Biology subjects

Miller, F. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Miller, F. C..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Immune Inhibitor A Metalloproteases Contribute to Virulence in Bacillus Endophthalmitis

Bacterial endophthalmitis is a devastating infection that can cause blindness following the introduction of organisms into the posterior segment of the eye. Over half of Bacillus endophthalmitis cases result in significant loss of useful vision. Often, these eyes have to be enucleated. Bacillus produces many virulence factors in the eye that may contribute to retinal damage and robust inflammation. This study analyzed Bacillus immune inhibitor A (InhA) metalloproteases, which digest extracellular matrix, tight junction proteins, and antimicrobial proteins. We hypothesized that InhAs contribute to Bacillus intraocular virulence and inflammation. We analyzed phenotypes and infectivity of wild type (WT), InhA1-deficient (ΔinhA1), InhA2-deficient (ΔinhA2), or InhA1, A2, and A3-deficient (ΔinhA1-3) Bacillus thuringiensis. In vitro analysis of growth, proteolysis, and cytotoxicity were compared between B. thuringiensis strains. WT and InhA mutants were similarly cytotoxic to retinal cells. Mutant ΔinhA1 and ΔinhA2 entered log phase growth earlier than WT. Proteolysis of the ΔinhA1-3 mutant was decreased, but this strain grew similar to WT in vitro. Experimental endophthalmitis was initiated by intravitreally infecting C57BL/6J mice with 200 CFU of B. thuringiensis WT or InhA mutants. Intraocular Bacillus and retinal function loss were quantified. Intraocular myeloperoxidase concentrations were quantified and histology was analyzed. Eyes infected with ΔinhA1 or ΔinhA2 strains contained greater numbers of bacteria than eyes infected with WT throughout the course of infection. Eyes infected with single mutants had inflammation and retinal function loss similar to eyes infected with WT strain. Eyes infected with ΔinhA1-3 cleared the infection, with less retinal function loss and inflammation compared to eyes infected with the WT strain. RT-PCR results suggested that single InhA mutant results may be explained by compensatory expression of the other InhAs in these mutants. These results indicate that together, the InhA metalloproteases contribute to the severity of infection and inflammation in Bacillus endophthalmitis.Author summary Bacterial endophthalmitis is an infection of the eye, which can follow accidental contamination of the posterior segment following ocular surgery (postoperative), a penetrating wound (post-traumatic), or during spread of bacteria into the eye from the bloodstream (endogenous). During bacterial endophthalmitis, virulent pathogens such as Bacillus cause ocular damage via the activities of an array of virulence factors, including proteases. A class of proteases that are expressed by Bacillus during ocular infection are the immune inhibitor A metalloproteases. Here, we used a mouse model of endophthalmitis to test mutant Bacillus that lack single or multiple InhAs to determine if these metalloproteases contributed to the virulence during the disease. In the absence of the production of all InhAs, Bacillus could not cause severe infection. Our study provides new insights into the virulence of Bacillus in the eye, and the contribution of its InhA metalloproteases to establishing infection.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

The Bacillus Virulome in Endophthalmitis

Bacillus cereus is recognized as a causative agent of gastrointestinal syndromes, but can also cause a devastating form of intraocular infection known as endophthalmitis. We have previously reported that the PlcR/PapR master virulence factor regulator system regulates intraocular virulence, and that the S-layer protein (SlpA) contributes to the severity of B. cereus endophthalmitis. To begin to better understand the role of other B. cereus virulence genes in endophthalmitis, expression levels of a subset of factors was measured at the midpoint of disease progression in a murine model of experimental endophthalmitis by RNA-Seq. Several cytolytic toxins were expressed at significantly higher levels in vivo than in BHI. The virulence regulators codY, gntR, and nprR were also expressed in vivo. However, at this timepoint, plcR/papR was not detectable, we previously reported that a B. cereus mutant deficient in PlcR was attenuated in the eye. The motility-related genes fla, fliF, and motB, and the chemotaxis-related gene cheA were detected during infection. We have shown previously that motility and chemotaxis phenotypes are important in B. cereus endophthalmitis. The sodA2 variant of manganese superoxide dismutase was the most highly expression gene in vivo, suggesting that this gene is criticial for intraocular survival, potentially through inhibition of neutrophil activity. Expression of the surface layer protein gene, slpA, an activator of Toll-like receptors (TLR) -2 and -4, and a potent contributor to intraocular inflammation and disease severvity, was also detected during infection, albeit at low levels. In summary, genes expressed in a mouse model of Bacillus endophthalmitis might prove to play crucial roles in the unique virulence of B. cereus endophthalmitis, and serve as candidates for novel therapies designed attenuate the severity of this often blinding infection. Impact statementB. cereus causes a potent and rapid infection of the eye that usually results in blindness or enucleation, even with the utilization of current treatment modalities. This necessitates the development of new treatment modalities based on new targets. To begin to better define those B. cereus factors with roles in intraocular infection, we analyzed the expression of genes with both known and hypothesized roles in intraocular infection at the midpoint of infection using a murine model of Bacillus endophthalmitis. Potentially targetable candidate genes were demonstrated to be expressed in vivo, which suggests that these genes might contribute to the unique virulence of B. cereus endophthalmitis. Importantly, our results begin to define the virulome of B. cereus in intraocular infections and identify previously uncharacterized factors with potential roles in the severity and outcome of Bacillus endophthalmitis.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

