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Role of host cell integrins in the microsporidium Encephalitozoon intestinalis adherence and infection in vitro

Cory A Leonard1, J Russell Hayman1

  • 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, PO Box 70577, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA.

FEMS Microbiology Letters
|September 15, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Microsporidia, fungal pathogens, use a polar tube to infect host cells. This study found that host cell integrins, specifically alpha 3 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1, are crucial for microsporidia adherence and infection.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Pathogen-Host Interactions

Background:

  • Microsporidia are obligate intracellular fungal pathogens that infect host cells using a polar tube.
  • Previous studies implicated host sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and endospore protein (EnP1) in microsporidia adherence and infection, but these factors did not completely prevent infection.
  • The Encephalitozoon intestinalis genome contains numerous proteins with an arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) motif, a known integrin-binding sequence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of host cell integrins in the adherence and infection process of Encephalitozoon intestinalis.

Main Methods:

  • Assays were performed to measure spore adherence and infection of host cells.
  • Exogenous integrin ligands and recombinant alpha 3 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins were added to these assays.
  • The effect of these additions on E. intestinalis adherence and infection was quantified.

Main Results:

  • Addition of exogenous integrin ligands significantly reduced E. intestinalis spore adherence and infection.
  • Recombinant alpha 3 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins also significantly inhibited spore adherence and infection.
  • These findings support the hypothesis that host cell integrins mediate microsporidia-host cell interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Host cell integrins, particularly alpha 3 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1, act as receptors for Encephalitozoon intestinalis spores.
  • These integrins play a significant role in the adherence and subsequent infection of host cells by microsporidia.
  • Targeting these integrin-microsporidia interactions may offer new strategies for controlling microsporidian infections.
Keywords:
adherenceinfectionintegrinsmicrosporidiaspore

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