 Ph.D. (1996) |
Michelle
Dziejman
Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology Primary Appointment: GEBS Cluster Affiliations: |
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| Contact Information | ||
| University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 672 Rochester, New York 14642 |
MRBX 2-11135 Phone: (585) 273-4459 Fax: (585) 473-9573 E-Mail: michelle_dziejman@urmc.rochester.edu |
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- Research Focus
- Type Three Secretion System mediated pathogenesis of V. cholerae
- Research Overview
- Vibrio cholerae is a diverse species found in aquatic environments worldwide, and it is the causative agent of the severe diarrheal disease known as cholera. Epidemic disease in Asia and South America is currently caused only by strains of the O1 or O139 serogroup of V. cholerae. However, a significant amount of world wide, sporadic disease is caused by strains of other serogroups, collectively called non-O1/non-O139 strains. Ribotyping and comparative genomic analyses have shown that these strains are very diverse both phylogenetically and in their genetic content compared to strains of the O1 and O139 serogroups. Unlike epidemic strains, the majority of non-O1/non-O139 strains do not carry the well characterized virulence factors for colonization (toxin co-regulated pilus, TCP) and cholera toxin (CT) production. It is presumed that pathogenic non-O1/non-O139 isolates have acquired novel virulence factors that confer the ability to colonize and cause disease in a TCP/CT independent manner. However, these strains remain largely uncharacterized.
- AM-19226 is a clinically isolated, O39 serogroup strain of V. cholerae that does not carry the genes encoding TCP or CT. However, whole genome sequencing of AM-19226 has identified open reading frames (ORFs) having significant similarity to genes encoding the structural components of a Type Three Secretion System (T3SS). These ORFs, named vcs, lie within a ~60kb pathogenicity island that has been found in other non-O1/non-O139 strains. A wide variety of gram-negative, pathogenic bacteria use TTSSs as a conserved mechanism to translocate multiple virulence factors, referred to as T3SS effector proteins, directly into the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. We therefore postulate that the vcs genes represent a previously unidentified mechanism for host cell interaction acquired by V. cholerae. Also within this island are two open reading frames predicted to encode proteins having sequence similarity to ToxR, an important player in the network of regulatory proteins that govern the expression of virulence factors in epidemic O1 and O139 serogroup strains. Although the amino acid sequences of proteins encoding the structural components are highly conserved among T3SSs of different organisms, the sequences of effector proteins typically share limited or no homology. Effector proteins are therefore often unique to a specific T3SS, and their interactions with eukaryotic host cell proteins serve to elicit distinct phenotypes beneficial for the particular bacterial pathogen.
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In order to understanding the scope of molecular mechanisms responsible for TTSS mediated
disease, we are working to:
- understand the role of the ToxR paralogs and ToxR itself in T3SS related gene expression.
- identify in vitro conditions that promote expression of the T3SS genes.
- identify effector proteins that are required during infection to provide functions critical for colonization and disease.
- Book Chapters
- Elizabeth A. Shakhnovich & Michelle Dziejman. "Genomics of Vibrio cholerae and its Evolution" in Vibrio cholerae: Genomics and Molecular Biology., ed. Shah M. Faruque & Balakrish Nair, chapter 2, Caister Academic Press, 2008.
- Recent Publications
- Tam VC, Serruto D, Dziejman M, Brieher W, Mekalanos JJ "A Type III Secretion System in Vibrio cholerae Translocates a Formin/Spire Hybrid-like Actin Nucleator to Promote Intestinal Colonization." Cell Host Microbe. 2007 Apr 19;1(2):95-107
- Faruque SM, Tam VC, Chowdhury N, Diraphat P, Dziejman M, Heidelberg JF, Clemens JD, Mekalanos JJ, Nair "Genomic analysis of the Mozambique strain of Vibrio cholerae O1 reveals the origin of El Tor strains carrying classical CTX prophage." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Mar 12;
- Larocque RC, Harris JB, et al. "Transcriptional profiling of Vibrio cholerae recovered directly from patient specimens during early and late stages of human infection." Infect Immun. 2005 Aug;73(8):4488-93.
- Dziejman, M., D. Serruto, et al. "Genomic characterization of non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae reveals genes for a type III secretion system." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102(9): 3465-70, 2005.
- Larocque, R. C., J. B. Harris, et al. "Transcriptional profiling of Vibrio cholerae recovered directly from patient specimens during early and late stages of human infection." Infect Immun 73(8): 4488-93, 2005.
- Faruque SM, Chowdhury N, Kamruzzaman M, Dziejman M, Rahman MH, Sack DA, Nair GB, Mekalanos JJ. "Genetic diversity and virulence potential of environmental Vibrio cholerae population in a cholera-endemic area." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Feb 17;101(7):2123-8.
- Bina J, Zhu J, Dziejman M, Faruque S, Calderwood S, Mekalanos J. ToxR regulon of Vibrio cholerae and its expression in vibrios shed by cholera patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Mar 4;100(5):2801-6.
- Xu Q, Dziejman M, Mekalanos JJ. Determination of the transcriptome of Vibrio cholerae during intraintestinal growth and midexponential phase in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Feb 4;100(3):1286-91.
- Zhu J, Miller MB, Vance RE, Dziejman M, Bassler BL, Mekalanos JJ. Quorum-sensing regulators control virulence gene expression in Vibrio cholerae. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Mar 5;99(5):3129-34.
- Dziejman M, Balon E, Boyd D, Fraser CM, Heidelberg JF, Mekalanos JJ. Comparative genomic analysis of Vibrio cholerae: genes that correlate with cholera endemic and pandemic disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Feb 5;99(3):1556-61.