1. The CpxA/CpxR Two-Component System Affects Biofilm Formation and Virulence in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae.
- Author
-
Li, Huan, Liu, Feng, Peng, Wei, Yan, Kang, Zhao, Haixu, Liu, Ting, Cheng, Hui, Chang, Peixi, Yuan, Fangyan, Chen, Huanchun, and Bei, Weicheng
- Subjects
GRAM-negative bacteria ,ACTINOBACILLUS pleuropneumoniae ,PATHOGENIC microorganisms ,MICROBIAL virulence ,POLYMERASE chain reaction - Abstract
Gram-negative bacteria have evolved numerous two-component systems (TCSs) to cope with external environmental changes. The CpxA/CpxR TCS consisting of the kinase CpxA and the regulator CpxR, is known to be involved in the biofilm formation and virulence of Escherichia coli. However, the role of CpxA/CpxR remained unclear in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, a bacterial pathogen that can cause porcine contagious pleuropneumonia (PCP). In this report, we show that CpxA/CpxR contributes to the biofilm formation ability of A. pleuropneumoniae. Furthermore, we demonstrate that CpxA/CpxR plays an important role in the expression of several biofilm-related genes in A. pleuropneumoniae, such as rpoE and pgaC. Furthermore, The results of electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and DNase I footprinting analysis demonstrate that CpxR-P can regulate the expression of the pgaABCD operon through rpoE. In an experimental infection of mice, the animals infected with a cpxA/cpxR mutant exhibited delayed mortality and lower bacterial loads in the lung than those infected with the wildtype bacteria. In conclusion, these results indicate that the CpxA/CpxR TCS plays a contributing role in the biofilm formation and virulence of A. pleuropneumoniae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF