Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25798590›Full record

ArticlePloS one2015

Rational manipulation of mRNA folding free energy allows rheostat control of pneumolysin production by Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Fábio E Amaral, Dane Parker, Tara M Randis, Ritwij Kulkarni, Alice S Prince, Mimi M Shirasu-Hiza, Adam J Ratner

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Fábio E AmaralDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY United States of America; Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
Dane ParkerDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY United States of America.
Tara M RandisDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY United States of America.
Ritwij KulkarniDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY United States of America.
Alice S PrinceDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY United States of America; Department of Pharmacology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States of America.
Mimi M Shirasu-HizaDepartment of Genetics & Development, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States of America.
Adam J RatnerDepartment of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY United States of America.
Columbia University · USUniversity of Minho · PT

Funding

Gardnerella vaginalis: toxin production and pathogenesisR01AI092743 · NIAID · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI RATNER, ADAM JONATHAN · 2011 to 2015
$2.0M
R21 Orphan nuclear receptorsR21AI111020 · NIAID · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI RATNER, ADAM JONATHAN · 2014 to 2015
$451k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI092743NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI111020
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The contribution of specific factors to bacterial virulence is generally investigated through creation of genetic "knockouts" that are then compared to wild-type strains or complemented mutants. This paradigm is useful to understand the effect of presence vs. absence of a specific gene product but cannot account for concentration-dependent effects, such as may occur with some bacterial toxins. In order to assess threshold and dose-response effects of virulence factors, robust systems for tunable expression are required. Recent evidence suggests that the folding free energy (ΔG) of the 5' end of mRNA transcripts can have a significant effect on translation efficiency and overall protein abundance. Here we demonstrate that rational alteration of 5' mRNA folding free energy by introduction of synonymous mutations allows for predictable changes in pneumolysin (PLY) expression by Streptococcus pneumoniae without the need for chemical inducers or heterologous promoters. We created a panel of isogenic S. pneumoniae strains, differing only in synonymous (silent) mutations at the 5' end of the PLY mRNA that are predicted to alter ΔG. Such manipulation allows rheostat-like control of PLY production and alters the cytotoxicity of whole S. pneumoniae on primary and immortalized human cells. These studies provide proof-of-principle for further investigation of mRNA ΔG manipulation as a tool in studies of bacterial pathogenesis.

Indexed as

HemolysisRNA FoldingApoptosisBacterial ProteinsBase SequenceBlotting, WesternCell ProliferationCells, CulturedErythrocytesHumansImmunoenzyme TechniquesLung NeoplasmsMolecular Sequence DataPneumococcal InfectionsReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionBacterial ProteinsplY protein, Streptococcus pneumoniaeRNA, MessengerStreptolysinsVirulence Factors

Identifiers

PMID25798590
PMCPMC4370707
OpenAlexW2047480716

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.