The hypermucoviscosity of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae confers the ability to evade neutrophil-mediated phagocytosis.

ABSTRACT: Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (HvKP), which causes highly fatal infections, is a new threat to human health. In an attempt to investigate the underlying mechanisms of resistance to neutrophil-mediated killing and hence expression of high-level virulence by HvKP, we tested the binding affinity of HvKP strains to various types of human cells. Our data showed that HvKP exhibited weaker binding to both lung epithelial cells, intestinal Caco-2 cells and macrophages when compared to the classic, non-hypervirulent strains (cKP). Consistently, transconjugants that have acquired a rmpA or rmpA2-bearing plasmid were found to exhibit decreased adhesion to various types of human cells, and hence higher survival rate upon exposure to neutrophil cells. We further found that ov

SUBMITTER: Xu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8331041 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature