Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a major problem in public health, which leads to develop new therapeutics strategies, including strategies targeting bacterial virulence factors. MgtC is a virulence factor involved in intramacrophage survival in several intracellular pathogens. MgtC protein is also present in extracellular pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, a peptide MgtR has been identified as a potential and natural antagonist of MgtC.To study the role of MgtC in mycobacterial virulence, I have analysed a Mycobacterium marinum mgtC mutant in zebrafish embryo and macrophage infection models. This approach allowed us to uncover a new role of MgtC in phagocytosis, which is increased with mgtC mutant. In P. aeruginosa, we have shown that a mgtC mutant is attenuated in zebrafish embryos. In ex vivo experiments, mgtC mutant is more sensitive to macrophage killing. In parallel, I have shown that M. marinum and P. aeruginosa mgtC genes are regulated by magnesium. In addition, expression of P. aeruginosa mgtC is highly induced in macrophages.Finally, regarding MgtR antagonistic properties, Mycobacterium bovis BCG or P. aeruginosa strains expressing mgtR appear to mimic the behaviour of mgtC mutants, suggesting promising anti-virulence properties for MgtR and supporting the choice of MgtC as a suitable target of an anti-virulence strategy.