Authors

S. Kurihara; Y. Sakai; H. Suzuki; A. Muth; O. Phanstiel;P. N. Rather

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

J. Biol. Chem.

Keywords

ESCHERICHIA-COLI K-12; BIOFILM FORMATION; POLYAMINE TRANSPORT; UTILIZATION PATHWAY; STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE; GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRATE; VIBRIO-CHOLERAE; URINARY-TRACT; GENE; EXPRESSION; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Abstract

Previously, we reported that the speA gene, encoding arginine decarboxylase, is required for swarming in the urinary tract pathogen Proteus mirabilis. In addition, this previous study suggested that putrescine may act as a cell-to-cell signaling molecule (Sturgill, G., and Rather, P. N. (2004) Mol. Microbiol. 51, 437-446). In this new study, PlaP, a putative putrescine importer, was characterized in P. mirabilis. In a wild-type background, a plaP null mutation resulted in a modest swarming defect and slightly decreased levels of intracellular putrescine. In a P. mirabilis speA mutant with greatly reduced levels of intracellular putrescine, plaP was required for the putrescine-dependent rescue of swarming motility. When a speA/plaP double mutant was grown in the presence of extracellular putrescine, the intracellular levels of putrescine were greatly reduced compared with the speA mutant alone, indicating that PlaP functioned as the primary putrescine importer. In urothelial cell invasion assays, a speA mutant exhibited a 50% reduction in invasion when compared with wild type, and this defect could be restored by putrescine in a PlaP-dependent manner. The putrescine analog Triamide-44 partially inhibited the uptake of putrescine by PlaP and decreased both putrescine stimulated swarming and urothelial cell invasion in a speA mutant.

Journal Title

Journal of Biological Chemistry

Volume

288

Issue/Number

22

Publication Date

1-1-2013

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

15668

Last Page

15676

WOS Identifier

WOS:000319822300023

ISSN

0021-9258

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