesized or exogenously added glutathione was sufficient to form this modification. When recapitulated with purified protein in vitro , this modification completely ablated the activity of LLO, and this inhibitory effect was fully reversible by treatment with reducing agents. A cysteine-to-alanine mutation in LLO rendered the protein completely resistant to inactivation by S-glutathionylation, and a mutant expressing this mutation retained full hemolytic activity. A mutant strain of L. monocytogenes expressing the cysteine-to-alanine variant of LLO was able to infect and replicate within bone marrow-derived macrophages indistinguishably from the wild type in vitro , yet it was attenuated 4- to 6-fold in a competitive murine infection model in vivo . This study suggests that S-glutathionylation may represent a mechanism by which CDC-family proteins are posttranslationally modified and regulated and help explain an evolutionary pressure to retain the highly conserved undecapeptide cysteine.

Intracellular bacteria are often clinically relevant pathogens that infect virtually every cell type found in host organisms. However, myeloid cells, especially macrophages, constitute the primary cells targeted by most species of intracellular bacteria. Paradoxically, macrophages possess an extensive antimicrobial arsenal and are efficient at killing microbes. In addition to their ability to detect and signal the presence of pathogens, macrophages sequester and digest microorganisms using the phagolysosomal and autophagy pathways or, ultimately, eliminate themselves through the induction of programmed cell death. Consequently, intracellular bacteria influence numerous host processes and deploy sophisticated strategies to replicate within these host cells. Although most intracellular bacteria have a unique intracellular life cycle, these pathogens are broadly categorized into intravacuolar and cytosolic bacteria. Following phagocytosis, intravacuolar bacteria reside in the host endomembrane system and, to some extent, are protected from the host cytosolic innate immune defenses. However, the intravacuolar lifestyle requires the generation and maintenance of unique specialized bacteria-containing vacuoles and involves a complex network of host-pathogen interactions. Conversely, cytosolic bacteria escape the phagolysosomal pathway and thrive in the nutrient-rich cytosol despite the presence of host cell-autonomous defenses. The understanding of host-pathogen interactions involved in the pathogenesis of intracellular bacteria will continue to provide mechanistic insights into basic cellular processes and may lead to the discovery of novel therapeutics targeting infectious and inflammatory diseases.

The immune system provides defense against tumors and pathogens. Here, we propose that by elucidating the shared principles of immunity that underlie cancer and infectious disease, oncologists and microbiologists can learn from each other and achieve the deeper mechanistic understanding critical the development of therapeutic approaches.

Listeriolysin O (LLO) is an essential determinant of Listeria monocytogenes pathogenesis that mediates the escape of L.monocytogenes from host cell vacuoles, thereby allowing replication in the cytosol without causing appreciable cell death. As a member of the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin (CDC) family of pore-forming toxins, LLO is unique in that it is secreted by a facultative intracellular pathogen, whereas all other CDCs are produced by pathogens that are largely extracellular. Replacement of LLO with other CDCs results in strains that are extremely cytotoxic and 10,000-fold less virulent in mice. LLO has structural and regulatory features that allow it to function intracellularly without causing cell death, most of which map to a unique N-terminal region of LLO referred to as the proline, glutamic acid, serine, threonine (PEST)-like sequence. Yet, while LLO has unique properties required for its intracellular site of action, extracellular LLO, like other CDCs, affects cells in a myriad of ways. Because all CDCs form pores in cholesterol-containing membranes that lead to rapid Ca2+ influx and K+ efflux, they consequently trigger a wide range of host cell responses, including mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, histone modification, and caspase-1 activation. There is no debate that extracellular LLO, like all other CDCs, can stimulate multiple cellular activities, but the primary question we wish to address in this perspective is whether these activities contribute to L.monocytogenes pathogenesis.

