Acinetobacter baumannii Clinical Isolates Resist Complement-Mediated Lysis by Inhibiting the Complement Cascade and Improperly Depositing MAC.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative opportunistic bacterium that causes life-threatening infections in immunocompromised hosts. The complement system is a critical mechanism of innate immunity that protects the human body from bacterial infections. Complement activation leads to the deposition of the membrane attack complex (MAC), which can directly lyse gram-negative bacteria. However, A. baumannii has developed evasion mechanisms to protect itself from complement.

Methods

Complement deposition was investigated by flow cytometry and Western blotting. Soluble MAC formation was assessed by ELISA. Bacterial serum resistance was determined by the SYTOX Green Assay. Galleria mellonella was used as an infection model. Genome sequencing revealed virulence genes

SUBMITTER: Magda M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11845171 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature