Brucella suis

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Brucella suis
Brucella suis culture.jpg
Brucella suis culture
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Pseudomonadota
Class: Alphaproteobacteria
Order: Hyphomicrobiales
Family: Brucellaceae
Genus: Brucella
Species:
B. suis
Binomial name
Brucella suis
Huddleson, 1929

Brucella suis is a bacterium that causes swine brucellosis, a zoonosis that affects pigs. The disease typically causes chronic inflammatory lesions in the reproductive organs of susceptible animals or orchitis, and may even affect joints and other organs. [1] The most common symptom is abortion in pregnant susceptible sows at any stage of gestation. [2] Other manifestations are temporary or permanent sterility, lameness, posterior paralysis, spondylitis, and abscess formation. It is transmitted mainly by ingestion of infected tissues or fluids, semen during breeding, and suckling infected animals. [3]

Contents

Since brucellosis threatens the food supply and causes undulant fever, [4] Brucella suis and other Brucella species (B. melitensis, B. abortus, B. ovis, B. canis ) are recognized as potential agricultural, civilian, and military bioterrorism agents. [5]

Symptoms and signs

The most frequent clinical sign following B. suis infection is abortion in pregnant females, reduced milk production, and infertility. [6] Cattle can also be transiently infected when they share pasture or facilities with infected pigs, and B. suis can be transmitted by cow's milk. [6] [7]

Swine also develop orchitis (swelling of the testicles), lameness (movement disability), hind limb paralysis, or spondylitis (inflammation in joints). [7]

Cause

Brucella suis is a Gram-negative, facultative, intracellular coccobacillus, capable of growing and reproducing inside of host cells, specifically phagocytic cells. [8] They are also not spore-forming, capsulated, or motile. [8] Flagellar genes, however, are present in the B. suis genome, but are thought to be cryptic remnants because some were truncated and others were [8] missing crucial components of the flagellar apparatus. [9] [10] In mouse models, the flagellum is essential for a normal infectious cycle, where the inability to assemble a complete flagellum leads to severe attenuation of the bacteria. [11]

Brucella suis is differentiated into five biovars (strains), where biovars 1–3 infect wild boar and domestic pigs, and biovars 1 and 3 may cause severe diseases in humans. [1] In contrast, biovar 2 found in wild boars in Europe shows mild or no clinical signs and cannot infect healthy humans, but does infect pigs and hares. [12]

Pathogenesis

Phagocytes are an essential component of the host's innate immune system with various antimicrobial defense mechanisms to clear pathogens by oxidative burst, acidification of phagosomes, and fusion of the phagosome and lysosome. B. suis, in return, has developed ways to counteract the host cell defense to survive in the macrophage and to deter host immune responses.[ citation needed ]

B. suis possesses smooth lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which has a full-length O-chain, as opposed to rough LPS, which has a truncated or no O-chain. [13] This structural characteristic allows for B. suis to interact with lipid rafts on the surface of macrophages to be internalized, and the formed lipid-rich phagosome is able to avoid fusion with lysosomes through this endocytic pathway. [14] In addition, this furtive entry into macrophages does not affect the cell's normal trafficking. [15] The smooth LPS also inhibits host cell apoptosis by O-polysaccharides through a TNF-alpha-independent mechanism, which allows for B. suis to avoid the activation of the host immune system. [13]

Once inside macrophages, B. suis is able to endure the rapid acidification in the phagosome to pH 4.0–4.5 [16] by expressing metabolism genes mainly for amino acid synthesis. [15] The acidic pH is actually essential for replication of the bacteria by inducing major virulence genes of the virB operon [17] and the synthesis of DnaK chaperones. [16] DnaK is part of the heat shock protein 70 family, and aids in the correct synthesis and activation of certain virulence factors. [15]

In addition, the B. suis gene for nickel transport, nikA, is activated by metal ion deficiency and is expressed once in the phagosome. [18] Nickel is essential for many enzymatic reactions, including ureolysis to produce ammonia which in turn may neutralize acidic pH. [15] Since B. suis is unable to grow in a strongly acidic medium, it could be protected from acidification by the ammonia.

