scholarly journals The galU Gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Is Required for Corneal Infection and Efficient Systemic Spread following Pneumonia but Not for Infection Confined to the Lung

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 4224-4232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory P. Priebe ◽  
Charles R. Dean ◽  
Tanweer Zaidi ◽  
Gloria J. Meluleni ◽  
Fadie T. Coleman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Eye Infections ◽  
Corneal Infection ◽  
Systemic Spread ◽  
Type Strains ◽  
Lethal Doses

ABSTRACT Acute pneumonias and corneal infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa are typically caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-smooth strains. In cystic fibrosis patients, however, LPS-rough strains of P. aeruginosa, which lack O antigen, can survive in the lung and cause chronic infection. It is not clear whether an LPS-rough phenotype affects cytotoxicity related to the type III secretion system (TTSS). We previously reported that interruption of the galU gene in P. aeruginosa results in production of a rough LPS and truncated LPS core. Here we evaluated the role of the galU gene in the pathogenesis of murine lung and eye infections and in cytotoxicity due to the TTSS effector ExoU. We studied galU mutants of strain PAO1, of its cytotoxic variant expressing ExoU from a plasmid, and of the inherently cytotoxic strain PA103. The galU mutants were more serum sensitive than the parental strains but remained cytotoxic in vitro. In a corneal infection model, the galU mutants were significantly attenuated. In an acute pneumonia model, the 50% lethal doses of the galU mutants were higher than those of the corresponding wild-type strains, yet these mutants could cause mortality and severe pneumonia, as judged by histology, even with minimal systemic spread. These findings suggest that the galU gene is required for corneal infection and for efficient systemic spread following lung infection but is not required for infection confined to the lung. Host defenses in the lung appear to be insufficient to control infection with LPS-rough P. aeruginosa when local bacterial levels are high.

scholarly journals Glucosylceramide Critically Contributes to the Host Defense of Cystic Fibrosis Lungs

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1208-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Kovacic ◽  
Carolin Sehl ◽  
Barbara Wilker ◽  
Markus Kamler ◽  
Katrin Anne Becker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Autosomal Recessive Disorder ◽  
Bactericidal Effect ◽  
Apical Surface ◽  
Pulmonary Infections

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal-recessive disorder in western countries. Previous studies have demonstrated an important role of sphingolipids in the pathophysiology of cystic fibrosis. It has been shown that ceramide has a central role in various pulmonary infections, including those with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). Ceramide is accumulated in the airways of CF mice and patients. However, little is known about a potential role of glucosylceramide in cystic fibrosis. Methods: We investigated the expression of glucosylceramide and lactosylceramide in the respiratory tract of murine and human CF samples by immunohistochemistry and analyzed effects of glucosylceramide on P. aeruginosa in vitro. We performed pulmonary infections with P. aeruginosa and tested inhalation with glucosylceramide. Results: We demonstrate that glucosylceramide is down-regulated on the apical surface of bronchial and tracheal epithelial cells in cystic fibrosis mice. Although glucosylceramide did not have a direct bactericidal effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro, inhalation of CF mice with glucosylceramide protected these mice from infection with P. aeruginosa, while non-inhaled CF mice developed severe pneumonia. Conclusion: Our data suggest that glucosylceramide acts in vivo in concert with ceramide and sphingosine to determine the pulmonary defense against P. aeruginosa.

The contribution of exoproducts to virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thalia I. Nicas ◽  
Barbara H. Iglewski
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Parent Strain ◽  
Lung Infection ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Genetic Approach ◽  
Exoenzyme S ◽  
Corneal Infection ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Chronic Lung Infection

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a large number of extracellular products which may contribute to its virulence. We have employed a genetic approach to determine the contribution of toxin A, exoenzyme S, elastase and alkaline protease to the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa. Mutations have been introduced with chemicals or transposons. Mutants have been identified using immunological, chemical, or toxicity assays. Mutants were extensively characterized in vitro to ascertain that they were identical to their parent strain except for the production of the desired product. Appropriate mutants were compared with their parent strains in several animal models: the burned mouse model, the mouse corneal infection model, and a rat model of chronic lung infection. The data indicate that virulence of P. aeruginosa is multifactorial. Further, the relative contribution of a given P. aeruginosa product may vary with the type of infection.

scholarly journals Role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Glutathione Biosynthesis in Lung and Soft Tissue Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly L. Michie ◽  
Justine L. Dees ◽  
Derek Fleming ◽  
Dina A. Moustafa ◽  
Joanna B. Goldberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Redox Stress ◽  
Burn Wound ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Acute Pneumonia ◽  
Mammalian Infection

ABSTRACT The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To survive in both the environment and the host, P. aeruginosa must cope with redox stress. In P. aeruginosa, a primary mechanism for protection from redox stress is the antioxidant glutathione (GSH). GSH is a low-molecular-weight thiol-containing tripeptide (l-γ-glutamyl-l-cysteinyl-glycine) that can function as a reversible reducing agent. GSH plays an important role in P. aeruginosa physiology and is known to modulate several cellular and social processes that are likely important during infection. However, the role of GSH biosynthesis during mammalian infection is not well understood. In this study, we created a P. aeruginosa mutant defective in GSH biosynthesis to examine how loss of GSH biosynthesis affects P. aeruginosa virulence. We found that GSH is critical for normal growth in vitro and provides protection against hydrogen peroxide, bleach, and ciprofloxacin. We also studied the role of P. aeruginosa GSH biosynthesis in four mouse infection models, including the surgical wound, abscess, burn wound, and acute pneumonia models. We discovered that the GSH biosynthesis mutant was slightly less virulent in the acute pneumonia infection model but was equally virulent in the three other models. This work provides new and complementary data regarding the role of GSH in P. aeruginosa during mammalian infection.

Role of pili in adherence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to mammalian buccal epithelial cells

1980 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1146-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
D E Woods ◽  
D C Straus ◽  
W G Johanson ◽  
V K Berry ◽  
J A Bass
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
In Vitro System ◽  
Heterologous Antiserum ◽  
Buccal Epithelial Cells ◽  
Serological Studies ◽  
Seriously Ill Patients

Adherence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa organisms to the upper respiratory epithelium of seriously ill patients in vitro is correlated with subsequent colonization of the respiratory tract by this opportunistic pathogen. The role of pili in the attachment to epithelial cells of P. aeruginosa was studied in an in vitro system employing human buccal epithelial cells and P. aeruginosa pretreated by various means. Pretreatment of the bacteria with proteases, heat, or Formalin caused a significant decrease in adherence. A decrease when compared with controls was also noted in the adherence of P. aeruginosa organisms to buccal epithelial cells preincubated with purified pili prepared from the strain used for adherence testing; however, pili prepared from a heterologous strain failed to block adherence. Similar results were obtained in serological studies when antisera to purified pili prepared from the strain used for adherence testing decreased adherence, whereas heterologous antiserum to pili did not decrease adherence. From these results it appears that pili mediate the adherence of P. aeruginosa organisms to human buccal epithelial cells.

scholarly journals The Combination of Meropenem and Levofloxacin Is Synergistic with Respect to both Pseudomonas aeruginosa Kill Rate and Resistance Suppression

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 2646-2654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Louie ◽  
Caroline Grasso ◽  
Nadzeya Bahniuk ◽  
Brian Van Scoy ◽  
David L. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Combination Therapy ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Combination Regimen ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Kaplan Meier ◽  
Drug Concentrations ◽  
Cell Kill ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT New approaches are needed for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. All available single agents are suboptimal, especially for resistance suppression. Classical β-lactam/aminoglycoside combinations are not used often enough at least in part because of concern for nephrotoxicity. We evaluated the combination of meropenem and levofloxacin against the P. aeruginosa PAO1 wild type and its isogenic MexAB pump-overexpressed mutant. The drugs were studied using an in vitro hollow-fiber pharmacodynamic infection model. There were 16 different regimens evaluated for both isolates. Both total population and resistant subpopulations were quantified. Drug concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The impact of monotherapy versus that of combination therapy for attainment of a 3-log cell kill and for resistance suppression was examined using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Drug exposures were calculated by fitting the concentration-time data using the ADAPT II package of programs. For both isolates, monotherapy allowed resistance emergence with all but the largest exposure or with all exposures. In contrast, there was no resistance emergence with any combination regimen. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed significant differences in time to attainment of a 3-log cell kill as well as time to resistance emergence for monotherapy and combination therapy for both isolates, in favor of the combination regimens. Determination of the pharmacodynamic indices associated with resistance suppression demonstrated a 2- to 3-fold reduction with the use of combinations. Combination therapy with meropenem and levofloxacin provides a significantly faster time to attain a 3-log cell kill and significantly better resistance suppression than does either monotherapy. This combination should be evaluated in a clinical trial.

