Howe T R, Iglewski B H
Infect Immun. 1984 Mar;43(3):1058-63. doi: 10.1128/iai.43.3.1058-1063.1984.
Mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are described which are markedly deficient in alkaline protease production. Characterization of these mutants in vitro suggests that the mutations in two of these strains are specific for alkaline protease production. Examination of these mutants in a mouse eye model demonstrates that alkaline protease is required for the establishment of corneal infections with P. aeruginosa PA103. Mutants deficient in alkaline protease production could not colonize traumatized cornea and did not produce the corneal damage characteristic of infection by the parental strain. Addition of subdamaging amounts of alkaline protease to eyes infected with the protease-deficient mutants resulted in infections which were indistinguishable from infections caused by the parental strain.
描述了铜绿假单胞菌的突变体，这些突变体在碱性蛋白酶产生方面明显不足。对这些突变体的体外特性分析表明，其中两个菌株的突变对碱性蛋白酶的产生具有特异性。在小鼠眼部模型中对这些突变体进行检测表明，碱性蛋白酶是铜绿假单胞菌PA103建立角膜感染所必需的。缺乏碱性蛋白酶产生的突变体无法在受伤的角膜上定殖，也不会产生亲本菌株感染所特有的角膜损伤。向感染了蛋白酶缺陷突变体的眼睛中添加亚损伤量的碱性蛋白酶会导致感染，这种感染与亲本菌株引起的感染无法区分。
