Journal
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
Volume 32, Issue 3, Pages 117-125Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1006/mpat.2001.0484
Keywords
Neisseria; gonorrhea; transcytosis; virulence; lutropin receptor; PID
Categories
Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [R01 AI 11709, R01 AI 33973, T32 AI 07362] Funding Source: Medline
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES [T32AI007362, R01AI033973, R01AI011709] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We previously reported that gonococci convert to a more invasive phenotype (Inv(+)GC) following contact with cells expressing the lutropin receptor (LHr) and that Inv(+)GC express a novel adhesin that interacts with LHr. We propose that this adhesion allows Inv(+)GC to activate LHr and induce gonococcal transcytosis, usurping normal LHr function in fallopian and endometrial epithelium, which is to transport fetal chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) into the mother. Infected polarized Hec1 B monolayers, grown on collagen-coated transwells, showed that the passage of GC across the monolayer occurred rapidly, within 30 min, and proceeded at a constant rate with Inv(+)GC passage three-fold faster than GC grown in tissue culture media alone (Inv(-)GC). Electron microscopy found that Inv(+)GC triggered pseudopod formation around the bacterium, with GC found throughout the Hec1B targets within 30 min, while Inv(-)GC did neither. Pre-treatment of Inv(-)GC with recombinant ribosomal protein L12, a gonococcal 'hCG-like' protein previously shown to increase invasion, also increased Inv(-)GC transcytosis to the rate of Inv(+)GC. This enhancement was completely abolished by addition of luteinizing hormone, a cognate ligand of LHr. This is convincing evidence that surface expressed L12 mediates gonococcal invasion and transcytosis via LHr, a mechanism that could be important in the development of invasive gonococcal disease in women. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available