{"title":"A novel small RNA regulates Locus of Enterocyte Effacement and site-specific colonization of enterohemorrhagic <i>Escherichia coli</i> O157:H7 in gut.","authors":"Runhua Han, Ye Qian, Chenguang Zheng","doi":"10.3389/fcimb.2024.1517328","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Enterohemorrhagic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (EHEC) is a contagious foodborne pathogen that specifically colonizes the human large intestine, which is regulated by different environmental stimuli within the gut. Transcriptional regulation of EHEC virulence and infection has been extensively studied, while the posttranscriptional regulation of these processes by small RNAs (sRNAs) remains not fully understood. Here we present a virulence-regulating pathway in EHEC O157:H7, in which the sRNA EvrS binds to and destabilizes the mRNA of Z2269, a novel transcriptional regulator. In turn, Z2269 indirectly activates the expression of LEE (locus of enterocyte effacement) pathogenicity island through the master regulator Ler. Importantly, the expression of EvrS is modulated by environmental oxygen levels. EvrS also exhibits lower expression in the colon compared to the ileum, influencing the site-specific colonization of EHEC O157:H7 in mice. These results indicate that the oxygen status within the intestine may regulate the expression of EvrS, thereby modulating virulence factors of EHEC and contributing to successful infection <i>in vivo</i>. This study has broader implications for understanding sRNA functions in spatiotemporal virulence control of EHEC and may provide novel strategies to prevent EHEC infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":12458,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology","volume":"14 ","pages":"1517328"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11774850/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2024.1517328","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"IMMUNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a contagious foodborne pathogen that specifically colonizes the human large intestine, which is regulated by different environmental stimuli within the gut. Transcriptional regulation of EHEC virulence and infection has been extensively studied, while the posttranscriptional regulation of these processes by small RNAs (sRNAs) remains not fully understood. Here we present a virulence-regulating pathway in EHEC O157:H7, in which the sRNA EvrS binds to and destabilizes the mRNA of Z2269, a novel transcriptional regulator. In turn, Z2269 indirectly activates the expression of LEE (locus of enterocyte effacement) pathogenicity island through the master regulator Ler. Importantly, the expression of EvrS is modulated by environmental oxygen levels. EvrS also exhibits lower expression in the colon compared to the ileum, influencing the site-specific colonization of EHEC O157:H7 in mice. These results indicate that the oxygen status within the intestine may regulate the expression of EvrS, thereby modulating virulence factors of EHEC and contributing to successful infection in vivo. This study has broader implications for understanding sRNA functions in spatiotemporal virulence control of EHEC and may provide novel strategies to prevent EHEC infections.
期刊介绍:
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology is a leading specialty journal, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research across all pathogenic microorganisms and their interaction with their hosts. Chief Editor Yousef Abu Kwaik, University of Louisville is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international experts. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide.
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology includes research on bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, endosymbionts, prions and all microbial pathogens as well as the microbiota and its effect on health and disease in various hosts. The research approaches include molecular microbiology, cellular microbiology, gene regulation, proteomics, signal transduction, pathogenic evolution, genomics, structural biology, and virulence factors as well as model hosts. Areas of research to counteract infectious agents by the host include the host innate and adaptive immune responses as well as metabolic restrictions to various pathogenic microorganisms, vaccine design and development against various pathogenic microorganisms, and the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and its countermeasures.