TY - JOUR
T1 - Enterococcus faecium TIR-Domain Genes Are Part of a Gene Cluster Which Promotes Bacterial Survival in Blood
AU - Wagner, Theresa M.
AU - Janice, Jessin
AU - Paganelli, Fernanda L.
AU - Willems, Rob J.
AU - Askarian, Fatemeh
AU - Pedersen, Torunn
AU - Top, Janetta
AU - De Haas, Carla
AU - Van Strijp, Jos A.
AU - Johannessen, Mona
AU - Hegstad, Kristin
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Enterococcus faecium has undergone a transition to a multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen. The population structure of E. faecium is characterized by a sharp distinction of clades, where the hospital-adapted lineage is primarily responsible for bacteremia. So far, factors that were identified in hospital-adapted strains and that promoted pathogenesis of nosocomial E. faecium mainly play a role in adherence and biofilm production, while less is known about factors contributing to survival in blood. This study identified a gene cluster, which includes genes encoding bacterial Toll/interleukin-1 receptor-(TIR-) domain-containing proteins (TirEs). The cluster was found to be unique to nosocomial strains and to be located on a putative mobile genetic element of phage origin. The three genes within the cluster appeared to be expressed as an operon. Expression was detected in bacterial culture media and in the presence of human blood. TirEs are released into the bacterial supernatant, and TirE2 is associated with membrane vesicles. Furthermore, the tirE-gene cluster promotes bacterial proliferation in human blood, indicating that TirE may contribute to the pathogenesis of bacteremia.
AB - Enterococcus faecium has undergone a transition to a multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen. The population structure of E. faecium is characterized by a sharp distinction of clades, where the hospital-adapted lineage is primarily responsible for bacteremia. So far, factors that were identified in hospital-adapted strains and that promoted pathogenesis of nosocomial E. faecium mainly play a role in adherence and biofilm production, while less is known about factors contributing to survival in blood. This study identified a gene cluster, which includes genes encoding bacterial Toll/interleukin-1 receptor-(TIR-) domain-containing proteins (TirEs). The cluster was found to be unique to nosocomial strains and to be located on a putative mobile genetic element of phage origin. The three genes within the cluster appeared to be expressed as an operon. Expression was detected in bacterial culture media and in the presence of human blood. TirEs are released into the bacterial supernatant, and TirE2 is associated with membrane vesicles. Furthermore, the tirE-gene cluster promotes bacterial proliferation in human blood, indicating that TirE may contribute to the pathogenesis of bacteremia.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059525885&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1155/2018/1435820
DO - 10.1155/2018/1435820
M3 - Article
C2 - 30631364
AN - SCOPUS:85059525885
SN - 1687-918X
VL - 2018
JO - International Journal of Microbiology
JF - International Journal of Microbiology
M1 - 1435820
ER -