The prevalence of Salmonella outer protein B (sopB) gene among different serovars of Salmonella enterica isolated from man, birds and animals was investigated by PCR amplification techni[r]
(1)Prevalence & phenotypic expression of sopB gene among clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica
H Rahman*
Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Sciences, Assam Agricultural University, Guwahati, India
Received December 28, 2004
Background & objectives: Salmonella induced enteritis is a complex phenomenon involving a number
of pathogenic factors Type III secretions play a central role in the development of Salmonella induced enteritis One such Type III secretion protein is Salmonella outer proteinB (SopB) Reports on the prevalence of this gene among different serovars of Salmonella of Indian origin appears to be lacking. The present investigation reports on the prevalence of sopB gene and its phenotypic expression (SopB protein) among different serovars of Salmonella enterica isolated from man and animals.
Methods: A total of 50 isolates of S enterica belonging to 11 serovars isolated from cases of enteric
infection in man, birds and animals were tested for the presence of sopB gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using its specific primers The in vitro phenotypic expression of SopB protein was detected by dot-ELISA using anti-SopB serum.
Results: All the 50 isolates of S enterica belonging to 11 were found to carry sopB gene irrespective
of their serovars like Typhimurium, Enteritidis, Gallinarum, Choleraesuis, Virchow, etc., and source of isolation Of these, 41 isolates were found to express sopB gene phenotypically as detected by dot-ELISA using anti-SopB serum Of the different serovars, all but Gallinarum expressed Sop B protein phenotypically in vitro.
Interpretation & conclusion: Our findings indicated that sopB gene was wildely distributed and
conserved among Salmonella irrespective of their serovars and source of isolation Further work need to be done to study the factors associated with the phenotypic expression of this gene.
Key words Animals - man - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - Salmonella - sopB gene - SopB protein - type III secretion
83
Salmonellae are widely distributed in nature and cause a spectrum of diseases in man and animals but their virulence factors responsible for the
induction of gastroenteritis and/or systematic infection are still poorly understood Moreover, the different subspecies and serovars of Salmonella
(2)differ considerably in their virulence for man and animals1 S enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi) is
highly pathogenic for humans but never associated with animals, while S Gallinarum is a pathogen for poultry but a rare cause of infections in humans2 Salmonella possesses a dedicated protein
secretion system denoted as type III secretion system (TTSS) which is involved in the early stage of Salmonella infection3 This sophisticated system
is found to contribute to the pathogenesis by directing secretion and translocation of several virulence-associated proteins (effector proteins) directly into the cytoplasm of host cells4 In recent
years several translocated effector proteins have been identified that might be involved in the pathogenesis of salmonellosis5-9 One such group
of effector proteins of Salmonella is Salmonella outer proteins (Sop) These proteins are encoded by sop genes and several polymorphisms of these genes have been identified (sopA-E)10 Of the
different types of Sop proteins, SopB protein (a 60 kDa), initially identified in the culture filtrate of S enterica serovar Dublin was found to be associated with Salmonella induced diarrhoea and gastroenteritis4 Though reports on the prevalence
of this gene among different serovars of Salmonella
isolated in different countries are available11, such
information on Salmonella from India appears to be lacking The present investigation was therefore carried out to report on the prevalence of sopB gene and its phenotypic expression among different serovars of S enterica isolated from man and animals in India
Material & Methods
Bacterial isolates: A total of 50 isolates of S enterica belonging to 11 different serovars isolated from human patients with gastroenteritis and birds and animals suffering from enteric infection were included in this study (Table) All these were isolated in the Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Guwahati, Assam, India and serotyped at National Salmonella and Escherichia Centre, Central Research Institute, Kasauli (HP), India A strain of Salmonella Dublin (2229) and a strain of Escherichia coli (C-600) used as positive and negative controls, respectively for sopB gene, were obtained from Dr H Tschape, Director, Robert Koch Institute, Germany The strains were maintained on nutrient agar slants before use
Fig PCR reaction and gel electrophoresis of PCR products (sop B gene, 1348 bp) of Salmonella enterica serovars (1) S Dublin
2229 (+ve control), (2) S.Typhimurium, (3) Template (Target) DNA control (4) S Virchow, (5) S Choleraesuis (6) S Newport, (7) S Typhimurium, (8) S Richmond, (9) E coli C-600 (-ve control), (M) Molecular standard, (10) S Bareilly, (11) S Agona, (12) S Typhimurium, (13) S Enteritidis, (14) S Java, (15) S Enteritidis, (16) S Typhimurium.
1 M 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
(3)Detection of sopB gene by PCR amplification: Bacterial cells from overnight cultures were suspended in sterile distilled water and boiled at 1000C for 10 After boiling, the cell suspensions
were cooled in ice bath and were immediately tested for the presence of sopB gene by PCR amplification technique12.
