Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Artigo Acesso aberto Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

BIBTEX RIS

Corynebacterium diphtheriae putative tellurite-resistance protein (CDCE8392_0813) contributes to the intracellular survival in human epithelial cells and lethality of Caenorhabditis elegans

2015; Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde; Volume: 110; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/0074-02760140479

1678-8060

Louisy Sanches dos Santos, Camila Azevedo Antunes, Cíntia Silva Santos, José Augusto Adler Pereira, Priscila Soares Sabbadini, Maria das Graças de Luna, Vasco Azevedo, Raphael Hirata, Andreas Burkovski, Lídia Maria Buarque de Oliveira Asad, Ana Luíza Mattos‐Guaraldi,

Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity

Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the aetiologic agent of diphtheria, also represents a global medical challenge because of the existence of invasive strains as causative agents of systemic infections. Although tellurite (TeO32-) is toxic to most microorganisms, TeO32--resistant bacteria, including C. diphtheriae, exist in nature. The presence of TeO32--resistance (TeR) determinants in pathogenic bacteria might provide selective advantages in the natural environment. In the present study, we investigated the role of the putative TeR determinant (CDCE8392_813 gene) in the virulence attributes of diphtheria bacilli. The disruption of CDCE8392_0813 gene expression in the LDCIC-L1 mutant increased susceptibility to TeO32- and reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide), but not to other antimicrobial agents. The LDCIC-L1 mutant also showed a decrease in both the lethality of Caenorhabditis elegans and the survival inside of human epithelial cells compared to wild-type strain. Conversely, the haemagglutinating activity and adherence to and formation of biofilms on different abiotic surfaces were not regulated through the CDCE8392_0813 gene. In conclusion, the CDCE8392_813 gene contributes to the TeR and pathogenic potential of C. diphtheriae.