Streptococcus agalactiae cadD alleviates metal stress and promotes intracellular survival in macrophages and ascending infection during pregnancy.
Michelle L KorirRyan S DosterJacky LuMiriam A GuevaraSabrina K SpicerRebecca E MooreJamisha D FrancisLisa M RogersKathryn P HaleyAmondrea BlackmanKristen N NobleAlison J EastmanJanice A WilliamsSteven M DamoKelli L BoydSteven D TownsendC Henrique SerezaniDavid M AronoffShannon D ManningJennifer A GaddyPublished in: Nature communications (2022)
Perinatal infection with Streptococcus agalactiae, or Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is associated with preterm birth, neonatal sepsis, and stillbirth. Here, we study the interactions of GBS with macrophages, essential sentinel immune cells that defend the gravid reproductive tract. Transcriptional analyses of GBS-macrophage co-cultures reveal enhanced expression of a gene encoding a putative metal resistance determinant, cadD. Deletion of cadD reduces GBS survival in macrophages, metal efflux, and resistance to metal toxicity. In a mouse model of ascending infection during pregnancy, the ΔcadD strain displays attenuated bacterial burden, inflammation, and cytokine production in gestational tissues. Furthermore, depletion of host macrophages alters cytokine expression and decreases GBS invasion in a cadD-dependent fashion. Our results indicate that GBS cadD plays an important role in metal detoxification, which promotes immune evasion and bacterial proliferation in the pregnant host.
Keyphrases
- preterm birth
- mouse model
- pregnant women
- poor prognosis
- biofilm formation
- candida albicans
- oxidative stress
- genome wide
- gene expression
- intensive care unit
- acute kidney injury
- adipose tissue
- low birth weight
- gestational age
- free survival
- body mass index
- dna methylation
- physical activity
- cell migration
- reactive oxygen species
- heat shock protein