Detailseite
Projekt Druckansicht

Identification of virulence factors mediating phagosomal escape of Staphylococcus aureus by transposon insertion site deep sequencing

Fachliche Zuordnung Parasitologie und Biologie der Erreger tropischer Infektionskrankheiten
Förderung Förderung von 2012 bis 2018
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 219106207
 
Erstellungsjahr 2016

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

In this study we performed a screen for S. aureus gene products involved in phagosomal escape of the pathogen. We identified several candidates, of which we characterized mutants within a non-ribosomal peptide synthase (NRPS). We provide evidence that the S. aureus NRPS and its peptide product, phevalin, enhance S. aureus phagosomal escape thereby contributing to epithelial and immune cell death. Bacterial mutants in the associated genes are significantly attenuated in vitro and in vivo. Attenuation of virulence is readily recovered by genetic complementation as well as addition of synthetic phevalin. Furthermore, we identified a role for the NRPS in S. aureus induced pneumonia, during which S. aureus encounters phagocytic cells, such as alveolar macrophages and immigrating neutrophils. In an unbiased transposon mutant pool screen, a mutant in the NRPS was attenuated in virulence being recovered in significantly reduced numbers from mouse lungs when compared to the inoculum used. Our study further suggests that phevalin targets a host cell protein, but does not act as a calpain inhibitor during phagosomal escape. S. aureus thus uses a non-ribosomal peptide assembly line to form a cyclic dipeptide, which governs virulence of S. aureus on the host level. This renders the host target of phevalin a potential target for the development of antiinfectives, since S. aureus would not be able to develop resistance to a target encoded in the host genome. Our findings further support that S. aureus uses small molecules, which are usually used for interbacterial communication, to communicate with and influence its host.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

Zusatzinformationen

Textvergrößerung und Kontrastanpassung