Dopamine Is a Siderophore-Like Iron Chelator That PromotesSalmonella entericaSerovar Typhimurium Virulence in Mice
ABSTRACTWe have recently shown that the catecholamine dopamine regulates cellular iron homeostasis in macrophages. As iron is an essential nutrient for microbes, and intracellular iron availability affects the growth of intracellular bacteria, we studied whether dopamine administration impacts the course ofSalmonellainfections. Dopamine was found to promote the growth ofSalmonellaboth in culture and within bone marrow-derived macrophages, which was dependent on increased bacterial iron acquisition. Dopamine administration to mice infected withSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium resulted in significantly increased bacterial burdens in liver and spleen, as well as reduced survival. The promotion of bacterial growth by dopamine was independent of the siderophore-binding host peptide lipocalin-2. Rather, dopamine enhancement of iron uptake requires both the histidine sensor kinase QseC and bacterial iron transporters, in particular SitABCD, and may also involve the increased expression of bacterial iron uptake genes. Deletion or pharmacological blockade of QseC reduced but did not abolish the growth-promoting effects of dopamine. Dopamine also modulated systemic iron homeostasis by increasing hepcidin expression and depleting macrophages of the iron exporter ferroportin, which enhanced intracellular bacterial growth.Salmonellalacking all central iron uptake pathways failed to benefit from dopamine treatment. These observations are potentially relevant to critically ill patients, in whom the pharmacological administration of catecholamines to improve circulatory performance may exacerbate the course of infection with siderophilic bacteria.IMPORTANCEHere we show that dopamine increases bacterial iron incorporation and promotesSalmonellaTyphimurium growth bothin vitroandin vivo. These observations suggest the potential hazards of pharmacological catecholamine administration in patients with bacterial sepsis but also suggest that the inhibition of bacterial iron acquisition might provide a useful approach to antimicrobial therapy.