School of Basic Medicine, Hubei University of Medicinegrid.443573.2, Shiyan, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
Biomedical Research Institute, Hubei University of Medicinegrid.443573.2, Shiyan, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2022 Jun 29;10(3):e0050722. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00507-22. Epub 2022 Jun 6.
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a pathogen known for its high frequency of antimicrobial resistance. Responses to various environmental stresses during its life can influence the resistance to antibiotics. Here, we demonstrate the role and mechanism of KbvR regulator in the response to environmental osmotic stress and in the effect of osmotic stress on antimicrobial resistance. The mutant strain exhibited increasing tolerance to high osmotic stress and certain antibiotics, including β-lactams. The expression levels of KbvR and outer membrane porin OmpK36 were upregulated in response to high osmotic stress in the wild type (WT), and the deletion of decreased the expression level of . The membrane permeability of the mutant strain was decreased, which was partly restored through the upregulated expression of OmpK36. The DNA affinity purification sequencing (DAP-seq) and microscale thermophoresis (MST) assay disclosed the binding of KbvR to the promoter of the gene, indicating that KbvR directly and positively regulated the expression of OmpK36. The high osmotic stress increased the susceptibility to β-lactams and the expression of in the WT strain. However, the increased expression and the susceptibility to β-lactams in the mutant strain under high osmotic stress were lower than those of WT. In conclusion, our study has identified that high osmotic stress in the environment influenced the resistance of K. pneumoniae to antibiotics and that the regulation of KbvR with OmpR on the expression of OmpK36 was involved in countering high osmotic stress to change the antimicrobial resistance. Klebsiella pneumoniae is considered a global threat because of the rising prevalence of multidrug-resistant strains and their optimal adaptation to clinical environments and the human host. The sensing and adaption abilities of bacteria to the environmental osmotic stress can change the expression of their outer membrane porins, membrane permeability, and resistance to antibiotics. This study reports that KbvR is a newly found regulator that can be upregulated under high osmotic stress and directly regulate the expression of OmpK36 to change the resistance of K. pneumoniae to β-lactam antibiotics. The results demonstrate how adaptation to high osmotic stress changes the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae to antibiotics. The mechanism can be used to sensitize bacteria to antibiotics and highlight new potential strategies for exploiting shared constraints in governing adaptation to diverse environmental challenges.
肺炎克雷伯菌是一种具有高频抗药性的病原体。其在生命周期中对各种环境应激的反应会影响对抗生素的耐药性。在这里,我们展示了 KbvR 调节剂在应对环境渗透压应激和渗透压应激对抗菌药物耐药性的影响中的作用和机制。 突变株表现出对高渗透压应激和某些抗生素(包括β-内酰胺类)的耐受性增加。在野生型(WT)中,高渗透压应激会导致 KbvR 和外膜孔蛋白 OmpK36 的表达上调,而 缺失会降低 的表达水平。 突变株的膜通透性降低,通过上调 OmpK36 的表达部分得到恢复。DNA 亲和纯化测序(DAP-seq)和微尺度热泳(MST)测定揭示了 KbvR 与 基因启动子的结合,表明 KbvR 直接正向调节 OmpK36 的表达。高渗透压应激增加了 WT 菌株对抗生素β-内酰胺类的敏感性和 的表达。然而,在高渗透压应激下, 突变株中增加的 表达和对抗生素β-内酰胺类的敏感性低于 WT。总之,我们的研究表明,环境中的高渗透压应激影响了肺炎克雷伯菌对抗生素的耐药性,并且 KbvR 与 OmpR 对 OmpK36 的表达调节参与了对抗高渗透压应激以改变抗菌药物耐药性。 由于多药耐药株的流行率上升及其对临床环境和人体宿主的最佳适应,肺炎克雷伯菌被认为是一种全球性威胁。细菌对环境渗透压应激的感应和适应能力会改变其外膜孔蛋白、膜通透性和对抗生素的耐药性的表达。本研究报告称,KbvR 是一种新发现的调节剂,可在高渗透压应激下上调,并直接调节 OmpK36 的表达,从而改变肺炎克雷伯菌对β-内酰胺类抗生素的耐药性。研究结果表明,高渗透压应激如何改变肺炎克雷伯菌对抗生素的敏感性。该机制可用于使细菌对抗生素敏感,并突出了利用调节适应多种环境挑战的共享约束来开发新的潜在策略的可能性。