scholarly journals The Role of hlb-Converting Bacteriophages in Staphylococcus aureus Host Adaption

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Carina Rohmer ◽  
Christiane Wolz
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Inhibitory Protein ◽  
Fitness Advantage ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Life Threatening

As an opportunistic pathogen of humans and animals, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> asymptomatically colonizes the nasal cavity but is also a leading cause of life-threatening acute and chronic infections. The evolution of <i>S. aureus</i> resulting from short- and long-term adaptation to diverse hosts is tightly associated with mobile genetic elements<i>. S. aureus</i> strains can carry up to four temperate phages, many of which possess accessory genes encoding staphylococcal virulence factors. More than 90% of human nasal isolates of <i>S. aureus</i> have been shown to carry Sa3int phages, whereas invasive <i>S. aureus</i> isolates tend to lose these phages. Sa3int phages integrate as prophages into the bacterial <i>hlb</i> gene, disrupting the expression of the sphingomyelinase Hlb, an important virulence factor under specific infection conditions. Virulence factors encoded by genes carried by Sa3int phages include staphylokinase, enterotoxins, chemotaxis-inhibitory protein, and staphylococcal complement inhibitor, all of which are highly human specific and probably essential for bacterial survival in the human host. The transmission of <i>S. aureus</i> from humans to animals is strongly correlated with the loss of Sa3int phages, whereas phages are regained once a strain is transmitted from animals to humans. Thus, both the insertion and excision of prophages may confer a fitness advantage to this bacterium<i>.</i> There is also growing evidence that Sa3int phages may perform “active lysogeny,” a process during which prophages are temporally excised from the chromosome without forming intact phage particles. The molecular mechanisms controlling the peculiar life cycle of Sa3int phages remain largely unclear. Nevertheless, their regulation is likely fine-tuned to ensure bacterial survival within different hosts.

scholarly journals Phosphorylation of MgrA and Its Effect on Expression of the NorA and NorB Efflux Pumps of Staphylococcus aureus

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (10) ◽  
pp. 2525-2534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Que Chi Truong-Bolduc ◽  
David C. Hooper
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Multidrug Resistance ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
Efflux Pumps ◽  
Efflux Transporters ◽  
Global Regulator ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Gel Shift

ABSTRACT MgrA is a global regulator in Staphylococcus aureus that controls the expression of diverse genes encoding virulence factors and multidrug resistance (MDR) efflux transporters. We identified pknB, which encodes the (Ser/Thr) kinase PknB, in the S. aureus genome. PknB was able to autophosphorylate as well as phosphorylate purified MgrA. We demonstrated that rsbU, which encodes a Ser/Thr phosphatase and is involved in the activation of the SigB regulon, was able to dephosphorylate MgrA-P but not PknB-P. Serines 110 and 113 of MgrA were found to be phosphorylated, and Ala substitutions at these positions resulted in reductions in the level of phosphorylation of MgrA. DNA gel shift binding assays using norA and norB promoters showed that MgrA-P was able to bind the norB promoter but not the norA promoter, a pattern which was the reverse of that for unphosphorylated MgrA. The double mutant MgrAS110A-S113A bound to the norA promoter but not the norB promoter. The double mutant led to a 2-fold decrease in norA transcripts and a 2-fold decrease in the MICs of norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin in strain RN6390. Thus, phosphorylation of MgrA results in loss of binding to the norA promoter, but with a gain of the ability to bind the norB promoter. Loss of the ability to phosphorylate MgrA by Ala substitution resulted in increased repression of norA expression and in reductions in susceptibilities to NorA substrates.

scholarly journals Bacterial defenses against a natural antibiotic promote collateral resilience to clinical antibiotics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas A. Meirelles ◽  
Elena K. Perry ◽  
Megan Bergkessel ◽  
Dianne K. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Antimicrobial Treatment ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogens ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Lung Infections ◽  
Environmental Microbes

SummaryAs antibiotic-resistant infections become increasingly prevalent worldwide, understanding the factors that lead to antimicrobial treatment failure is essential to optimizing the use of existing drugs. Opportunistic human pathogens in particular typically exhibit high levels of intrinsic antibiotic resistance and tolerance1, leading to chronic infections that can be nearly impossible to eradicate2. We asked whether the recalcitrance of these organisms to antibiotic treatment could be driven in part by their evolutionary history as environmental microbes, which frequently produce or encounter natural antibiotics3,4. Using the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model, we demonstrate that the self-produced natural antibiotic pyocyanin (PYO) activates bacterial defenses that confer collateral tolerance to certain synthetic antibiotics, including in a clinically-relevant growth medium. Non-PYO-producing opportunistic pathogens isolated from lung infections similarly display increased antibiotic tolerance when they are co-cultured with PYO-producing P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, we show that beyond promoting bacterial survival in the presence of antibiotics, PYO can increase the apparent rate of mutation to antibiotic resistance by up to two orders of magnitude. Our work thus suggests that bacterial production of natural antibiotics in infections could play an important role in modulating not only the immediate efficacy of clinical antibiotics, but also the rate at which antibiotic resistance arises in multispecies bacterial communities.

scholarly journals Human urine alters methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus virulence and transcriptome

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santosh Paudel ◽  
Kamal Bagale ◽  
Swapnil Patel ◽  
Nicholas J. Kooyers ◽  
Ritwij Kulkarni
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Urinary Tract Infections ◽  
Human Urine ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Methicillin Resistant ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Tract Infections

Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging cause of hospital-associated urinary tract infections (UTI), especially in catheterized individuals. Despite being rare, MRSA UTI are prone to potentially life-threatening exacerbations such as bacteremia that can be refractory to routine antibiotic therapy. To delineate the molecular mechanisms governing MRSA urinary pathogenesis, we exposed three S. aureus clinical isolates, including two MRSA strains to human urine for 2h and analyzed virulence characteristics and changes in gene expression. The in vitro virulence assays showed that human urine rapidly alters adherence to human bladder epithelial cells and fibronectin, hemolysis of sheep RBCs, and surface hydrophobicity in a staphylococcal strain-specific manner. In addition, RNA-Seq analysis of uropathogenic strain MRSA-1369 revealed that 2h-long exposure to human urine alters MRSA transcriptome, by modifying expression of genes encoding enzymes catalyzing metabolic pathways, virulence factors, and transcriptional regulators. In summary, our results provide important insights into how human urine specifically and rapidly alters MRSA physiology and facilitates MRSA survival in the nutrient-limiting and hostile urinary microenvironment. Importance: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an uncommon cause of urinary tract infections (UTI) in the general population. However, it is important to understand MRSA pathophysiology in the urinary tract because isolation of MRSA in urine samples often precedes potentially life-threatening MRSA bacteremia. In this report, we describe how exposure to human urine alters MRSA global gene expression and virulence. We hypothesize that these alterations may aid MRSA in acclimating to the nutrient-limiting, immunologically hostile conditions within the urinary tract leading to MRSA-UTI.

scholarly journals Exploring Virulence Factors and Alternative Therapies against Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia

Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 721
Author(s):  
Jelle Vlaeminck ◽  
Dina Raafat ◽  
Kristin Surmann ◽  
Leen Timbermont ◽  
Nicole Normann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Vaccine Research ◽  
Potential Significance ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus Pneumonia ◽  
High Level

Pneumonia is an acute pulmonary infection associated with high mortality and an immense financial burden on healthcare systems. Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen capable of inducing S. aureus pneumonia (SAP), with some lineages also showing multidrug resistance. Given the high level of antibiotic resistance, much research has been focused on targeting S. aureus virulence factors, including toxins and biofilm-associated proteins, in an attempt to develop effective SAP therapeutics. Despite several promising leads, many hurdles still remain for S. aureus vaccine research. Here, we review the state-of-the-art SAP therapeutics, highlight their pitfalls, and discuss alternative approaches of potential significance and future perspectives.

scholarly journals Coexistence with Pseudomonas aeruginosa alters Staphylococcus aureus transcriptome, antibiotic resistance and internalization into epithelial cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Briaud ◽  
Laura Camus ◽  
Sylvère Bastien ◽  
Anne Doléans-Jordheim ◽  
François Vandenesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Common Life ◽  
Transporter Family ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Internalization Rate ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common life-threatening genetic disease among Caucasians. CF patients suffer from chronic lung infections due to the presence of thick mucus, caused by cftr gene dysfunction. The two most commonly found bacteria in the mucus of CF patients are Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is well known that early-infecting P. aeruginosa strains produce anti-staphylococcal compounds and inhibit S. aureus growth. More recently, it has been shown that late-infecting P. aeruginosa strains develop commensal-like/coexistence interaction with S. aureus. The aim of this study was to decipher the impact of P. aeruginosa strains on S. aureus. RNA sequencing analysis showed 77 genes were specifically dysregulated in the context of competition and 140 genes in the context of coexistence in the presence of P. aeruginosa. In coexistence, genes encoding virulence factors and proteins involved in carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides and amino acids metabolism were downregulated. On the contrary, several transporter family encoding genes were upregulated. In particular, several antibiotic pumps belonging to the Nor family were upregulated: tet38, norA and norC, leading to an increase in antibiotic resistance of S. aureus when exposed to tetracycline and ciprofloxacin and an enhanced internalization rate within epithelial pulmonary cells. This study shows that coexistence with P. aeruginosa affects the S. aureus transcriptome and virulence.

scholarly journals Staphylococcus aureus biofilms release leukocidins to elicit extracellular trap formation and evade neutrophil-mediated killing

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (28) ◽  
pp. 7416-7421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohini Bhattacharya ◽  
Evelien T. M. Berends ◽  
Rita Chan ◽  
Elizabeth Schwab ◽  
Sashwati Roy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Neutrophil Extracellular Trap ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Burn Wound ◽  
Wound Model ◽  
Immune Defenses ◽  
Extracellular Trap

Bacterial biofilms efficiently evade immune defenses, greatly complicating the prognosis of chronic infections. How methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms evade host immune defenses is largely unknown. This study describes some of the major mechanisms required for S. aureus biofilms to evade the innate immune response and provides evidence of key virulence factors required for survival and persistence of bacteria during chronic infections. Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells in circulation, playing crucial roles in the control and elimination of bacterial pathogens. Specifically, here we show that, unlike single-celled populations, S. aureus biofilms rapidly skew neutrophils toward neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation through the combined activity of leukocidins Panton–Valentine leukocidin and γ-hemolysin AB. By eliciting this response, S. aureus was able to persist, as the antimicrobial activity of released NETs was ineffective at clearing biofilm bacteria. Indeed, these studies suggest that NETs could inadvertently potentiate biofilm infections. Last, chronic infection in a porcine burn wound model clearly demonstrated that leukocidins are required for “NETosis” and facilitate bacterial survival in vivo.

scholarly journals The purine biosynthesis regulator PurR moonlights as a virulence regulator in Staphylococcus aureus

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (27) ◽  
pp. 13563-13572 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Sause ◽  
Divya Balasubramanian ◽  
Irnov Irnov ◽  
Richard Copin ◽  
Mitchell J. Sullivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Purine Biosynthesis ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Human Neutrophils ◽  
Infection Models ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Virulence Regulator

The pathogen Staphylococcus aureus colonizes and infects a variety of different sites within the human body. To adapt to these different environments, S. aureus relies on a complex and finely tuned regulatory network. While some of these networks have been well-elucidated, the functions of more than 50% of the transcriptional regulators in S. aureus remain unexplored. Here, we assess the contribution of the LacI family of metabolic regulators to staphylococcal virulence. We found that inactivating the purine biosynthesis regulator purR resulted in a strain that was acutely virulent in bloodstream infection models in mice and in ex vivo models using primary human neutrophils. Remarkably, these enhanced pathogenic traits are independent of purine biosynthesis, as the purR mutant was still highly virulent in the presence of mutations that disrupt PurR’s canonical role. Through the use of transcriptomics coupled with proteomics, we revealed that a number of virulence factors are differentially regulated in the absence of purR. Indeed, we demonstrate that PurR directly binds to the promoters of genes encoding virulence factors and to master regulators of virulence. These results guided us into further ex vivo and in vivo studies, where we discovered that S. aureus toxins drive the death of human phagocytes and mice, whereas the surface adhesin FnbA contributes to the increased bacterial burden observed in the purR mutant. Thus, S. aureus repurposes a metabolic regulator to directly control the expression of virulence factors, and by doing so, tempers its pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Prevalence of genes encoding extracellular virulence factors among meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from the University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Sauer ◽  
J. Síla ◽  
T. Štosová ◽  
R. Večeřová ◽  
P. Hejnar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Antibiotic Susceptibility ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Virulence Determinants ◽  
Virulence Markers ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
The University

