Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Variable disruption of epithelial monolayers by Neisseria meningitidis carriage isolates of the hypervirulent MenW cc11 and MenY cc23 lineages

Dave, Neelam; Albiheyri, Raed S.; Wanford, Joseph J.; Green, Luke R.; Oldfield, Neil J.; Turner, David P.J.; Martinez-Pomares, Luisa; Bayliss, Christopher D.

Variable disruption of epithelial monolayers by Neisseria meningitidis carriage isolates of the hypervirulent MenW cc11 and MenY cc23 lineages Thumbnail


Authors

Neelam Dave

Raed S. Albiheyri

Joseph J. Wanford

Luke R. Green

DAVID TURNER david.turner@nottingham.ac.uk
Clinical Associate Professor

Christopher D. Bayliss



Abstract

Colonization of mucosal tissues by Neisseria meningitidis requires adhesion mediated by the type IV pilus and multiple outer-membrane proteins. Penetration of the mucosa and invasion of epithelial cells are thought to contribute to host persistence and invasive disease. Using Calu-3 cell monolayers grown at an air–liquid interface, we examined adhesion, invasion and monolayer disruption by carriage isolates of two clonal complexes of N. meningitidis. Carriage isolates of both the serogroup Y cc23 and the hypervirulent serogroup W cc11 lineages exhibited high levels of cellular adhesion, and a variable disruption phenotype across independent isolates. Inactivation of the gene encoding the main pilus sub-unit in multiple cc11 isolates abrogated both adhesive capacity and ability to disrupt epithelial monolayers. Contrastingly, inactivation of the phase-variable opa or nadA genes reduced adhesion and invasion, but not disruption of monolayer integrity. Adherence of tissue-disruptive meningococci correlated with loss of staining for the tight junction protein, occludin. Intriguingly, in a pilus-negative strain background, we observed compensatory ON switching of opa genes, which facilitated continued adhesion. We conclude that disruption of epithelial monolayers occurs in multiple meningococcal lineages but can vary during carriage and is intimately linked to pilus-mediated adhesion.

Citation

Dave, N., Albiheyri, R. S., Wanford, J. J., Green, L. R., Oldfield, N. J., Turner, D. P., …Bayliss, C. D. (2023). Variable disruption of epithelial monolayers by Neisseria meningitidis carriage isolates of the hypervirulent MenW cc11 and MenY cc23 lineages. Microbiology, 169(2), https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001305

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 3, 2023
Online Publication Date Feb 23, 2023
Publication Date Feb 23, 2023
Deposit Date Feb 17, 2023
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Microbiology
Print ISSN 1350-0872
Electronic ISSN 1465-2080
Publisher Microbiology Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 169
Issue 2
DOI https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001305
Keywords Air–liquid interface, meningococcus, MenW, Neisseria meningitidis, opa, phase variation
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/17386035
Publisher URL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001305

Files




You might also like



Downloadable Citations