Di Bonaventura G, Prosseda G, Del Chierico F, Cannavacciuolo S, Cipriani P, Petrucca A, Superti F, Ammendolia M G, Concato C, Fiscarelli E, Casalino M, Piccolomini R, Nicoletti M, Colonna B
Department of Biological Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.
Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2007 Jul-Sep;20(3):529-37. doi: 10.1177/039463200702000311.
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an emerging nosocomial bacterial pathogen which is currently isolated with increasing frequency from the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In this study 13 S. maltophilia strains (11 isolated from the airways of independent CF patients, and two non-CF respiratory reference strains) have been characterized for the expression of several virulence-associated factors. In particular, the ability to form biofilm on abiotic surfaces has been determined and correlated with different features, such as motility, adherence and the ability to invade A549 respiratory epithelial cells. Moreover, the presence of a flagellum-associated gene as well as that of the StmPr1 gene, which encodes an extracellular protease, have been determined by Southern blot hybridization. Our data indicate that the different degree of biofilm formation exhibited by the 11 CF isolates does not correlate with motility, ability to adhere to and invade A549 cells, or with the presence of flagella. On the other hand, among the CF isolates the StmPr1 gene was found only in two strains, both able to establish chronic lung infections in CF patients. Moreover, only four of the strains analyzed show a temperature-independent antibiotic-resistance profile, suggesting either a different origin of these strains or an intervening adaptation to host tissues.
嗜麦芽窄食单胞菌是一种新出现的医院内感染细菌病原体，目前从囊性纤维化（CF）患者气道中分离出的频率越来越高。在本研究中，对13株嗜麦芽窄食单胞菌菌株（11株从独立的CF患者气道中分离得到，2株为非CF呼吸道参考菌株）的几种毒力相关因子的表达进行了表征。特别是，已确定了在非生物表面形成生物膜的能力，并将其与不同特征相关联，如运动性、黏附性以及侵袭A549呼吸道上皮细胞的能力。此外，通过Southern印迹杂交确定了鞭毛相关基因以及编码细胞外蛋白酶的StmPr1基因的存在。我们的数据表明，11株CF分离株表现出的不同程度的生物膜形成与运动性、黏附并侵袭A549细胞的能力或鞭毛的存在无关。另一方面，在CF分离株中，仅在两株均能在CF患者中引发慢性肺部感染的菌株中发现了StmPr1基因。此外，所分析的菌株中只有四株显示出与温度无关的抗生素抗性谱，这表明这些菌株要么来源不同，要么是对宿主组织进行了适应性干预。
