[On the bacteriostatic and antimetabolic action of pyocyanine].
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Pigmentation mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, selected by observed visual differences in coloration from the wild-type strain, were examined for altered patterns of phenazine synthesis. Three classes of mutants that were incapable of pyocyanine production were identified. Pigmentation patterns that were found to characterize the various mutant classes implicated precursor-product relationships, and a biochemical scheme covering the terminal reactions of pyocyanine biosynthesis is proposed. Among compounds tested as inhibitors of pigmentation, two effectively inhibited pyocyanine production production while allowing cell growth. p-Aminobenzoate inhibited total pigmentation; i.e., no other phenazine accumulated. m-Aminobenzoate inhibited a presumptive methylation step in pyocyanine biosynthesis, abolishing the formation of pyocyanine and aeruginosin pigments but increasing the yields of phenazine 1-carboxylic acid and oxychlororaphin. D-[2,3,4,5(n)-14C]shikimate was most efficiently incorporated into phenazines in the middle to late exponential phase of growth. Label was incorporated predominantly into pyocyanine in the absence of inhibitors and into phenazine 1-carboxylic acid when the organism was grown in the presence of m-aminobenzoate.
Platelet functions, including eicosanoid biosynthesis, can be significantly altered by exposure to reactive oxygen species. We utilised the redox properties of the phenazine derivative, pyocyanin, to generate low micromolar levels of reactive oxygen species in order to investigate the metabolism of arachidonic acid by human platelets under oxidative stress. Eicosanoid production by platelets, pre-labelled with [3H]arachidonic acid (AA) and stimulated with the calcium ionophore A23187, was inhibited in the presence of pyocyanin. In contrast, platelets pre-treated with pyocyanin and concurrently exposed to A23187 and AA showed no evidence of inhibition. Analysis of the free label content of labelled, pyocyanin-treated platelets after stimulation revealed diminished levels of total free label and a corresponding increase in labelled phospholipid. Prior treatment with the antioxidants, superoxide dismutase, catalase or the hydroxyl radical scavenger, mannitol, before the addition of pyocyanin afforded protection against loss of eicosanoid production and restored AA release. We conclude that hydroxyl radicals inhibit one or more steps in the cascade leading to phospholipase A2 activation and release of arachidonic acid from platelet phospholipid stores.
High-rate electron transfer toward an anode in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) has thus far not been described for bacteria-producing soluble redox mediators. To studythe mechanism of electron transfer, we used a MFC isolate, Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain KRP1. Bacterial electron transfer toward the MFC anode was enabled through pyocyanin and phenazine-1-carboxamide. The presence of the anode stimulated pyocyanin production. Mutant strains, deficient in the synthesis of pyocyanin and phenazine-1-carboxamide, were unable to achieve substantial electron transfer and reached only 5% of the wild type's power output. Upon pyocyanin addition, the power output was restored to 50%. Pyocyanin was not only used by P. aeruginosa to improve electron transfer but as well enhanced electron transfer by other bacterial species. The finding that one bacterium can produce electron shuttles, which can be used also by other bacteria, to enhance electron-transfer rate and growth, has not been shown before. These findings have considerable implications with respect to the power output attainable in MFCs.
