Name: tractable mammalian cell infections with protozoan-primed bacteria
Uploaded: 2013-04-02T12:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Tractable Mammalian Cell Infections with Protozoan-primed Bacteria at JoVE.com

We thank Dr. Craig Roy and Dr. Dario Zamboni for providing a template for protozoan cell infections. We thank Dr. Jagdeep Obhrai, Dr. Georgiana Purdy, Dr. Fred Heffron and Todd Wisner for equipment and reagents; Dr. Lulu Cambronne for critical review of the manuscript. Flow cytometry was performed at the OHSU Flow Cytometry Shared Resource facility. This work was supported in part by a grant from the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon and an NIH grant R21 AI088275 (E.D.C.).

1. Preparation of Legionella pneumophila Cultures for Priming Stage Infections
<ol>
	<li>Transform all L. pneumophila strains used in the assay with the plasmid pAM239, encoding an isopropyl &beta;-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) inducible green fluorescent protein (GFP)28. Streak the bacterial strains onto iron and cysteine supplemented N-(2-Acetamido)-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid (ACES) buffered charcoal yeast extract agar (CYEA) containing 6.25 &mu;g/ml chloramphenicol (C...

<ol>
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A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Phagocytosis+of+the+Legionnaires'+disease+bacterium+(Legionella+pneumophila)+occurs+by+a+novel+mechanism:+engulfment+within+a+pseudopod+coil.">Phagocytosis of the Legionnaires' disease bacterium (Legionella pneumophila) occurs by a novel mechanism: engulfment within a pseudopod coil.</a> Cell. 36, 27-33 (1984).</li><li>Horwitz, M. A., Silverstein, S. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Legionnaires'+disease+bacterium+(Legionella+pneumophila)+multiples+intracellularly+in+human+monocytes.">Legionnaires' disease bacterium (Legionella pneumophila) multiples intracellularly in human monocytes.</a> J. Clin. Invest. 66, 441-450 (1980).</li><li>Burstein, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-scale+identification+of+Legionella+pneumophila+effectors+using+a+machine+learning+approach.">Genome-scale identification of Legionella pneumophila effectors using a machine learning approach.</a> PLoS Pathog. 5, e1000508 (2009).</li><li>Zhu, W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comprehensive+identification+of+protein+substrates+of+the+Dot/Icm+type+IV+transporter+of+Legionella+pneumophila.">Comprehensive identification of protein substrates of the Dot/Icm type IV transporter of Legionella pneumophila.</a> PLoS One. 6, e17638 .</li><li>Nagai, H., Kubori, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Type+IVB+Secretion+Systems+of+Legionella+and+Other+Gram-Negative+Bacteria.">Type IVB Secretion Systems of Legionella and Other Gram-Negative Bacteria.</a> Front Microbiol. 2, 136 (2011).</li><li>Hubber, A., Roy, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Modulation+of+host+cell+function+by+Legionella+pneumophila+type+IV+effectors.">Modulation of host cell function by Legionella pneumophila type IV effectors.</a> Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 26, 261-283 (2010).</li><li>Shin, S., Roy, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Host+cell+processes+that+influence+the+intracellular+survival+of+Legionella+pneumophila.">Host cell processes that influence the intracellular survival of Legionella pneumophila.</a> Cell Microbiol. 10, 1209-1220 (2008).</li><li>Berger, K. H., Isberg, R. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Two+distinct+defects+in+intracellular+growth+complemented+by+a+single+genetic+locus+in+Legionella+pneumophila.">Two distinct defects in intracellular growth complemented by a single genetic locus in Legionella pneumophila.</a> Mol. Microbiol. 7, 7-19 (1993).</li><li>Marra, A., Blander, S. J., Horwitz, M. A., Shuman, H. