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Chlamydia trachomatis Infection Leads to Defined Alterations to the Lipid Droplet Proteome in Epithelial Cells

Hector Alex Saka1, J Will Thompson2, Yi-Shan Chen1

  • 1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.

Plos One
|April 25, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Chlamydia trachomatis infection alters the protein composition of host cell lipid droplets (LDs). These modified LDs are crucial for bacterial replication, as their absence impairs the generation of infectious Chlamydia trachomatis progeny.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterium causing significant human diseases.
  • Chlamydia replicates within a host-derived vacuole called an inclusion.
  • Lipid droplets (LDs) are host cell organelles that Chlamydia interacts with during infection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how Chlamydia trachomatis infection modifies the proteome of host cell lipid droplets.
  • To determine the functional significance of these LD modifications for bacterial replication.

Main Methods:

  • Label-free quantitative mass spectrometry was employed to analyze LD protein composition.
  • LDs were isolated from both uninfected and Chlamydia-infected host cells.
  • Genetic ablation of LDs was performed to assess their role in chlamydial growth.

Main Results:

  • Chlamydia infection significantly altered the proteome of isolated LDs.
  • Infected LDs showed enrichment in proteins involved in lipid metabolism, biosynthesis, and LD-specific functions.
  • A subset of inclusion membrane proteins was found to co-purify with LD protein extracts.
  • Genetic removal of LDs impaired the production of infectious Chlamydia trachomatis progeny.

Conclusions:

  • Chlamydia trachomatis actively manipulates host cell lipid droplets, altering their protein composition.
  • Modified lipid droplets play a critical role in supporting optimal chlamydial replication and progeny production.
  • LDs and the chlamydial inclusion membrane interact, suggesting a direct role in nutrient acquisition or manipulation.

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