Evolution to a chronic disease niche correlates with increased sensitivity to tryptophan availability for the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae

W M Huston; C J Barker; A Chacko; Peter Timms

doi:10.1128/JB.01476-14

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Evolution to a chronic disease niche correlates with increased sensitivity to tryptophan availability for the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae

Journal article

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Evolution to a chronic disease niche correlates with increased sensitivity to tryptophan availability for the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae

W M Huston, C J Barker, A Chacko and Peter Timms

Journal of Bacteriology, Vol.196(11), pp.1915-1924

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.01476-14

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Abstract

The chlamydiae are obligate intracellular parasites that have evolved specific interactions with their various hosts and host cell types to ensure their successful survival and consequential pathogenesis. The species Chlamydia pneumoniae is ubiquitous, with serological studies showing that most humans are infected at some stage in their lifetime. While most human infections are asymptomatic, C. pneumoniae can cause more severe respiratory disease and pneumonia and has been linked to chronic diseases such as asthma, atherosclerosis and even Alzheimer's. The widely dispersed animal adapted C. pneumoniae strains cause an equally wide range of diseases in their hosts. It is emerging that C. pneumoniae's ability to survive inside its target cells, including evasion of the host's immune attack mechanisms, is linked to the acquisition of key metabolites. Tryptophan and arginine are key checkpoint compounds in this host-parasite battle. Interestingly, the animal strains of C. pneumoniae have a slightly larger genome, enabling them to cope better with metabolite restrictions. It therefore appears that as the evolutionarily more ancient animal strains have evolved to infect humans, they have selectively become more "susceptible" to the levels of key metabolites, such as tryptophan. While this might initially appear to be a weakness, it allows these human C. pneumoniae strains to exquisitely sense host immune attack and respond by rapidly reverting to a persistent phase. During persistence, they reduce their metabolic levels, halting progression of their developmental cycle, waiting until the hostile external conditions have passed before they re-emerge.

Details

Title: Evolution to a chronic disease niche correlates with increased sensitivity to tryptophan availability for the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae
Authors: W M Huston (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
C J Barker (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
A Chacko (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Peter Timms (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: Journal of Bacteriology, Vol.196(11), pp.1915-1924
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.1128/JB.01476-14
ISSN: 0021-9193
Grants: Specificity of Chlamydia pneumoniae for humans: analysis of previous cross-host transmission events and the role of tryptophan availability in host specificity, 1004666, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
Organisation Unit: Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99448646902621
Output Type: Journal article

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