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+a+Legionella+pneumophila+locus+required+for+intracellular+multiplication+in+human+macrophages.">Identification of a Legionella pneumophila locus required for intracellular multiplication in human macrophages.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 9607-9611 (1992).</li><li>Segal, G., Purcell, M., Shuman, H. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Host+cell+killing+and+bacterial+conjugation+require+overlapping+sets+of+genes+within+a+22-kb+region+of+the+Legionella+pneumophila+genome.">Host cell killing and bacterial conjugation require overlapping sets of genes within a 22-kb region of the Legionella pneumophila genome.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95, 1669-1674 (1998).</li><li>Segal, G., Shuman, H. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Characterization+of+a+new+region+required+for+macrophage+killing+by+Legionella+pneumophila.">Characterization of a new region required for macrophage killing by Legionella pneumophila.</a> Infect Immun. 65, 5057-5066 (1997).</li><li>Vogel, J. P., Andrews, H. L., Wong, S. K., Isberg, R. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Conjugative+transfer+by+the+virulence+system+of+Legionella+pneumophila.">Conjugative transfer by the virulence system of Legionella pneumophila.</a> Science. 279, 873-876 (1998).</li><li>Haghjoo, E., Galan, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+a+transcriptional+regulator+that+controls+intracellular+gene+expression+in+Salmonella+Typhi.">Identification of a transcriptional regulator that controls intracellular gene expression in Salmonella Typhi.</a> Mol. Microbiol. 64, 1549-1561 (2007).</li><li>Molofsky, A. B., Swanson, M. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Differentiate+to+thrive:+lessons+from+the+Legionella+pneumophila+life+cycle.">Differentiate to thrive: lessons from the Legionella pneumophila life cycle.</a> Mol. Microbiol. 53, 29-40 (2004).</li><li>Hammer, B. K., Tateda, E. S., Swanson, M. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+two-component+regulator+induces+the+transmission+phenotype+of+stationary-phase+Legionella+pneumophila.">A two-component regulator induces the transmission phenotype of stationary-phase Legionella pneumophila.</a> Mol. Microbiol. 44, 107-118 (2002).</li><li>Ninio, S., Zuckman-Cholon, D. M., Cambronne, E. D., Roy, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Legionella+IcmS-IcmW+protein+complex+is+important+for+Dot/Icm-mediated+protein+translocation.">The Legionella IcmS-IcmW protein complex is important for Dot/Icm-mediated protein translocation.</a> Mol. Microbiol. 55, 912-926 (2005).</li><li>Neild, A. L., Roy, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Legionella+reveal+dendritic+cell+functions+that+facilitate+selection+of+antigens+for+MHC+class+II+presentation.">Legionella reveal dendritic cell functions that facilitate selection of antigens for MHC class II presentation.</a> Immunity. 18, 813-823 (2003).</li><li>Molmeret, M., Horn, M., Wagner, M., Santic, M., Abu Kwaik, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Amoebae+as+training+grounds+for+intracellular+bacterial+pathogens.">Amoebae as training grounds for intracellular bacterial pathogens.</a> Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 10-1128 (2005).</li><li>Huws, S. A., Smith, A. W., Enright, M. C., Wood, P. J., Brown, M. 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Bacterial gene expression is tightly controlled through a combination of life cycle progression and response to signals in the surrounding microenvironment. Vacuolar pathogens such as L. pneumophila respond to a multitude of host cell-derived cues when compartmentalized in a phagosome. As a collective result of nutrient exhaustion in the host cell, the bacterium compensates by expressing factors required for successful dissemination to a subsequent host cell25. L. pneumophila adapted to effic...

