A Rab32-dependent pathway contributes to Salmonella typhi host restriction.

Abstract

Unlike other Salmonellae, the intracellular bacterial human pathogen Salmonella Typhi exhibits strict host specificity. The molecular bases for this restriction are unknown. Here we found that the expression of a single type III secretion system effector protein from broad-host Salmonella Typhimurium allowed Salmonella Typhi to survive and replicate within macrophages and tissues from mice, a nonpermissive host. This effector proteolytically targeted Rab32, which controls traffic to lysosome-related organelles in conjunction with components of the biogenesis of lysosome-related organelle complexes (BLOCs). RNA interference-mediated depletion of Rab32 or of an essential component of a BLOC complex was sufficient to allow S. Typhi to survive within mouse macrophages. Furthermore, S. Typhi was able to survive in macrophages from mice defective in BLOC components.