Suppression of ERK activation in urethral epithelial cells infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and its isogenic minD mutant contributes to anti-apoptosis

GuanQun L Liu; Rajinder P Parti; Jo-Anne R Dillon

doi:10.1016/j.micinf.2014.12.012

Suppression of ERK activation in urethral epithelial cells infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and its isogenic minD mutant contributes to anti-apoptosis

Microbes Infect. 2015 Apr;17(4):317-22. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2014.12.012. Epub 2014 Dec 29.

Authors

GuanQun L Liu¹, Rajinder P Parti², Jo-Anne R Dillon³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, W.P. Thompson Building 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E2, Canada.
² Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, W.P. Thompson Building 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E2, Canada; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, 120 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E3, Canada.
³ Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, W.P. Thompson Building 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E2, Canada; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan, 120 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E3, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E5, Canada. Electronic address: j.dillon@usask.ca.

PMID: 25554485
DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2014.12.012

Abstract

In gonococci-infected transduced human urethral epithelial cells (THUEC), the role of ERK, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), in apoptosis is unknown. We observed lowering of ERK activation in THUEC following infection with anti-apoptosis-inducing Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain CH811. An isogenic cell division mutant of this strain, Ng CJSD1 (minD deficient), which is large and abnormally shaped, reduced ERK phosphorylation levels even more than its parental strain in THUEC. This led to higher anti-apoptosis in mutant-infected cells as compared to the parental strain-infected cells. Our results suggest that N. gonorrhoeae infection reduces ERK activation in THUEC contributing to anti-apoptosis.

Keywords: Anti-apoptosis; ERK regulation; N. gonorrhoeae minD mutant; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Urethral epithelial cells.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adenosine Triphosphatases / metabolism*
Apoptosis*
Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
Cells, Cultured
Epithelial Cells / cytology
Epithelial Cells / enzymology
Epithelial Cells / microbiology*
Humans
Neisseria gonorrhoeae / cytology
Neisseria gonorrhoeae / enzymology
Neisseria gonorrhoeae / pathogenicity*
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / antagonists & inhibitors
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / immunology*
Urethral Diseases / enzymology
Urethral Diseases / microbiology*
Virulence

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
B59 protein, human
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases
Adenosine Triphosphatases
MinD protein, Neisseria gonorrhoeae