A small non-coding RNA facilitates Brucella melitensis intracellular survival by regulating the expression of virulence factor.

In this study, we characterized the role of a novel sRNA, BSR1141, in the intracellular survival and virulence of Brucella melitensis. The results show that BSR1141 was highly induced during host infections and under in vitro stress situations that simulated the conditions encountered within host phagocytes. In addition, a BSR1141 mutant showed reduced survival both under in vitro stress conditions and in mice, confirming the role of BSR1141 in Brucella intracellular survival. Bioinformatic and experimental approaches revealed that BSR1141 affects the expression of many target genes, including the Brucella virulence component virB2. These data indicate that BSR1141 could influence the expression of virB2, which is important for B. melitensis pathogenesis and intracellular survival. This work provides new insight into the mechanism of adaptation to environmental stress and into the pathogenesis of intracellular pathogens.
PMID: 31054808 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - April 18, 2019 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wang Y, Ke Y, Duan C, Ma X, Hao Q, Song L, Guo X, Sun T, Zhang W, Zhang J, Zhao Y, Zhong Z, Yang X, Chen Z Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: research