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Neisseria gonorrhoeae-derived outer membrane vesicles package β-lactamases to promote antibiotic resistance.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea. The treatment of gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly challenging, as N. gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to antimicrobial agents routinely used in the clinic. Resistance to penicillin is wide-spread partly due to the acquisition of β-lactamase genes. How N. gonorrhoeae survives an initial exposure to β-lactams before acquiring resistance genes remains to be understood. Here, using a panel of clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae we show that the β-lactamase enzyme is packaged into outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) by strains expressing bla_TEM-1B or bla_TEM-106, which protects otherwise susceptible clinical isolates from the β-lactam drug amoxycillin. We characterized the phenotypes of these clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae and the time courses over which the cross-protection of the strains is effective. Imaging and biochemical assays suggest that OMVs promote the transfer of proteins and lipids between bacteria. Thus, N. gonorrhoeae strains secret antibiotic degrading enzymes via OMVs enabling survival of otherwise susceptible bacteria.

SUBMITTER: Dhital S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10117772 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neisseria gonorrhoeae-derived outer membrane vesicles package β-lactamases to promote antibiotic resistance.

Dhital Subhash S Deo Pankaj P Bharathwaj Manasa M Horan Kristy K Nickson Joshua J Azad Mohammad M Stuart Isabella I Chow Seong H SH Gunasinghe Sachith D SD Bamert Rebecca R Li Jian J Lithgow Trevor T Howden Benjamin P BP Naderer Thomas T

microLife 20220729

Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea. The treatment of gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly challenging, as N. gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to antimicrobial agents routinely used in the clinic. Resistance to penicillin is wide-spread partly due to the acquisition of β-lactamase genes. How N. gonorrhoeae survives an initial exposure to β-lactams before acquiring resistance genes remains to be understood. Here, using a panel of clinic ...[more]

PMID: 37223348

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Project description:β-lactamases from Gram-negative bacteria are generally regarded as soluble, periplasmic enzymes. NDMs have been exceptionally characterized as lipoproteins anchored to the outer membrane. A bioinformatics study on all sequenced β-lactamases was performed that revealed a predominance of putative lipidated enzymes in the Class D OXAs. Namely, 60% of the OXA Class D enzymes contain a lipobox sequence in their signal peptide, that is expected to trigger lipidation and membrane anchoring. This contrasts with β-lactamases from other classes, which are predicted to be mostly soluble proteins. Almost all (>99%) putative lipidated OXAs are present in Acinetobacter spp. Importantly, we further demonstrate that OXA-23 and OXA-24/40 are lipidated, membrane-bound proteins in Acinetobacter baumannii. In contrast, OXA-48 (commonly produced by Enterobacterales) lacks a lipobox and is a soluble protein. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from A. baumannii cells expressing OXA-23 and OXA-24/40 contain these enzymes in their active form. Moreover, OXA-loaded OMVs were able to protect A. baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells susceptible to piperacillin and imipenem. These results permit us to conclude that membrane binding is a bacterial host-specific phenomenon in OXA enzymes. These findings reveal that membrane-bound β-lactamases are more common than expected and support the hypothesis that OMVs loaded with lipidated β-lactamases are vehicles for antimicrobial resistance and its dissemination. This advantage could be crucial in polymicrobial infections, in which Acinetobacter spp. are usually involved, and underscore the relevance of identifying the cellular localization of lactamases to better understand their physiology and target them.IMPORTANCEβ-lactamases represent the main mechanism of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative pathogens. Their catalytic function (cleaving β-lactam antibiotics) occurs in the bacterial periplasm, where they are commonly reported as soluble proteins. A bioinformatic analysis reveals a significant number of putative lipidated β-lactamases, expected to be attached to the outer bacterial membrane. Notably, 60% of Class D OXA β-lactamases (all from Acinetobacter spp.) are predicted as membrane-anchored proteins. We demonstrate that two clinically relevant carbapenemases, OXA-23 and OXA-24/40, are membrane-bound proteins in A. baumannii. This cellular localization favors the secretion of these enzymes into outer membrane vesicles that transport them outside the boundaries of the cell. β-lactamase-loaded vesicles can protect populations of antibiotic-susceptible bacteria, enabling them to thrive in the presence of β-lactam antibiotics. The ubiquity of this phenomenon suggests that it may have influenced the dissemination of resistance mediated by Acinetobacter spp., particularly in polymicrobial infections, being a potent evolutionary advantage.

Dataset Information

Neisseria gonorrhoeae-derived outer membrane vesicles package β-lactamases to promote antibiotic resistance.

Publications

<i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i>-derived outer membrane vesicles package β-lactamases to promote antibiotic resistance.

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