scholarly journals Activity of the Pore-Forming Virulence Factor Listeriolysin O Is Reversibly Inhibited by Naturally Occurring S-Glutathionylation

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L. Portman ◽  
Qiongying Huang ◽  
Michelle L. Reniere ◽  
Anthony T. Iavarone ◽  
Daniel A. Portnoy
Keyword(s):  
Protein Function ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Cysteine Residue ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Listeriolysin O ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pore Forming Proteins

ABSTRACT Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) represent a family of homologous pore-forming proteins secreted by many Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. CDCs mediate membrane binding partly through a conserved C-terminal undecapeptide, which contains a single cysteine residue. While mutational changes to other residues in the undecapeptide typically have severe effects, mutation of the cysteine residue to alanine has minor effects on overall protein function. Thus, the role of this highly conserved reactive cysteine residue remains largely unknown. We report here that the CDC listeriolysin O (LLO), secreted by the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, was posttranslationally modified by S-glutathionylation at this conserved cysteine residue and that either endogenously synthesized or exogenously added glutathione was sufficient to form this modification. When recapitulated with purified protein in vitro, this modification completely ablated the activity of LLO, and this inhibitory effect was fully reversible by treatment with reducing agents. A cysteine-to-alanine mutation in LLO rendered the protein completely resistant to inactivation by S-glutathionylation, and a mutant expressing this mutation retained full hemolytic activity. A mutant strain of L. monocytogenes expressing the cysteine-to-alanine variant of LLO was able to infect and replicate within bone marrow-derived macrophages indistinguishably from the wild type in vitro, yet it was attenuated 4- to 6-fold in a competitive murine infection model in vivo. This study suggests that S-glutathionylation may represent a mechanism by which CDC-family proteins are posttranslationally modified and regulated and help explain an evolutionary pressure to retain the highly conserved undecapeptide cysteine.

scholarly journals Corneal Infection Models: Tools to Investigate the Role of Biofilms in Bacterial Keratitis

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2450
Author(s):  
Lucy Urwin ◽  
Katarzyna Okurowska ◽  
Grace Crowther ◽  
Sanhita Roy ◽  
Prashant Garg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Bacterial Keratitis ◽  
Corneal Surface ◽  
Corneal Infection ◽  
Infection Models

Bacterial keratitis is a corneal infection which may cause visual impairment or even loss of the infected eye. It remains a major cause of blindness in the developing world. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are common causative agents and these bacterial species are known to colonise the corneal surface as biofilm populations. Biofilms are complex bacterial communities encased in an extracellular polymeric matrix and are notoriously difficult to eradicate once established. Biofilm bacteria exhibit different phenotypic characteristics from their planktonic counterparts, including an increased resistance to antibiotics and the host immune response. Therefore, understanding the role of biofilms will be essential in the development of new ophthalmic antimicrobials. A brief overview of biofilm-specific resistance mechanisms is provided, but this is a highly multifactorial and rapidly expanding field that warrants further research. Progression in this field is dependent on the development of suitable biofilm models that acknowledge the complexity of the ocular environment. Abiotic models of biofilm formation (where biofilms are studied on non-living surfaces) currently dominate the literature, but co-culture infection models are beginning to emerge. In vitro, ex vivo and in vivo corneal infection models have now been reported which use a variety of different experimental techniques and animal models. In this review, we will discuss existing corneal infection models and their application in the study of biofilms and host-pathogen interactions at the corneal surface.

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