SummaryHelicobacter pylori is one of the most common bacterial pathogens, infecting about 50% of the world population. The presence of a pathogenicity island (PAI) in H. pylori has been associated with gastric disease. We present evidence that the H. pylori protein encoded by the cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA) is translocated and phosphorylated in infected epithelial cells. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) of proteins isolated from infected AGS cells revealed H. pylori strain-specific and timedependent tyrosine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of several 125±135 kDa and 75±80 kDa proteins. Immunoblotting studies, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), cell fractionation and confocal microscopy demonstrated that one of the 125±135 kDa proteins represents the H. pylori CagA protein, which is translocated into the host cell membrane and the cytoplasm. Translocation of CagA was dependent on functional cagA gene and virulence (vir) genes of a type IV secretion apparatus composed of virB4, virB7, virB10, virB11 and virD4 encoded in the cag PAI of H. pylori. Our findings support the view that H. pylori actively translocates virulence determinants, including CagA, which could be involved in the development of a variety of gastric disease.

A recurring feature of innate immune receptor signaling is the self-assembly of signaling proteins into oligomeric complexes. The Myddosome is an oligomeric complex that is required to transmit inflammatory signals from TLR/IL1Rs and consists of MyD88 and IRAK family kinases. However, the molecular basis for how Myddosome proteins self-assemble and regulate intracellular signaling remains poorly understood. Here, we developed a novel assay to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of IL1R and Myddosome signaling in live cells. We found that MyD88 oligomerization is inducible and initially reversible. Moreover, the formation of larger, stable oligomers consisting of more than four MyD88s triggers the sequential recruitment of IRAK4 and IRAK1. Notably, genetic knockout of IRAK4 enhanced MyD88 oligomerization, indicating that IRAK4 controls MyD88 oligomer size and growth. MyD88 oligomer size thus functions as a physical threshold to trigger downstream signaling. These results provide a mechanistic basis for how protein oligomerization might function in cell signaling pathways.

Hfq is an RNA chaperone that functions as a pleiotropic regulator for RNA metabolism in bacteria. In several pathogenic bacteria, Hfq contributes indirectly to virulence by binding to riboregulators that modulate the stability or translation efficiency of RNA transcripts. To characterize the role of Hfq in the pathogenicity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, we generated an N. gonorrhoeae hfq mutant. Infectivity and global changes in gene expression caused by the hfq mutation in N. gonorrhoeae strain MS11 were analyzed. Transcriptional analysis using a custom‐made N. gonorrhoeae microarray revealed that 369 ORFs were differentially regulated in the hfq mutant, MS11hfq, in comparison with the wild‐type strain (202 were upregulated, and 167 were downregulated). The loss‐of‐function mutation in hfq led to pleiotropic phenotypic effects, including an altered bacterial growth rate and reduced adherence to epithelial cells. Twitching motility and microcolony formation were not affected. Hfq also appears to play a minor role in inducing the inflammatory response of infected human epithelial cells. Interleukin‐8 production was slightly decreased, and activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase, a mitogen‐activated protein kinase, was reduced in MS11hfq‐infected epithelial cells in comparison with wild type‐infected cells. However, activation of nuclear factor kappa B, extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 and p38 remained unchanged. The data presented suggest that Hfq plays an important role as a post‐transcriptional regulator in N. gonorrhoeae strain MS11 but does not contribute significantly to its virulence in cell culture models.

Signaling pathways can produce digital outputs that are invariant and analogue outputs that scale with the amount of stimulation. In IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling both types of outputs require the Myddosome, a multi-protein complex. The Myddosome is required for polyubiquitin chain formation and NF-kB signaling. However, the ways in which these signals are spatially and temporally regulated to drive switch-like and proportional outcomes is not understood. We find that during IL-1R signaling, Myddosomes dynamically re-organize into large, multi-Myddosome clusters at the cell membrane. Blockade of Myddosome clustering using nanoscale extracellular barriers reduces NF-kB activation. We find that Myddosomes function as a scaffold that assembles an NF-kB signalosome consisting of E3-ubiquitin ligases TRAF6 and LUBAC, K63/M1-linked polyubiquitin chains, phospho-IKK, and phospho-p65. This signalosome preferentially assembles at regions of high Myddosome density, which enhances the recruitment of TRAF6 and LUBAC. Extracellular barriers that restrict Myddosome clustering perturbed the recruitment of both ligases. We found that LUBAC was especially sensitive to clustering, with a sevenfold lower recruitment to single Myddosomes than clustered Myddosomes. This data reveals that the clustering behavior of Myddosome provides the basis for digital and analogue IL-1R signaling.