Contribution of silver ion resistance to the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with special reference to burn wound sepsis.

The virulence of a silver-ion-resistant (AgR) clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its silver-sensitive mutant (AgS) was compared in the murine burn-wound sepsis model. The AgR strain showed significantly higher colonization of burned skin vis-a-vis the AgS strain. The altered pathogenicity may in part be due to the decrease in capsular content and cell surface hydrophobicity, accompanying the loss of silver ion resistance. The AgR and AgS strains, however, did not exhibit quantitatively significant differences in the production of extracellular hemolysins and proteinases.