title: Biofilm Formation and Immunomodulatory Activity of Proteus mirabilis Clinically Isolated Strains.
abstract: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTIs) are the principal hospital-acquired infections.Proteus mirabilisis characterized by several virulence factors able to promote adhesion and biofilm formation and ameliorate the colonization of urinary tract and the formation of crystalline biofilms on the abiotic surface of the urinary catheters. Since, to date, the role ofP. mirabilisin the etiopathogenesis of different types of urinary tract infections is not well established, in this study we sought to characterize two different clinically isolated strains ofP. mirabilis(PM1 and PM2) with distinctive phenotypes and analyzed various virulence factors possibly implicated in the ability to induce UTIs and CAUTIs. In particular, we analyzed motility, biofilm formation both on abiotic and biotic surfaces of PM1 and PM2 and paralleled these parameters with the ability to induce an inflammatory response in an epithelial cell model. Results showed that PM1 displayed major motility and a capacity to form biofilm and was associated with an anti-inflammatory response of host cells. Conversely, PM2 exhibited lack motility and a had slower organization in biofilm but promoted an increase of proinflammatory cytokine expression in infected epithelial cells. Our study provides data useful to start uncovering the pathologic basis ofP. mirabilis-associated urinary infections. The evidence of different virulence factors expressed by PM1 and PM2 highlights the possibility to use precise and personalized therapies targeting specific virulence pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, via Costantinopoli 16, 80100 Naples, Italy. alessandra.fusco@unina2.it.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.affiliation: Institute for Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology "G.Salvatore", National Research Council (CNR), via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. lorena.coretti@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Coretti
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, via Costantinopoli 16, 80100 Naples, Italy. vittoriasavio@libero.it.
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Savio
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", via D. Montesano 47, 80131 Naples, Italy. elisabetta.buommino@unina.it.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buommino
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", via D. Montesano 47, 80131 Naples, Italy. frlembo@unina.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lembo
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, via Costantinopoli 16, 80100 Naples, Italy. giovanna.donnarumma@unina2.it.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donnarumma
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D010641:Phenotype; D011512:Proteus Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Proteus mirabilis; UTI; biofilm