Transcription Factor EepR Is Required for Serratia marcescens Host Proinflammatory Response by Corneal Epithelial Cells

Relatively little is known about how the corneal epithelium responds to vision-threatening bacteria from the Enterobacterales order. This study investigates the impact of Serratia marcescens on corneal epithelial cell host responses. We also investigate the role of a bacterial transcription factor EepR, which is a positive regulator of S. marcescens secretion of cytotoxic proteases and a hemolytic surfactant. We treated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of human corneal limbal epithelial cells with wild-type bacterial secretomes. Our results show increased expression of proinflammatory and lipid signaling molecules, while this is greatly altered in eepR mutant-treated corneal cells. Together, these data support the model that the S. marcescens transcription factor EepR is a key regulator of host-pathogen interactions, and is necessary to induce proinflammatory chemokines, cytokines, and lipids.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of Serratia marcescens on corneal epithelial cell host responses, as well as the role of a bacterial transcription factor EepR in regulating host-pathogen interactions. Results show increased expression of proinflammatory and lipid signaling molecules in wild-type bacterial secretome-treated corneal cells.