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The bacterial virulence factor InlC perturbs apical cell junctions and promotes cell-to-cell spread of Listeria

Nature Cell Biology volume 11, pages 1212–1218 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Several pathogenic bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes, use an F-actin motility process to spread between mammalian cells1. Actin 'comet tails' propel Listeria through the cytoplasm, resulting in bacteria-containing membrane protrusions that are internalized by neighbouring cells. The mechanism by which Listeria overcomes cortical tension to generate protrusions is unknown. Here, we identify bacterial and host proteins that directly regulate protrusions. We show that efficient spreading between polarized epithelial cells requires the secreted Listeria virulence protein InlC (internalin C). We next identify the mammalian adaptor protein Tuba as a ligand of InlC. InlC binds to a carboxy-terminal SH3 domain in Tuba, which normally engages the human actin regulatory protein N-WASP2. InlC promotes protrusion formation by inhibiting Tuba and N-WASP activity, probably by impairing binding of N-WASP to the Tuba SH3 domain. Tuba and N-WASP are known to control the structure of apical junctions in epithelial cells3. We demonstrate that, by inhibiting Tuba and N-WASP, InlC makes taut apical junctions become slack. Experiments with myosin II inhibitors indicate that InlC-mediated perturbation of apical junctions accounts for the role of this bacterial protein in protrusion formation. Collectively, our results suggest that InlC promotes bacterial dissemination by relieving cortical tension, thereby enhancing the ability of motile bacteria to deform the plasma membrane into protrusions.

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Figure 1: InlC is needed for efficient spreading and protrusion formation in a polarized cell line.
Figure 2: InlC interacts with the mammalian adaptor protein Tuba.
Figure 3: Tuba and N-WASP control protrusion formation.
Figure 4: InlC, Tuba and N-WASP control the morphology of apical junctions.
Figure 5: Model for InlC-mediated cell-to-cell spread of Listeria.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Brumell, H. Sarantis, A. Wilde and R. Collins for reviewing the manuscript, N. Freitag, T. Otani, E. Leung and K. Nemec for advice on assays or protein purification and Y. Shen for help with plasmid construction. This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (MT-15497) and National Institutes of Health (1R21AI076881-01) to K.I., and a CIHR grant (MOP-15499) to S.D.G.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1A8, Ontario, Canada

    Tina Rajabian & Scott D. Gray-Owen

  2. Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 32826-3227, FL, USA

    Balramakrishna Gavicherla & Keith Ireton

  3. Institute for Medical Radiation and Cell Research (MSZ), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, 97078, Germany

    Martin Heisig

  4. Biocenter (Microbiology), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, 97074, Germany

    Stefanie Müller-Altrock & Werner Goebel

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  1. Tina Rajabian
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Contributions

K.I., T.R. and S.D.G.O. designed research; T.R. and B.G. performed the research; T.R. and K.I. analysed data; M.H., S.M.A. and W.G. contributed novel reagents and K.I. and T.R. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Keith Ireton.

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Rajabian, T., Gavicherla, B., Heisig, M. et al. The bacterial virulence factor InlC perturbs apical cell junctions and promotes cell-to-cell spread of Listeria. Nat Cell Biol 11, 1212–1218 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1964

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