Interaction between innate immune cells and a bacterial type III secretion system in mutualistic and pathogenic associations
Basic science published in PNAS (2007)
Abstract
Animals house a community of bacterial symbionts in their digestive tracts that contribute to their well being. The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, has a remarkably simple gut population carrying two extracellular microbes in the crop where the ingested blood is stored. This simplicity renders it attractive for studying colonization factors. Aeromonas veronii, one of the leech symbionts, can be genetically manipulated and is a pathogen of mammals. Screening transposon mutants of A. veronii for colonization defects in the leech, we found one mutant, JG752, with a transposon insertion in an ascU homolog, encoding an essential component of type III secretion systems (T3SS). Competing JG752 against the wild type revealed that JG752 was increasingly attenuated over time (10-fold at 18 h and >10,000-fold at 96 h). This colonization defect was linked to ascU by complementing JG752 with the operon containing ascU. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis revealed that at 42 h 38% of JG752 cells were phagocytosed by leech macrophage-like cells compared with <0.1% of the parental strain. Using mammalian macrophages, a lactate dehydrogenase release assay revealed that cytotoxicity was significantly reduced in macrophages exposed to JG752. In a mouse septicemia model, JG752 killed only 30% of mice, whereas the parent strain killed 100%, showing the importance of T3SS for both pathogenesis and mutualism. Phagocytic immune cells are important not only in defending against pathogens but also in maintaining the mutualistic symbiont community inside the leech, demonstrating that animals use similar, conserved mechanisms to control bacterial populations, even when the outcomes differ dramatically.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
Transposon insertion in ascU (T3SS) attenuates Aeromonas veronii colonization 10,000-fold in leech crop and ~70% killing in mouse septicemia.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Este estudio investigó la interacción entre las células inmunitarias innatas de la sanguijuela medicinal (Hirudo verbana) y el sistema de secreción tipo III (T3SS) de Aeromonas veronii, una bacteria simbionte intestinal. Es relevante para la comprensión biológica de las sanguijuelas medicinales al demostrar cómo las células tipo macrófago de la sanguijuela utilizan mecanismos conservados para controlar las poblaciones bacterianas, dictando si el simbionte actúa como mutualista o como patógeno. La investigación mostró que una mutación en el T3SS condujo a fagocitosis masiva por parte de las células inmunitarias de la sanguijuela y a una disminución de la virulencia en un modelo de ratón. No obstante, el alcance se limita a la microbiología e inmunología intestinal de la sanguijuela, sin aportar información directa sobre la hirudoterapia, el secretoma de la sanguijuela o las aplicaciones terapéuticas para pacientes humanos.
Citación
Interaction between innate immune cells and a bacterial type III secretion system in mutualistic and pathogenic associations.
Silver AC et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
Contexto clínico relacionado
Explore cómo esta investigación se conecta con la práctica clínica
Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: May 27, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: 18 de junio de 2026