The consumption of molecular oxygen by Pseudomonas aeruginosa can lead to the production of reduced oxygen species, including superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and the hydroxyl radical. As a first line of defense against potentially toxic levels of endogenous superoxide, P. aeruginosa possesses an iron- and manganese-cofactored superoxide dismutase (SOD) to limit the damage evoked by this radical. In this study, we have generated mutants which possess an interrupted sodA (encoding manganese SOD) or sodB (encoding iron SOD) gene and a sodA sodB double mutant. Mutagenesis of sodA did not significantly alter the aerobic growth rate in rich medium (Luria broth) or in glucose minimal medium in comparison with that of wild-type bacteria. In addition, total SOD activity in the sodA mutant was decreased only 15% relative to that of wild-type bacteria. In contrast, sodB mutants grew much more slowly than the sodA mutant or wild-type bacteria in both media, and sodB mutants possessed only 13% of the SOD activity of wild-type bacteria. There was also a progressive decrease in catalase activity in each of the mutants, with the sodA sodB double mutant possessing only 40% of the activity of wild-type bacteria. The sodA sodB double mutant grew very slowly in rich medium and required approximately 48 h to attain saturated growth in minimal medium. There was no difference in growth of either strain under anaerobic conditions. Accordingly, the sodB but not the sodA mutant demonstrated marked sensitivity to paraquat, a superoxide-generating agent. P. aeuroginosa synthesizes a blue, superoxide-generating antibiotic similar to paraquat in redox properties which is called pyocyanin, the synthesis of which is accompanied by increased iron SOD and catalase activities (D.J. Hassett, L. Charniga, K. A. Bean, D. E. Ohman, and M. S. Cohen, Infect. Immun. 60:328-336, 1992). Pyocyanin production was completely abolished in the sodB and sodA sodB mutants and was decreased approximately 57% in sodA mutants relative to that of the wild-type organism. Furthermore, the addition of sublethal concentrations of paraquat to wild-type bacteria caused a concentration-dependent decrease in pyocyanin production, suggesting that part of the pyocyanin biosynthetic cascade is inhibited by superoxide. These results suggest that iron SOD is more important than manganese SOD for aerobic growth, resistance to paraquat, and optimal pyocyanin biosynthesis in P. aeruginosa.
The production of several virulence factors by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated through the hierarchical cell-density dependent quorum sensing (QS) systems las and rhl. A third component of the QS hierarchy, the Pseudomonas quinolone signal PQS, also controls the expression of several genes. We previously described P. aeruginosa PtxR as a transcriptional activator of the exotoxin A gene toxA. Here, we provide evidence that PtxR regulates the production of other virulence factors. Mutation of ptxR in PAO1 increased pyocyanin production. This increase was reduced in the presence of a ptxR plasmid. Throughout the growth cycle, PtxR reduced the expression of the pyocyanin operon phzA1-G1 but not phzA2-G2. As pyocyanin production is stringently controlled by QS, we examined the effect of PtxR on QS-related genes in PAO1. PtxR also reduced the expression of the PQS synthesis operon pqsABCDE. ptxR mutation increased the expression of the rhamnolipid synthesis gene rhlA but decreased lasB expression. The expression of the RhlI synthase gene rhlI and the production of the C(4)-HSL autoinducer were increased in the ptxR mutant, while the expression of the LasI synthase gene lasI and the production of 3OC(12)-HSL were reduced. These results suggest that PtxR negatively regulates the expression of the rhamnolipid and pyocyanin genes through rhlI and the pqsABCDE operon while it positively regulates the expression of lasB through lasI.
The Pseudomonas aeruginosa-derived phenazine pigments pyocyanin and 1-hydroxyphenazine (1-hp) prime human neutrophils for enhanced, stimulus-activated release of superoxide and myeloperoxidase (MPO), respectively. In the present study, the modulatory potentials of the antimicrobial agents clindamycin, erythromycin, and roxithromycin (10 and 20 micrograms/ml) on the prooxidative interactions of pyocyanin and 1-hp (12.5 microM) with human neutrophils have been investigated. Clindamycin, erythromycin, and especially roxithromycin caused dose-related inhibition of the generation of superoxide by both untreated and pyocyanin-treated neutrophils during activation with either the synthetic chemotactic tripeptide N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (FMLP) or the calcium ionophore A23187. The antimicrobial agents also inhibited the generation of reactive oxidants by the MPO-H2O2-halide system during activation of both untreated and 1-hp-treated neutrophils by FMLP. These effects appeared to be due to drug-related interference with membrane-associated oxidative metabolism, since none of the antimicrobial agents inhibited the release of MPO by activated neutrophils, nor did they possess oxidant-scavenging properties. These data demonstrate that clindamycin, erythromycin, and especially roxithromycin antagonize the proinflammatory interactions of pyocyanin and 1-hp with neutrophils and indicate a possible therapeutic role for these antimicrobial agents in the prevention of tissue damage in diseases characterized by P. aeruginosa infection.
