Characterization of the CpxRA regulon in Haemophilus ducreyi

Infect Immun. 2010 Nov;78(11):4779-91. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00678-10. Epub 2010 Aug 30.

Abstract

The Haemophilus ducreyi 35000HP genome encodes a homolog of the CpxRA two-component cell envelope stress response system originally characterized in Escherichia coli. CpxR, the cytoplasmic response regulator, was shown previously to be involved in repression of the expression of the lspB-lspA2 operon (M. Labandeira-Rey, J. R. Mock, and E. J. Hansen, Infect. Immun. 77:3402-3411, 2009). In the present study, the H. ducreyi CpxR and CpxA proteins were shown to closely resemble those of other well-studied bacterial species. A cpxA deletion mutant and a CpxR-overexpressing strain were used to explore the extent of the CpxRA regulon. DNA microarray and real-time reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR analyses indicated several potential regulatory targets for the H. ducreyi CpxRA two-component regulatory system. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) were used to prove that H. ducreyi CpxR interacted with the promoter regions of genes encoding both known and putative virulence factors of H. ducreyi, including the lspB-lspA2 operon, the flp operon, and dsrA. Interestingly, the use of EMSAs also indicated that H. ducreyi CpxR did not bind to the promoter regions of several genes predicted to encode factors involved in the cell envelope stress response. Taken together, these data suggest that the CpxRA system in H. ducreyi, in contrast to that in E. coli, may be involved primarily in controlling expression of genes not involved in the cell envelope stress response.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Haemophilus ducreyi / genetics
  • Haemophilus ducreyi / metabolism*
  • Haemophilus ducreyi / pathogenicity
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Protein Kinases / chemistry
  • Protein Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism*
  • Regulon
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Virulence
  • Virulence Factors / genetics
  • Virulence Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Virulence Factors
  • CpxR protein, Bacteria
  • Protein Kinases
  • CpxA protein, bacteria

Associated data

  • GEO/GSE21788
  • GEO/GSE21789