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YopB of Yersinia enterocolitica is essential for YopE translocation

R Nordfelth1, H Wolf-Watz

  • 1Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.

Infection and Immunity
|April 9, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Yersinia enterocolitica's YopB protein is crucial for injecting Yop effectors into host cells. This study reconfirms YopB's essential role in YopE translocation into HeLa cells.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Bacterial Pathogenesis

Background:

  • Yersinia spp. utilize type III secretion systems to translocate Yop effectors into eukaryotic cells.
  • The role of YopB in Yop effector translocation has been previously established but recently questioned.
  • Understanding the translocation mechanism is vital for studying bacterial virulence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reconfirm the essential role of YopB in the translocation of Yop effectors across the eukaryotic plasma membrane.
  • To investigate the specific involvement of Yersinia enterocolitica YopB in YopE translocation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized protease protection assays to assess extracellular YopE.
  • Employed digitonin extraction to determine intracellular YopE presence.
  • Worked with HeLa cell monolayers as the eukaryotic model system.

Main Results:

  • Reconfirmed that YopB of Yersinia enterocolitica is essential for YopE translocation.
  • Demonstrated that in the absence of functional YopB, YopE does not efficiently enter HeLa cells.
  • Protease protection and digitonin extraction data consistently supported YopB's critical function.

Conclusions:

  • YopB is definitively essential for the translocation of YopE into host cells.
  • This finding reaffirms the mechanism of type III secretion in Yersinia pathogenesis.
  • Further research can build upon this confirmed role of YopB in effector translocation.

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