Summary:

Diagnosis

Treatment

Because B. suis is facultative and intracellular, and is able to adapt to environmental conditions in macrophages, treatment failure and relapse rates are high. [7] The only effective way to control and eradicate zoonosis is by vaccination of all susceptible hosts and elimination of infected animals. [19] The Brucella abortus (rough LPS Brucella) vaccine, developed for bovine brucellosis and licensed by the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, has shown protection for some swine and is also effective against B. suis infection, but there is currently no approved vaccine for swine brucellosis. [20]

Biological warfare

In the United States, B. suis was the first biological agent weaponized in 1952, and was field-tested with B. suis-filled bombs called M33 cluster bombs. [21] It is, however, considered to be one of the agents of lesser threat because many infections are asymptomatic and the mortality is low, [22] but it is used more as an incapacitating agent.

Related Research Articles

Brucellosis is a zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.

<i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> Species of yeast

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast belonging to the class Tremellomycetes and an obligate aerobe that can live in both plants and animals. Its teleomorph is a filamentous fungus, formerly referred to Filobasidiella neoformans. In its yeast state, it is often found in bird excrement. Cryptococcus neoformans can cause disease in apparently immunocompetent, as well as immunocompromised, hosts.

<i>Francisella tularensis</i> Species of bacterium

Francisella tularensis is a pathogenic species of Gram-negative coccobacillus, an aerobic bacterium. It is nonspore-forming, nonmotile, and the causative agent of tularemia, the pneumonic form of which is often lethal without treatment. It is a fastidious, facultative intracellular bacterium, which requires cysteine for growth. Due to its low infectious dose, ease of spread by aerosol, and high virulence, F. tularensis is classified as a Tier 1 Select Agent by the U.S. government, along with other potential agents of bioterrorism such as Yersinia pestis, Bacillus anthracis, and Ebola virus. When found in nature, Francisella tularensis can survive for several weeks at low temperatures in animal carcasses, soil, and water. In the laboratory, F. tularensis appears as small rods, and is grown best at 35–37 °C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phagosome</span>

In cell biology, a phagosome is a vesicle formed around a particle engulfed by a phagocyte via phagocytosis. Professional phagocytes include macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells (DCs).

<i>Brucella</i> Genus of bacteria

Brucella is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, named after David Bruce (1855–1931). They are small, nonencapsulated, nonmotile, facultatively intracellular coccobacilli.

<i>Brucella melitensis</i> Species of bacterium

Brucella melitensis is a Gram-negative coccobacillus bacterium from the Brucellaceae family. The bacterium causes ovine brucellosis, along with Brucella ovis. It affects primarily sheep and goats, but cases have also been observed in cattle, yaks, water buffalo, Bactrian and dromedary camels, alpacas, dogs, horses and pigs. Humans can become infected if they have contact with an infected animal or its byproducts. Animals acquire B. melitensis by venereal transmission and contact with the placenta, fetus, fetal fluids, and vaginal discharges from infected animals. The organism is found in blood, urine, milk, and semen. It is zoonotic, unlike B. ovis, causing Malta fever or localized brucellosis in humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernhard Bang</span> Danish veterinarian (1848–1932)

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Chlamydia pecorum, also known as Chlamydophila pecorum is a species of Chlamydiaceae that originated from ruminants, such as cattle, sheep and goats. It has also infected koalas and swine. C. pecorum strains are serologically and pathogenically diverse.

<i>Brucella abortus</i> Species of bacterium

Brucella abortus is a Gram-negative bacterium in the family Brucellaceae and is one of the causative agents of brucellosis. The rod-shaped pathogen is classified under the domain Bacteria. The prokaryotic B. abortus is non-spore-forming, non-motile and aerobic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phagolysosome</span> Cytoplasmic body

In biology, a phagolysosome, or endolysosome, is a cytoplasmic body formed by the fusion of a phagosome with a lysosome in a process that occurs during phagocytosis. Formation of phagolysosomes is essential for the intracellular destruction of microorganisms and pathogens. It takes place when the phagosome's and lysosome's membranes 'collide', at which point the lysosomal contents—including hydrolytic enzymes—are discharged into the phagosome in an explosive manner and digest the particles that the phagosome had ingested. Some products of the digestion are useful materials and are moved into the cytoplasm; others are exported by exocytosis.

