Microbial pathogenesis in cystic fibrosis: mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia.

Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa often co-exist as mixed biofilms in the lungs of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). Here, the isolation of random mini-Tn5 insertion mutants of B. cepacia H111 defective in biofilm formation on an abiotic surface is reported. It is demonstrated that one of these mutants no longer produces N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) due to an inactivation of the cepR gene. cepR and the cepI AHL synthase gene together constitute the cep quorum-sensing system of B. cepacia. By using a gene replacement method, two defined mutants, H111-I and H111-R, were constructed in which cepI and cepR, respectively, had been inactivated. These mutants were used to demonstrate that biofilm formation by B. cepacia H111 requires a functional cep quorum-sensing system. A detailed quantitative analysis of the biofilm structures formed by wild-type and mutant strains suggested that the quorum-sensing system is not involved in the regulation of initial cell attachment, but rather controls the maturation of the biofilm. Furthermore, it is shown that B. cepacia is capable of swarming motility, a form of surface translocation utilized by various bacteria to rapidly colonize appropriate substrata. Evidence is provided that swarming motility of B. cepacia is quorum-sensing-regulated, possibly through the control of biosurfactant production. Complementation of the cepR mutant H111-R with different biosurfactants restored swarming motility while biofilm formation was not significantly increased. This result suggests that swarming motility per se is not essential for biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces.

The cep quorum-sensing system of Burkholderia cepacia H111 controls biofilm formation and swarming motility

Pilewski, Joseph M., and Raymond A. Frizzell. Role of CFTR in Airway Disease. Physiol. Rev. 79, Suppl.: S215–S255, 1999. — Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CF tr...

Role of CFTR in airway disease

Respiratory epithelial cells play a crucial role in the inflammatory response during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. In this study, we determined whether the binding of specific Pseudomonas gene products (pilin, flagellin) to their receptors on respiratory epithelial cells would result in production of the neutrophil chemoattractant IL-8. Piliated wild-type organisms, purified pili, or antibody to the pilin receptor (asialoGM1) evoked significant production of IL-8 by immortalized airway epithelial cells, whereas nonpiliated organisms were less able to bind to respiratory epithelial cells and stimulated much less IL-8 secretion (P < 0.01). A piliated, nonflagellated strain was also associated with decreased binding and a diminished level of IL-8 production when compared to wild-type organisms. Isogenic, nonadherent rpoN mutants, lacking pilin and flagellin, did not bind or elicit an IL-8 response. In addition, the IL-8 response was four-fold higher in a cystic fibrosis cell line compared with its corrected cell line. The Pseudomonas autoinducer, an exoproduct secreted during chronic infection, was found to stimulate IL-8 in a dose-dependent manner. P. aeruginosa adhesins, which are necessary for initial infection, directly stimulate IL-8 production by respiratory epithelial cells and therefore play a major role in the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas infection in patients with cystic fibrosis. The inflammatory response is subsequently perpetuated by Pseudomonas autoinducer which is secreted during chronic infection.

/pdf/diverse-pseudomonas-aeruginosa-gene-products-stimulate-3diqpy9jqs.pdf

Diverse Pseudomonas aeruginosa gene products stimulate respiratory epithelial cells to produce interleukin-8.

We sought to identify which Pseudomonas aeruginosa products are involved initiating respiratory tract infection. Defined mutants derived from strain PAO i.e., PAOR1 (lasR),PAO-pmm (algC) (an LPS mutant), and AK1152 (which is Fla- and lacks functional pili), were significantly less virulent than PAO1 in a BALBc/ByJ neonatal mouse model of infection as measured by their abilities to cause acute pneumonia, bacteremia, and death. All three mutants were also less adherent to epithelial cells in an in vitro binding assay. PAOR1 and AK1152 were less able to elicit epithelial production of interleukin-8 than PAO1. LasR was found to be required for the optimal expression of neuraminidase under conditions of increased osmolarity, as might be present in certain pathological conditions. PAO-exsA::omega,, which lacks exoenzyme S expression, was fully virulent, causing at least as much pathology as PAO1. The expression of several P. aeruginosa virulence factors appears to be required to establish pulmonary infection in the neonatal mouse.

Contribution of specific Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence factors to pathogenesis of pneumonia in a neonatal mouse model of infection.

The pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) is a complex process attributed to specific characteristics of both the host and the infecting organism. In this study, the properties of the PAO1 neuraminidase were examined to determine its potential role in facilitating Pseudomonas colonization of the respiratory epithelium. The PAO1 neuraminidase was 1000-fold more active than the Clostridium perfringens enzyme in releasing sialic acid from respiratory epithelial cells. This effect correlated with increased adherence of PAO1 to epithelial cells after exposure to PAO1 neuraminidase and was consistent with in vitro studies demonstrating Pseudomonas adherence to asialoganglioside receptors. The regulation of the neuraminidase gene nanA was examined in Pseudomonas and as cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. In hyperosmolar conditions neuraminidase expression was increased by 50% (P less than 0.0004), an effect which was OmpR dependent in E. coli. In Pseudomonas the osmotic regulation of neuraminidase production was dependent upon algR1 and algR2, genes involved in the transcriptional activation of algD, which is responsible for the mucoid phenotype of Pseudomonas and pathognomonic for chronic infection in CF. Under the hyperosmolar conditions postulated to exist in the CF lung, nanA is likely to be expressed to facilitate the initial adherence of Pseudomonas to the respiratory tract.

/pdf/production-of-the-pseudomonas-aeruginosa-neuraminidase-is-1iydsb4yg9.pdf

Production of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa neuraminidase is increased under hyperosmolar conditions and is regulated by genes involved in alginate expression.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia are both opportunistic pathogens of patients with cystic fibrosis. The binding characteristics of these two species were compared to determine if they use similar mechanisms to adhere to respiratory epithelial cells. P. cepacia 249 was shown to be piliated, but there was no detectable homology between P. aeruginosa pilin gene probes and P. cepacia genomic DNA. P. cepacia and P. aeruginosa did not appear to compete for epithelial receptors. In the presence of purified P. aeruginosa pili, the adherence of 35S-labeled strain 249 to respiratory epithelial monolayers was unaffected, while that of P. aeruginosa PAO1 was decreased by 55%. The binding of P. cepacia 249 and 715j was increased by 2.4-fold and 1.5-fold, respectively, in the presence of an equal inoculum of PAO1. Interbacterial agglutination contributed to the increased adherence of P. cepacia, as the binding of 249 was increased twofold in the presence of irradiated PAO1. PAO1 exoproducts had a marked effect in enhancing the ability of the P. cepacia strains to adhere to the epithelial monolayers. A PAO1 supernatant increased the binding of 249 by eightfold and that of 715j by fourfold. Thus, there appears to be a synergistic relationship between P. aeruginosamore » and P. cepacia in which PAO1 exoproducts modify the epithelial cell surface, exposing receptors and facilitating increased P. cepacia attachment.« less

https://iai.asm.org/content/iai/58/8/2578.full.pdf

Pseudomonas cepacia adherence to respiratory epithelial cells is enhanced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Much of the morbidity and mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is secondary to pulmonary infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and, more recently, with Pseudomonas cepacia. Prevention of colonization and subsequent infection would be a useful therapeutic strategy. The pili (fimbriae) of P. aeruginosa are a potential vaccine antigen, as they have been implicated in binding to respiratory epithelium and appear to have limited antigenic diversity. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised to P. aeruginosa pilin demonstrated significant cross-reactivity, as four of five P. aeruginosa strains with known pilin sequences and 10 of 15 P. aeruginosa clinical isolates hybridized by immunoblot with at least one of the three MAbs tested. The P. cepacia strains demonstrated minimal cross-reactivity with these MAbs, as only 2 of 16 strains hybridized immunologically. The three MAbs decreased the adherence of 35S-labeled P. aeruginosa PA1244 to bovine tracheal cells by 56, 45, and 31%. One of these MAbs decreased the adherence of strains P. aeruginosa PAO1 and P. cepacia 249 to CF epithelial cells by 46 and 25%, respectively. While antibodies to Pseudomonas pili must be shown to be protective in patients with CF, these studies give support for a multivalent vaccine strategy using P. aeruginosa pilin as the immunogen.

https://iai.asm.org/content/iai/57/9/2764.full.pdf

L Saiman

Papers

Production of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa neuraminidase is increased under hyperosmolar conditions and is regulated by genes involved in alginate expression.

Pseudomonas cepacia adherence to respiratory epithelial cells is enhanced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Cross-reactivity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa antipilin monoclonal antibodies with heterogeneous strains of P. aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia.