Analysis of Invasive Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Isolates Reveals Selection for the Expression State of Particular Phase-Variable Lipooligosaccharide Biosynthetic Genes

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Phillips, Zachary N
Brizuela, Charles
Jennison, Amy
Staples, Megan
Grimwood, Keith
Seib, Kate L
Jennings, Michael P
Atack, John M
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2019
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Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major human pathogen, responsible for several acute and chronic infections of the respiratory tract. The incidence of invasive infections caused by NTHi is increasing worldwide. NTHi is able to colonize the nasopharynx asymptomatically, and the exact change(s) responsible for transition from benign carriage to overt disease is not understood. We have previously reported that phase variation (the rapid and reversible ON-OFF switching of gene expression) of particular lipooligosaccharide (LOS) glycosyltransferases occurs during transition from colonizing the nasopharynx to invading the middle ear. Variation in the structure of the LOS is dependent on the ON/OFF expression status of each of the glycosyltransferases responsible for LOS biosynthesis. In this study, we surveyed a collection of invasive NTHi isolates for ON/OFF expression status of seven phase-variable LOS glycosyltransferases. We report that the expression state of the LOS biosynthetic genes oafA ON and lic2A OFF shows a correlation with invasive NTHi isolates. We hypothesize that these gene expression changes contribute to the invasive potential of NTHi. OafA expression, which is responsible for the addition of an O-acetyl group onto the LOS, has been shown to impart a phenotype of increased serum resistance and may serve as a marker for invasive NTHi.

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INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
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NHMRC
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APP1099279
APP1045235
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© 2019 American Society for Microbiology. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
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Biological sciences
Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
Biomedical and clinical sciences
Microbiology
Immunology
Medical microbiology
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