Involvement of hcp2 on maintaining cell wall integrity and pathogenicity of Vibrio alginolyticus by modulating Sec pathway.

Shuilong Wu, Huapu Chen, Yu Huang, Bei Wang, Kwaku Amoah, Jia Cai, Jichang Jian

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Article in The Biochemical journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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7 authors.

Shuilong WuZhanjiang Institute of Clinical Medicine, Central People's Hospital of Zhanjiang, Zhanjiang, 524045, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6301-4579

Huapu ChenGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University; Key Laboratory of Diseases Controlling for Aquatic Economic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutions, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.

Yu HuangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University; Key Laboratory of Diseases Controlling for Aquatic Economic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutions, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.

Bei WangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University; Key Laboratory of Diseases Controlling for Aquatic Economic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutions, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.

Kwaku AmoahGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University; Key Laboratory of Diseases Controlling for Aquatic Economic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutions, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.

Jia Cai *Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University; Key Laboratory of Diseases Controlling for Aquatic Economic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutions, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9501-7336

Jichang Jian *Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University; Key Laboratory of Diseases Controlling for Aquatic Economic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutions, College of Fishery, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.

Funding

Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Guangdong Province A2024221National Natural Science Foundation of China U20A2065Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province 2022A1515010553Science and Technology Plan of Guangdong province 2023B0202010016The Fund of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhanjiang) ZJW-2024-14Youth Science and Technology Innovation Talent of Guangdong TeZhi plan talent 2023TQ07A888

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Hemolysin co-regulated protein 2 (Hcp2) is a core component of the type VI secretion system 2 in Vibrio alginolyticus, a widespread marine pathogen that infects humans and aquaculture species. Deletion of hcp2 (Δhcp2) significantly attenuated virulence in zebrafish larvae, showing reduced abdominal edema and impaired toll-like receptor (tlr)2 and tlr4-mediated innate immune activation compared with the wildtype strain. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and cell lysis assays revealed that the Δhcp2 strain exhibited decreased levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and peptidoglycan (PGN), along with increased cell permeability and abnormal cell wall structures observed by transmission electron microscopy. Proteomic and transcriptional analyses further demonstrated that expression of the Sec system components SecB, SecD, and SecF was markedly reduced in the Δhcp2 strain and positively regulated by hcp2. Bioinformatic prediction combined with protein-DNA docking analysis suggested that the transcription of secB, secD, and secF was co-regulated by the cAMP and cAMP Receptor Protein (cAMP-CRP) complex and RNA polymerase sigma D factor (RpoD), although rpoD expression itself remained unaffected. Together with previous evidence that Hcp2 positively regulates cAMP-CRP, these findings suggested that Hcp2 modulated LPS and PGN translocation, probably through the cAMP-CRP pathway, thereby maintaining cell wall integrity and virulence in V.alginolyticus.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsCell WallVibrio alginolyticusVibrio InfectionsAnimalsGene Expression Regulation, BacterialHumansLipopolysaccharidesPeptidoglycanVirulenceZebrafishBacterial ProteinsLipopolysaccharidesPeptidoglycancAMP–CRPhcp2LPSPGNSec pathway

Identifiers

PMID41230815

DOI10.1042/BCJ20253168

PMCPMC12751085

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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.