Identification of 2 hypothetical genes involved in Neisseria meningitidis cathelicidin resistance

被引：14

作者：

Frigimelica, Elisabetta ^{[1
]}

Bartolini, Erika ^{[1
]}

Galli, Giuliano ^{[1
]}

Grandi, Guido ^{[1
]}

Grifantini, Renata ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Novortis Vaccines, Siena, Italy

来源：

JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES | 2008年 / 197卷 / 08期

关键词：

D O I：

10.1086/533456

中图分类号：

R392 [医学免疫学]; Q939.91 [免疫学];

学科分类号：

100102 ;

摘要：

Cathelicidins play a pivotal role in innate immunity, providing a first barrier against bacterial infections at both mucosal and systemic sites. In this work, we have investigated the mechanisms by which Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) survives at the physiological concentrations of human and mouse cathelicidin LL37 and CRAMP, respectively. By analyzing the global transcription profile of MenB in the presence or absence of CRAMP, 21 genes were found to be differentially expressed. Among these genes, the hypothetical genes NMB0741 and NMB1828 wereup-regulated. When either of the 2 genes was deleted, MenB resistance to cathelicidins was impaired in vitro. Furthermore, the deletion of either of the 2 genes substantially reduced MenB virulence, as measured by the number of bacteria found in the blood of infected animals. Altogether, these results indicate that NMB0741 and NMB1828 are novel genes that have never been described before and that are involved in MenB cathelicidin resistance.

引用

页码：1124 / 1132

页数：9

共 35 条

[1] The human antimicrobial and chemotactic peptides LL-37 and α-defensins are expressed by specific lymphocyte and monocyte populations [J].