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Phage-Borne Depolymerases Decrease Klebsiella pneumoniae Resistance to Innate Defense Mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Klebsiella pneumoniae produces capsular polysaccharides that are a crucial virulence factor protecting bacteria against innate response mechanisms of the infected host. Simultaneously, those capsules are targeted by specific bacteriophages equipped with virion-associated depolymerases able to recognize and degrade these polysaccharides. We show that Klebsiella phage KP32 produces two capsule depolymerases, KP32gp37 and KP32gp38, with a high specificity for the capsular serotypes K3 and K21, respectively. Together, they determine the host spectrum of bacteriophage KP32, which is limited to strains with serotype K3 and K21. Both depolymerases form a trimeric ?-structure, display moderate thermostability and function optimally under neutral to alkaline conditions. We show that both depolymerases strongly affect the virulence of K. pneumoniae with the corresponding K3 and K21 capsular serotypes. Capsule degradation renders the otherwise serum-resistant cells more prone to complement-mediated killing with up to four log reduction in serum upon exposure to KP32gp37. Decapsulated strains are also sensitized for phagocytosis with a twofold increased uptake. In addition, the intracellular survival of phagocytized cells in macrophages was significantly reduced when bacteria were previously exposed to the capsule depolymerases. Finally, depolymerase application considerably increases the lifespan of Galleria mellonella larvae infected with K. pneumoniae in a time- and strain-dependent manner. In sum, capsule depolymerases are promising antivirulence compounds that act by defeating a major resistance mechanism of K. pneumoniae against the innate immunity.

SUBMITTER: Majkowska-Skrobek G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6205948 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phage-Borne Depolymerases Decrease Klebsiella pneumoniae Resistance to Innate Defense Mechanisms.

Majkowska-Skrobek Grazyna G Latka Agnieszka A Berisio Rita R Squeglia Flavia F Maciejewska Barbara B Briers Yves Y Drulis-Kawa Zuzanna Z

Frontiers in microbiology 20181023

Klebsiella pneumoniae produces capsular polysaccharides that are a crucial virulence factor protecting bacteria against innate response mechanisms of the infected host. Simultaneously, those capsules are targeted by specific bacteriophages equipped with virion-associated depolymerases able to recognize and degrade these polysaccharides. We show that Klebsiella phage KP32 produces two capsule depolymerases, KP32gp37 and KP32gp38, with a high specificity for the capsular serotypes K3 ...[more]

PMID: 30405575

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Project description:The genome of the multihost bacteriophage ΦK64-1, capable of infecting Klebsiella capsular types K1, K11, K21, K25, K30, K35, K64, and K69, as well as new capsular types KN4 and KN5, was analyzed and revealed that 11 genes (S1-1, S1-2, S1-3, S2-1, S2-2, S2-3, S2-4, S2-5, S2-6, S2-7, and S2-8) encode proteins with amino acid sequence similarity to tail fibers/spikes or lyases. S2-5 previously was shown to encode a K64 capsule depolymerase (K64dep). Specific capsule-degrading activities of an additional eight putative capsule depolymerases (S2-4 against K1, S1-1 against K11, S1-3 against K21, S2-2 against K25, S2-6 against K30/K69, S2-3 against K35, S1-2 against KN4, and S2-1 against KN5) was demonstrated by expression and purification of the recombinant proteins. Consistent with the capsular type-specific depolymerization activity of these gene products, phage mutants of S1-2, S2-2, S2-3, or S2-6 lost infectivity for KN4, K25, K35, or K30/K69, respectively, indicating that capsule depolymerase is crucial for infecting specific hosts. In conclusion, we identified nine functional capsule depolymerase-encoding genes in a bacteriophage and correlated activities of the gene products to all ten hosts of this phage, providing an example of type-specific host infection mechanisms in a multihost bacteriophage.IMPORTANCE We currently identified eight novel capsule depolymerases in a multihost Klebsiella bacteriophage and correlated the activities of the gene products to all hosts of this phage, providing an example of carriage of multiple depolymerases in a phage with a wide capsular type host spectrum. Moreover, we also established a recombineering system for modification of Klebsiella bacteriophage genomes and demonstrated the importance of capsule depolymerase for infecting specific hosts. Based on the powerful tool for modification of phage genome, further studies can be conducted to improve the understanding of mechanistic details of Klebsiella phage infection. Furthermore, the newly identified capsule depolymerases will be of great value for applications in capsular typing.

Project description:Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide. This opportunistic pathogen, known as classical K. pneumoniae (cKp), typically causes infections in individuals with comorbidities. cKp is often multidrug resistant, and treatment options are limited. By comparison, hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp) can cause infections in healthy individuals outside of the healthcare setting. Notably, there has been emergence of strains containing both multidrug resistance and hypervirulence genotypes (MDR hvKp). Whether these strains can circumvent killing by components of the innate immune system remains incompletely determined. Here, we compared the ability of selected hvKp (ST23 and ST86) and MDR hvKp (ST11 and ST147) clinical isolates to survive in human blood and serum and tested phagocytic killing of the microbes by human neutrophils. On average, the hvKp isolates tested had greater survival in blood and serum compared with MDR hvKp isolates. Compared with MDR hvKp isolates, the hvKp isolates had less surface-bound serum complement following culture in normal serum. Consistent with these findings, the percentage of neutrophils with phagocytosed hvKp isolates was limited (<5%), whereas >67% of neutrophils contained ingested MDR hvKp. Phagocytosis of the MDR hvKp isolates was accompanied by significant bacterial killing (P < 0.05). The inability of neutrophils to ingest and kill these hvKp isolates was, in part, overcome by addition of rabbit antiserum specific for these clinical isolates. The results provide insight into host defense against emerging MDR hvKp and are an initial step toward assessing the potential of a vaccine or immunotherapy approach for treatment of infections. IMPORTANCE Klebsiella pneumoniae strains with a combination of multidrug resistance and hypervirulence genotypes (MDR hvKp) have emerged as a cause of human infections. The ability of these microbes to avoid killing by the innate immune system remains to be tested fully. To that end, we compared the ability of a global collection of hvKp and MDR hvKp clinical isolates to survive in human blood and resist phagocytic killing by human neutrophils. The two MDR hvKp clinical isolates tested (ST11 and ST147) were killed in human blood and by human neutrophils in vitro, whereas phagocytic killing of hvKp clinical isolates (ST23 and ST86) required specific antisera. Although the data were varied and often isolate specific, they are an important first step toward gaining an enhanced understanding of host defense against MDR hvKp.

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Phage-Borne Depolymerases Decrease Klebsiella pneumoniae Resistance to Innate Defense Mechanisms.

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Phage-Borne Depolymerases Decrease <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> Resistance to Innate Defense Mechanisms.

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