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ABSTRACTUpon infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, neutrophils are massively recruited to the lungs, but the role of these cells in combating the infection is poorly understood. Through a type VII secretion system, M. tuberculosisreleases a heterodimeric protein complex, containing a 6-kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT-6) and a 10-kDa culture filtrate protein (CFP-10), that is essential for virulence. Whereas the ESAT-6 component possesses multiple virulence-related activities, no direct biological activity of CFP-10 has been shown, and CFP-10 has been described as a chaperone protein for ESAT-6. We here show that the ESAT-6:CFP-10 complex induces a transient release of Ca2+from intracellular stores in human neutrophils. Surprisingly, CFP-10 rather than ESAT-6 was responsible for triggering the Ca2+response, in a pertussis toxin-sensitive manner, suggesting the involvement of a G-protein-coupled receptor. In line with this, the response was accompanied by neutrophil chemotaxis and activation of the superoxide-producing NADPH-oxidase. Neutrophils were unique among leukocytes in responding to CFP-10, as monocytes and lymphocytes failed to produce a Ca2+signal upon stimulation with the M. tuberculosisprotein. Hence, CFP-10 may contribute specifically to neutrophil recruitment and activation during M. tuberculosisinfection, representing a novel biological role for CFP-10 in the ESAT-6:CFP-10 complex, beyond the previously described chaperone function.

ABSTRACTStaphylococcus aureusproduces four major extracellular proteases: staphylococcal serine protease (V8 protease; SspA), cysteine protease (SspB), metalloprotease (aureolysin; Aur), and staphopain (Scp). Several in vitro studies have suggested that these enzymes are important virulence factors. Here we analyzed the protease production of 92 S. aureusstrains from infected human soft tissue. Twenty-one strains produced variable zones of proteolysis on casein agar plates, while the remaining 71 strains appeared to be protease negative. The major protease genes were present in all protease-positive (n= 5) and protease-negative (n= 12) strains analyzed. Northern blotting showed that transcription of the protease genes was suppressed due to increased sigma factor B (SigB)-dependent expression of the protease repressor SarA. Other SigB-dependent traits such as pigmentation and expression of asp23 were also increased in protease-negative compared to protease-positive strains. Inactivation of sarAin three protease-negative strains resulted in increased transcription of all protease genes and increased protease production, while overexpression of sarAin a strain producing protease at high levels repressed protease production. Our results suggest that the protease genes are conserved among clinical S. aureusstrains and that the level of SigB-dependent expression of the protease repressor sarAdetermines the level of protease production in each strain.

ABSTRACTThe cecropin-like bactericidal peptide Hp(2-20) from Helicobacter pyloriinduces activation of the NADPH oxidase in human neutrophils via formyl peptide receptor-like 1 (FPRL1) (J. Bylund, T. Christophe, F. Boulay, T. Nyström, A. Karlsson, and C. Dahlgren, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 45:1700-1704, 2001). Here we investigated the ability of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to prime this response. Neutrophils treated with LPS for 30 min at 37°C produced substantially more superoxide anion than control cells upon stimulation with Hp(2-20). Hence, LPS primed the cells for subsequent stimulation through FPRL1. To study the molecular background of this priming phenomenon, we measured the degrees of granule mobilization and concomitant receptor upregulation to the cell surface in LPS-treated cells. Exposure of complement receptors 1 and 3 as well as the formyl peptide receptor (FPR) was markedly increased after LPS treatment. Since approximately 60% of the gelatinase granules were mobilized while the specific granules were retained, we hypothesized that the gelatinase granules were potential stores of FPRL1. The presence of FPRL1 mainly in the gelatinase granules was confirmed by Western blotting of subcellular fractions of resting neutrophils. These results suggest that the mechanism behind the LPS-induced priming of FPRL1-mediated responses lies at the level of granule (receptor) mobilization.

ABSTRACTData have been presented indicating that Staphylococcus aureuscell surface protein can be degraded by extracellular proteases produced by the same bacterium. We have found that insarAmutant cells, which produce high amounts of four major extracellular proteases (staphylococcal serine protease [V8 protease] [SspA], cysteine protease [SspB], aureolysin [metalloprotease] [Aur], and staphopain [Scp]), the levels of cell-bound fibronectin-binding proteins (FnBPs) and protein A were very low compared to those of wild-type cells, in spite of unaltered or increased transcription of the corresponding genes. Cultivation ofsarAmutant cells in the presence of the global protease inhibitor α2-macroglobulin resulted in a 16-fold increase in cell-bound FnBPs, indicating that extracellular proteases were responsible for the decreased amounts of FnBPs in sarAmutant cells. The protease inhibitor E64 had no effect on the level of FnBPs, indicating that cysteine proteases were not involved. Inactivation of either sspor aurin the prototype S. aureusstrain 8325-4 resulted in a threefold increase in the amount of cell-bound FnBPs. Inactivation of the same protease genes in a sarAmutant of 8325-4 resulted in a 10- to 20-fold increase in cell-bound protein A. As the serine protease requires aureolysin to be activated, it can thus be concluded that the serine protease is the most important protease in the release of cell-bound FnBPs and protein A.