scholarly journals Identification of a Depolymerase Specific for K64-Serotype Klebsiella pneumoniae: Potential Applications in Capsular Typing and Treatment

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Jiayin Li ◽  
Yueying Sheng ◽  
Ruijing Ma ◽  
Mengsha Xu ◽  
Fuli Liu ◽  
...  

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP), one of the major nosocomial pathogens, is increasingly becoming a serious threat to global public health. There is an urgent need to develop effective therapeutic and preventive approaches to combat the pathogen. Here, we identified and characterized a novel capsule depolymerase (K64-ORF41) derived from Klebsiella phage SH-KP152410, which showed specific activities for K. pneumoniae K64-serotype. We showed that this depolymerase could be used in the identification of K64 serotypes based on the capsular typing, and the results agreed well with those from the conventional serotyping method using antisera. From this study, we also identified K64 mutant strains, which showed typing discrepancy between wzi-sequencing based genotyping and depolymerase-based or antiserum-based typing methods. Further investigation indicated that the mutant strain has an insertion sequence (IS) in wcaJ, which led to the alteration of the capsular serotype structure. We further demonstrated that K64-ORF41 depolymerase could sensitize the bacteria to serum or neutrophil killing by degrading the capsular polysaccharide. In summary, the identified K64 depolymerase proves to be an accurate and reliable tool for capsular typing, which will facilitate the preventive intervention such as vaccine development. In addition, the polymerase may represent a potential and promising therapeutic biologics against CRKP-K64 infections.

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 894
Author(s):  
Guijuan Hao ◽  
Rundong Shu ◽  
Liqin Ding ◽  
Xia Chen ◽  
Yonghao Miao ◽  
...  

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen posing an urgent threat to global public health, and the capsule is necessary for K. pneumoniae infection and virulence. Phage-derived capsule depolymerases have shown great potential as antivirulence agents in treating carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP) infections. However, the therapeutic potential of phages encoding depolymerases against CRKP remains poorly understood. In this study, we identified a long-tailed phage SRD2021 specific for mucoid CRKP with capsular K47 serotype, which is the predominant infectious K-type in Asia. Genome sequencing revealed that ΦSRD2021 belonged to the Drulisvirus genus and exhibited a capsular depolymerase domain in its tail fiber protein. A transposon-insertion library of host bacteria was constructed to identify the receptor for ΦSRD2021. We found that most phage-resistant mutants converted to a nonmucoid phenotype, including the mutant in wza gene essential for capsular polysaccharides export. Further knockout and complementation experiments confirmed that the Δwza mutant avoided adsorption by ΦSRD2021, indicating that the K47 capsular polysaccharide is the necessary receptor for phage infection. ΦSRD2021 lysed the bacteria mature biofilms and showed a therapeutic effect on the prevention and treatment of CRKP infection in the Galleria mellonella model. Furthermore, ΦSRD2021 also reduced the colonized CRKP in mouse intestines significantly. By recognizing the host capsule as a receptor, our results showed that ΦSRD2021 may be used as a potential antibacterial agent for K47 serotype K. pneumoniae infections.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana M. Rada ◽  
Elsa De La Cadena ◽  
Carlos Agudelo ◽  
Cesar Capataz ◽  
Nataly Orozco ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) pose a significant threat to global public health. The most important mechanism for carbapenem resistance is the production of carbapenemases. Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) represents one of the main carbapenemases worldwide. Complex mechanisms of blaKPC dissemination have been reported in Colombia, a country with a high endemicity of carbapenem resistance. Here, we characterized the dynamics of dissemination of blaKPC gene among CRE infecting and colonizing patients in three hospitals localized in a highly endemic area of Colombia (2013 and 2015). We identified the genomic characteristics of KPC-producing Enterobacterales recovered from patients infected/colonized and reconstructed the dynamics of dissemination of blaKPC-2 using both short and long read sequencing. We found that spread of blaKPC-2 among Enterobacterales in the participating hospitals was due to intra- and interspecies horizontal gene transfer (HGT) mediated by promiscuous plasmids associated with transposable elements that was originated from a multispecies outbreak of KPC-producing Enterobacterales in a neonatal intensive care unit. The plasmids were detected in isolates recovered in other units within the same hospital and nearby hospitals. The gene “epidemic” was driven by IncN-pST15-type plasmids carrying a novel Tn4401b structure and non-Tn4401 elements (NTEKPC) in Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp., and Citrobacter spp. Of note, mcr-9 was found to coexist with blaKPC-2 in species of the Enterobacter cloacae complex. Our findings suggest that the main mechanism for dissemination of blaKPC-2 is HGT mediated by highly transferable plasmids among species of Enterobacterales in infected/colonized patients, presenting a major challenge for public health interventions in developing countries such as Colombia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Zi-Yan Huang ◽  
Ting Yu ◽  
Xiao-Yan Tao ◽  
Yong-Mei Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) isolates is not well studied. Our goal was to investigate the molecular epidemiology of CR-hvKP strains that were isolated from a Chinese hospital. Results All clinical carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CR-KP) isolates were collected and identified from patient samples between 2014 and 2017 from a Chinese hospital. The samples were subjected to screening for CR-hvKP by string test and the detection of the aerobactin gene. CR-hvKP isolates were further confirmed through neutrophil phagocytosis and a mice lethality assay. The CR-hvKP isolates were investigated for their capsular genotyping, virulence gene profiles, and the expression of carbapenemase genes by PCR and DNA sequencing. Multilocus sequence type (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were performed to exclude the homology of these isolates. Twenty strains were identified as CR-hvKP. These strains were resistant to imipenem and several other antibiotics, however, most were susceptible to amikacin. Notably, two isolates were not susceptible to tigecycline. Capsular polysaccharide synthesis genotyping revealed that 17 of the 20 CR-hvKP strains belonged to the K2 serotype, while the others belonged to serotypes other than K1, K2, K5, K20, and K57. The strains were found to be positive for 10 types of virulence genes and a variety of these genes coexisted in the same strain. Two carbapenemase genes were identified: blaKPC-2 (13/20) and blaNDM-1 (1/20). PFGE typing revealed eight clusters comprising isolates that belonged to MLST types ST25, ST11 and ST375, respectively. PFGE cluster A was identified as the main cluster, which included 11 isolates that belong to ST25 and mainly from ICU department. Conclusions Our findings suggest that hospital-acquired infections may contribute in part to the CR-hvKP strains identified in this study. It also suggests that ST25 CR-hvKP strain has a clonal distribution in our hospital. Therefore, effective surveillance and strict infection control strategies should be implemented to prevent outbreak by CR-hvKP strains in hospitals setting.


mSphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasturi Banerjee ◽  
Michael P. Motley ◽  
Elizabeth Diago-Navarro ◽  
Bettina C. Fries

ABSTRACT Capsular polysaccharide (CPS) heterogeneity within carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) strain sequence type 258 (ST258) must be considered when developing CPS-based vaccines. Here, we sought to characterize CPS-specific antibody responses elicited by CR-Kp-infected patients. Plasma and bacterial isolates were collected from 33 hospital patients with positive CR-Kp cultures. Isolate capsules were typed by wzi sequencing. Reactivity and measures of efficacy of patient antibodies were studied against 3 prevalent CR-Kp CPS types (wzi29, wzi154, and wzi50). High IgG titers against wzi154 and wzi50 CPS were documented in 79% of infected patients. Patient-derived (PD) IgGs agglutinated CR-Kp and limited growth better than naive IgG and promoted phagocytosis of strains across the serotype isolated from their donors. Additionally, poly-IgG from wzi50 and wzi154 patients promoted phagocytosis of nonconcordant CR-Kp serotypes. Such effects were lost when poly-IgG was depleted of CPS-specific IgG. Additionally, mice infected with wzi50, wzi154, and wzi29 CR-Kp strains preopsonized with wzi50 patient-derived IgG exhibited lower lung CFU than controls. Depletion of wzi50 antibodies (Abs) reversed this effect in wzi50 and wzi154 infections, whereas wzi154 Ab depletion reduced poly-IgG efficacy against wzi29 CR-Kp. We are the first to report cross-reactive properties of CPS-specific Abs from CR-Kp patients through both in vitro and in vivo models. IMPORTANCE Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is a rapidly emerging public health threat that can cause fatal infections in up to 50% of affected patients. Due to its resistance to nearly all antimicrobials, development of alternate therapies like antibodies and vaccines is urgently needed. Capsular polysaccharides constitute important targets, as they are crucial for Klebsiella pneumoniae pathogenesis. Capsular polysaccharides are very diverse and, therefore, studying the host’s capsule-type specific antibodies is crucial to develop effective anti-CPS immunotherapies. In this study, we are the first to characterize humoral responses in infected patients against carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae expressing different wzi capsule types. This study is the first to report the efficacy of cross-reactive properties of CPS-specific Abs in both in vitro and in vivo models.


2014 ◽  
Vol 210 (5) ◽  
pp. 803-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Diago-Navarro ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Virginie Passet ◽  
Seth Burack ◽  
Amaia Ulacia-Hernando ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunlong Shi ◽  
Yuan Peng ◽  
Yixin Zhang ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Cheng Zhang ◽  
...  

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most significant threats to global public health. As antibiotic failure is increasing, phages are gradually becoming important agents in the post-antibiotic era. In this study, the therapeutic effects and safety of kpssk3, a previously isolated phage infecting carbapenem-resistant hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-HMKP), were evaluated in a mouse model of systemic CR-HMKP infection. The therapeutic efficacy experiment showed that intraperitoneal injection with a single dose of phage kpssk3 (1 × 107 PFU/mouse) 3 h post infection protected 100% of BALB/c mice against bacteremia induced by intraperitoneal challenge with a 2 × LD100 dose of NY03, a CR-HMKP clinical isolate. In addition, mice were treated with antibiotics from three classes (polymyxin B, tigecycline, and ceftazidime/avibactam plus aztreonam), and the 7 days survival rates of the treated mice were 20, 20, and 90%, respectively. The safety test consisted of 2 parts: determining the cytotoxicity of kpssk3 and evaluating the short- and long-term impacts of phage therapy on the mouse gut microbiota. Phage kpssk3 was shown to not be cytotoxic to mammalian cells in vitro or in vivo. Fecal samples were collected from the phage-treated mice at 3 time points before (0 day) and after (3 and 10 days) phage therapy to study the change in the gut microbiome via high-throughput 16S rDNA sequence analysis, which revealed no notable alterations in the gut microbiota except for decreases in the Chao1 and ACE indexes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 1038-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Jiun Pan ◽  
Tzu-Lung Lin ◽  
Yi-Tsung Lin ◽  
Po-An Su ◽  
Chun-Tang Chen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTKlebsiella pneumoniaeis an important human pathogen associated with a variety of diseases, and the prevalence of multidrug-resistantK. pneumoniae(MDRKP) is rapidly increasing. Here we determined the capsular types of 85 carbapenem-resistantK. pneumoniae(CRKP) strains bywzcsequencing and investigated the presence of carbapenemases and integrons among CRKP strains. Ten CRKP strains (12%) were positive for carbapenemase (imipenemase, 6/85 strains;K. pneumoniaecarbapenemase, 3/85 strains; Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase, 1/85 strains). Capsular type K64 accounted for 32 CRKP strains (38%), followed by K62 (13%), K24 (8%), KN2 (7%), and K28 (6%). Sequence types (STs) were determined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and the results indicated that ST11, which accounted for 47% of these CRKP strains (40/85 strains), was the major ST. We further isolated a K64-specific capsule depolymerase (K64dep), which could enhance serum and neutrophil killingin vitroand increase survival rates for K64K. pneumoniae-inoculated mice. The toxicity study demonstrated that mice treated with K64dep showed normal biochemical parameters and no significant histopathological changes of liver, kidney, and spleen, indicating that enzyme treatment did not cause toxicity in mice. Therefore, the findings of capsular type clustering among CRKP strains and effective treatment with capsule depolymerase for MDRKP infections are important for capsule-based vaccine development and therapy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 4961-4965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith S. Wright ◽  
Federico Perez ◽  
Lauren Brinkac ◽  
Michael R. Jacobs ◽  
Keith Kaye ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTGenome sequencing of carbapenem-resistantKlebsiella pneumoniaeisolates from regional U.S. hospitals was used to characterize strain diversity and theblaKPCgenetic context. A phylogeny based on core single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) supports a division of sequence type 258 (ST258) into two distinct groups. The primary differences between the groups are in the capsular polysaccharide locus (cps) and their plasmid contents. A strict association between clade and KPC variant was found. TheblaKPCgene was found on variants of two plasmid backbones. This study indicates that highly similarK. pneumoniaesubpopulations coexist within the same hospitals over time.


RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (46) ◽  
pp. 40147-40154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikramjit Sarkar ◽  
Balaram Mukhopadhyay

Total synthesis of the hexasaccharide repeating unit of the capsular polysaccharide fromKlebsiella pneumoniae2796 and 3264 following a linear sequential glycosylation strategy.


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