Primers used for PCR reaction were sopB PRSB1 5-CAA CCG TTC TGG GTA AAC AAG AC-3 (upper primer) and sopB PRSB2 5-AGG ATT GAG CTC CTC TGG CGA T-3 (lower primer)4 (GENSET,
Singapore) The nucleotide sequence corresponds to the respective gene from S Dublin (sop B: AF060858)4 These primers flank a 1348 bp segment
in the sopB gene sequence (Fig.) The PCR mixture (25 ml) contained 10x PCR buffer (Perkin-Elmer,
USA), µM of each primer, 200 µM each of dATP dGTP, dCTP and dTTP (Perkin-Elmer, USA), mM of MgCl2 solution, 0.25 U of Ampli Tag Gold Polymerase (Perkin-Elmer, USA) and 2.5 µl of template (target) DNA preparation from test organism The PCR incubation was performed in a thermal-cycler (Perkin-Elmer, USA) in 30 cycles of denaturation (940C, min), primer annealing (550C,
1 min) and primer extension (720C, min) This was
followed by incubation at 720C for 10 and storage
at 40C Then a 15 µl aliquot of each PCR product
was electrophoretically separated in agar gel (1%) containing 0.5 µl ethidium bromide per ml (Serva, Germany) The separated bands were visualized and analysed under a UV transilluminator (300 nm) and photographed using Gel Doc 2000 documentation system (Bio-Rad, USA)
Table Prevalence of sopB gene and its phenotypic expression among different serovars of Salmonella enterica isolated from human,
birds and animals
Salmonella enterica serovars Source No of isolates tested No of isolates positive in
PCR Dot-ELISA
Typhimurium Human 7
Pigs 4
Birds 6
Enteritidis Human 2
Pigs 2
Birds 2
Choleraesuis Pigs 8
Agona Human 5
Gallinarum Birds 7
Java (Paratyphi B) Birds 2
Virchow Pig 1
Richmond Buffalo 1
Newport Cattle 1
Bareilly Bird 1
Salmonella ssp I (rough) Pig 1
Total 50 50 41
(4)Isolation of SopB protein secreted by different strains of Salmonella: Bacteria were grown on Luria broth (LB) agar overnight at 370C One colony from
agar plate was inoculated in ml of LB broth containing 0.3 M NaCl and incubated at 370C for 6
h on a rotary shaker (100 rpm) The culture was then diluted times in fresh LB broth (final volume 20 ml) and incubated at 370C for 18 h on a rotary shaker
(100 rpm) Then the culture was cooled in an ice-bath for 30 and centrifuged (20000xg, at 40C
for h) The culture supernatant was collected and filtered (0.45 mm, Sartorius, Germany) The protein present in the supernatants was precipitated with 10 per cent trichloroacetic acid (Serva, Germany) The sediments were dissolved in 0.4 ml of NaOH (0.1 M) to which 2.0 ml ice cooled acetone (-200C)
was added and incubated at -200C for 20 The
suspension was centrifuged (20000xg, at 40C for
15 min) The sediments were redissolved in 2.0 ml of acetone (-200C) and incubated and centrifuged
as above The sediments were dried at room temperature and dissolved in 0.1 ml of PBS (pH 7.2). Detection of SopB protein by Dot-ELISA using anti-SopB serum: Protein prepared from each isolate was subjected to Dot-ELISA using anti-SopB serum for the detection of SopB13 Two µl of each protein
preparation and its dilution were dotted on nitrocellulose (NC) membrane strips (Sigma, USA) and dried at 370C for h The unsaturated sites were
blocked by immersing the strips in per cent solution of skimmed milk powder in PBS (0.01 M, pH 7.2) for h at 370C The strips were washed
three times in PBS-T (0.01 M PBS, pH 7.2 with 0.5% Tween-20) for five each The strips were dipped in the anti-SopB serum diluted 1: 20,000 (predetermined) in Tris-buffer (0.02 M, pH 7.2) and incubated at 370C for h (antiserum to SopB protein
was obtained through the courtesy of Dr H Tschape, Director, Robert Koch Institute, Germany) After incubation, the strips were washed thrice in PBS-T and incubated with anti-rabbit IgG-horse radish
peroxidase (HRPO) conjugate (Boehringer, Germany) at a dilution of 1:1000 for h at 370C.
Finally, the strips were washed thrice in PBS-T and immersed in freshly prepared substrate solution (1 chloro-4 naphthol, Sigma, USA) containing 30 per cent H2O2 The enzymatic reaction was stopped by washing the strips in running tap water and a positive reaction was indicated by the presence of deep purple dot against a white background within 10
Results & Discussion
The prevalence of Salmonella outer protein B (sopB) gene among different serovars of Salmonella enterica isolated from man, birds and animals was investigated by PCR amplification technique and its in vitro phenotypic expression was detected by dot-ELISA The organisms that gave rise to 1348 bp in the sopB gene sequence as did by the reference strain S Dublin (2229) were taken as positive for the presence of sopB gene (Fig.) All the 50 isolates of S enterica belonging to 11 serovars tested for the presence of sopB gene were found to carry sopB gene irrespective of their serovars like Typhimurium, Enteritidis, Gallinarum, Virchow, Agona, Choleraesuis, Paratyphi B, Bareilly, Newport, etc., and source of isolation (Table) The data obtained indicated that sopB gene was widely distributed and conserved among all the serovars of Salmonella and present in all clinical isolates. These observations are in agreement with findings of other workers4,6.
(5)Bareilly, Newport, etc., were found to produce SopB protein (Table) Although all the isolates of serovar Gallinarum were found to harbour sopB gene, they did not express it phenotypically in vitro The missing phenotypic expression among genetically sopB gene positive strains indicated that some environmental signal might be necessary for induction of sopB gene in S Gallinarum Earlier studies revealed that some signals are required for in vitro induction of proteins by genes14 The
optimum in vitro expression of Salmonella enterotoxin (stn) gene was found to be associated with a number of factors which include co-cultivation of the organisms with host cell15,
autoinducers like norepinephrine available in the intestine16, other environmental conditions like
cultivation of organism under shaking condition, additional growth factors17, etc These factors might
have also been required for induction of sopB gene. Further work on this regard is envisaged
The SopB protein is one of the important type III secretions and associated with enteritis10 SopB is an
inositol phosphate phosphatase capable of hydrolyzing several inositol phosphates resulting in elevated cellular level of Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 which in turn induces electrolytes and fluid secretion and recruitment of polymorphnuclear (PMN) cells in Salmonella infected intestinal mucosa18,19 Thus, the
SopB is regarded as a novel bacterial enterotoxin6.
Further research on the mechanism of phenotypic expression of this gene would be helpful in the control of Salmonella induced enteritis.
Acknowledgment
The author thanks to Dr H.Tschape, Director, Robert Koch Institute, Germany for providing anti-SopB serum
References
1 Galan JE Interaction of Salmonella with host cells: encounters of the closest kind Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998; 95 : 14006-8.
2 Miller SL, Hohmann EL, Peques DA Salmonella including Salmonella typhi In: Mandel GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, editors Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 4th ed., Vol New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1995 p 2013-89
3 Hueck CJ Type III protein secretion systems in bacterial pathogens of animals and plants Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 1999; 62 : 379-433.
4 Wood MW, Jones MA, Watson PR, Hedges S, Wallis TS, Galyov EE Identification of a pathogenicity island required for Salmonella enteropathogenicity Mol Microbiol 1998; 29 : 883-91.
5 Galyov EE, Wood MW, Rosquist R, Mullan PB, Watson PR, Hedges S, et al A secreted effector protein of Salmonella dublin is translocated into eukaryotic cells and mediates inflammation and fluid secretion in infected ileal mucosa Mol Microbiol 1997; 25 : 903-12.
6 Prager R, Mirold S, Tietze E, Strutz U, Knuppel B, Rabsch W, et al Prevalence and polymorphism of genes encoding translocated effector proteins among clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica Int J Med Microbiol 2000; 290 : 605-17.
7 Fu Y, Galan JE The Salmonella typhimurium tyrosine phosphatase SptP is translocated into host cells and disrupts the actin cytoskeleton Mol Microbiol 1998; 27 : 359-68.
8 Zhou DM, Mooseker S, Galan JE Role of the Salmonella Typhimurium actin-binding protein SipA in bacterial internalization Science 1999; 283 : 2092-5.
9 Rahman H, Streckel W, Prager R, Tschape H Prevalence of sop E gene and its phenotypic expression among different serovars of Salmonella Indian J Med Res 2004; 120 : 35-8.
10 Wallis TS, Galyov EE Molecular basis of Salmonella induced enteritis Mol Microbiol 2000; 36 : 997-1005.
11 Hapfelmeier S, Ehrbar K, Stecher B, Barthel M, Kremer M, Hardt WD Role of the Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 effector proteins SipA, SopB, SopE, and SopE2 in Salmonella enterica subspecies serovar Typhimurium colitis in streptomycin-pretreated mice Infect Immun 2004; 72 : 795-811.
(6)13 Rahman H Dot-ELISA for detection of Salmonella enterotoxin Indian J Med Res 1999; 110 : 47-9.
14 Mekalanos JJ Environmental signals controlling expression of virulence determinants in bacteria J Bacteriol 1992; 147 : 1-16.
15 Rahman H, Tschape H Induction of Salmonella enterotoxin (stn) gene expression by epithelial cells (IEC-6) Indian J Exp Biol 1999; 37 : 1101-4.
16 Rahman H, Reissbrodt R, Tschape H Effect of norepinephrine on growth of Salmonella and its enterotoxin production Indian J Exp Biol 2000; 38 : 285-6.
17 Ali A, Sarmah R, Rahman H Effect of norepinephrine on growth and enterotoxin production of Salmonella. J Vet Public Health 2003; : 37-41.
18 Norris FA, Wilson MP, Wallis TS, Galyov EE, Majerus PW SopB, a protein required for virulence of Salmonella dublin is an inositol phosphate phosphatase Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998; 95 : 14057-9.
19 Jones MA, Wood MW, Mullan PB, Watson PR, Wallis TS, Galyov EE Secreted effector proteins of Salmonella dublin act in concert to induce enteritis Infect Immun 1998; 66 : 5799-804
Reprint requests: Dr H Rahman, Head, Division of Veterinary Public Health, Indian Veterinary Research Institute Izatnagar, Bareilly 243122, India