Scavenger Receptors: Promiscuous Players during Microbial Pathogenesis

Innate immunity is the most broadly effective host defense, being essential to clear the majority of microbial infections. Scavenger Receptors comprise a family of sensors expressed in a multitude of host cells, whose dual role during microbial pathogenesis gained importance over recent years. SRs regulate the recruitment of immune cells and control both host inflammatory response and bacterial load. In turn, pathogens have evolved different strategies to overcome immune response, avoid recognition by SRs and exploit them to favor infection. Here, we discuss the most relevant findings regarding the interplay between SRs and pathogens, discussing how these multifunctional proteins recognize a panoply of ligands and act as bacterial phagocytic receptors.This work received funding from Norte-01–0145-FEDER-000012– Structured program on bioengineered therapies for infectious diseases and tissue regeneration, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). R.P received an FCT Doctoral Fellowship [SFRH/BD/89542/2012] through FCT/MEC co-funded by QREN and POPH (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano). SS was supported by FCT Investigator program (COMPETE, POPH, and FCT)

Stathmin recruits tubulin to Listeria monocytogenes-induced actin comets and promotes bacterial dissemination

The tubulin cytoskeleton is one of the main components of the cytoarchitecture and is involved in several cellular functions. Here, we examine the interplay between Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) and the tubulin cytoskeleton upon cellular infection. We show that non-polymeric tubulin is present throughout Lm actin comet tails and, to a less extent, in actin clouds. Moreover, we demonstrate that stathmin, a regulator of microtubule dynamics, is also found in these Lm-associated actin structures and is required for tubulin recruitment. Depletion of host stathmin results in longer comets containing less F-actin, which may be correlated with higher levels of inactive cofilin in the comet, thus suggesting a defect on local F-actin dynamics. In addition, intracellular bacterial speed is significantly reduced in stathmin-depleted cells, revealing the importance of stathmin/tubulin in intracellular Lm motility. In agreement, the area of infection foci and the total bacterial loads are also significantly reduced in stathmin-depleted cells. Collectively, our results demonstrate that stathmin promotes efficient cellular infection, possibly through tubulin recruitment and control of actin dynamics at Lm-polymerized actin structures.This work received funding from Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000012—Structured program on bioengineered therapies for infectious diseases and tissue regeneration, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). ACC and FC were supported by a Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Post-doctoral Fellowship (SFRH/BPD/88769/2012) and Ph.D. fellowship (SFRH/BD/61825/2009), respectively, through FCT/MEC co-funded by QREN and POPH (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano). SS was supported by FCT Investigator program (COMPETE, POPH, and FCT). We thank ALM unit from IBMC/i3S for technical support, B. Fonseca (FFUP) for the BeWo cell line and H. Maiato, C. Sunkel and J. B. Relvas laboratories (IBMC/i3S) for sharing reagents. We are also thankful to J. Ferreira and A. Pereira for fruitful discussions

Stabilin-1 plays a protective role against Listeria monocytogenes infection through the regulation of cytokine and chemokine production and immune cell recruitment

Scavenger receptors are part of a complex surveillance system expressed by host cells to efficiently orchestrate innate immune response against bacterial infections. Stabilin-1 (STAB-1) is a scavenger receptor involved in cell trafficking, inflammation, and cancer; however, its role in infection remains to be elucidated. Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a major intracellular human food-borne pathogen causing severe infections in susceptible hosts. Using a mouse model of infection, we demonstrate here that STAB-1 controls Lm-induced cytokine and chemokine production and immune cell accumulation in Lm-infected organs. We show that STAB-1 also regulates the recruitment of myeloid cells in response to Lm infection and contributes to clear circulating bacteria. In addition, whereas STAB-1 appears to promote bacterial uptake by macrophages, infection by pathogenic Listeria induces the down regulation of STAB-1 expression and its delocalization from the host cell membrane. We propose STAB-1 as a new SR involved in the control of Lm infection through the regulation of host defense mechanisms, a process that would be targeted by bacterial virulence factors to promote infection.This work was funded by National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UIDB/04293/2020. R.P. and J.P. were supported by doctoral fellowships from FCT (SFRH/BD/89542/2012 and SFRH/BD/86871/2012). S.S. was supported by the FCT in the framework of the CEEC-Institutional 2017 program. The authors acknowledge the support of i3S Scientific Platforms: Advanced Light Microscopy, member of the national infrastructure PPBI-Portuguese Platform of BioImaging (supported by POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122), and Translational Cytometry Unit (Tracy);Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [UIDB/04293/2020]

