Transcriptional responses of the Helicobacter pylori cag pathogenicity island


Autoria(s): Vannini, Andrea
Contribuinte(s)

Scarlato, Vincenzo

Data(s)

22/04/2013

Resumo

The severity of Helicobacter pylori infections largely depends on the genetic diversity of the infecting strain, and particularly on the presence of the cag pathogenicity island (cag-PAI). This virulence locus encodes a type-IV secretion system able to translocate in the host cell at least the cag-encoded toxin CagA and peptidoglycan fragments, that together are responsible for the pathogenic phenotype in the host. Little is known about the bacterial regulators that underlie the coordinated expression of cag gene products, needed to assemble a functional secretion system apparatus. To fill this gap, a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional regulation of the cag-PAI operons was undertaken. To pursue this goal, a robust tool for the analysis of gene expression in H. pylori was first implemented. A bioluminescent reporter system based on the P. luminescens luxCDABE operon was constructed and validated by comparisons with transcriptional analyses, then it was systematically used for the comprehensive study and mapping of the cag promoters. The identification of bona fide cag promoters had permitted to pinpoint the set of cag transcriptional units of the PAI. The responses of these cag transcriptional units to metabolic stress signals were analyzed in detail, and integrated with transcription studies in deletion mutants of important H. pylori virulence regulators and protein-DNA interaction analyses to map the binding sites of the regulators. Finally, a small regulatory RNA cncR1 encoded by the cag-PAI was identified, and the 5’- and 3’-ends of the molecule were mapped by primer extension analyses, northern blot and studies with lux reporter constructs. To identify regulatory effects exerted by cncR1 on the H. pylori gene expression, the cncR1 knock out strain was derived and compared to the parental wild type strain by a macroarray approach. Results suggest a negative effect exerted by cncR1 on the regulome of the alternative sigma54 factor.

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/5824/1/Vannini_Andrea_tesi.pdf

urn:nbn:it:unibo-10567

Vannini, Andrea (2013) Transcriptional responses of the Helicobacter pylori cag pathogenicity island, [Dissertation thesis], Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. Dottorato di ricerca in Biologia cellulare, molecolare e industriale/cellular, molecular and industrial biology: progetto n. 2 Biologia funzionale dei sistemi cellulari e molecolari <http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/view/dottorati/DOT453/>, 25 Ciclo. DOI 10.6092/unibo/amsdottorato/5824.

Idioma(s)

en

Publicador

Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna

Relação

http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/5824/

Direitos

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Palavras-Chave #BIO/11 Biologia molecolare
Tipo

Tesi di dottorato

NonPeerReviewed