In this study, we sought to characterize the targets of the abundant Listeria monocytogenes noncoding RNA Rli31, which is required for L. monocytogenes lysozyme resistance and pathogenesis. Whole-genome sequencing of lysozyme-resistant suppressor strains identified loss-of-expression mutations in the promoter of spoVG, and deletion of spoVG rescued lysozyme sensitivity and attenuation in vivo of the rli31 mutant. SpoVG was demonstrated to be an RNA-binding protein that interacted with Rli31 in vitro. The relationship between Rli31 and SpoVG is multifaceted, as both the spoVG-encoded protein and the spoVG 5′-untranslated region interacted with Rli31. In addition, we observed that spoVG-deficient bacteria were nonmotile in soft agar and suppressor mutations that restored swarming motility were identified in the gene encoding a major RNase in Gram-positive bacteria, RNase J1. Collectively, these findings suggest that SpoVG is similar to global posttranscriptional regulators, a class of RNA-binding proteins that interact with noncoding RNA, regulate genes in concert with RNases, and control pleiotropic aspects of bacterial physiology., IMPORTANCE spoVG is widely conserved among bacteria; however, the function of this gene has remained unclear since its initial characterization in 1977. Mutation of spoVG impacts various phenotypes in Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin resistance, capsule formation, and enzyme secretion in Staphylococcus aureus and also asymmetric cell division, hemolysin production, and sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. Here, we demonstrate that spoVG mutant strains of Listeria monocytogenes are hyper-lysozyme resistant, hypervirulent, nonmotile, and misregulate genes controlling carbon metabolism. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SpoVG is an RNA-binding protein. These findings suggest that SpoVG has a role in L. monocytogenes, and perhaps in other bacteria, as a global gene regulator. Posttranscriptional gene regulators help bacteria adapt to various environments and coordinate differing aspects of bacterial physiology. SpoVG may help the organism coordinate environmental growth and virulence to survive as a facultative pathogen.

In this study, we sought to characterize the targets of the abundant Listeria monocytogenes noncoding RNA Rli31, which is required for L. monocytogenes lysozyme resistance and pathogenesis. Whole-genome sequencing of lysozyme-resistant suppressor strains identified loss-of-expression mutations in the promoter of spoVG , and deletion of spoVG rescued lysozyme sensitivity and attenuation in vivo of the rli31 mutant. SpoVG was demonstrated to be an RNA-binding protein that interacted with Rli31 in vitro. The relationship between Rli31 and SpoVG is multifaceted, as both the spoVG -encoded protein and the spoVG 5′-untranslated region interacted with Rli31. In addition, we observed that spoVG -deficient bacteria were nonmotile in soft agar and suppressor mutations that restored swarming motility were identified in the gene encoding a major RNase in Gram-positive bacteria, RNase J1. Collectively, these findings suggest that SpoVG is similar to global posttranscriptional regulators, a class of RNA-binding proteins that interact with noncoding RNA, regulate genes in concert with RNases, and control pleiotropic aspects of bacterial physiology. IMPORTANCE spoVG is widely conserved among bacteria; however, the function of this gene has remained unclear since its initial characterization in 1977. Mutation of spoVG impacts various phenotypes in Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin resistance, capsule formation, and enzyme secretion in Staphylococcus aureus and also asymmetric cell division, hemolysin production, and sporulation in Bacillus subtilis . Here, we demonstrate that spoVG mutant strains of Listeria monocytogenes are hyper-lysozyme resistant, hypervirulent, nonmotile, and misregulate genes controlling carbon metabolism. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SpoVG is an RNA-binding protein. These findings suggest that SpoVG has a role in L. monocytogenes , and perhaps in other bacteria, as a global gene regulator. Posttranscriptional gene regulators help bacteria adapt to various environments and coordinate differing aspects of bacterial physiology. SpoVG may help the organism coordinate environmental growth and virulence to survive as a facultative pathogen.

In 1988, eminent cell biologist Lew Tilney and newly appointed Assistant Professor of Microbiology Dan Portnoy met at a picnic and initiated a collaboration that led to a groundbreaking paper published in Journal of Cell Biology entitled “Actin filaments and the growth, movement, and spread of the intracellular bacterial parasite, Listeria monocytogenes.” The paper has been cited more than 800 times, the most of any publication in the careers of both investigators. Using an electron microscope from the Sputnik era, they assembled a stunning collection of micrographs that illustrated how L. monocytogenes enters the host cell and exploits a host system of actin-based motility to move within cells and into neighboring cells without leaving the host cell cytosol. This research captured the imagination of cell biologists and microbiologists alike and led to novel insights into cytoskeletal dynamics. Here, Portnoy provides a retrospective that shares text from the original submission that was deleted at the time of publication, along with reviewers' comments ranging from “It is really just a show and tell paper and doesn';t have any meat” to “the finding will have major impact in cell biology and in medicine. Potentially, the paper will be a classic.”

PrsA2 is a conserved posttranslocation chaperone and a peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) that contributes to the virulence of the Gram-positive intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes . One of the phenotypes associated with a prsA2 mutant is decreased activity of the broad-range phospholipase C (PC-PLC). PC-PLC is made as a proenzyme whose maturation is mediated by a metalloprotease (Mpl). The proforms of PC-PLC and Mpl accumulate at the membrane-cell wall interface until a decrease in pH triggers their maturation and rapid secretion into the host cell. In this study, we examined the mechanism by which PrsA2 regulates the activity of PC-PLC. We observed that in the absence of PrsA2, the proenzymes are secreted at physiological pH and do not mature upon a decrease in pH. The sensitivity of the prsA2 mutant to cell wall hydrolases was modified. However, no apparent changes in cell wall porosity were detected. Interestingly, synthesis of PC-PLC in the absence of its propeptide lead to the secretion of a fully active enzyme in the cytosol of host cells independent of PrsA2, indicating that neither the propeptide of PC-PLC nor PrsA2 is required for native folding of the catalytic domain, although both influence secretion of the enzyme. Taken together, these results suggest that PrsA2 regulates compartmentalization of Mpl and PC-PLC, possibly by influencing cell wall properties and interacting with the PC-PLC propeptide. Moreover, the ability of these proproteins to respond to a decrease in pH during intracellular growth depends on their localization at the membrane-cell wall interface.

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive intracellular pathogen that is naturally resistant to lysozyme. Recently, it was shown that peptidoglycan modification by N-deacetylation or O-acetylation confers resistance to lysozyme in various Gram-positive bacteria, including L. monocytogenes . L. monocytogenes peptidoglycan is deacetylated by the action of N -acetylglucosamine deacetylase (Pgd) and acetylated by O -acetylmuramic acid transferase (Oat). We characterized Pgd − , Oat − , and double mutants to determine the specific role of L. monocytogenes peptidoglycan acetylation in conferring lysozyme sensitivity during infection of macrophages and mice. Pgd − and Pgd − Oat − double mutants were attenuated approximately 2 and 3.5 logs, respectively, in vivo . In bone-marrow derived macrophages, the mutants demonstrated intracellular growth defects and increased induction of cytokine transcriptional responses that emanated from a phagosome and the cytosol. Lysozyme-sensitive mutants underwent bacteriolysis in the macrophage cytosol, resulting in AIM2-dependent pyroptosis. Each of the in vitro phenotypes was rescued upon infection of LysM − macrophages. The addition of extracellular lysozyme to LysM − macrophages restored cytokine induction, host cell death, and L. monocytogenes growth inhibition. This surprising observation suggests that extracellular lysozyme can access the macrophage cytosol and act on intracellular lysozyme-sensitive bacteria.

Type I interferons (IFNs) are central regulators of the innate and adaptive immune responses to viral and bacterial infections. Type I IFNs are induced upon cytosolic detection of microbial nucleic acids, including DNA, RNA, and the bacterial second messenger cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP). In addition, a recent study demonstrated that the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes stimulates a type I IFN response due to cytosolic detection of bacterially secreted c-di-AMP. The transmembrane signaling adaptor Sting (Tmem173, Mita, Mpys, Eris) has recently been implicated in the induction of type I IFNs in response to cytosolic DNA and/or RNA. However, the role of Sting in response to purified cyclic dinucleotides or during in vivo L. monocytogenes infection has not been addressed. In order to identify genes important in the innate immune response, we have been conducting a forward genetic mutagenesis screen in C57BL/6 mice using the mutagen N -ethyl- N -nitrosourea (ENU). Here we describe a novel mutant mouse strain, Goldenticket ( Gt ), that fails to produce type I IFNs upon L. monocytogenes infection. By genetic mapping and complementation experiments, we found that Gt mice harbor a single nucleotide variant (T596A) of Sting that functions as a null allele and fails to produce detectable protein. Analysis of macrophages isolated from Gt mice revealed that Sting is absolutely required for the type I interferon response to both c-di-GMP and c-di-AMP. Additionally, Sting is required for the response to c-di-GMP and L. monocytogenes in vivo . Our results provide new functions for Sting in the innate interferon response to pathogens.