A cost-effective and more rapid means of detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cultures from clinical specimens would be very advantageous. We have developed a modified MacConkey agar (MMA), which enhances pigment production of P. aeruginosa and which, if pyocyanin pigment is present, provides a relatively rapid and very cost-effective identification. The MMA medium inhibits the gram-positive organisms, while lactose- and non-lactose-fermenting gram-negative rods are easily distinguishable from pigment-producing pseudomonads. Organisms that produce pyocyanin, pyoverdin, or pyorubin, or both pyocyanin and pyoverdin, are easily recognized on the medium. Pyocyanin production is clearly distinguishable from other Pseudomonas pigments on MMA. In a comparative study, MMA identified 97% of the P. aeruginosa strains 24 h earlier than routine laboratory biochemical methods. Highly mucoid strains which did not produce detectable pigments on standard biochemicals produced detectable pigments on the MMA within 48 h. This medium can provide a very practical, reliable, and cost-effective means for early characterization of P. aeruginosa.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa culture supernatants have been shown to inhibit lymphocytes proliferation as measured by [3H]TdR uptake. The phenazine pigment pyocyanine has been identified as one of the inhibitors present in those supernatants. To determine the mechanism of the inhibitory action of P. aeruginosa supernatants and pyocyanine, we studied their effect on the early stages of T-cell activation. Both P. aeruginosa supernatant and pyocyanine inhibited lymphocyte stimulation induced by the lectin concanavalin A. Analysis of Interleukin-2 receptor expression on the T-cell membrane showed that it was inhibited by both. This inhibition is dose dependent and not due to cellular toxicity. There was a parallel inhibition of growth in cell volume as well as [3H]TdR uptake. The results reported here suggest that P. aeruginosa culture supernatant and purified pyocyanine may interfere with cellular immune responses that may be necessary for eradication of chronic infection with P. aeruginosa in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes acute and chronic infections of the human lung, with resultant tissue injury. We have previously shown that iron bound to pyochelin, a siderophore secreted by the organism to acquire iron, is an efficient catalyst for hydroxyl radical (HO.) formation and augments injury to pulmonary artery endothelial cells resulting from their exposure to superoxide (O2.) and/or H2O2. Sources for O2-. and H2O2 included phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated neutrophils and pyocyanin. Pyocyanin, another P. aeruginosa secretory product, undergoes cell-mediated redox, thereby forming O2-. and H2O2. In P. aeruginosa lung infections, damage to airway epithelial cells is probably more extensive than that to endothelial cells. Therefore, we examined whether ferripyochelin also augments oxidant-mediated damage to airway epithelial cells. A549 cells, a human type II alveolar epithelial cell line, was exposed to H2O2, PMA-stimulated neutrophils, or pyocyanin, and injury was determined by release of 51Cr from prelabeled cells. Ferripyochelin significantly increased (> 10-fold) oxidant-mediated cell injury regardless of whether H2O2, neutrophils, or pyocyanin was employed. Apo-pyochelin was not effective, and ferripyochelin was not toxic by itself at the concentrations employed. Spin trapping with alpha-(4-pyrridyl-1-oxide)-N-t-butyl-nitrone-ethanol confirmed the generation of HO., and injury was decreased by a variety of antioxidants, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and dimethylthiourea. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the presence of ferripyochelin at sites of P. aeruginosa lung infection could contribute to tissue injury through its ability to promote HO.-mediated damage to airway epithelial cells.
Two anthranilate synthase gene pairs have been identified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They were cloned, sequenced, inactivated in vitro by insertion of an antibiotic resistance gene, and returned to P. aeruginosa, replacing the wild-type gene. One anthranilate synthase enzyme participates in tryptophan synthesis; its genes are designated trpE and trpG. The other anthranilate synthase enzyme, encoded by phnA and phnB, participates in the synthesis of pyocyanin, the characteristic phenazine pigment of the organism. trpE and trpG are independently transcribed; homologous genes have been cloned from Pseudomonas putida. The phenazine pathway genes phnA and phnB are cotranscribed. The cloned phnA phnB gene pair complements trpE and trpE(G) mutants of Escherichia coli. Homologous genes were not found in P. putida PPG1, a non-phenazine producer. Surprisingly, PhnA and PhnB are more closely related to E. coli TrpE and TrpG than to Pseudomonas TrpE and TrpG, whereas Pseudomonas TrpE and TrpG are more closely related to E. coli PabB and PabA than to E. coli TrpE and TrpG. We replaced the wild-type trpE on the P. aeruginosa chromosome with a mutant form having a considerable portion of its coding sequence deleted and replaced by a tetracycline resistance gene cassette. This resulted in tryptophan auxotrophy; however, spontaneous tryptophan-independent revertants appeared at a frequency of 10(-5) to 10(6). The anthranilate synthase of these revertants is not feedback inhibited by tryptophan, suggesting that it arises from PhnAB. phnA mutants retain a low level of pyocyanin production. Introduction of an inactivated trpE gene into a phnA mutant abolished residual pyocyanin production, suggesting that the trpE trpG gene products are capable of providing some anthranilate for pyocyanin synthesis.
Isolation frequency of multiple-antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MARPA) was 11.9% (fifty six strains) of a total of four-hundred seventy-one strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from clinical specimens at the Kyorin University Hospital from October 1994 to December 1996. Eighteen strains of MARPA and thirteen strains of antibiotic sensitive P. aeruginosa (ASPA) isolated from clinical specimens in internal medicine ward A were determined O serotype, and characterized with production of pyocyanin, pyoverdin, hemolysin, elastase, and caseinase. Sixteen strains (88.9%) of MARPA were identified as serotype C. The ability to produce pyocyanin, hemolysin, elastase, and caseinase was not detected in all MARPA. One side, thirteen strains of ASPA showed various serotypes, i.e., B: 5 strains (38.4%), G: 4 strains (30.8%), C: 2 strains (15.4%), E: 1 strain (7.7%) and unknown type: 1 strain (7.7%), and the production of both hemolysin and pyoverdin was observed in 13 strains (100%), pyocyanin in 8 strains (61.5%), elastase and caseinase in 9 strains (69.2%) of ASPAs, which suggests that ASPAs do maintain the synthetic ability of pathogenic factors and pigments, but MARPAs do not. These results indicate that from epidemiological points of view the current strains of MARPA spread from one clone within the internal medicine ward A with nosocomial outbreak by serotype C.
Human lymphocyte proliferation is inhibited in vitro in the presence of killed Pseudomonas aeruginosa or cell-free P. aeruginosa culture supernatants. A comparison of culture supernatants obtained under similar conditions from Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, P. aeruginosa, and Pseudomonas cepacia strains demonstrated that all P. aeruginosa supernatants were strongly inhibitory, whereas supernatants from other bacteria were mildly inhibitory or not inhibitory at all. These P. aeruginosa inhibitors prevent proliferative responses of resting cells upon mitogen activation and decrease [3H]thymidine uptake when added to human lymphocytes undergoing active proliferation in culture. The inhibitory effect is reversible and not due to cytotoxicity. Most of the inhibitory activity present in crude supernatants was detected in ultrafiltrates of molecular weights below 2,000. Purified P. aeruginosa pyocyanine, a low-molecular-weight phenazine pigment present in culture supernatant, was strongly inhibitory for lymphocyte proliferation. Extraction of pyocyanine and phenazine pigments from inhibitory P. aeruginosa supernatants eliminated their inhibitory activity. Inhibitors were recovered from reverse-phase chromatographic cartridges by both chloroform and methanol elution, indicating that pyocyanine and other phenazine pigments present in P. aeruginosa supernatants are responsible for the inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation. In addition to the identification of phenazine pigments as lymphocyte proliferation inhibitors, several criteria ruled out major contributions of P. aeruginosa polysaccharide, exotoxin A, and proteases to this phenomenon. P. aeruginosa strains selected for very low protease production or for very low exotoxin A production produced supernatants as inhibitory for lymphocyte proliferation as supernatants obtained from clinical P. aeruginosa isolates. Purified P. aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide and protease preparations failed to induce reversible lymphocyte proliferation inhibition. Finally, heat inactivation of P. aeruginosa supernatants at 100 degrees C for 60 min inactivates exotoxin A and proteases but produced only a moderate decrease of the inhibitory activity for lymphocyte proliferation.
Salicylic acid (SA) is a phenolic metabolite produced by plants and is known to play an important role in several physiological processes, such as the induction of plant defense responses against pathogen attack. Here, using the Arabidopsis thaliana-Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathosystem, we provide evidence that SA acts directly on the pathogen, down regulating fitness and virulence factor production of the bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 showed reduced attachment and biofilm formation on the roots of the Arabidopsis mutants lox2 and cpr5-2, which produce elevated amounts of SA, as well as on wild-type Arabidopsis plants primed with exogenous SA, a treatment known to enhance endogenous SA concentration. Salicylic acid at a concentration that did not inhibit PA14 growth was sufficient to significantly affect the ability of the bacteria to attach and form biofilm communities on abiotic surfaces. Furthermore, SA down regulated three known virulence factors of PA14: pyocyanin, protease, and elastase. Interestingly, P. aeruginosa produced more pyocyanin when infiltrated into leaves of the Arabidopsis transgenic line NahG, which accumulates less SA than wild-type plants. This finding suggests that endogenous SA plays a role in down regulating the synthesis and secretion of pyocyanin in vivo. To further test if SA directly affects the virulence of P. aeruginosa, we used the Caenorhabditis elegans-P. aeruginosa infection model. The addition of SA to P. aeruginosa lawns significantly diminished the bacterium's ability to kill the worms, without affecting the accumulation of bacteria inside the nematodes' guts, suggesting that SA negatively affects factors that influence the virulence of P. aeruginosa. We employed microarray technology to identify SA target genes. These analyses showed that SA treatment affected expression of 331 genes. It selectively repressed transcription of exoproteins and other virulence factors, while it had no effect on expression of housekeeping genes. Our results indicate that in addition to its role as a signal molecule in plant defense responses, SA works as an anti-infective compound by affecting the physiology of P. aeruginosa and ultimately attenuating its virulence.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonizes the pulmonary tissue of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), leading to biofilm-associated infections. The pulmonary fluid of CF patients usually contains elevated concentrations of cations and may contain the P. aeruginosa redox-active pigment pyocyanin, which is known to disrupt calcium homeostasis of host cells. Since divalent cations are important bridging ions for bacterial polysaccharides and since they may play regulatory roles in bacterial gene expression, we investigated the effect of calcium ions on the extracellular matrix constituents of P. aeruginosa biofilms. For mucoid strain P. aeruginosa FRD1, calcium addition (1.0 and 10 mM as CaCl(2)) resulted in biofilms that were at least 10-fold thicker than biofilms without added calcium. Scanning confocal laser microscopy showed increased spacing between cells for the thick biofilms, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the material between cells is primarily alginate. An algD transcriptional reporter demonstrated that calcium addition caused an eightfold increase in alg gene expression in FRD1 biofilms. Calcium addition also resulted in increased amounts of three extracellular proteases (AprA, LasB, and PrpL). Immunoblots of the biofilm extracellular material established that AprA was harbored within the biofilm extracellular matrix. An aprA deletion mutation and a mutation in gene for a putative P. aeruginosa calmodulin-like protein did not significantly affect calcium-induced biofilm structure. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed increased amounts of phenazine biosynthetic proteins in FRD1 biofilms and in calcium-amended planktonic cultures. Spectrochemical analyses showed that the calcium addition causes a three- to fivefold increase in pyocyanin production. These results demonstrate that calcium addition affects the structure and extracellular matrix composition of mucoid P. aeruginosa biofilms, through increased expression and stability of bacterial extracellular products. The calcium-induced extracellular matrix of mucoid P. aeruginosa consists primarily of the virulence factor alginate and also harbors extracellular proteases and perhaps pyocyanin, a biomolecule that may further disrupt cellular calcium levels.
Mu transposition recombination technique was firstly used as a mutagenesis tool to explore a cluster of genes involved in biosynthesis and regulation of pigments in P. aeruginosa. Eight pigment mutants were screened and identified. Gene cloning and sequencing of the region flanking the insertion revealed that the genes hmgA, ptsP, sucC, phzS, phzF1 were disrupted with mini-Mu respectively. Among them, gene hmgA is involved in the degradation of tyrosine, others affect the metabolism of pyocyanin which is the most important pigment of P. aeruginosa. Both gene phzS and gene phzF1 have been experimentally demonstrated to participate in pyocyanin synthesis. Gene ptsP belongs to a phosphotransferase system and gene sucC encodes succinyl-CoA synthetase beta chain. This is the first report that gene ptsP and sucC may be involved in the regulation of the biosynthesis of pyocyanin.