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TL;DR
This preclinical study shows that the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis uses a set of peptidoglycan-hydrolyzing enzymes to degrade and control populations of protective vaginal lactobacilli in mixed cultures.
PLOS Pathogens · 16 authors, 5 centres
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This preclinical study shows that the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis uses a set of peptidoglycan-hydrolyzing enzymes to degrade and control populations of protective vaginal lactobacilli in mixed cultures.
Researchers demonstrate that enzymes from clan A (TvNlpC_A1 and _A2) and clan B (TvNlpC_B3 and _B5) have complementary activities, with clan A enzymes digesting tetrapeptides and clan B enzymes digesting both tetra- and pentapeptides in bacterial peptidoglycan. Structural analysis of TvNlpC_B3 with the inhibitor E64 provided new insight into the enzyme's active site. In mixed cultures, exogenous expression of these enzymes empowered T. vaginalis to reduce populations of the protective bacterium Lactobacillus gasseri, but not Gardnerella vaginalis. This action was partially inhibited by the cysteine-protease inhibitor E64. The findings suggest these enzymes help the parasite shape the vaginal microbiome towards a dysbiotic state.