ArticlePLoS pathogens2011
The steroid catabolic pathway of the intracellular pathogen Rhodococcus equi is important for pathogenesis and a target for vaccine development.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 98 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Antimicrobial Resistance inAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Enteral immunization with live bacteria reprograms innate immune cells and protects neonatal foals from pneumonia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Protective immune response against Rhodococcus equi: An innate immunity-focused review.Equine veterinary journal · 2025Review
- Function and regulation of a steroidogenic CYP450 enzyme in the mitochondrion of Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Identification and Characterization of Some Genes, Enzymes, and Metabolic Intermediates Belonging to the Bile Acid Aerobic Catabolic Pathway from Pseudomonas.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Insight into Different Stages of Steroid Degradation in ThermophilicInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Expanding the genomic encyclopedia ofCell genomics · 2022Article
- Bacterial Hydratases Involved in Steroid Side Chain Degradation Have Distinct Substrate Specificities.Journal of bacteriology · 2022Article
- Identification of genes required for the fitness of Rhodococcus equi during the infection of mice via signature-tagged transposon mutagenesis.The Journal of veterinary medical science · 2021Article
- Different genome-wide transcriptome responses of Nocardioides simplex VKM Ac-2033D to phytosterol and cortisone 21-acetate.BMC biotechnology · 2021Article
- Experimental and Genomic Evaluation of the Oestrogen Degrading BacteriumFrontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- IpdE1-IpdE2 Is a Heterotetrameric Acyl Coenzyme A Dehydrogenase That Is Widely Distributed in Steroid-Degrading Bacteria.Biochemistry · 2020Article
- Mycoredoxins Are Required for Redox Homeostasis and Intracellular Survival in the Actinobacterial PathogenAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Review
- Genome-wide response on phytosterol in 9-hydroxyandrostenedione-producing strain of Mycobacterium sp. VKM Ac-1817D.BMC biotechnology · 2019Article
- Comprehensive Comparative Analysis of Cholesterol Catabolic Genes/Proteins in Mycobacterial Species.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Article
- IpdAB, a virulence factor inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2018Article
- Article
- Genome-based exploration of the specialized metabolic capacities of the genus Rhodococcus.BMC genomics · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Rhodococcus equi causes fatal pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals and immunocompromised animals and humans. Despite its importance, there is currently no effective vaccine against the disease. The actinobacteria R. equi and the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis are related, and both cause pulmonary diseases. Recently, we have shown that essential steps in the cholesterol catabolic pathway are involved in the pathogenicity of M. tuberculosis. Bioinformatic analysis revealed the presence of a similar cholesterol catabolic gene cluster in R. equi. Orthologs of predicted M. tuberculosis virulence genes located within this cluster, i.e. ipdA (rv3551), ipdB (rv3552), fadA6 and fadE30, were identified in R. equi RE1 and inactivated. The ipdA and ipdB genes of R. equi RE1 appear to constitute the α-subunit and β-subunit, respectively, of a heterodimeric coenzyme A transferase. Mutant strains RE1ΔipdAB and RE1ΔfadE30, but not RE1ΔfadA6, were impaired in growth on the steroid catabolic pathway intermediates 4-androstene-3,17-dione (AD) and 3aα-H-4α(3'-propionic acid)-5α-hydroxy-7aβ-methylhexahydro-1-indanone (5α-hydroxy-methylhexahydro-1-indanone propionate; 5OH-HIP). Interestingly, RE1ΔipdAB and RE1ΔfadE30, but not RE1ΔfadA6, also displayed an attenuated phenotype in a macrophage infection assay. Gene products important for growth on 5OH-HIP, as part of the steroid catabolic pathway, thus appear to act as factors involved in the pathogenicity of R. equi. Challenge experiments showed that RE1ΔipdAB could be safely administered intratracheally to 2 to 5 week-old foals and oral immunization of foals even elicited a substantial protective immunity against a virulent R. equi strain. Our data show that genes involved in steroid catabolism are promising targets for the development of a live-attenuated vaccine against R. equi infections.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.