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Methicillin resistance alters the biofilm phenotype and attenuates virulence in Staphylococcus aureus device-associated infections.

ABSTRACT: Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus can express biofilm phenotypes promoted by the major cell wall autolysin and the fibronectin-binding proteins or the icaADBC-encoded polysaccharide intercellular adhesin/poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PIA/PNAG). Biofilm production in methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains is typically dependent on PIA/PNAG whereas methicillin-resistant isolates express an Atl/FnBP-mediated biofilm phenotype suggesting a relationship between susceptibility to ?-lactam antibiotics and biofilm. By introducing the methicillin resistance gene mecA into the PNAG-producing laboratory strain 8325-4 we generated a heterogeneously resistant (HeR) strain, from which a homogeneous, high-level resistant (HoR) derivative was isolated following exposure to oxacillin. The HoR phenotype was associated with a R???H substitution in the DHHA1 domain of GdpP, a recently identified c-di-AMP phosphodiesterase with roles in resistance/tolerance to ?-lactam antibiotics and cell envelope stress. Transcription of icaADBC and PNAG production were impaired in the 8325-4 HoR derivative, which instead produced a proteinaceous biofilm that was significantly inhibited by antibodies against the mecA-encoded penicillin binding protein 2a (PBP2a). Conversely excision of the SCCmec element in the MRSA strain BH1CC resulted in oxacillin susceptibility and reduced biofilm production, both of which were complemented by mecA alone. Transcriptional activity of the accessory gene regulator locus was also repressed in the 8325-4 HoR strain, which in turn was accompanied by reduced protease production and significantly reduced virulence in a mouse model of device infection. Thus, homogeneous methicillin resistance has the potential to affect agr- and icaADBC-mediated phenotypes, including altered biofilm expression and virulence, which together are consistent with the adaptation of healthcare-associated MRSA strains to the antibiotic-rich hospital environment in which they are frequently responsible for device-related infections in immuno-compromised patients.

SUBMITTER: Pozzi C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3320603 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Methicillin resistance alters the biofilm phenotype and attenuates virulence in Staphylococcus aureus device-associated infections.

Pozzi Clarissa C Waters Elaine M EM Rudkin Justine K JK Schaeffer Carolyn R CR Lohan Amanda J AJ Tong Pin P Loftus Brendan J BJ Pier Gerald B GB Fey Paul D PD Massey Ruth C RC O'Gara James P JP

PLoS pathogens 20120405 4

Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus can express biofilm phenotypes promoted by the major cell wall autolysin and the fibronectin-binding proteins or the icaADBC-encoded polysaccharide intercellular adhesin/poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PIA/PNAG). Biofilm production in methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains is typically dependent on PIA/PNAG whereas methicillin-resistant isolates express an Atl/FnBP-mediated biofilm phenotype suggesting a relationship between susceptibility to β-lact ...[more]

PMID: 22496652

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Project description:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are complicated by the ability of the organism to grow in surface-adhered biofilms on a multitude of abiotic and biological surfaces. These multicellular communities are notoriously difficult to eradicate with antimicrobial therapy. Cells within the biofilm may be exposed to a sublethal concentration of the antimicrobial due to the metabolic and phenotypic diversity of the biofilm-associated cells or the protection offered by the biofilm structure. In the present study, the influence of a sublethal concentration of tigecycline on biofilms formed by an epidemic MRSA-16 isolate was investigated by transcriptome analysis. In the presence of the drug, 309 genes were upregulated and 213 genes were downregulated by more than twofold in comparison to the levels of gene regulation detected for the controls not grown in the presence of the drug. Microarray data were validated by real-time reverse transcription-PCR and phenotypic assays. Tigecycline altered the expression of a number of genes encoding proteins considered to be crucial for the virulence of S. aureus. These included the reduced expression of icaC, which is involved in polysaccharide intercellular adhesin production and biofilm development; the upregulation of fnbA, clfB, and cna, which encode adhesins which attach to human proteins; and the downregulation of the cap genes, which mediate the synthesis of the capsule polysaccharide. The expression of tst, which encodes toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1), was also significantly reduced; and an assay performed to quantify TSST-1 showed that the level of toxin production by cells treated with tigecycline decreased by 10-fold (P < 0.001) compared to the level of production by untreated control cells. This study suggests that tigecycline may reduce the expression of important virulence factors in S. aureus and supports further investigation to determine whether it could be a useful adjunct to therapy for the treatment of biofilm-mediated infections.

Dataset Information

Methicillin resistance alters the biofilm phenotype and attenuates virulence in Staphylococcus aureus device-associated infections.

Publications

Methicillin resistance alters the biofilm phenotype and attenuates virulence in Staphylococcus aureus device-associated infections.

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