<i>Brucella canis</i> Species of bacterium

Brucella canis is a Gram-negative bacterium in the family Brucellaceae that causes brucellosis in dogs and other canids. It is a non-motile short-rod or coccus-shaped organism, and is oxidase, catalase, and urease positive. B. canis causes infertility in both male and female dogs. It can also cause inflammation in the eyes. The hosts of B. canis ranges from domestic animals to foxes and coyotes. It is passed from species to species via genital fluids. Treatments such as spaying, neutering, and long-term antibiotics have been used to combat B. canis. The species was first described in the United States in 1966 where mass abortions of beagles were documented. Brucella canis can be found in both pets and wild animals and lasts the lifespan of the animal it has affected. B. canis has two distinct circular chromosomes that can attribute to horizontal gene transfer.

<i>Rhodococcus equi</i> Species of bacterium

Rhodococcus equi is a Gram-positive coccobacillus bacterium. The organism is commonly found in dry and dusty soil and can be important for diseases of domesticated animals. The frequency of infection can reach near 60%. R. equi is an important pathogen causing pneumonia in foals. Since 2008, R. equi has been known to infect wild boar and domestic pigs. R. equi can infect humans. At-risk groups are immunocompromised people, such as HIV-AIDS patients or transplant recipients. Rhodococcus infection in these patients resemble clinical and pathological signs of pulmonary tuberculosis. It is facultative intracellular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TRAF3IP2</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Adapter protein CIKS is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRAF3IP2 gene.

<i>Bacillus anthracis</i> Species of bacterium

Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive and rod-shaped bacterium that causes anthrax, a deadly disease to livestock and, occasionally, to humans. It is the only permanent (obligate) pathogen within the genus Bacillus. Its infection is a type of zoonosis, as it is transmitted from animals to humans. It was discovered by a German physician Robert Koch in 1876, and became the first bacterium to be experimentally shown as a pathogen. The discovery was also the first scientific evidence for the germ theory of diseases.

<i>Staphylococcus hyicus</i> Species of bacterium

Staphylococcus hyicus is a Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic bacterium in the genus Staphylococcus. It consists of clustered cocci and forms white circular colonies when grown on blood agar. S. hyicus is a known animal pathogen. It causes disease in poultry, cattle, horses, and pigs. Most notably, it is the agent that causes porcine exudative epidermitis, also known as greasy pig disease, in piglets. S. hyicus is generally considered to not be zoonotic, however it has been shown to be able to cause bacteremia and sepsis in humans.

The alpha-D-phosphohexomutases are a large superfamily of enzymes, with members in all three domains of life. Enzymes from this superfamily are ubiquitous in organisms from E. coli to humans, and catalyze a phosphoryl transfer reaction on a phosphosugar substrate. Four well studied subgroups in the superfamily are:

  1. Phosphoglucomutase (PGM)
  2. Phosphoglucomutase/Phosphomannomutase (PGM/PMM)
  3. Phosphoglucosamine mutase (PNGM)
  4. Phosphoaceytlglucosamine mutase (PAGM)

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, respiratory pathogen found in pigs. It was first reported in 1957, and was formally declared to be the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia in 1964. It was reclassified in 1983 after DNA studies showed it was more closely related to A. lignieresii.

<i>Brucella ceti</i> Species of bacterium

Brucella ceti is a gram negative bacterial pathogen of the Brucellaceae family that causes brucellosis in cetaceans. Brucella ceti has been found in both classes of cetaceans, mysticetes and odontocetes. Brucellosis in some dolphins and porpoises can result in serious clinical signs including fetal abortions, male infertility, neurobrucellosis, cardiopathies, bone and skin lesions, stranding events, and death.

