scholarly journals Coordinate genomic association of transcription factors controlled by an imported quorum sensing peptide in Cryptococcus neoformans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana K. Summers ◽  
Daniela S. Perry ◽  
Beiduo Rao ◽  
Hiten D. Madhani
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Control Cell ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Fungal Meningitis ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
Genomic Studies

ABSTRACTQsp1 is a secreted quorum sensing peptide required for virulence of the fungal meningitis pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Qsp1 functions to control cell wall integrity in vegetatively growing cells and also functions in mating. Rather than acting on a cell surface receptor, Qsp1 is imported to act intracellularly via the predicted oligopeptide transporter Opt1. Here, we identify a transcription factor network as a target of Qsp1. Using whole-genome chromatin immunoprecipitation, we find Qsp1 controls the genomic associations of three transcription factors to genes whose outputs are regulated by Qsp1. One of these transcription factors, Cqs2, is also required for the action of Qsp1 during mating, indicating that it might be a shared proximal target of Qsp1. Consistent with this hypothesis, deletion of CQS2 impacts the binding of other network transcription factors specifically to Qsp1-regulated genes. These genetic and genomic studies illuminate mechanisms by which an imported peptide acts to modulate eukaryotic gene expression.AUTHOR SUMMARYFor many fungal pathogens, the ability to adapt to changing and diverse environments forms the basis for their ability to infect and survive inside macrophages and other niches in the human body, and these changes are accomplished by transcription factors. Many pathogenic microbes coordinate their gene expression as a function of cell density in a process known as quorum sensing. Here, in the human fungal meningitis pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, we find that an imported eukaryotic quorum sensing peptide that is important for virulence, Qsp1, controls the binding of three different transcription factors to promoters, thereby modulating the expression of Qsp1-regulated genes. This discovery reveals the mechanism for how an imported peptide affects gene expression.

Pharmacological characterization of cyclic AMP receptors mediating gene regulation in Dictyostelium discoideum

1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 2402-2408
Author(s):  
B Haribabu ◽  
R P Dottin
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cyclic Amp ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Intracellular Camp ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Pharmacological Characterization ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
Extracellular Molecules

Extracellular molecules regulate gene expression in eucaryotes. Exogenous cyclic AMP (cAMP) affects the expression of a large number of developmentally regulated genes in Dictyostelium discoideum. Here, we determine the specificity of the receptor(s) which mediates gene expression by using analogs of cAMP. The order of potency with which these analogs affect the expression of specific genes is consistent with the specificity of their binding to a cell surface receptor and is distinct from their affinity for intracellular cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Dose-response curves with cAMP and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphorothioate, a nonhydrolyzable analog, revealed that the requirement for high concentrations of exogenous cAMP for regulating gene expression is due to the rapid degradation of cAMP by phosphodiesterase. The addition of low concentrations of cAMP (100 nM) or analogs in pulses also regulates gene expression. Both the genes that are positively regulated by exogenous cAMP and the discoidin gene, which is negatively regulated, respond to cAMP analogs to the same degree. Genes expressed in prespore or prestalk cells are also similarly regulated. These data suggest that the effects are mediated through the same receptor. The specificity of this receptor is indistinguishable from that of the well-characterized cell surface cAMP receptor.

scholarly journals Dectin-1-Mediated Production of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines Induced by Yeast β-Glucans in Bovine Monocytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana R. V. Pedro ◽  
Tânia Lima ◽  
Ricardo Fróis-Martins ◽  
Bárbara Leal ◽  
Isabel C. Ramos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Inflammatory Cytokines ◽  
Surface Expression ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Feed Supplements ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
Dose Dependent ◽  
Pro Inflammatory Cytokines

Yeast-derived products containing β-glucans have long been used as feed supplements in domesticated animals in an attempt to increase immunity. β-glucans are mainly recognized by the cell surface receptor CLEC7A, also designated Dectin-1. Although the immune mechanisms elicited through Dectin-1 activation have been studied in detail in mice and humans, they are poorly understood in other species. Here, we evaluated the response of bovine monocytes to soluble and particulate purified β-glucans, and also to Zymosan. Our results show that particulate, but not soluble β-glucans, can upregulate the surface expression of costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86 on bovine monocytes. In addition, stimulated cells increased production of IL-8 and of TNF, IL1B, and IL6 mRNA expression, in a dose-dependent manner, which correlated positively with CLEC7A gene expression. Production of IL-8 and TNF expression decreased significantly after CLEC7A knockdown using two different pairs of siRNAs. Overall, we demonstrated here that bovine monocytes respond to particulate β-glucans, through Dectin-1, by increasing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our data support further studies in cattle on the induction of trained immunity using dietary β-glucans.

scholarly journals Brassinosteroid signal transduction from cell-surface receptor kinases to nuclear transcription factors

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1254-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Wuk Kim ◽  
Shenheng Guan ◽  
Yu Sun ◽  
Zhiping Deng ◽  
Wenqiang Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Receptor Kinases ◽  
Surface Receptor

scholarly journals Hierarchical Transcriptional Control of the LuxR Quorum-Sensing Regulon of Vibrio harveyi

