Effect of osmolarity and viscosity on the motility of pathogenic and saprophytic <i>Leptospira</i>

Takabe, Kyosuke; Nakamura, Shuichi; Ashihara, Masamichi; Kudo, Satoshi

doi:10.1111/1348-0421.12018

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The viscosity-dependent reversal was observed in both pathogenic and non-pathogenic species, implying that leptospires can penetrate the dermis regardless of pathogenicity in terms of kinematics. However, since the motility of the non-pathogenic L. biflexa is lost immediately after exposure to physiological osmotic condition 18 , dissemination within the host will not be allowed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of back-and-forth motion and powerful propulsion for spirochetal invasion

Abe

Kuribayashi

Takabe

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The spirochete Leptospira spp. can move in liquid and on a solid surface with two periplasmic flagella (PFs), and the motility is essential virulence factor for the pathogenic species. Although the fact that mammals are infected with the spirochete through wounded dermis imply the importance of behaviors on the boundary with such viscoelastic milieu, how the leptospiral pathogenicity involves motility remains unclear. We used the glass chamber containing a gel area adjoining the leptospiral suspension to resemble host dermis exposed to contaminated water and analyzed the motility of individual cells at the liquid-gel border. Insertion of one end of the cell body to the gel increased switching of the swimming direction. We also measured the swimming force of Leptospira by trapping single cells using optical tweezer, showing that they can produce ~17 pN, which is ~30 times of the swimming force of Escherichia coli. The force-speed relationship suggested the load-dependent force enhancement and showed that the power (the work per unit time) for the propulsion is ~3.1×10 -16 W, which is two-order larger than the propulsive power of E. coli. Powerful, efficient propulsion of Leptospira with back-andforth movements enabling them to explore invasion routes could facilitate percutaneous infection.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of back-and-forth motion and powerful propulsion for spirochetal invasion

Abe

Kuribayashi

Takabe

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Leptospira motility is believed to be an important factor for infection, because mutant Leptospira strains that exhibit anomalous motility owing to a lack of flagellar genes are considerably attenuated (Lambert et al, 2012a). Furthermore, the swimming speed of Leptospira cells monotonically increases with viscosity (Kaiser & Doetsch, 1975;Takabe et al, 2013), which is believed to support the migration of these cells in the host animal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the chemotactic behaviour ofLeptospirausing microscopic agar-drop assay

Islam

Takabe

Kudo

et al. 2014

FEMS Microbiol Lett

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Chemotaxis allows bacterial cells to migrate towards or away from chemical compounds. In the present study, we developed a microscopic agar-drop assay (MAA) to investigate the chemotactic behaviour of a coiled spirochete, Leptospira biflexa. An agar drop containing a putative attractant or repellent was placed around the centre of a flow chamber and the behaviour of free-swimming cells was analysed under a microscope. MAA showed that L. biflexa cells gradually accumulated around an agar drop that contained an attractant such as glucose. Leptospira cells often spin without migration by transformation of their cell body. The frequency at which cells showed no net displacement decreased with a higher glucose concentration, suggesting that sensing an attractive chemical allows these cells to swim more smoothly. Investigation of the chemotactic behaviour of these cells in response to different types of sugars showed that fructose and mannitol induced negative chemotactic responses, whereas xylose and lactose were non-chemotactic for L. biflexa. The MAA developed in this study can be used to investigate other chemoattractants and repellents.

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“…The fastest swimmer is Leptospira spp. (~15 µm/s) [10,69], which is followed by B. burgdorferi (~7 µm/s) [70], Brachyspira pilosicoli (~5 µm/s) [8], and Treponema pallidum (~2 µm/s) [71]. Swimming speeds are correlated with cell body rotation rates or wave frequencies (Figure 3b).…”

Section: Translation Versus Rotationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…T. denticola cannot swim at all in medium without polymers, but smooth translation is allowed by the addition of methylcellulose to the medium (~6 μm/s in 1% methylcellulose 4000 solution) [80]. However, swimming motilities of these spirochetes cannot be improved by all types of viscous fluids but only by gel-like, heterogeneous polymer solutions, for example those containing methylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), or mucin [8,69,83,84]. These linear polymers form a quasi-rigid network and are thus treated as viscoelastic fluids [85].…”

Section: Effect Of Viscosity On Swimming Motilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Spirochete Flagella and Motility

Nakamura

2020

Biomolecules

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Spirochetes can be distinguished from other flagellated bacteria by their long, thin, spiral (or wavy) cell bodies and endoflagella that reside within the periplasmic space, designated as periplasmic flagella (PFs). Some members of the spirochetes are pathogenic, including the causative agents of syphilis, Lyme disease, swine dysentery, and leptospirosis. Furthermore, their unique morphologies have attracted attention of structural biologists; however, the underlying physics of viscoelasticity-dependent spirochetal motility is a longstanding mystery. Elucidating the molecular basis of spirochetal invasion and interaction with hosts, resulting in the appearance of symptoms or the generation of asymptomatic reservoirs, will lead to a deeper understanding of host–pathogen relationships and the development of antimicrobials. Moreover, the mechanism of propulsion in fluids or on surfaces by the rotation of PFs within the narrow periplasmic space could be a designing base for an autonomously driving micro-robot with high efficiency. This review describes diverse morphology and motility observed among the spirochetes and further summarizes the current knowledge on their mechanisms and relations to pathogenicity, mainly from the standpoint of experimental biophysics.

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Effect of osmolarity and viscosity on the motility of pathogenic and saprophytic Leptospira

Cited by 18 publications

References 21 publications

Implications of back-and-forth motion and powerful propulsion for spirochetal invasion

Implications of back-and-forth motion and powerful propulsion for spirochetal invasion

Analysis of the chemotactic behaviour ofLeptospirausing microscopic agar-drop assay

Spirochete Flagella and Motility

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