Pathogenic Yersinia spp. translocate the effectors YopT, YopE, and YopO/YpkA into target cells to inactivate Rho family GTP-binding proteins and block immune responses. Some Yersinia spp. also secrete the Rho protein activator cytotoxic necrotizing factor-Y (CNF-Y), but it has been unclear how the bacteria may benefit from Rho protein activation. We show here that CNF-Y increases Yop translocation in Yersinia enterocolitica-infected cells up to 5-fold. CNF-Y strongly activated RhoA and also delayed in time Rac1 and Cdc42, but when individually expressed, constitutively active mutants of Rac1, but not of RhoA, increased Yop translocation. Consistently, knock-out or knockdown of Rac1 but not of RhoA, -B, or -C inhibited Yersinia effector translocation in CNF-Y-treated and control cells. Activation or knockdown of Cdc42 also affected Yop translocation but much less efficiently than Rac. The increase in Yop translocation induced by CNF-Y was essentially independent of the presence of YopE, YopT, or YopO in the infecting Yersinia strain, indicating that none of the Yops reported to inhibit translocation could reverse the CNF-Y effect. In summary, the CNF-Y activity of Yersinia strongly enhances Yop translocation through activation of Rac.
Keywords: CNF-Y; Cdc42; Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor-Y; Rac; Rho; Rho GTPases; Toxins; Type III Secretion System; Yersinia enterocolitica.