Medical College of Georgia

 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Thompson Lab
(Dr. Stuart A. Thompson)

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading bacterial cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States, infecting more than 2 million persons each year; campylobacteriosis is also associated with the development of post-infection sequelae such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. As a foodborne pathogen, C. jejuni is designated a Category B bioterrorism agent by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)  and U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
 

C. jejuni inhabits multiple hosts and environmental niches, which necessitates that it regulate protein expression in response to numerous external signals. Because C. jejuni lacks many of the transcriptional regulatory proteins found in other enteric pathogens, my lab studies the post-transcriptional regulator CsrA. In other bacteria, CsrA-mediated regulation involves binding of CsrA to mRNAs of target genes, resulting in diverse outcomes on protein expression. CsrA activity is controlled by competitive binding to one or more small RNAs that titrate CsrA activity, resulting in decreased CsrA binding to target mRNAs. The sRNAs are in turn regulated by environmental conditions, allowing modulation of sRNA antagonism of CsrA. In    C. jejuni, mutation of CsrA results in changes in protein expression and changes in this organism's virulence properties.

A main reservoir for C jejuni is poultry, and the majority of U.S. poultry flocks are colonized asymptomatically by C. jejuni. These bacteria often survive commercial processing and appear in retail meats; the majority of human infections appear to result from the consumption of contaminated chicken or turkey.  Because the internal temperatures of humans and birds are significantly different (37°C and 42°C, respectively), we study the role of growth temperature in the regulation of genes related to colonization and virulence. We investigate this problem using a combination of DNA microarrays and a state-of-the-art proteomic approach. Proteomics involves the use of 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to visualize fluorescently-labeled, temperature-regulated proteins; these are subsequently identified by  mass spectrometry. Once identified, C. jejuni mutants lacking temperature-regulated proteins can then be constructed and tested for deficiencies in virulence-related properties. 

Summer 2006

From left: Kim Rathbun, Chris Thompson, Joo-Sung Kim, Stu Thompson, Jiaqi Li, Josh Fields, Sandy Dave, Willie Agee, Diana Murro, Katie Wilson, Mohana Pajaniappan

See more of the Thompson lab photos.

My laboratory studies the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni.

Selected recent publications:

Yu, R.K. Usuki, S., Y. Nakatani, K. Taguchi, T. Fujita, S. Tanabe, I. Ustunomi, Y. -H. Gu, S. Cawthraw, D.G. Newell, M. Pajaniappan, S.A. Thompson, and T. Ariga. 2008. Topology and patch-clamp analysis of the sodium channel in relationship to the anti-lipid A antibody in campylobacteriosis, J. Neurosci. Res., in press.

Fields, J.A., and S.A. Thompson. 2008. Campylobacter jejuni CsrA mediates oxidative stress responses, biofilm formation, and host cell invasion. J. Bacteriol., 190(9):3411-3416.

Pajaniappan, M., J.E. Hall, S.A. Cawthraw, D.G. Newell, E.C. Gaynor, J.A. Fields, K.M. Rathbun, W.A. Agee, C.M. Burns, S.J. Hall, D.J. Kelly, and S.A. Thompson. 2008. A temperature-regulated Campylobacter jejuni gluconate dehydrogenase is involved in respiration-dependent energy conservation and chicken colonization. Mol. Microbiol., 68(2):474-491.

Ahmed-Barnes, I.H., M.C. Bagnall, D.D. Browning, S.A. Thompson, G. Manning, and D.G. Newell. 2007. y-glutamyl transpeptidase has a role in the persistent colonization of the avian gut by Campylobacter jejuni. Microb. Pathogen. 43(5-6):198-207.

Thompson, S.A., E.V.Maani, A.H. Lindell, C.J. King, and J.V. McArthur. 2007. Novel tetracycline resistance determinant isolated from an environmental strain of Serratia marcescens, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73(7):2199-2206.

Usuki, S., Pajaniappan, M., S.A. Thompson, and R.K. Yu. 2007. Chemical validation of molecular mimicry: interaction of cholera toxin with Campylobacter lipooligosaccharides, Glycocon. J. 24(2-3):167-180.

Usuki, S., S.A. Thompson, M.H. Rivner, K. Taguchi, K. Shibata, T. Ariga, and R.K. Yu. 2006. Molecular mimicry: Sensitization of Lewis rats with Campylobacter jejuni lipopolysaccharides induces formation of antibody toward GD3 ganglioside. J. Neurosci. Res. 83(2):274-284.

Tu, Z.-C., T.M. Wassenaar, S.A. Thompson, and M.J. Blaser. 2003. Structure and genotypic plasticity of the Campylobacter fetus sap locus, Mol. Microbiol. 48(3):685-698.

Thompson, S.A. 2002. Campylobacter surface layers (S-layers) and immune evasion, Annals Periodontol. 7(1):43-53.

Takata, T., E. El-Omar, M. Camorlinga, S.A. Thompson, Y. Minohara, P.B. Ernst, and M.J. Blaser. 2002. Helicobacter pylori does not require Lewis X or Lewis Y expression to colonize mice. Infect. Immun.70(6):3073-3079.

Tu, Z.-C., K.C. Ray, S.A. Thompson, and M.J. Blaser. 2001. Campylobacter fetus uses multiple loci within the 5' conserved regions of sap homologs for DNA inversion. J. Bacteriol. 183(22):6654-6661.

Ray, K.C., Z.-C. Tu, R. Grogono-Thomas, D.G. Newell, S.A. Thompson and M.J. Blaser. 2000. Campylobacter fetus sap inversion occurs in the absence of RecA function. Infect. Immun. 68(10):5663-5667.

Donahue, J., R.M. Peek, S.A. Thompson, Q. Xu, M.J. Blaser, and G.G. Miller. 2000. Analysis of iceA1 transcription in Helicobacter pylori. Helicobacter, 5(1):1-12.

Kuipers, E.J., D.A. Israel, J.G. Kusters, M.M. Gerrits, A. van der Ende, R.W.M. van der Hulst, H.P. Wirth, J. Höök-Nikanne, S.A. Thompson, and M.J. Blaser. 2000. Evidence for quasispecies development of Helicobacter pylori by study of paired isolates obtained years apart in the same host. J. Infect. Dis., 181(1):273-282.

Atherton, J.C., P.M. Sharp, T.L. Cover, G. Gonzalez-Valencia, R.M. Peek, Jr., S.A. Thompson, C.J. Hawkey, M.J. Blaser. 1999. Vacuolating cytotoxin (vacA) alleles of Helicobacter pylori comprise two geographically widespread types, m1 and m2, and have evolved through limited recombination. Curr. Microbiol. 39(4):211-218.

Thompson, S.A., O.L. Shedd, K.C. Ray, M.H. Beins, J.P. Jorgensen, and M.J. Blaser. 1998. Campylobacter fetus surface layer proteins are transported by a type I secretion system. J. Bacteriol. 180(24):6450-6458.

Achtman, M., T. Azuma, D.E. Berg, Y. Ito, G. Morelli, Z.-J. Pan, S. Suerbaum, S.A. Thompson, A. van der Ende, L.-J. van Doorn. 1999. Recombination and clonal groupings within Helicobacter pylori from different geographical regions. Mol. Microbiol. 32(3):459-470.

For more information on graduate or postdoctoral work in Microbiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Medical College of Georgia, please contact Dr. Stuart A. Thompson.  

More information on Dr. Stuart A. Thompson, please see the MCG Institutional Faculty List or the Community of Science database

Additional Links:
Biomedical Research at MCG.
Microbiology at MCG.