PUBLICATION

Mycobacterium marinum MgtC Plays a Role in Phagocytosis but is Dispensable for Intracellular Multiplication

Authors
Belon, C., Gannoun-Zaki, L., Lutfalla, G., Kremer, L., Blanc-Potard, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-141230-2
Date
2014
Source
PLoS One   9: e116052 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Lutfalla, Georges
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins/genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins/metabolism*
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Membrane/drug effects
  • Cell Membrane/metabolism
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/microbiology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial/drug effects
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Injections, Subcutaneous
  • Intracellular Space/drug effects
  • Intracellular Space/microbiology*
  • Magnesium/pharmacology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Mycobacterium marinum/drug effects
  • Mycobacterium marinum/genetics
  • Mycobacterium marinum/growth & development*
  • Mycobacterium marinum/metabolism*
  • Neutrophils/drug effects
  • Phagocytosis*/drug effects
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/microbiology
PubMed
25545682 Full text @ PLoS One
Abstract
MgtC is a virulence factor involved in intramacrophage growth that has been reported in several intracellular pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. MgtC participates also in adaptation to Mg2+ deprivation. Herein, we have constructed a mgtC mutant in Mycobacterium marinum to further investigate the role of MgtC in mycobacteria. We show that the M. marinum mgtC gene (Mma mgtC) is strongly induced upon Mg2+ deprivation and is required for optimal growth in Mg2+-deprived medium. The behaviour of the Mma mgtC mutant has been investigated in the Danio rerio infection model using a transgenic reporter zebrafish line that specifically labels neutrophils. Although the mgtC mutant is not attenuated in the zebrafish embryo model based on survival curves, our results indicate that phagocytosis by neutrophils is enhanced with the mgtC mutant compared to the wild-type strain following subcutaneous injection. Increased phagocytosis of the mutant strain is also observed ex vivo with the murine J774 macrophage cell line. On the other hand, no difference was found between the mgtC mutant and the wild-type strain in bacterial adhesion to macrophages and in the internalization into epithelial cells. Unlike the role reported for MgtC in other intracellular pathogens, Mma MgtC does not contribute significantly to intramacrophage replication. Taken together, these results indicate an unanticipated function of Mma MgtC at early step of infection within phagocytic cells. Hence, our results indicate that although the MgtC function is conserved among pathogens regarding adaptation to Mg2+ deprivation, its role towards phagocytic cells can differ, possibly in relation with the specific pathogen's lifestyles.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping