Dual role of the colonization factor CD2831 in Clostridium difficile pathogenesis

Sci Rep. 2019 Apr 3;9(1):5554. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-42000-8.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium and the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficile modulates its transition from a motile to a sessile lifestyle through a mechanism of riboswitches regulated by cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP). Previously described as a sortase substrate positively regulated by c-di-GMP, CD2831 was predicted to be a collagen-binding protein and thus potentially involved in sessility. By overexpressing CD2831 in C. difficile and heterologously expressing it on the surface of Lactococcus lactis, here we further demonstrated that CD2831 is a collagen-binding protein, able to bind to immobilized collagen types I, III and V as well as native collagen produced by human fibroblasts. We also observed that the overexpression of CD2831 raises the ability to form biofilm on abiotic surface in both C. difficile and L. lactis. Notably, we showed that CD2831 binds to the collagen-like domain of the human complement component C1q, suggesting a role in preventing complement cascade activation via the classical pathway. This functional characterization places CD2831 in the Microbial Surface Components Recognizing Adhesive Matrix Molecule (MSCRAMMs) family, a class of virulence factors with a dual role in adhesion to collagen-rich tissues and in host immune evasion by binding to human complement components.

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Adhesion
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Biofilms
  • Clostridioides difficile / genetics
  • Clostridioides difficile / metabolism
  • Clostridioides difficile / pathogenicity*
  • Clostridium Infections / immunology
  • Clostridium Infections / metabolism
  • Clostridium Infections / microbiology
  • Collagen / metabolism*
  • Complement C1q / metabolism
  • Cyclic GMP / analogs & derivatives
  • Cyclic GMP / metabolism
  • Extracellular Matrix / metabolism
  • Extracellular Matrix / microbiology
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Immune Evasion
  • Lactococcus lactis / genetics
  • Protein Domains
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid
  • Complement C1q
  • Collagen
  • Cyclic GMP