Bacterial small RNAs (sRNA) are an important class of regulatory molecules in bacteria such as Brucella. They are often bound to the chaperone protein Hfq, which allows them to interact with mRNA(s). In Brucella suis 1330 RNA sequencing identified a novel list of 33 sRNAs and 62 Hfq-associated mRNAs. In Brucella melitensis eight novel sRNA genes were identified using bioinformatic and experimental approach. One of them BSR0602 was found to modulate the intracellular survival of B. melitensis. In another large-scale deep sequencing study 1321 sRNAs were identified in B. melitensis. BSR0441 sRNA was further investigated in this study and shown to play role in the intracellular survival. sRNA BM-sr0117 from Brucella melitensis was identified and shown to be bound to and cleaved by Bm-RNase III. AbcR and AbcR2 were studied B. abortus. Seven novel sRNAs were validated and their interaction with a putative target sequence was verified in B. abortus.

Charles Pilet, born in February 1931, is a professor-researcher, member of the Institut de France, member of the French Academy of sciences, Honorary President of the French Academy of medicine and the Académie vétérinaire de France, member of the French Academy of technologies, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Director of the École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort.

References

  1. 1 2 Fretin, D; Whatmore, AM; Al Dahouk, S; Neubauer, H; Garin-Bastuji, B; Albert, D; Van Hessche, M; Ménart, M; Godfroid, J; Walravens, K; Wattiau, P (15 October 2008). "Brucella suis identification and biovar typing by real-time PCR" (PDF). Veterinary Microbiology. 131 (3–4): 376–85. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2008.04.003. PMID   18499359.
  2. ↑ Godfroid, J; Cloeckaert, A; Liautard, JP; Kohler, S; Fretin, D; Walravens, K; Garin-Bastuji, B; Letesson, JJ (2005). "From the discovery of the Malta fever's agent to the discovery of a marine mammal reservoir, brucellosis has continuously been a re-emerging zoonosis" (PDF). Veterinary Research. 36 (3): 313–26. doi: 10.1051/vetres:2005003 . PMID   15845228. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. ↑ Nicoletti, P (2016). "Brucellosis in Pigs - Reproductive System". Merck Veterinary Manual. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  4. ↑ Wilson, G. S. (1955). Topley and Wilson’s principles of bacteriology and immunity. London, England: Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd.
  5. ↑ Halling, SM; Peterson-Burch, BD; Bricker, BJ; Zuerner, RL; Qing, Z; Li, LL; Kapur, V; Alt, DP; Olsen, SC (April 2005). "Completion of the genome sequence of Brucella abortus and comparison to the highly similar genomes of Brucella melitensis and Brucella suis". Journal of Bacteriology. 187 (8): 2715–26. doi:10.1128/jb.187.8.2715-2726.2005. PMC   1070361 . PMID   15805518.
  6. 1 2 Acha, PN; Szyfres, B, eds. (2003). "Brucellosis" (PDF). Zoonoses and communicable diseases common to man and animals. Volume 1 (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization. pp.  40–66. ISBN   978-9275119914.
  7. 1 2 3 Seleem, MN; Boyle, SM; Sriranganathan, N (27 January 2010). "Brucellosis: a re-emerging zoonosis". Veterinary Microbiology. 140 (3–4): 392–8. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.06.021. PMID   19604656.
  8. 1 2 3 Liautard, JP; Gross, A; Dornand, J; Köhler, S (June 1996). "Interactions between professional phagocytes and Brucella spp". Microbiología. 12 (2): 197–206. PMID   8767704.
  9. ↑ DelVecchio, VG; Kapatral, V; Elzer, P; Patra, G; Mujer, CV (20 December 2002). "The genome of Brucella melitensis". Veterinary Microbiology. 90 (1–4): 587–92. doi:10.1016/S0378-1135(02)00238-9. PMID   12414174.
