Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice

Abstract Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is an important pathogen causing various diseases in both domestic and wild animals. The factor for inversion stimulation (Fis) is a nucleoid-associated protein with diverse functions in various bacteria, which positively regulate the transcription of ca...

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Main Authors: Zhijie Wang, Siyu Liu, Muhan Xie, Zhengchun Lang, Xuan Zhang, Liang Luo, Guangfu Zhao, Nengzhang Li, Yuanyi Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Veterinary Research
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04769-x
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author Zhijie Wang
Siyu Liu
Muhan Xie
Zhengchun Lang
Xuan Zhang
Liang Luo
Guangfu Zhao
Nengzhang Li
Yuanyi Peng
author_facet Zhijie Wang
Siyu Liu
Muhan Xie
Zhengchun Lang
Xuan Zhang
Liang Luo
Guangfu Zhao
Nengzhang Li
Yuanyi Peng
author_sort Zhijie Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is an important pathogen causing various diseases in both domestic and wild animals. The factor for inversion stimulation (Fis) is a nucleoid-associated protein with diverse functions in various bacteria, which positively regulate the transcription of capsular glycosaminoglycan genes in P. multocida. However, the precise mechanistic understanding of how the fis regulate virulence of P. multocida remains largely unknown. In this study, we discovered that fis transcript levels of P. multocida CQ2, serotype A (PmCQ2) were significantly increased in vivo, and showed a positive correlation with the capsule and virulence of P. multocida. To further understand how the fis regulated P. multocida pathogenesis, a homologous recombination strategy was used to generate fis-deleted strain. Then, the growth velocity, virulence characteristics, immune/inflammatory responses, and the survival rates of challenged mice were determined. The findings revealed that the presence of fis promoted the growth, regulated synthesis of capsule and biofilm of PmCQ2, and helped to resist phagocytosis by macrophages. Notably, we firstly demonstrated that Fis determined whether P. multocida can use bound iron ion for its survival. Consequently, the loss of fis greatly restricted P. multocida pathogenicity, as evidenced by reducing tissue bacterial loads as well as inflammatory factors levels. Moreover, the fis deletion strain was endowed with strong cross immunoprotected properties against P. multocida serotype A and B. Thus, these results suggested the pathogenic role of fis in P. multocida and proposed that fis deletion strain could be used as an attenuated vaccine candidate against P. multocida of serotype A and B.
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher BMC
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spelling doaj-art-4a7b21a0aa0a4721aa8b01a4a2a3f2432025-08-20T03:09:20ZengBMCBMC Veterinary Research1746-61482025-05-0121111110.1186/s12917-025-04769-xDeleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in miceZhijie Wang0Siyu Liu1Muhan Xie2Zhengchun Lang3Xuan Zhang4Liang Luo5Guangfu Zhao6Nengzhang Li7Yuanyi Peng8College of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest UniversityAbstract Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is an important pathogen causing various diseases in both domestic and wild animals. The factor for inversion stimulation (Fis) is a nucleoid-associated protein with diverse functions in various bacteria, which positively regulate the transcription of capsular glycosaminoglycan genes in P. multocida. However, the precise mechanistic understanding of how the fis regulate virulence of P. multocida remains largely unknown. In this study, we discovered that fis transcript levels of P. multocida CQ2, serotype A (PmCQ2) were significantly increased in vivo, and showed a positive correlation with the capsule and virulence of P. multocida. To further understand how the fis regulated P. multocida pathogenesis, a homologous recombination strategy was used to generate fis-deleted strain. Then, the growth velocity, virulence characteristics, immune/inflammatory responses, and the survival rates of challenged mice were determined. The findings revealed that the presence of fis promoted the growth, regulated synthesis of capsule and biofilm of PmCQ2, and helped to resist phagocytosis by macrophages. Notably, we firstly demonstrated that Fis determined whether P. multocida can use bound iron ion for its survival. Consequently, the loss of fis greatly restricted P. multocida pathogenicity, as evidenced by reducing tissue bacterial loads as well as inflammatory factors levels. Moreover, the fis deletion strain was endowed with strong cross immunoprotected properties against P. multocida serotype A and B. Thus, these results suggested the pathogenic role of fis in P. multocida and proposed that fis deletion strain could be used as an attenuated vaccine candidate against P. multocida of serotype A and B.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04769-xPasteurella multocidaFis geneCapsuleIron utilizationVirulenceVaccine
spellingShingle Zhijie Wang
Siyu Liu
Muhan Xie
Zhengchun Lang
Xuan Zhang
Liang Luo
Guangfu Zhao
Nengzhang Li
Yuanyi Peng
Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice
BMC Veterinary Research
Pasteurella multocida
Fis gene
Capsule
Iron utilization
Virulence
Vaccine
title Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice
title_full Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice
title_fullStr Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice
title_full_unstemmed Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice
title_short Deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects Pasteurella multocida infection in mice
title_sort deleting fis downregulates virulence and effectively protects pasteurella multocida infection in mice
topic Pasteurella multocida
Fis gene
Capsule
Iron utilization
Virulence
Vaccine
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04769-x
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