As opposed to pathogens passively circulating in the body fluids of their host, pathogenic species within the Spirochetes phylum are able to actively coordinate their movement in the host to cause systemic infections. Based on the unique morphology and high motility of spirochetes, we hypothesized that their surface adhesive molecules might be suitably adapted to aid in their dissemination strategies. Designing a system that mimics natural environmental signals, which many spirochetes face during their infectious cycle, we observed that a subset of their surface proteins, particularly Decorin binding protein (Dbp) A/B, can strongly enhance the motility of spirochetes in the extracellular matrix of the host. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy, we disentangled the mechanistic details of DbpA/B and decorin/laminin interactions. Our results show that spirochetes are able to leverage a wide variety of adhesion strategies through force-tuning transient molecular binding to extracellular matrix components, which concertedly enhance spirochetal dissemination through the host.
- MeSH
- bakteriální adheze * MeSH
- bakteriální adheziny genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Borrelia burgdorferi genetika metabolismus patogenita MeSH
- dekorin metabolismus MeSH
- extracelulární matrix metabolismus mikrobiologie MeSH
- interakce hostitele a patogenu MeSH
- kinetika MeSH
- klíště mikrobiologie MeSH
- králíci MeSH
- laminin metabolismus MeSH
- lymeská nemoc metabolismus mikrobiologie MeSH
- pohyb MeSH
- vazba proteinů MeSH
- zobrazení jednotlivé molekuly MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- králíci MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