Infection with wild-type Listeria monocytogenes activates a host cytosolic surveillance response characterized by the expression of beta interferon (IFN-β). We performed a genetic screen to identify L. monocytogenes transposon insertion mutants that induced altered levels of host IFN-β expression. One mutant from this screen induced elevated levels of IFN-β and harbored a Tn 917 insertion upstream of lmo0558. This study identified lmo0558 as the 6-phosphogluconolactonase gene ( pgl ), which encodes the second enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway. pgl mutant L. monocytogenes accumulated and secreted large amounts of gluconate, likely derived from labile 6-phosphogluconolactone, the substrate of Pgl. The pgl deletion mutant had decreased growth in glucose-limiting minimal medium but grew normally when excess glucose was added. Microarray analysis revealed that the pgl deletion mutant had increased expression of several β-glucosidases, consistent with known inhibition of β-glucosidases by 6-phosphogluconolactone. While growth in macrophages was indistinguishable from that of wild-type bacteria, pgl mutant L. monocytogenes exhibited a 15- to 30-fold defect in growth in vivo. In addition, L. monocytogenes harboring an in-frame deletion of pgl was more sensitive to oxidative stress. This study identified L. monocytogenes pgl and provided the first link between the bacterial pentose phosphate pathway and activation of host IFN-β expression.

Listeriolysin O (LLO) is a pore-forming toxin that mediates phagosomal escape and cell-to-cell spread of the intracellular pathogenListeria monocytogenes. In order to identify factors that control the production, activity, or secretion of this essential virulence factor, we constructed aHimar1 marinertransposon delivery system and screened 50,000 mutants for a hypohemolytic phenotype on blood agar plates. Approximately 200 hypohemolytic mutants were identified, and the 51 most prominent mutants were screened ex vivo for intracellular growth defects. Eight mutants with a phenotype were identified, and they contained insertions in the following genes: lmo0964 (similar toyjbH), lmo1268 (clpX), lmo1401 (similar toymdB), lmo1575 (similar toytqI), lmo1695 (mprF), lmo1821 (similar toprpC), lmo2219 (prsA2), and lmo2460 (similar tocggR). Some of these genes are involved in previously unexplored areas of research withL. monocytogenes: the genesyjbHandclpXregulate the disulfide stress response inBacillus subtilis, and theprpCphosphatase has been implicated in virulence in other gram-positive pathogens. Here we demonstrate thatprsA2, an extracytoplasmic peptidyl-prolylcis/transisomerase, is critical for virulence and contributes to the folding of LLO and to the activity of another virulence factor, the broad-range phospholipase C (PC-PLC). Furthermore, although it has been shown thatprsA2expression is linked to PrfA, the master virulence transcription factor inL. monocytogenespathogenesis, we demonstrate thatprsA2is not directly controlled by PrfA. Finally, we show that PrsA2 is involved in flagellum-based motility, indicating that this factor likely serves a broad physiological role.

International audience; Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterial, facultative intracellular pathogen, which secretes a pore-forming toxin called listeriolysin O (LLO). LLO mediates the dissolution of the phagosomal membrane allowing L. monocytogenes to reach and grow in the host cytosolic compartment. In this study we report the localization of LLO secreted in infected cells. We described that LLO (i) forms small perinuclear aggregates, (ii) accumulates in large autophagosome-like structures and (iii) sequesters to large protein aggregates. The formation of protein aggregates required full LLO activity. Further characterization of protein aggregates indicated that they not only contained the active form of LLO but also polyubiquitinated proteins and p62, which are both common components of protein aggregates found in neurological diseases. Hence, a protein of bacterial origin could potentially follow the same fate as a toxic protein associated with neurodegenerative disease.

Upon entry into stationary phase, bacteria dimerize 70S ribosomes into translationally inactive 100S particles by a process called ribosome hibernation. Previously, we reported that the hibernation-promoting factor (HPF) of Listeria monocytogenes is required for 100S particle formation and facilitates adaptation to a number of stresses. Here, we demonstrate that HPF is required for the high tolerance of stationary-phase cultures to aminoglycosides but not to beta-lactam or quinolone antibiotics. The sensitivity of a Δ hpf mutant to gentamicin was suppressed by the bacteriostatic antibiotics chloramphenicol and rifampin, which inhibit translation and transcription, respectively. Disruption of the proton motive force by the ionophore carbonyl cyanide m -chlorophenylhydrazone or mutation of genes involved in respiration also suppressed the sensitivity of the Δ hpf mutant. Accordingly, Δ hpf mutants had aberrantly high levels of ATP and reducing equivalents during prolonged stationary phase. Analysis of bacterial uptake of fluorescently labeled gentamicin demonstrated that the Δ hpf mutant harbored increased intracellular levels of the drug. Finally, deletion of the main ribosome hibernation factor of Escherichia coli , ribosome modulation factor ( rmf ), rendered these bacteria susceptible to gentamicin. Taken together, these data suggest that HPF-mediated ribosome hibernation results in repression of the metabolic activity that underlies aminoglycoside tolerance. HPF is conserved in nearly every bacterial pathogen, and the role of ribosome hibernation in antibiotic tolerance may have clinical implications.