Numerous bacterial pathogens have adapted generalized strategies to exploit host cells for survival and replication in an intracellular compartment. In many instances, pathogenic mechanisms are similar between protozoan and metazoan cells. However, these two microenvironments are very different and can result in differential expression of virulence factors1-4. The Legionnaires' disease bacterium Legionella pneumophila is ubiquitously associated with freshwater environments worldwide5. Importantly, L. pneumophila cultivated in protozoan cells prior to infection of human monocytes gain a pathogenic advantage, suggesting that global gene expression profiles of the bacterium exiting a protozoan cell are different than that of the in vitro cultivated organism6-8. In nature, freshwater amoebae provide nutrient rich confines for rapid amplification of an invading bacterium. Human acquisition of L. pneumophila is most often attributed to inhalation of contaminated water droplets that contain the bacterium. It is likely that these droplets harbor protozoan cell-associated bacteria; where protozoan cells are more resistant to conventional water treatment practices9,10. Infection of lung alveolar macrophages proceeds in a manner nearly identical to the intracellular life cycle of the bacterium in protozoan host cells11-13.
In order to survive and replicate in eukaryotic cells, L. pneumophila uses a specialized type IVb secretion system termed Dot/Icm to deliver nearly 300 'effector' proteins into the cytosol of the host cell14-16. These effector proteins collectively function to subvert cellular processes in order to generate a replication permissive compartment for the bacterium17,18. Deletions in any of the 26 genes that comprise the Dot/Icm transporter result in strains defective for intracellular multiplication19-23. Historically, deletion of individual effector encoding genes rarely resulted in strains attenuated for intracellular growth. This phenomenon has been attributed to several hypotheses including redundant function and paralogous copies of effectors.
Some virulence factors are only expressed in the context of host cell-associated intracellular growth24. We rationalized that if a particular effector was only expressed in the context of protozoan infection, then the contribution of the effector could not be compared with a wild-type strain when both were cultured in vitro. L. pneumophila transitions from a replicative to a transmissive phase as it enters stationary phase in culture25. The phase switching phenotype represents the nutrient depletion encountered during intracellular growth and is exemplified through assembly of flagella for motility26. Because L. pneumophila is more invasive and virulent when harvested from protozoan cells, we sought to develop an assay that more faithfully represented the pathogenic state of the bacterium when it encountered host macrophages.
To this end, we developed a versatile protozoan priming assay that can accommodate any suitable host for both the first (priming cell) and second (target cell) stage infections. The infection process is tractable through use of bacteria stably expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). The infection model for the protozoan Acanthamoeba castellanii follows a methodology widely used in the field27. For the priming step, L. pneumophila strains are cultivated in vitro to stationary phase in liquid media to produce labeled 'transmissive' bacteria (Figure 1A). Bacteria are next used to infect monolayers of A. castellanii for 18 hr to achieve a late stage of the intracellular life cycle. Large vacuoles containing bacteria can be visualized at this time point using fluorescence microscopy (Figure 1A). Protozoan cells are then lysed and bacteria recovered from the lysate are measured for emission at 512 nm using a fluorescence plate reader. Fluorescence is correlated with optical density to calculate multiplicity-of-infection (MOI) for the infection of target cells (Figure 1, *Correlation Curve). After invasion (T0) and 18 hr post-invasion (T18), target cells are quantified for fluorescence, representing intracellular bacteria. Fluorescence can be monitored by microscopy and flow cytometry, and viable counts can be measured through colony plating. The priming assay is always accompanied by infections with wild-type L. pneumophila and a strain defective in the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (&Delta;dotA) (Figure 1A). This importantly provides internal controls for direct comparisons between wild-type and any isogenic mutant strains used in the infection process. The inclusion of the avirulent &Delta;dotA strain during the priming stage sets a threshold for observation of attenuated growth phenotypes associated with isogenic mutant strains that are cultured in vitro.

<table border="1">
 <tbody>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Reagent</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>chloramphenicol</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>BP904-100</td>
 <td>antibiotic</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>IPTG</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>BP1755-10</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>ACES</td>
 <td>Sigma</td>
 <td>A9758-1KG</td>
 <td>media component</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>ATCC medium: 712 PYG</td>
 <td>ATCC</td>
 <td></td>
 <td>growth media for protozoans</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1X PBS</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>SH30256FS</td>
 <td>phosphate buffered saline</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>activated charcoal</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>C272-212</td>
 <td>media component</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>yeast extract</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>BP1422-500</td>
 <td>media component</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>peptone</td>
 <td>BD Diagnostics</td>
 <td>211677</td>
 <td>media component</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>agar</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>BP1423-2</td>
 <td>media component</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>L-cysteine, 99%+</td>
 <td>Acros organics</td>
 <td>173601000</td>
 <td>media supplement</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Ferric nitrate nonahydrate</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>I110-100</td>
 <td>media supplement</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Equipment</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>EVOS fl</td>
 <td>AMG</td>
 <td>EVOS fl</td>
 <td>fluorescence microscope</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Smart Spec Plus</td>
 <td>Bio-Rad</td>
 <td>170-2525</td>
 <td>spectrophotometer</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>5810 R centrifuge</td>
 <td>Eppendorf</td>
 <td>22627023</td>
 <td>bench top centrifuge</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Repeater plus</td>
 <td>Eppendorf</td>
 <td>22230201</td>
 <td>repeating pipette</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>SpectraMax Gemini EM</td>
 <td>Molecular Devices</td>
 <td></td>
 <td>microplate reader</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Softmax Pro 5.3</td>
 <td>Molecular Devices</td>
 <td>0200-310</td>
 <td>microplate reader software</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>5424 microfuge</td>
 <td>Eppendorf</td>
 <td>22620401</td>
 <td>table top microcentrifuge</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Fast-release pipette pump II</td>
 <td>Scienceware</td>
 <td>379111010</td>
 <td>pipette aid</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>FACS Calibur</td>
 <td>BD Bioscience</td>
 <td></td>
 <td>flow cytometer</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>FlowJo 7.6.1</td>
 <td>FlowJo</td>
 <td>license</td>
 <td>flow cytometery software</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>15 ml tube</td>
 <td>BD Falcon</td>
 <td>352096</td>
 <td>polypropylene conical tube</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1.6 ml microfuge tube</td>
 <td>Neptune</td>
 <td>3745.X</td>
 <td>microcentrifuge tubes</td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

tractable mammalian cell infections with protozoan-primed bacteria

Many intracellular bacterial pathogens use freshwater protozoans as a natural reservoir for proliferation in the environment. Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' pneumonia, gains a pathogenic advantage over in vitro cultured bacteria when first harvested from protozoan cells prior to infection of mammalian macrophages. This suggests that important virulence factors may not be properly expressed in vitro. We have developed a tractable system for priming L. pneumophila through its natural protozoan host Acanthamoeba castellanii prior to mammalian cell infection. The contribution of any virulence factor can be examined by comparing intracellular growth of a mutant strain to wild-type bacteria after protozoan priming. GFP-expressing wild-type and mutant L. pneumophila strains are used to infect protozoan monolayers in a priming step and allowed to reach late stages of intracellular growth. Fluorescent bacteria are then harvested from these infected cells and normalized by spectrophotometry to generate comparable numbers of bacteria for a subsequent infection into mammalian macrophages. For quantification, live bacteria are monitored after infection using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and by colony plating. This technique highlights and relies on the contribution of host cell-dependent gene expression by mimicking the environment that would be encountered in a natural acquisition route. This approach can be modified to accommodate any bacterium that uses an intermediary host as a means for gaining a pathogenic advantage.

A typical result for the entire infection process is outlined in Figure 1. Live cell fluorescence micrographs depicting monolayers of A.castellanii infected with wild-type L. pneumophila during the priming stage is shown in Figure 1A. A successful measure of the priming step would lead to a population of approximately 90% of the host cells containing large vacuoles populated with GFP labeled bacteria at this MOI. At 18 hr post-infection, most A. castellanii cel...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Tractable Mammalian Cell Infections with Protozoan-primed Bacteria at JoVE.com

Tractable Mammalian Cell Infections with Protozoan-primed Bacteria

This technique provides a method to harvest, normalize and quantify intracellular growth of bacterial pathogens that are pre-cultivated in natural protozoan host cells prior to infections of mammalian cells. This method can be modified to accommodate a wide variety of host cells for the priming stage as well as target cell types.

Many intracellular bacterial pathogens use freshwater protozoans as a natural reservoir for proliferation in the environment. Legionella pneumophila, the ...

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Using Zebrafish Models of Human Influenza A Virus Infections to Screen Antiviral Drugs and Characterize Host Immune Cell Responses

Each year, seasonal influenza outbreaks profoundly affect societies worldwide. In spite of global efforts, influenza remains an intractable healthcare ...

The WinCF Model - An Inexpensive and Tractable Microcosm of a Mucus Plugged Bronchiole to Study the Microbiology of Lung Infections

Many chronic airway diseases result in mucus plugging of the airways. Lungs of an individual with cystic fibrosis are an exemplary case where their ...

Confocal Imaging of Double-Stranded RNA and Pattern Recognition Receptors in Negative-Sense RNA Virus Infection

Double-stranded (ds) RNA is produced as a replicative intermediate during RNA virus infection. Recognition of dsRNA by host pattern recognition receptors ...