Haemophilus influenzae efficiently and chronically colonizes the human nasopharyngeal mucosa, and is capable of causing invasive disease including otitis media, pneumonia, and, more rarely, meningitis. A number of factors involved in H. influenzae virulence have been identified in the pre-genomic era. Taking advantage of the genome sequence and the advent of new technologies, such as global expression profiling, we intend to advance understanding of critical virulence characteristics of this organism. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structural modifications are essential virulence determinants for H. influenzae. Using expression profiling with DNA microarrays, complemented by classical approaches, we have recently uncovered a previously unappreciated link between redox regulation and LPS modifications in H. influenzae. In addition, we have isolated a mariner transposon insertion mutation in H. influenzae that disrupts redox control over one such modification (addition of a phosphorylcholine epitope, termed ChoP, to the LPS) and also results in a pronounced colonization defect in an animal model of H. influenzae infection. These observations are of potential significance for in vivo modulation of the LPS structure by environmental signals. We propose to use such signaling and regulatory mutants generated in our laboratory to examine the role of redox signaling in controlling virulence genes in H. influenzae. Global genomic approaches we have developed for studies of H. influenzae will facilitate our analysis of how LPS modifications are modulated in response to environmental conditions. We will also determine whether other genes that play a role in pathogenesis are coregulated, inversely regulated, or constitutively transcribed under the varied redox conditions that affect LPS modification. We believe that these studies will provide important insights into the relationship between physiological adaptations to the host environment and the coordinated production of bacterial cell-surface structures critical for interactions with host cells or for evading the immune response. Specifically, we will: 1. Characterize the redox control mechanisms involved in the regulation of the ChoP cell surface LPS modification. 2. Investigate the role of signaling pathways in H. influenzae in the context of epithelial cell interactions and in a model of respiratory tract infection. 3. Examine coordinate regulation of virulence factors by redox signaling systems.
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