Dataset Information

The Pathogenic Potential of Proteus mirabilis Is Enhanced by Other Uropathogens during Polymicrobial Urinary Tract Infection.

ABSTRACT: Urinary catheter use is prevalent in health care settings, and polymicrobial colonization by urease-positive organisms, such as Proteus mirabilis and Providencia stuartii, commonly occurs with long-term catheterization. We previously demonstrated that coinfection with P. mirabilis and P. stuartii increased overall urease activity in vitro and disease severity in a model of urinary tract infection (UTI). In this study, we expanded these findings to a murine model of catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI), delineated the contribution of enhanced urease activity to coinfection pathogenesis, and screened for enhanced urease activity with other common CAUTI pathogens. In the UTI model, mice coinfected with the two species exhibited higher urine pH values, urolithiasis, bacteremia, and more pronounced tissue damage and inflammation compared to the findings for mice infected with a single species, despite having a similar bacterial burden within the urinary tract. The presence of P. stuartii, regardless of urease production by this organism, was sufficient to enhance P. mirabilis urease activity and increase disease severity, and enhanced urease activity was the predominant factor driving tissue damage and the dissemination of both organisms to the bloodstream during coinfection. These findings were largely recapitulated in the CAUTI model. Other uropathogens also enhanced P. mirabilis urease activity in vitro, including recent clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa We therefore conclude that the underlying mechanism of enhanced urease activity may represent a widespread target for limiting the detrimental consequences of polymicrobial catheter colonization, particularly by P. mirabilis and other urease-positive bacteria.

SUBMITTER: Armbruster CE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5278182 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Pathogenic Potential of Proteus mirabilis Is Enhanced by Other Uropathogens during Polymicrobial Urinary Tract Infection.

Armbruster Chelsie E CE Smith Sara N SN Johnson Alexandra O AO DeOrnellas Valerie V Eaton Kathryn A KA Yep Alejandra A Mody Lona L Wu Weisheng W Mobley Harry L T HLT

Infection and immunity 20170126 2

Urinary catheter use is prevalent in health care settings, and polymicrobial colonization by urease-positive organisms, such as Proteus mirabilis and Providencia stuartii, commonly occurs with long-term catheterization. We previously demonstrated that coinfection with P. mirabilis and P. stuartii increased overall urease activity in vitro and disease severity in a model of urinary tract infection (UTI). In this study, we expanded these findings to a murine model of catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI ...[more]

PMID: 27895127

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Project description:The enteric bacterium Proteus mirabilis is a common cause of complicated urinary tract infections. In the study, microrarrays were used to analyze P. mirabilis gene expression in vivo from experimentally infected mice. Urine was collected at 1, 3, and 7d postinfection, and RNA was isolated from bacteria in the urine for transcriptional analysis. Across 9 microarrays, 471 genes were upregulated and 82 were downregulated in vivo compared to in vitro broth culture. Genes upregulated in vivo encoded MR/P fimbriae, urease, iron uptake systems, amino acid and peptide transporters, pyruvate metabolism, and portions of the TCA cycle. Flagella were downregulated. Ammonia assimilation gene glnA (glutamine synthetase) was repressed in vivo while gdhA (glutamate dehydrogenase) was upregulated in vivo. Contrary to our expectations, ammonia availability due to urease activity in P. mirabilis did not drive this gene expression. A gdhA mutant was growth-deficient in minimal medium with citrate as the sole carbon source, and loss of gdhA resulted in a significant fitness defect in the mouse model of urinary tract infection. Unlike Escherichia coli, which represses gdhA and upregulates glnA in vivo and cannot utilize citrate, the data suggest that P. mirabilis uses glutamate dehydrogenase to monitor carbon-nitrogen balance, and this ability contributes to the pathogenic potential of P. mirabilis in the urinary tract. Voided urine from female CBA/J mice infected with Proteus mirabilis was collected and pooled in RNA stabilizing reagent (RNAprotect). Urine was collected at 1, 3, and 7 d postinfection. RNA was isolated from urine and log-phase LB cultures, converted to cDNA, and labeled with CyDye. Three arrays were completed per time point (9 arrays total). Slides were scanned with a ScanArray Express microarray scanner (Perkin Elmer) at 10 μm resolution and quantified using ScanArray Express software. Resulting data were normalized by total intensity and median spot intensities were identified using MIDAS (v. 2.22) software.

Project description:The Gram-negative bacterium Proteus mirabilis is a leading cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), which are often polymicrobial. Numerous prior studies have uncovered virulence factors for P. mirabilis pathogenicity in a murine model of ascending UTI, but little is known concerning pathogenesis during CAUTI or polymicrobial infection. In this study, we utilized five pools of 10,000 transposon mutants each and transposon insertion-site sequencing (Tn-Seq) to identify the full arsenal of P. mirabilis HI4320 fitness factors for single-species versus polymicrobial CAUTI with Providencia stuartii BE2467. 436 genes in the input pools lacked transposon insertions and were therefore concluded to be essential for P. mirabilis growth in rich medium. 629 genes were identified as P. mirabilis fitness factors during single-species CAUTI. Tn-Seq from coinfection with P. stuartii revealed 217/629 (35%) of the same genes as identified by single-species Tn-Seq, and 1353 additional factors that specifically contribute to colonization during coinfection. Mutants were constructed in eight genes of interest to validate the initial screen: 7/8 (88%) mutants exhibited the expected phenotypes for single-species CAUTI, and 3/3 (100%) validated the expected phenotypes for polymicrobial CAUTI. This approach provided validation of numerous previously described P. mirabilis fitness determinants from an ascending model of UTI, the discovery of novel fitness determinants specifically for CAUTI, and a stringent assessment of how polymicrobial infection influences fitness requirements. For instance, we describe a requirement for branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis by P. mirabilis during coinfection due to high-affinity import of leucine by P. stuartii. Further investigation of genes and pathways that provide a competitive advantage during both single-species and polymicrobial CAUTI will likely provide robust targets for therapeutic intervention to reduce P. mirabilis CAUTI incidence and severity.

Dataset Information

The Pathogenic Potential of Proteus mirabilis Is Enhanced by Other Uropathogens during Polymicrobial Urinary Tract Infection.

Publications

The Pathogenic Potential of Proteus mirabilis Is Enhanced by Other Uropathogens during Polymicrobial Urinary Tract Infection.

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