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Cyclic di-AMP (cdiA) is a second messenger predicted to be widespread in Gram-positive bacteria, some Gram-negative bacteria, and Archaea. In the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, cdiA is an essential molecule that regulates metabolic function and cell wall homeostasis, and decreased levels of cdiA result in increased antibiotic susceptibility. We have generated fluorescent biosensors for cdiA through fusion of the Spinach2 aptamer to ligand-binding domains of cdiA riboswitches. The biosensor was used to visualize intracellular cdiA levels in live L. monocytogenes strains and to determine the catalytic domain of the phosphodiesterase PdeA. Furthermore, a flow cytometry assay based on this biosensor was used to screen for diadenylate cyclase activity and confirmed the enzymatic activity of DisA-like proteins from Clostridium difficile and Methanocaldococcus jannaschii. Thus, we have expanded the development of RNA-based biosensors for in vivo metabolite imaging in Gram-positive bacteria and have validated the first dinucleotide cyclase from Archaea.

© 2015 The Authors. Growth and division are two of the most fundamental capabilities of a bacterial cell. While they are well described for model organisms growing in broth culture, very little is known about the cell division cycle of bacteria replicating in more complex environments. Using a D-alanine reporter strategy, we found that intracellular Listeria monocytogenes (. Lm) spend a smaller proportion of their cell cycle dividing compared to Lm growing in broth culture. This alteration to the cell division cycle is independent of bacterial doubling time. Instead, polymerization of host-derived actin at the bacterial cell surface extends the non-dividing elongation period and compresses the division period. By decreasing the relative proportion of dividing Lm, actin polymerization biases the population toward cells with the highest propensity to form actin tails. Thus, there is a positive-feedback loop between the Lm cell divisioncycle and a physical interaction with the host cytoskeleton.

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a cytosolic receptor that senses both exogenous and endogenous cytosolic cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs), activating TBK1/IRF3 (interferon regulatory factor 3), NF-κB (nuclear factor κB), and STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) signaling pathways to induce robust type I interferon and proinflammatory cytokine responses. CDN ligands were formulated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-producing cellular cancer vaccines--termed STINGVAX--that demonstrated potent in vivo antitumor efficacy in multiple therapeutic models of established cancer. We found that rationally designed synthetic CDN derivative molecules, including one with an Rp,Rp dithio diastereomer and noncanonical c[A(2',5')pA(3',5')p] phosphate bridge structure, enhanced antitumor efficacy of STINGVAX in multiple aggressive therapeutic models of established cancer in mice. Antitumor activity was STING-dependent and correlated with increased activation of dendritic cells and tumor antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells. Tumors from STINGVAX-treated mice demonstrated marked PD-L1 (programmed death ligand 1) up-regulation, which was associated with tumor-infiltrating CD8(+)IFNγ(+) T cells. When combined with PD-1 (programmed death 1) blockade, STINGVAX induced regression of palpable, poorly immunogenic tumors that did not respond to PD-1 blockade alone.

During exposure to certain stresses, bacteria dimerize pairs of 70S ribosomes into translationally silent 100S particles in a process called ribosome hibernation. Although the biological roles of ribosome hibernation are not completely understood, this process appears to represent a conserved and adaptive response that contributes to optimal survival during stress and post-exponential-phase growth. Hibernating ribosomes are formed by the activity of one or more highly conserved proteins; gammaproteobacteria produce two relevant proteins, ribosome modulation factor (RMF) and hibernation promoting factor (HPF), while most Gram-positive bacteria produce a single, longer HPF protein. Here, we report the formation of 100S ribosomes by an HPF homolog inListeria monocytogenes.L. monocytogenes100S ribosomes were observed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation of bacterial extracts during mid-logarithmic phase, peaked at the transition to stationary phase, and persisted at lower levels during post-exponential-phase growth. 100S ribosomes were undetectable in bacteria carrying anhpf::Himar1transposon insertion, indicating that HPF is required for ribosome hibernation inL. monocytogenes. Additionally, epitope-tagged HPF cosedimented with 100S ribosomes, supporting its previously described direct role in 100S formation. We examinedhpfmRNA by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and identified several conditions that upregulated its expression, including carbon starvation, heat shock, and exposure to high concentrations of salt or ethanol. Survival of HPF-deficient bacteria was impaired under certain conditions bothin vitroand during animal infection, providing evidence for the biological relevance of 100S ribosome formation.