Methylomic Changes of Autophagy-Related Genes by Legionella Effector Lpg2936 in Infected Macrophages

Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is a Gram-negative bacterium that infects the human respiratory tract causing Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia. Recently, rising evidence indicated the ability of Legionella to regulate host defense via its type 4 secretion system including hundreds of effectors that promote intracellular bacterial replication. The host defense against such invaders includes autophagic machinery that is responsible for degradation events of invading pathogens and recycling of cell components. The interplay between host autophagy and Legionella infection has been reported, indicating the role of bacterial effectors in the regulation of autophagy during intracellular replication. Here, we investigated the potential impact of Legionella effector Lpg2936 in the regulation of host autophagy and its role in bacterial replication using mice-derived macrophages and human lung epithelial cells (A549 cells). First, monitoring of autophagic flux following infection revealed a marked reduction of Atg7 and LC3B expression profile and low accumulation levels of autophagy-related LC3-I, LC3-II, and the Atg12–Atg5 protein complex. A novel methyladenine alteration was observed due to irreversible changes of GATC motif to G(6 mA) TC in the promoter region of Atg7 and LC3B indicated by cleaved genomic-DNA using the N6 methyladenine-sensitive restriction enzyme DpnI. Interestingly, RNA interference (RNAi) of Lpg2936 in infected macrophages showed dramatic inhibition of bacterial replication by restoring the expression of autophagy-related proteins. This is accompanied by low production levels of bacterial-associated pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, a constructed Lpg2936 segment in the GFP expression vector was translocated in the host nucleus and successfully induced methyladenine changes in Atg7 and LC3B promoter region and subsequently regulated autophagy in A549 cells independent of infection. Finally, treatment with methylation inhibitors 5-AZA and (2)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was able to restore autophagy-related gene expression and to disrupt bacterial replication in infected macrophages. This cumulative evidence indicates the methylation effect of Legionella effector Lpg2936 on the host autophagy-related molecules Atg7 and LC3B and subsequent reduction in the expression levels of autophagy effectors during intracellular replication of L. pneumophila.