INNATE IMMUNE INTERFERENCE ATTENUATES INFLAMMATION IN BACILLUS ENDOPHTHALMITIS

PURPOSEBacillus endophthalmitis is a sight-threatening bacterial infection that sometimes requires enucleation. Inflammation in this disease is driven by activation of innate Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways. Here, we explored the consequences of innate immune interference on intraocular inflammatory responses during Bacillus endophthalmitis. METHODSEndophthalmitis was induced in mice by injecting 100 CFU Bacillus thuringiensis in to the mid-vitreous. We interfered with activation of the TLR2 and TLR4 pathways by 1) injecting a group of mice with S layer protein-deficient ({Delta}slpA) B. thuringiensis or 2) injecting a group of wild type (WT)-infected mice with a TLR2/4 inhibitor, oxidized phospholipid (OxPAPC). At 10 hours postinfection, infected eyes were removed and total RNA was purified. mRNA expression was then analyzed by NanoString using a murine inflammation panel. We compared findings with expression data from eyes infected with eyes injected with WT B. thuringiensis, eyes injected with OxPAPC alone, and uninfected eyes. RESULTSInterference of TLR2 and TLR4 pathways resulted in differential expression of mouse inflammatory genes compared to expression in WT-infected eyes. In WT-infected eyes, 56% of genes were significantly upregulated compared to that of uninfected controls. However, compared to WT-infected eyes, the expression of 27% and 50% of genes were significantly reduced in WT+OxPAPC and {Delta}slpA-infected eyes, respectively. The expression of 61 genes which were significantly upregulated in WT-infected eyes was decreased in WT+OxPAPC or {Delta}slpA-infected eyes. Interference with activation of the TLR2 and TLR4 pathways resulted in blunted expression of complement factors (C3, Cfb, and C6) and several innate genes such as TLR2, TLR4, TLR6, TLR8, MyD88, Nod2, Nlrp3, NF-{kappa}B, STAT3, RelA, RelB, and Ptgs2. Interference with activation of the TLR2 and TLR4 pathways also reduced the expression of several inflammatory cytokines such as CSF3, IL-6, IL-1{beta}, CSF2, IL-1, TNF, IL-23, TGF{beta}1, and IL-12{beta} and chemokines CCL2, CCl3, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL5, CXCL9, and CXCL10. All of the aforementioned genes were significantly upregulated in WT-infected eyes. CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that interfering with the activation of innate immune pathways during Bacillus endophthalmitis significantly reduced the intraocular inflammatory response. This positive clinical outcome could be a strategy for anti-inflammatory therapy of an infection typically refractory to corticosteroid treatment.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Expression of Bacillus cereus Virulence-Related Genes in an Ocular Infection-Related Environment

Bacillus cereus produces many factors linked to pathogenesis and is recognized for causing gastrointestinal toxemia and infections. B. cereus also causes a fulminant and often blinding intraocular infection called endophthalmitis. We reported that the PlcR/PapR system regulates intraocular virulence, but the specific factors that contribute to B. cereus virulence in the eye remain elusive. Here, we compared gene expression in ex vivo vitreous humor with expression in Luria Bertani (LB) and Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth by RNA-Seq. The expression of several cytolytic toxins in vitreous was less than or similar to levels observed in BHI or LB. Regulators of virulence genes, including PlcR/PapR, were expressed in vitreous. PlcR/PapR was expressed at low levels, though we had reported that PlcR-deficient B. cereus was attenuated in the eye. Chemotaxis and motility genes were expressed at similar levels in LB and BHI, but at low to undetectable levels in vitreous, although motility is an important phenotype for B. cereus in the eye. Superoxide dismutase, a potential inhibitor of neutrophil activity in the eye during infection, was the most highly expressed gene in vitreous. Genes previously reported to be important to intraocular virulence were expressed at low levels in vitreous under these conditions, possibly because in vivo cues are required for higher level expression. Genes expressed in vitreous may contribute to the unique virulence of B. cereus endophthalmitis, and future analysis of the B. cereus virulome in the eye will identify those expressed in vivo, which could potentially be targeted to arrest virulence. Impact statementB. cereus is the causative agent of gastrointestinal infections, but can also cause a serious infection of the eye that often results in blindness or enucleation. Current therapeutic measures often fail to mitigate these poor outcomes. This necessitates the development of new treatment modalities based on new targets. To begin to better define those B. cereus factors with roles in intraocular infection, we analyzed the expression of genes related to gastrointestinal infections, as well as those with both known and hypothesized roles in intraocular infections, after growth in an ex vivo vitreous. Potentially targetable candidate genes were demonstrated to be expressed in vitreous, which suggests that these genes might contribute to the unique virulence of B. cereus endophthalmitis. Importantly, our results lay the groundwork for assessing the expression of these genes in vivo and defining the virulome of B. cereus in intraocular infections.

microbiology↗