The sensor kinase BfmS controls production of outer membrane vesicles in Acinetobacter baumannii

Se Yeon Kim, Mi Hyun Kim, Seung Il Kim, Joo Hee Son, Shukho Kim, Yoo Chul Lee, Minsang Shin, Man Hwan Oh, Je Chul Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for various nosocomial infections. The BfmRS two-component system plays a role in pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance of A. baumannii via regulation of bacterial envelope structures. This study investigated the role of the sensor kinase, BfmS, in localization of outer membrane protein A (OmpA) in the outer membrane and production of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) using wild-type A. baumannii ATCC 17978, ΔbfmS mutant, and bfmS-complemented strains. Results: The ΔbfmS mutant showed hypermucoid phenotype in the culture plates, growth retardation under static culture conditions, and reduced susceptibility to aztreonam and colistin compared to the wild-type strain. The ΔbfmS mutant produced less OmpA in the outer membrane but released more OmpA via OMVs than the wild-type strain, even though expression of ompA and its protein production were not different between the two strains. The ΔbfmS mutant produced 2.35 times more OMV particles and 4.46 times more OMV proteins than the wild-type stain. The ΔbfmS mutant OMVs were more cytotoxic towards A549 cells than wild-type strain OMVs. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that BfmS controls production of OMVs in A. baumannii. Moreover, BfmS negatively regulates antimicrobial resistance of A. baumannii and OMV-mediated host cell cytotoxicity. Our results indicate that BfmS negatively controls the pathogenic traits of A. baumannii via cell envelope structures and OMV production.

Original languageEnglish
Article number301
JournalBMC Microbiology
Volume19
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 21 Dec 2019

Keywords

  • Acinetobacter baumannii
  • BfmS
  • Cytotoxicity
  • OmpA
  • Outer membrane vesicle

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