2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan R. Chaparian ◽  
Alyssa S. Ball ◽  
Julia C. van Kessel
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Cell Density ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Vibrio Harveyi ◽  
Sugar Transport ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Second Tier

ABSTRACT In vibrios, quorum sensing controls hundreds of genes that are required for cell density-specific behaviors including bioluminescence, biofilm formation, competence, secretion, and swarming motility. The central transcription factor in the quorum-sensing pathway is LuxR/HapR, which directly regulates ∼100 genes in the >400-gene regulon of Vibrio harveyi. Among these directly controlled genes are 15 transcription factors, which we predicted would comprise the second tier in the hierarchy of the LuxR regulon. We confirmed that LuxR binds to the promoters of these genes in vitro and quantified the extent of LuxR activation or repression of transcript levels. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) indicates that most of these transcriptional regulators control only a few genes, with the exception of MetJ, which is a global regulator. The genes regulated by these transcription factors are predicted to be involved in methionine and thiamine biosynthesis, membrane stability, RNA processing, c-di-GMP degradation, sugar transport, and other cellular processes. These data support a hierarchical model in which LuxR directly regulates 15 transcription factors that drive the second level of the gene expression cascade to influence cell density-dependent metabolic states and behaviors in V. harveyi. IMPORTANCE Quorum sensing is important for survival of bacteria in nature and influences the actions of bacterial groups. In the relatively few studied examples of quorum-sensing-controlled genes, these genes are associated with competition or cooperation in complex microbial communities and/or virulence in a host. However, quorum sensing in vibrios controls the expression of hundreds of genes, and their functions are mostly unknown or uncharacterized. In this study, we identify the regulators of the second tier of gene expression in the quorum-sensing system of the aquaculture pathogen Vibrio harveyi. Our identification of regulatory networks and metabolic pathways controlled by quorum sensing can be extended and compared to other Vibrio species to understand the physiology, ecology, and pathogenesis of these organisms.

scholarly journals Analysis of Activator and Repressor Functions Reveals the Requirements for Transcriptional Control by LuxR, the Master Regulator of Quorum Sensing in Vibrio harveyi

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia C. van Kessel ◽  
Luke E. Ulrich ◽  
Igor B. Zhulin ◽  
Bonnie L. Bassler
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Vibrio Harveyi ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Nucleotide Sequencing ◽  
Collective Behaviors

ABSTRACT LuxR-type transcription factors are the master regulators of quorum sensing in vibrios. LuxR proteins are unique members of the TetR superfamily of transcription factors because they activate and repress large regulons of genes. Here, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation and nucleotide sequencing (ChIP-seq) to identify LuxR binding sites in the Vibrio harveyi genome. Bioinformatics analyses showed that the LuxR consensus binding site at repressed promoters is a symmetric palindrome, whereas at activated promoters it is asymmetric and contains only half of the palindrome. Using a genetic screen, we isolated LuxR mutants that separated activation and repression functions at representative promoters. These LuxR mutants exhibit sequence-specific DNA binding defects that restrict activation or repression activity to subsets of target promoters. Altering the LuxR DNA binding site sequence to one more closely resembling the ideal LuxR consensus motif can restore in vivo function to a LuxR mutant. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of how a single protein can recognize a variety of binding sites to differentially regulate gene expression. IMPORTANCE Bacteria use the cell-cell communication process called quorum sensing to regulate collective behaviors. In vibrios, LuxR-type transcription factors control the quorum-sensing gene expression cascade. LuxR-type proteins are structural homologs of TetR-type transcription factors. LuxR proteins were assumed to function analogously to TetR proteins, which typically bind to a single conserved binding site to repress transcription of one or two genes. We find here that unlike TetR proteins, LuxR acts a global regulator, directly binding upstream of and controlling more than 100 genes. Again unlike TetR, LuxR functions as both an activator and a repressor, and these two activities can be separated by mutagenesis. Finally, the consensus binding motifs driving LuxR-activated and -repressed genes are distinct. This work shows that LuxR, although structurally similar to TetR, has evolved unique features enabling it to differentially control a large regulon of genes in response to quorum-sensing cues.

scholarly journals Lymphoid origin of a lineage of intrinsically activated plasmacytoid dendritic cell in mice and humans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph D. Dekker ◽  
Catherine Rhee ◽  
Zicheng Hu ◽  
Bum-Kyu Lee ◽  
Jiwon Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
T Cell Proliferation ◽  
Toll Like Receptor ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
The Common ◽  
Secondary Lymphoid Organs

We identified a mouse pDC lineage derived exclusively from the common lymphoid progenitor (CLP) that is dependent on expression of Bcl11a. CLP-derived pDC have a unique gene expression profile that includes hallmark B cell genes not normally expressed in pDCs and therefore we refer to this lineage as “B-pDCs.” Unlike classical pDC, B-pDC express an inherent activation signature, localize preferentially to secondary lymphoid organs and expand more robustly and also induce increased T cell proliferation relative to classical pDCs following Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) engagement. B-pDCs lack IFN-α secretion but instead express a distinct cytokine profile and display high levels of the cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinase Axl. Murine B-pDCs represent a CLP-derived DC lineage that is genetically, phenotypically, and functionally homologous to an AXL+ DC subtype recently discovered in human blood1–4.

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