Perfringolysin O-induced plasma membrane pores trigger actomyosin remodeling and endoplasmic reticulum redistribution

Clostridium perfringens produces an arsenal of toxins that act together to cause severe infections in humans and livestock animals. Perfringolysin O (PFO) is a cholesterol-dependent pore-forming toxin encoded in the chromosome of virtually all C. perfringens strains and acts in synergy with other toxins to determine the outcome of the infection. However, its individual contribution to the disease is poorly understood. Here, we intoxicated human epithelial and endothelial cells with purified PFO to evaluate the host cytoskeletal responses to PFO-induced damage. We found that, at sub-lytic concentrations, PFO induces a profound reorganization of the actomyosin cytoskeleton culminating into the assembly of well-defined cortical actomyosin structures at sites of plasma membrane (PM) remodeling. The assembly of such structures occurs concomitantly with the loss of the PM integrity and requires pore-formation, calcium influx, and myosin II activity. The recovery from the PM damage occurs simultaneously with the disassembly of cortical structures. PFO also targets the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by inducing its disruption and vacuolation. ER-enriched vacuoles were detected at the cell cortex within the PFO-induced actomyosin structures. These cellular events suggest the targeting of the endothelium integrity at early stages of C. perfringens infection, in which secreted PFO is at sub-lytic concentrations.This work was financed by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030863 (PTDC/BIA-CEL/30863/2017) and Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000012—Structured program on bioengineered therapies for infectious diseases and tissue regeneration, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Publication Fees were supported by ICBAS, University of Porto. CB and FSM were supported by FCT fellowships (SFRH/BD/112217/2015, SFRH/BPD/94458/2013, respectively). CB was a Fulbright and FLAD fellow. SS received support from FCT Investigator program (COMPETE, POPH, and FCT)

Epithelial Keratins Modulate cMet Expression and Signaling and Promote InlB-Mediated Listeria monocytogenes Infection of HeLa Cells

The host cytoskeleton is a major target for bacterial pathogens during infection. In particular, pathogens usurp the actin cytoskeleton function to strongly adhere to the host cell surface, to induce plasma membrane remodeling allowing invasion and to spread from cell to cell and disseminate to the whole organism. Keratins are cytoskeletal proteins that are the major components of intermediate filaments in epithelial cells however, their role in bacterial infection has been disregarded. Here we investigate the role of the major epithelial keratins, keratins 8 and 18 (K8 and K18), in the cellular infection by Listeria monocytogenes. We found that K8 and K18 are required for successful InlB/cMet-dependent L. monocytogenes infection, but are dispensable for InlA/E-cadherin-mediated invasion. Both K8 and K18 accumulate at InlB-mediated internalization sites following actin recruitment and modulate actin dynamics at those sites. We also reveal the key role of K8 and K18 in HGF-induced signaling which occurs downstream the activation of cMet. Strikingly, we show here that K18, and at a less extent K8, controls the expression of cMet and other surface receptors such TfR and integrin β1, by promoting the stability of their corresponding transcripts. Together, our results reveal novel functions for major epithelial keratins in the modulation of actin dynamics at the bacterial entry sites and in the control of surface receptors mRNA stability and expression.This work received funding from Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000012 - Structured program on bioengineered therapies for infectious diseases and tissue regeneration, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Publication Fees were supported by ICBAS, University of Porto. RC received an FCT Doctoral Fellowship (SFRH/BD/90607/2012) and IP-C a FCT Post-Doctoral Fellowship (SFRH/BPD/107901/2015) through FCT/MEC co-funded by QREN and POPH (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano). SS was supported by FCT Investigator program (COMPETE, POPH, and FCT). We thank IBMC facilities for technical assistance

Old war, new battle, new fighters!

This work was supported by the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional – Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (FEDER-COMPETE) and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (PTDC/BIA-BCM/111215/2009FCOMP-01-0124- FEDER-014178, PTDC/SAU-MIC/111581/2009 FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-0158449, and InfectERA PROANTILIS/0001/2013 to D. C.), the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) (to F. S. M.), and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) (to S. S.)

