Listeria adhesion protein orchestrates caveolae-mediated apical junctional remodeling of epithelial barrier for L. monocytogenes translocation

The cellular junctional architecture remodeling by LAP-Hsp60 interaction for L. monocytogenes ( Lm ) passage through the epithelial barrier is incompletely understood. Here, using the gerbil model, permissive to internalin (Inl) A/B-mediated pathways like in humans, we demonstrate that Lm crosses the intestinal villi at 48 h post-infection. In contrast, the single isogenic ( lap ^─ or Δ inlA ) or double ( lap ^─ ΔinlA ) mutant strains show significant defects. LAP promotes Lm translocation via endocytosis of cell-cell junctional complex in enterocytes that do not display luminal E-cadherin. In comparison, InlA-mediated transcytosis occurs in enterocytes displaying apical E-cadherin during cell extrusion and mucus expulsion from goblet cells. LAP hijacks caveolar endocytosis to traffic integral junctional proteins to the early and recycling endosomes. Pharmacological inhibition in a cell line and genetic knock-out of caveolin-1 in mice prevents LAP-induced intestinal permeability, junctional endocytosis, and Lm translocation. Furthermore, LAP-Hsp60-dependent tight junction remodeling is also necessary for InlA access to E-cadherin for Lm intestinal barrier crossing in InlA-permissive hosts.