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Cysteamine inhibits glycine utilisation and disrupts virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major opportunistic human pathogen which employs a myriad of virulence factors. In people with cystic fibrosis (CF) P. aeruginosa frequently colonises the lungs and becomes a chronic infection that evolves to become less virulent over time, but often adapts to favour persistence in the host with alginate-producing mucoid, slow-growing, and antibiotic resistant phenotypes emerging. Cysteamine is an endogenous aminothiol which has been shown to prevent biofilm formation, reduce phenazine production, and potentiate antibiotic activity against P. aeruginosa, and has been investigated in clinical trials as an adjunct therapy for pulmonary exacerbations of CF. Here we demonstrate (for the first time in a prokaryote) that cysteamine prevents glycine utilisation by P. aeruginosa in common with reported activity blocking the glycine cleavage system in human cells. Despite the inhibition of glycine metabolism, cysteamine inhibits hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production by P. aeruginosa, implicating interference in the regulation of virulence. Cysteamine impaired chemotaxis and reductions in pyocyanin and exopolysaccharide production in cysteamine-treated P. aeruginosa and reduced toxicity of secreted factors in a Galleria mellonella model. Thus, cysteamine has additional potent anti-virulence properties targeting P. aeruginosa, further supporting its therapeutic potential in CF and other infections.

INSTRUMENT(S): Bruker Daltonics amaZon series

ORGANISM(S): Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pao1

SUBMITTER: Kevin Mclean

LAB HEAD: Kevin Mclean

PROVIDER: PXD027156 | Pride | 2021-08-19

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In vitro models that closely mimic CF sputum are needed to improve understanding of the pathobiology of P. aeruginosa in the CF airway. We developed an artificial sputum medium (ASMDM) that more closely resembles the composition of CF sputum than current media. In order to validate the utility of ASMDM, we used GeneChip microarrays to compare expression data of P. aeruginosa UCBPP-PA14 (PA14) in ASMDM with published data for this strain grown under the same conditions in an artificial medium containing 10% (v/v) CF sputum. Thirty-seven of 39 nutrition-related genes were differentially expressed in the same manner in both media. However, 24 quorum-sensing (QS) genes, 23 Type III secretion system and several anaerobic respiration genes were more highly expressed in ASMDM than in sputum-containing medium. When grown to stationary phase in ASMDM, PA14 differentially expressed about 50 biologically significant genes compared to stationary phase growth in Luria Broth; genes involved in iron acquisition (pfeA, fepC) and in assimilatory nitrate reduction (nasC, nirD) were upregulated, while 24 QS genes, including the regulator rhlR, lasA, rsaL, aprADEI and phenazine genes phzC2DD2EG2 were downregulated. Downregulation of QS-regulated virulence genes has been noted in chronic P. aeruginosa infection. ASMDM thus appears highly suitable for studies on gene expression of (i) P. aeruginosa strains from acutely and chronically infected CF patients and (ii) established biofilms that are a hallmark of advanced CF lung disease. PA14 was grown in four different ways: 1. Logarithmic growth for early gene expression Cells were grown in MOPS-Glucose and separately in ASMDM. The average of two biological duplicates in each case was compared to the other to determine differential gene expression. 2. Stationary phase growth for gene expression Cells were grown in Luria Broth and separately in ASMDM. The average of two biological duplicates in each case was compared to the other to determine differential gene expression.

Project description:One of the hallmarks of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cystic fibrosis (CF) infection is very high-cell-density (HCD) replication in the lung, allowing this bacterium to induce virulence controlled by HCD quorum-sensing systems. However, the nutrient sources sustaining HCD replication in this chronic infection is largely unknown. Hence, understanding the nutrient factors contributing to HCD in the CF lung will yield new insights into the 'metabolic pathogenicity' and potential treatment of CF infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Herein, we performed microarray studies of P. aeruginosa directly isolated from the CF lung to demonstrate its metabolic capability and virulence in vivo. Our in vivo microarray data, confirmed by real-time reverse-transcription-PCR, indicated P. aeruginosa expressed several genes for virulence, drug-resistance, and utilization of multiple nutrient sources (lung surfactant lipids and amino acids) contributing to HCD replication. The data also indicates deregulation of several pathways, suggesting in vivo evolution by deregulation of a large portion of the transcriptome during chronic CF infection. To our knowledge, this is the first in vivo transcriptome of P. aeruginosa in a natural CF infection, and it indicates several important aspects of pathogenesis, drug-resistance, and nutrient-utilization never before observed in vivo. Experiment Overall Design: The purpose of the experiment was to observe which genes are upregulated in P. aeruginosa during chronic CF lung infection as compared to PAO1. All in vitro studies were grown in 1x M9 minimal media supplemented with 20 mM citrate and grown to mid-log phase prior to RNA isolation. The in vivo RNA was isolated directly from CF sputum samples after TRIzol treatment. Each in vitro sample (both for PAO1 and the CF sputum pool isolate) were processed individually and in triplicate. Two in vivo isolations from sputum were conducted from the same patient but two different sputum samples. After isolation of total RNA, samples were processed for microarrays (i.e. cDNA synthesis, fragmentation, labeling, etc) as recommended by Affymetrix, and processed on the GeneChip as recommended by Affymetrix.

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Cysteamine inhibits glycine utilisation and disrupts virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

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