De Gaetano Giuseppe Valerio, Lentini Germana, Famà Agata, Coppolino Francesco, Beninati Concetta
Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, 98124 Messina, Italy.
Department of Biomedical, Dental and Imaging Sciences, University of Messina, 98124 Messina, Italy.
Pathogens. 2023 Jan 10;12(1):119. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12010119.
Two-component signaling systems (TCSs) are finely regulated mechanisms by which bacteria adapt to environmental conditions by modifying the expression of target genes. In bacterial pathogenesis, TCSs play important roles in modulating adhesion to mucosal surfaces, resistance to antibiotics, and metabolic adaptation. In the context of urinary tract infections (UTI), one of the most common types infections causing significant health problems worldwide, uropathogens use TCSs for adaptation, survival, and establishment of pathogenicity. For example, uropathogens can exploit TCSs to survive inside bladder epithelial cells, sense osmolar variations in urine, promote their ascension along the urinary tract or even produce lytic enzymes resulting in exfoliation of the urothelium. Despite the usefulness of studying the function of TCSs in in vitro experimental models, it is of primary necessity to study bacterial gene regulation also in the context of host niches, each displaying its own biological, chemical, and physical features. In light of this, the aim of this review is to provide a concise description of several bacterial TCSs, whose activity has been described in mouse models of UTI.
双组分信号系统（TCSs）是细菌通过调节靶基因表达来适应环境条件的精细调控机制。在细菌致病过程中，TCSs在调节对黏膜表面的黏附、对抗生素的抗性以及代谢适应方面发挥着重要作用。在尿路感染（UTI）这一全球范围内导致重大健康问题的最常见感染类型之一中，尿路致病菌利用TCSs进行适应、生存和致病性的建立。例如，尿路致病菌可利用TCSs在膀胱上皮细胞内生存，感知尿液中的渗透压变化，促进其沿尿路上升，甚至产生导致尿路上皮脱落的裂解酶。尽管在体外实验模型中研究TCSs的功能很有用，但在宿主生态位背景下研究细菌基因调控也至关重要，每个宿主生态位都有其自身的生物学、化学和物理特征。有鉴于此，本综述的目的是简要描述几种细菌TCSs，其活性已在UTI小鼠模型中得到描述。
