Exogenous proline promotes serum killing of <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>.

ABSTRACT: Klebsiella pneumoniae, a common pathogen responsible for bloodstream infections, can evade clearance by the complement-dependent killing in serum, known as serum resistance. However, strategy in managing K. pneumoniae serum resistance is still lacking. In this study, we employed metabolomics to identify the metabolic features of K. pneumoniae. We found that the pyruvate/TCA cycle and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolic pathways were significantly downregulated. Proline, identified as a key biomarker, effectively increased the serum sensitivity to multiple K. pneumoniae clinical isolates and restored the bactericidal activity of complement. The in vivo synergistic effect of proline was validated in a murine infection model. Furthermore, we demonstr

SUBMITTER: Kou TS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12341057 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature