Key Role of Capsular Polysaccharide in the Induction of Systemic Infection and Abortion by Hypervirulent Campylobacter jejuni [Molecular Pathogenesis]

In this study, we evaluated the role of CPS in bacteremia using a mouse model and in abortion using a pregnant guinea pig model following oral challenge. Compared with C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and 81-176, a clone SA isolate (IA3902) resulted in significantly higher bacterial counts and a significantly longer duration of bacteremia in mice. The loss of capsule production via gene-specific mutagenesis in IA3902 led to the complete abolishment of bacteremia in mice and abortion in pregnant guinea pigs, while complementation of capsule expression almost fully restored these phenotypes. The capsule mutant strain was also impaired for survival in guinea pig sera and sheep blood. Sequence-based analyses revealed that clone SA possesses a unique CPS locus with a mosaic structure, which has been stably maintained in all clone SA isolates derived from various hosts and times. These findings establish CPS as a key virulence factor for the induction of systemic infection and abortion in pregnant animals and provide a viable candidate for the development of vaccines against hypervirulent C. jejuni.

Source: Infection and Immunity - May 23, 2017 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Sahin, O., Terhorst, S. A., Burrough, E. R., Shen, Z., Wu, Z., Dai, L., Tang, Y., Plummer, P. J., Ji, J., Yaeger, M. J., Zhang, Q. Tags: Molecular Pathogenesis Source Type: research