Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas, Untied States of America.
Honors College, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, Untied States of America.
PLoS One. 2020 Oct 15;15(10):e0240351. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240351. eCollection 2020.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that produces numerous virulence factors and causes serious infections in trauma patients and patients with severe burns. We previously showed that the growth of P. aeruginosa in blood from severely burned or trauma patients altered the expression of numerous genes. However, the specific influence of whole blood from healthy volunteers on P. aeruginosa gene expression is not known. Transcriptome analysis of P. aeruginosa grown for 4 h in blood from healthy volunteers compared to that when grown in laboratory medium revealed that the expression of 1085 genes was significantly altered. Quorum sensing (QS), QS-related, and pyochelin synthesis genes were downregulated, while genes of the type III secretion system and those for pyoverdine synthesis were upregulated. The observed effect on the QS and QS-related genes was shown to reside within serum fraction: growth of PAO1 in the presence of 10% human serum from healthy volunteers significantly reduced the expression of QS and QS-regulated genes at 2 and 4 h of growth but significantly enhanced their expression at 8 h. Additionally, the production of QS-regulated virulence factors, including LasA and pyocyanin, was also influenced by the presence of human serum. Serum fractionation experiments revealed that part of the observed effect resides within the serum fraction containing <10-kDa proteins. Growth in serum reduced the production of many PAO1 outer membrane proteins but enhanced the production of others including OprF, a protein previously shown to play a role in the regulation of QS gene expression. These results suggest that factor(s) within human serum: 1) impact P. aeruginosa pathogenesis by influencing the expression of different genes; 2) differentially regulate the expression of QS and QS-related genes in a growth phase- or time-dependent mechanism; and 3) manipulate the production of P. aeruginosa outer membrane proteins.
铜绿假单胞菌是一种革兰氏阴性机会性病原体,它产生许多毒力因子,并导致创伤患者和严重烧伤患者发生严重感染。我们之前的研究表明,来自严重烧伤或创伤患者的血液中铜绿假单胞菌的生长改变了许多基因的表达。然而,健康志愿者的全血对铜绿假单胞菌基因表达的具体影响尚不清楚。与在实验室培养基中生长相比,将铜绿假单胞菌在健康志愿者血液中生长 4 小时的转录组分析显示,有 1085 个基因的表达显著改变。群体感应(QS)、QS 相关和焦脱镁叶绿酸合成基因下调,而 III 型分泌系统基因和吡咯并嘧啶合成基因上调。观察到对 QS 和 QS 相关基因的影响存在于血清部分:在存在来自健康志愿者的 10%人血清的情况下,PAO1 的生长在 2 和 4 小时的生长显著降低了 QS 和 QS 调节基因的表达,但在 8 小时的生长显著增强了它们的表达。此外,QS 调节的毒力因子的产生,包括 LasA 和绿脓菌素,也受到人血清的影响。血清部分分离实验表明,观察到的部分效应存在于含有<10 kDa 蛋白的血清部分中。在血清中生长会减少许多 PAO1 外膜蛋白的产生,但会增强其他蛋白的产生,包括 OprF,OprF 先前被证明在调节 QS 基因表达中起作用。这些结果表明,人血清中的因素:1)通过影响不同基因的表达来影响铜绿假单胞菌的发病机制;2)以生长阶段或时间依赖的机制差异调节 QS 和 QS 相关基因的表达;3)操纵铜绿假单胞菌外膜蛋白的产生。