Pseudomonas aeruginosa modulates alginate biosynthesis and type VI secretion system in two critically ill COVID-19 patients

Background COVID-19 pneumonia has caused huge impact on the health of infected patients and associated with high morbidity and mortality. Shift in the lung microbial ecology upon such viral infection often worsens the disease and increases host susceptibility to superinfections. Bacterial superinfection contributes to the aggravation of COVID-19 and poses a great challenge to clinical treatments. An in-depth investigation on superinfecting bacteria in COVID-19 patients might facilitate understanding of lung microenvironment post virus infections and superinfection mechanism. Results We analyzed the adaptation of two pairs of P. aeruginosa strains with the same MLST type isolated from two critical COVID-19 patients by combining sequencing analysis and phenotypic assays. Both P. aeruginosa strains were found to turn on alginate biosynthesis and attenuate type VI secretion system (T6SS) during short-term colonization in the COVID-19 patients, which results in excessive biofilm formation and virulence reduction-two distinct markers for chronic infections. The macrophage cytotoxicity test and intracellular reactive oxygen species measurement confirmed that the adapted P. aeruginosa strains reduced their virulence towards host cells and are better to escape from host immune clearance than their ancestors. Conclusion Our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection can create a lung environment that allow rapid adaptive evolution of bacterial pathogens with genetic traits suitable for chronic infections.

Automated summary

Our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to genetic adaptation of bacterial pathogens, promoting chronic infections. The adapted bacteria exhibit characteristics such as excessive biofilm formation and reduced virulence, enabling them to evade immune clearance. This highlights the importance of understanding the lung microenvironment post-virus infections and superinfection mechanism in COVID-19 patients.