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Toledo Arana, Alejandro

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Toledo Arana

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Alejandro

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Instituto de Agrobiotecnología (IdAB)

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0000-0001-8148-6281

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5497

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Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Bap, a biofilm matrix protein of Staphylococcus aureus prevents cellular internalization through binding to GP96 host receptor
    (Public Library of Science, 2012) Valle Turrillas, Jaione; Latasa Osta, Cristina; Gil Puig, Carmen; Toledo Arana, Alejandro; Solano Goñi, Cristina; Penadés, José R.; Lasa Uzcudun, Íñigo; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua
    The biofilm matrix, composed of exopolysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids, plays a well-known role as a defence structure, protecting bacteria from the host immune system and antimicrobial therapy. However, little is known about its responsibility in the interaction of biofilm cells with host tissues. Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of biofilmassociated chronic infections, is able to develop a biofilm built on a proteinaceous Bap-mediated matrix. Here, we used the Bap protein as a model to investigate the role that components of the biofilm matrix play in the interaction of S. aureus with host cells. The results show that Bap promotes the adhesion but prevents the entry of S. aureus into epithelial cells. A broad analysis of potential interaction partners for Bap using ligand overlayer immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation with purified Bap and pull down with intact bacteria, identified a direct binding between Bap and Gp96/GRP94/Hsp90 protein. The interaction of Bap with Gp96 provokes a significant reduction in the capacity of S. aureus to invade epithelial cells by interfering with the fibronectin binding protein invasion pathway. Consistent with these results, Bap deficient bacteria displayed an enhanced capacity to invade mammary gland epithelial cells in a lactating mice mastitis model. Our observations begin to elucidate the mechanisms by which components of the biofilm matrix can facilitate the colonization of host tissues and the establishment of persistent infections.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Sensory deprivation in Staphylococcus aureus
    (Springer Nature, 2018) Villanueva San Martín, Maite; García Martínez, Begoña; Valle Turrillas, Jaione; Rapún Araiz, Beatriz; Ruiz de los Mozos Aliaga, Igor; Solano Goñi, Cristina; Martí, Miguel; Penadés, José R.; Toledo Arana, Alejandro; Lasa Uzcudun, Íñigo; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua
    Bacteria use two-component systems (TCSs) to sense and respond to environmental changes. The core genome of the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus encodes 16 TCSs, one of which (WalRK) is essential. Here we show that S. aureus can be deprived of its complete sensorial TCS network and still survive under growth arrest conditions similarly to wild-type bacteria. Under replicating conditions, however, the WalRK system is necessary and sufficient to maintain bacterial growth, indicating that sensing through TCSs is mostly dispensable for living under constant environmental conditions. Characterization of S. aureus derivatives containing individual TCSs reveals that each TCS appears to be autonomous and self-sufficient to sense and respond to specific environmental cues, although some level of cross-regulation between non-cognate sensor-response regulator pairs occurs in vivo. This organization, if confirmed in other bacterial species, may provide a general evolutionarily mechanism for flexible bacterial adaptation to life in new niches.