A rather fast and complicated progression of an infection caused by some strains of Staphylococcus aureus could be associated with the expression and co-action of virulence factor complexes in these strains. This study screened the antibiotic susceptibility and prevalence of virulence markers in isolates of meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) obtained from patients hospitalized at the University Hospital in Olomouc, Czech Republic. A total of 100 isolates was screened for 13 genes encoding extracellular virulence determinants (tst, pvl, eta, etb, sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei and sej) and for their distribution in sample types. Eighty-nine isolates were positive for at least one of the genes. Genes for etb, pvl, see and seh were not detected in any of the MRSA isolates. No statistically significant differences in the occurrence of the determinants studied among sample types were found.

scholarly journals PqsE Functions Independently of PqsR-Pseudomonas Quinolone Signal and Enhances the rhl Quorum-Sensing System

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (21) ◽  
pp. 7043-7051 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Farrow ◽  
Zoe M. Sund ◽  
Matthew L. Ellison ◽  
Dana S. Wade ◽  
James P. Coleman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Homoserine Lactone ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Signaling Systems ◽  
Sensing System ◽  
Pseudomonas Quinolone Signal ◽  
Quorum Sensing System ◽  
Hostile Environments

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes both acute and chronic infections in immunocompromised individuals. This gram-negative bacterium produces a battery of virulence factors that allow it to infect and survive in many different hostile environments. The control of many of these virulence factors falls under the influence of one of three P. aeruginosa cell-to-cell signaling systems. The focus of this study, the quinolone signaling system, functions through the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS), previously identified as 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone. This signal binds to and activates the LysR-type transcriptional regulator PqsR (also known as MvfR), which in turn induces the expression of the pqsABCDE operon. The first four genes of this operon are required for PQS synthesis, but the fifth gene, pqsE, is not. The function of the pqsE gene is not known, but it is required for the production of multiple PQS-controlled virulence factors and for virulence in multiple models of infection. In this report, we show that PqsE can activate PQS-controlled genes in the absence of PqsR and PQS. Our data also suggest that the regulatory activity of PqsE requires RhlR and indicate that a pqsE mutant can be complemented for pyocyanin production by a large excess of exogenous N-butyryl homoserine lactone (C4-HSL). Finally, we show that PqsE enhances the ability of Escherichia coli expressing RhlR to respond to C4-HSL. Overall, our data lead us to conclude that PqsE functions as a regulator that is independent of PqsR and PQS but dependent on the rhl quorum-sensing system.

scholarly journals Identification of Point Mutations in Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Strains That Produce Small-Colony Variants Auxotrophic for Menadione

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 1600-1605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Dean ◽  
Randall J. Olsen ◽  
S. Wesley Long ◽  
Adriana E. Rosato ◽  
James M. Musser
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Pathway Analysis ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Biosynthesis Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Small Colony Variants ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Small Colony

ABSTRACTStaphylococcus aureussmall-colony variants (SCVs) are implicated in chronic and relapsing infections that are difficult to diagnose and treat. Despite many years of study, the underlying molecular mechanisms and virulence effect of the small-colony phenotype remain incompletely understood. We sequenced the genomes of fiveS. aureusSCV strains recovered from human patients and discovered previously unidentified nonsynonymous point mutations in three genes encoding proteins in the menadione biosynthesis pathway. Analysis of genetic revertants and complementation with wild-type alleles confirmed that these mutations caused the SCV phenotype and decreased virulence for mice.

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