Cause and consequence: the contribution of the host´s microtubule cytoskeleton to Chlamydia pneumoniae infection

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Ursula-Nicole Fleig; Professor Dr. Johannes H. Hegemann
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens ; Cell Biology
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 275334639

Many microbial pathogens target the host cytoskeleton to promote the infection process. The strictly intracellular gram-negative bacterial pathogens Chlamydiae alter the eukaryotic cytoskeleton to facilitate invasion, replication and dissemination. The role of the actin cytoskeleton during the chlamydial course of infection has been well documented however the impact of the host´s microtubule cytoskeleton is less clear. In this project we will determine the role of the microtubule cytoskeleton during host cell entry and the developmental cycle of the human pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae. This organism travels along microtubule tracks to the host´s cell microtubule organizing center in a non-defined manner and to date only a single C. pneumoniae protein, CopN, has been characterized as an in vitro microtubule modulator. Thus we will identify chlamydial effector proteins that modulate microtubules and determine the contribution of such proteins to the chlamydial infection cycle. As C. pneumoniae is not genetically accessible bacterial microtubule regulating proteins will be identified and characterized in the heterologous S. pombe fission yeast system. Lastly, we will determine the consequences for the host cell when its microtubule cytoskeleton is subverted by C. pneumoniae. As infection by this pathogen is common and has been associated with an increased risk for lung cancer we will analyze if bacterial infection interferes with mitotic processes and thus leads to aneuploidy, one of the hallmarks of cancer.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants