Rickettsial outer‐membrane protein B (rOmpB) mediates bacterial invasion through Ku70 in an actin, c‐Cbl, clathrin and caveolin 2‐dependent manner

Summary Rickettsia conorii , an obligate intracellular tick‐borne pathogen and the causative agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, binds to and invades non‐phagocytic mammalian cells. Previous work identified Ku70 as a mammalian receptor involved in the invasion process and identified the rickettsial autotransporter protein, rOmpB, as a ligand; however, little is known about the role of Ku70–rOmpB interactions in the bacterial invasion process. Using an Escherichia coli heterologous expression system, we show here that rOmpB mediates attachment to mammalian cells and entry in a Ku70‐dependent process. A purified recombinant peptide corresponding to the rOmpB passenger domain interacts with Ku70 and serves as a competitive inhibitor of adherence. We observe that rOmpB‐mediated infection culminates in actin recruitment at the bacterial foci, and that this entry process relies in part on actin polymerization likely imparted through protein tyrosine kinase and phosphoinositide 3‐kinase‐dependent activities and microtubule stability. Small‐interfering RNA studies targeting components of the endocytic pathway reveal that entry by rOmpB is dependent on c‐Cbl, clathrin and caveolin‐2. Together, these results illustrate that rOmpB is sufficient to mediate Ku70‐dependent invasion of mammalian cells and that clathrin‐ and caveolin‐dependent endocytic events likely contribute to the internalization process.