  10. ↑ Moreno, E; Moriyon, I (8 January 2002). "Brucella melitensis: a nasty bug with hidden credentials for virulence". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99 (1): 1–3. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99....1M. doi: 10.1073/pnas.022622699 . PMC   117501 . PMID   11782541.
  11. ↑ Fretin, D; Fauconnier, A; Köhler, S; Halling, S; Léonard, S; Nijskens, C; Ferooz, J; Lestrate, P; Delrue, RM; Danese, I; Vandenhaute, J; Tibor, A; DeBolle, X; Letesson, JJ (May 2005). "The sheathed flagellum of Brucella melitensis is involved in persistence in a murine model of infection". Cellular Microbiology. 7 (5): 687–98. doi: 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2005.00502.x . PMID   15839898. S2CID   41751352.
  12. ↑ Lagier, A; Brown, S; Soualah, A; Julier, I; Tourrand, B; Albert, D; Reyes, J; Garin-Bastuji, B (2005). "Brucellose aiguë à Brucella suis biovar 2 chez un chasseur de sanglier". Médecine et Maladies Infectieuses (in French). 35: 185.
  13. 1 2 Seleem, MN; Boyle, SM; Sriranganathan, N (25 May 2008). "Brucella: a pathogen without classic virulence genes". Veterinary Microbiology. 129 (1–2): 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2007.11.023. PMID   18226477.
  14. ↑ Lapaque, N., Moriyon, I., Moreno, E., Gorvel, J.P. "Brucella lipopolysaccharide acts as a virulence factor." Curr. Opin. Microbio 8 (2005): 60-66.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Köhler, S; Porte, F; Jubier-Maurin, V; Ouahrani-Bettache, S; Teyssier, J; Liautard, JP (20 December 2002). "The intramacrophagic environment of Brucella suis and bacterial response". Veterinary Microbiology. 90 (1–4): 299–309. doi:10.1016/S0378-1135(02)00215-8. PMID   12414150.
  16. 1 2 Porte, F; Liautard, JP; Köhler, S (August 1999). "Early acidification of phagosomes containing Brucella suis is essential for intracellular survival in murine macrophages". Infection and Immunity. 67 (8): 4041–7. doi:10.1128/IAI.67.8.4041-4047.1999. PMC   96697 . PMID   10417172.
  17. ↑ Boschiroli, ML; Ouahrani-Bettache, S; Foulongne, V; Michaux-Charachon, S; Bourg, G; Allardet-Servent, A; Cazevieille, C; Liautard, JP; Ramuz, M; O'Callaghan, D (5 February 2002). "The Brucella suis virB operon is induced intracellularly in macrophages". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99 (3): 1544–9. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.1544B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.032514299 . PMC   122227 . PMID   11830669.
  18. ↑ Jubier-Maurin, V; Rodrigue, A; Ouahrani-Bettache, S; Layssac, M; Mandrand-Berthelot, MA; Köhler, S; Liautard, JP (January 2001). "Identification of the nik gene cluster of Brucella suis: regulation and contribution to urease activity". Journal of Bacteriology. 183 (2): 426–34. doi:10.1128/jb.183.2.426-434.2001. PMC   94896 . PMID   11133934.
  19. ↑ Briones, G., N. Inon de Iannino, M. Roset, A. Vigliocco, P.S. Paulo and R.A. Ugalde. "Brucella abortus cyclic beta-1,2-glucan mutants have reduced virulence in mice and are defective in intracellular replication in HeLa cells." Infectious immunity 69 (2001): 4528-4535.
  20. ↑ Kemp, Jeffrey M. and Miller, Lowell A. "Oral vaccination and immunocontraception of feral swine using brucella suis with multimeric gnrh protein expression." Proc. 23rd vertebr. Pest Conf. (2008): 250-252.
  21. ↑ Christopher, G. W., Again, M. B., Cieslak, T. J. and Olson, P.E. "History of U. S. military contributions to the study of bacterial zoonoses." Military Medicine 170 (2005): 39-48.
  22. ↑ Bossi, P., Tegnell, A., Baka, A, Van Loock, F., Hendriks, J., Werner, A., Maidhof, H., Gouvras, G. "Bichat guidelines for the clinical management of brucellosis and bioterrorism-related brucellosis." Eurosurveillance 9 (2004): 1-5.
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