title: EprS, an autotransporter serine protease, plays an important role in various pathogenic phenotypes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa possesses an arsenal of both cell-associated (flagella, pili, alginate, etc.) and extracellular (exotoxin A, proteases, type III secretion effectors, etc.) virulence factors. Among them, secreted proteases that damage host tissues are considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa infections. We previously reported that EprS, an autotransporter protease of P. aeruginosa, induces host inflammatory responses through protease-activated receptors. However, little is known about the role of EprS as a virulence factor of P. aeruginosa. In this study, to investigate whether EprS participates in the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa, we characterized various pathogenic phenotypes of the wild-type PAO1 strain and its eprS-disrupted mutant. The growth assays demonstrated that the growth of the eprS mutant was somewhat lower than that of the wild-type strain in a minimal medium containing BSA as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. Thus, these results indicate that eprS would have a role in the growth of P. aeruginosa in the presence of limited nutrients, such as a medium containing proteinaceous materials as a sole nutrient source. Furthermore, disruption of eprS resulted in a decreased production of elastase, pigments, autoinducers and surfactants, and a reduction of swimming and swarming motilities. In addition, the eprS mutant exhibited a reduction in the ability to associate with A549 cells and an attenuation of virulence in leucopenic mice as compared with the wild-type strain. Collectively, these results suggest that EprS exerts pleiotropic effects on various pathogenic phenotypes of P. aeruginosa.
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology, Department of Infectious Medicine,Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011,Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics,Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 680-4 Kawazu, Iizuka, Fukuoka 820-8502,Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taira
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology, Department of Infectious Medicine,Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011,Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuwano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D057057:Serine Proteases / Q000235:genetics*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D037521:Virulence Factors; D057057:Serine Proteases