The structure of blocks with a Klein four defect group

We prove Erdmann’s conjecture [16] stating that every block with a Klein four defect group has a simple module with trivial source, and deduce from this that Puig’s finiteness conjecture holds for source algebras of blocks with a Klein four defect group. The proof uses the classification of finite simple groups

Genome sequence of Listeria monocytogenes 2542, a serotype 4b strain from a cheese-related outbreak in Portugal

We report here the draft genome sequence of Listeria monocytogenes 2542, a serotype 4b clinical strain recovered from a placental sample during a cheese-related listeriosis outbreak in Portugal.Work done by T.C. and T.H. was supported by LOEWE Medical RNomics (B3) and theGermanCentre for Infection Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen. Financial sup-port for R.M. and V.F. was provided by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(FCT)through Ph.D. (SFRH/BD/71704/2010) and postdoctoral (SFRH/BPD/72617/2010) fellow-ships, respectively. Open-access publication was cofinanced by the NEWFOOD NORTE-01-0246-FEDER-000043 project supported by the Norte Portugal Regional OperationalProgramme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement throughthe European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). We also acknowledge the scientificcollaboration under the FCT project UID/Multi/50016/2013

Studying students ́satisfaction at music schools in the Valencian Region

[EN] Satisfaction is a key construct but complex to be measured. Within the cultural context and from the discipline of marketing, satisfaction consists of assessing some experiences without considering consumers ́ expectations. From this approach, this paper deals with an empirical research aiming at analyzing satisfaction among students of music conservatoires and schools. The research, qualitative and quantitative in nature, allowed to know users ́ assessment of different variables: studies, teaching staff, information technologies, premises and administration procedures. To do so, a self-administered survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analysis were calculated trough the statistical package SPSS. Results show that satisfaction, both overall and in relation to specific aspects, is high but different according to some classification variables.[ES] La satisfacción es un constructo clave no exento de complejidad en su medición. En el contexto cultural y desde la disciplina de marketing, esta se plantea a partir de la valoración de una serie de experiencias sin considerar las expectativas de los consumidores. Partiendo de este enfoque, este trabajo aborda una investigación empírica con el objetivo de analizar la satisfacción de los estudiantes de centros de música autorizados y conservatorios municipales. La misma, de naturaleza cualitativa y cuantitativa, ha permitido conocer la valoración de los usuarios con diferentes variables: estudios, profesorado, nuevas tecnologías, infraestructuras y administración. Todo ello a partir de una encuesta auto-administrada con cuestionario estructurado y mediante análisis univariante y multivariante utilizando el programa estadístico SPSS. Los resultados demuestran que la satisfacción, tanto a nivel general como en relación a los aspectos concretos valorados, es elevada y difiere según determinadas variables de clasificación.Cabanes-Macián, A.; Cuadrado García, M.; Moliner Velázquez, B.; Montoro Pons, JD. (2017). Estudio del nivel de satisfacción de estudiantes de centros de música de la Comunitat Valenciana. Culturas. Revista de Gestión Cultural. 4(1):15-31. doi:10.4995/cs.2017.721215314

Listeria monocytogenes induces host DNA damage and delays the host cell cycle to promote infection

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a human intracellular pathogen widely used to uncover the mechanisms evolved by pathogens to establish infection. However, its capacity to perturb the host cell cycle was never reported. We show that Lm infection affects the host cell cycle progression, increasing its overall duration but allowing consecutive rounds of division. A complete Lm infectious cycle induces a S-phase delay accompanied by a slower rate of DNA synthesis and increased levels of host DNA strand breaks. Additionally, DNA damage/replication checkpoint responses are triggered in an Lm dose-dependent manner through the phosphorylation of DNA-PK, H2A.X, and CDC25A and independently from ATM/ATR. While host DNA damage induced exogenously favors Lm dissemination, the override of checkpoint pathways limits infection. We propose that host DNA replication disturbed by Lm infection culminates in DNA strand breaks, triggering DNA damage/replication responses, and ensuring a cell cycle delay that favors Lm propagation.We thank AFCU and ALM facilities (IBMC), T Duarte (IBMC), G Almeida, and R Guimarães (ESB) for technical support, M Moroso for the LmΔinlB strain and members of Maiato’s and Sunkel’s lab (IBMC) for fruitful discussions. This work was funded by the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) through the Operational Competitiveness Programme (COMPETE) and by National funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) under the projects (PTDC/BIA-BCM/111215/2009FCOMP-01-0124- FEDER-014178, ERANet-Pathogenomics LISTRESS ERAPTG/0003/2010); Project “NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000002- Host-Pathogen Interactions” co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2, O Novo Norte), under the Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN), through the FEDER and by FCT. E.L., A.C.C., and R.P. were supported by FCT grants (SFRH/BPD/62926/2009, SFRH/BPD/88769/2012 and SFRH/BD/89542/2012, respectively), L.C. by ERASMUS program and S.S. by Ciência 2008 program (COMPETE, POPH, and FCT)