Proteomic analysis of Acanthamoeba castellanii response to Legionella pneumophila infection

• Published in: FEMS microbiology letters Vol. 370
• Main Authors: Hay, Alban, Rolland, Steven, Bernard, Clément, Héchard, Yann, Villéger, Romain, Samba-Louaka, Ascel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 17.01.2023
• Subjects: Acanthamoeba castellanii; Amoeba; Bacteria; Homeostasis; Infections; Kinases; Legionella pneumophila; Legionnaire's disease; Legionnaires' disease bacterium; Life Sciences; Lipid metabolism; Lipids; Opportunist infection; Proteins; Proteomes; Proteomics; free-living amoebae; proteomics; T4SS dependent; host–pathogen interaction; Acanthamoeba castellanii Free-living amoebae Host-pathogen interaction Legionella pneumophila Proteomics T4SS dependent; Proteomics; Legionella pneumophila; Acanthamoeba castellanii; Free-living amoebae; Host-pathogen interaction
• ISSN: 1574-6968; 0378-1097; 1574-6968; 0378-1097
• DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnad086

Abstract Legionella pneumophila is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for Legionnaires’ disease or Legionellosis. This bacterium is found in the environment interacting with free-living amoebae such as Acanthamoeba castellanii. Until now, proteomic analyses have been done in amoebae infected with L. pneumophila but focused on the Legionella-containing vacuole. In this study, we propose a global proteomic analysis of the A. castellanii proteome following infection with L. pneumophila wild-type (WT) or with an isogenic ΔdotA mutant strain, which is unable to replicate intracellularly. We found that infection with L. pneumophila WT leads to reduced levels of A. castellanii proteins associated with lipid homeostasis/metabolism, GTPase regulation, and kinase. The levels of organelle-associated proteins were also decreased during infection. Legionellapneumophila WT infection leads to increased levels of proteins associated with polyubiquitination, folding or degradation, and antioxidant activities. This study reinforces our knowledge of this too little explored but so fundamental interaction between L. pneumophila and A. castellanii, to understand how the bacterium could resist amoeba digestion. In this study, the global proteome of the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii has been investigated during the infection process by Legionella pneumophila.