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The type II histidine triad protein HtpsC facilitates invasion of epithelial cells by highly virulent Streptococcus suis serotype 2

  • Microbial Pathogenesis and Host-Microbe Interaction
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Abstract

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (S. suis 2) is an important zoonotic pathogen that presents a significant threat both to pigs and to workers in the pork industry. The initial steps of S. suis 2 pathogenesis are unclear. In this study, we found that the type II histidine triad protein HtpsC from the highly virulent Chinese isolate 05ZYH33 is structurally similar to internalin A (InlA) from Listeria monocytogenes, which plays an important role in mediating listerial invasion of epithelial cells. To determine if HtpsC and InlA function similarly, an isogenic htpsC mutant (ΔhtpsC) was generated in S. suis by homologous recombination. The htpsC deletion strain exhibited a diminished ability to adhere to and invade epithelial cells from different sources. Double immunofluorescence microscopy also revealed reduced survival of the ΔhtpsC mutant after co-cultivation with epithelium. Adhesion to epithelium and invasion by the wild type strain was inhibited by a monoclonal antibody against E-cadherin. In contrast, the htpsC-deficient mutant was unaffected by the same treatment, suggesting that E-cadherin is the host-cell receptor that interacts with HtpsC and facilitates bacterial internalization. Based on these results, we propose that HtpsC is involved in the process by which S. suis 2 penetrates host epithelial cells, and that this protein is an important virulence factor associated with cell adhesion and invasion.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science foundation of China (award 81472932), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (award 2018-YFC1602800), and the Chongqing Basic Research and Frontier Exploration Project (award cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0142).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College Food Science and Light Industry, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, Jiangsu, P. R. China

    Yunjun Lu, Xushen Cai, Lixia Lu, Xiaohui Xiong & Min Cao

  2. Department of Microbiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Key Laboratory of Microbial Engineering under the Educational Committee in Chongqing, Chongqing, 400038, P. R. China

    Shu Li, Xiaodong Shen, Yan Zhao & Ming Li

  3. Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the Eastern Theater Command, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu, P. R. China

    Dongming Zhou & Dan Hu

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  1. Yunjun Lu
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  2. Shu Li
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  3. Xiaodong Shen
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  4. Yan Zhao
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Lu, Y., Li, S., Shen, X. et al. The type II histidine triad protein HtpsC facilitates invasion of epithelial cells by highly virulent Streptococcus suis serotype 2. J Microbiol. 59, 949–957 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-021-1129-1

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