title: Full virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa requires OprF.
abstract: OprF is a general outer membrane porin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a well-known human opportunistic pathogen associated with severe hospital-acquired sepsis and chronic lung infections of cystic fibrosis patients. A multiphenotypic approach, based on the comparative study of a wild-type strain of P. aeruginosa, its isogenic oprF mutant, and an oprF-complemented strain, showed that OprF is required for P. aeruginosa virulence. The absence of OprF results in impaired adhesion to animal cells, secretion of ExoT and ExoS toxins through the type III secretion system (T3SS), and production of the quorum-sensing-dependent virulence factors pyocyanin, elastase, lectin PA-1L, and exotoxin A. Accordingly, in the oprF mutant, production of the signal molecules N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone and N-butanoyl-l-homoserine lactone was found to be reduced and delayed, respectively. Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) production was decreased, while its precursor, 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline (HHQ), accumulated in the cells. Taken together, these results show the involvement of OprF in P. aeruginosa virulence, at least partly through modulation of the quorum-sensing network. This is the first study showing a link between OprF, PQS synthesis, T3SS, and virulence factor production, providing novel insights into virulence expression.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie du Froid, Signaux et Micro-Environnement, 55 rue St. Germain, 27000 Evreux, France.
authors.forename: Laurène
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fito-Boncompte
authors.forename: Annelise
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chapalain
authors.forename: Emeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouffartigues
authors.forename: Hichem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chaker
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lesouhaitier
authors.forename: Gwendoline
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gicquel
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bazire
authors.forename: Amar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Madi
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Connil
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Véron
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Taupin
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Toussaint
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cornelis
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Koki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shioya
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Déziel
authors.forename: Marc G J
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Feuilloley
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Orange
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chevalier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D058947:Bacterial Secretion Systems / Q000502:physiology; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D018651:Cichorium intybus; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D015363:Quinolones / Q000378:metabolism; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000502:physiology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C407944:2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D058947:Bacterial Secretion Systems; C547605:OprF protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; D015363:Quinolones; D037521:Virulence Factors