Journal
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 6, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2016.00013
Keywords
H-NS; K. pneumoniae; T3P; capsule; adherence; phagocytosis; virulence
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Funding
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT), