Coordinated virulence factors of zoonotic pathogen Salmonella typhimurium associated with systemic disease

Abstract

The pivotal virulence factors of foodborne zoonotic pathogen Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium associated with pathogenesis of systemic disease of humans and mice are the effectors of type three secretion systems. They are encoded by genes located on two different gene clusters named Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2) and Salmonella plasmid virulence locus whose expressions are coordinated by regulatory networks in spatial and temporal manners. Secretion of the SPI-1 effectors required for bacterial internalization into specific compartments called Salmonella- containing vacuole (SCV) of infected intestinal epithelial cells, is induced by environmental conditions via Hil transcription factors network. Secretion of SPI-2 and plasmid effectors required for bacterial survival inside of the SCVs of these cells and subsequently infected phagocytic cells, systemic spread, immunosuppression and cytotoxicity, is coordinated by broader regulatory network with the two response regulators, SsrB and SlyA, as the terminal regulators that integrate multiple environmental signals.