Modulatory effect of iron on the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mouse corneal infections

Occurrence of siderophores in enterococci

In 70 strains of the genus Enterococcus belonging to 16 species and isolated from clinical material, animals and the environment, a hydroxamic class of siderophores was detected with the aid of chemical and biological tests. A correlation between siderophore activity and species affiliation was found: E. faecalis strains showed the highest siderophore activity. A correlation between siderophore activity and pathogenicity could not be confirmed.

Iron uptake by Pasteurella piscicida and its role in pathogenicity for fish

We evaluated the iron uptake mechanisms in Pasteurella piscicida strains as well as the effect of iron overload on the virulence of these strains for fish. With this aim, the capacity of the strains to obtain iron from transferrin and heme compounds as well as their ability to overcome the inhibitory activity of fish serum was analyzed. All the P. piscicida strains grew in the presence of the iron chelator ethylene-diamine-di (O-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid) or of human transferrin, which was used by a siderophore-mediated mechanism. The chemical tests and cross-feeding assays showed that P. piscicida produced a siderophore which was neither a phenolate nor a hydroxamate. Cross-feeding assays as well as preliminary chromatographic analysis suggest that this siderophore may be chemically related to multocidin. All the P. piscicida isolates utilized hemin and hemoglobin as an iron source, since the virulence of the strains increased when the fish were preinoculated with these compounds. This effect was stronger in the avirulent strains (50% lethal dose was reduced by 4 logs when fish were pretreated with hemin or hemoglobin). Only the pathogenic P. piscicida isolates were resistant to the bactericidal action of the fresh fish serum. The nonpathogenic strains grew in fish serum only when it was heat-inactivated or when it was supplemented with ferric ammonium citrate, hemin, or hemoglobin. In all the strains, at least three iron-regulated outer membrane proteins (IROMPs) (105, 118, and 145 kDa) were increased when the strains were cultured in iron-restricted medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Iron uptake mechanisms of pathogenic bacteria

Most of the iron in a mammalian body is complexed with various proteins. Moreover, in response to infection, iron availability is reduced in both extracellular and intracellular compartments. Bacteria need iron for growth and successful bacterial pathogens have therefore evolved to compete successfully for iron in the highly iron-stressed environment of the host's tissues and body fluids. Several strategies have been identified among pathogenic bacteria, including reduction of ferric to ferrous iron, occupation of intracellular niches, utilisation of host iron compounds, and production of siderophores. While direct evidence that high affinity mechanisms for iron acquisition function as bacterial virulence determinants has been provided in only a small number of cases, it is likely that many if not all such systems play a central role in the pathogenesis of infection.

Factors affecting the leukotoxin activity of Fusobacterium necrophorum

The effect of cultural conditions on the production of leukotoxin by biotypes A and B of F. necrophorum was investigated. Biotypes A and B were grown in prereduced, anaerobically sterilized, brain-heart infusion (BHI) broth. The average leukotoxin titer of culture supernatant was 18 times higher from biotype A strains than from biotype B strains. Leukotoxin activity peaked during the late-log and early-stationary phases of growth, then declined precipitously in both biotypes. F. necrophorum biotype A was grown in different media (BHI, liver infusion, and Eugon broths), at various pH (6.6, 7.3, 7.7, and 8.2), incubation temperatures (30, 35, 39, and 43 degrees C), redox potentials (-352 to +375 mV), and iron concentrations (less than 0.2, 4.2, 42.1, and 361.4 microM). Anaerobic BHI broth with pH from 6.6 to 7.7 at 39 degrees C incubation temperature supported maximal F. necrophorum growth and leukotoxin production. The optimum redox potential for F. necrophorum growth was in the range of -230 to -280 mV. However, the presence of titanium III citrate or dithiothreitol (7.78 mM) in the medium decreased (P less than 0.05) the leukotoxicity of F. necrophorum. Low iron concentration (less than 0.2 microM) decreased (P less than 0.05) growth rate but not leukotoxin activity of F. necrophorum, whereas high iron concentration inhibited the leukotoxin activity.

Mutations in the hemolytic-phospholipase C operon result in decreased virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 grown under phosphate-limiting conditions

The phospholipase C (PLC) operon of Pseudomonas aeruginosa consists of plcS, which encodes a heat-labile secreted hemolysin, and two in-phase, overlapping genes, plcR1 and plcR2, which may encode Pi-regulatory genes. A 2.8-kilobase-pair deletion mutation in this operon was constructed, and a tetracycline resistance (Tcr) cartridge replaced the deleted sequences. A deletion mutant of strain PAO1 was obtained through recombination between the flanking regions of the mutated cloned PLC operon and the homologous chromosomal regions. The deletion of the chromosomal PLC operon and its replacement by the Tcr cartridge was confirmed by Southern hybridization. The deletion strain, PLC SR, is nonhemolytic. However, it retains PLC activity when measured on a synthetic substrate. A second mutant strain, PLC R, contains a deletion in the plcR genes. This mutant is more hemolytic and produces more enzymatic activity than PAO1. The virulence of both of these mutants was compared with that of PAO1 in the mouse burn model of infection. When mice were infected with cultures grown in a high-Pi medium, there was a 10-fold increase in the 50% lethal dose of the mutants compared with PAO1. In contrast, when the inoculum originated from low-Pi cultures, there was a 200- to 10,000-fold increase in the 50% lethal dose of the mutants over PAO1.

Immune response in cystic fibrosis to outer membrane proteins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The systemic humoral immune response in cystic fibrosis (CF) to outer membrane (OM) proteins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated as a function of the time of colonization by immunoblotting. OM proteins were prepared from bacteria grown in ion-sufficient, magnesium-depleted, and iron-deficient media. The location of proteins F, H, and I on the blots was verified by monoclonal antibodies. Proteins H2 and H1 were differentiated by the overexpression of H1 under magnesium depletion. Iron-regulated membrane proteins (IRMPs) were recognized by their overproduction under iron limitation. Plasma samples from 43 CF patients and ten healthy adults were analyzed after preadsorption with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Within the first year of colonization, only two to six specific plasma antibodies to OM proteins were produced. After a strong increase during the second year, long-lasting levels were seen in the majority of patients. Large variations of the immune response were noted among the patients. The number of specific antibodies to different OM proteins correlated with the severity of the course of lung disease. At maximum 38 immunostained bands were observed. Proteins H and I were the earliest antigens amongst the major OM proteins. During the second year, antibodies directed to protein F became detectable. IRMPs which indicate the growth of P. aeruginosa under iron deprivation were only recognized by plasma samples from chronically colonized CF patients with advanced lung disease.

Surface expression of ferripyochelin-binding protein is required for virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants which do not express ferripyochelin-binding protein (FBP) on the cell surface have previously been isolated. These mutants were used to assess the role of FBP in virulence in an acute and a systemic animal infection model. In a mouse corneal infection model, the pathology of eyes infected with the mutant strains was significantly less than that of eyes infected with the parent strain. The mutants were also cleared more rapidly from the eye. In a burn infection model, the mortality rate in mice infected with mutant FBP-28 was much less than that of mice infected with the parent strain at an inoculum of 10(2) CFU. At higher inocula (10(4) CFU), the mortality rate was not significantly different but the survival time was dramatically longer with the mutant strain. Quantitative bacteriology of blood and tissue homogenates revealed that P. aeruginosa PAO could multiply in the skin and could also be cultured from the blood, livers, and spleens of infected mice. FBP-28 could only be cultured from the skin. Therefore, this mutant could colonize the skin but could not disseminate. These data indicate that functional, exposed FBP is required for virulence of PAO.

Isolation and characterization of alkaline protease-deficient mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro and in a mouse eye model

Mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are described which are markedly deficient in alkaline protease production. Characterization of these mutants in vitro suggests that the mutations in two of these strains are specific for alkaline protease production. Examination of these mutants in a mouse eye model demonstrates that alkaline protease is required for the establishment of corneal infections with P. aeruginosa PA103. Mutants deficient in alkaline protease production could not colonize traumatized cornea and did not produce the corneal damage characteristic of infection by the parental strain. Addition of subdamaging amounts of alkaline protease to eyes infected with the protease-deficient mutants resulted in infections which were indistinguishable from infections caused by the parental strain.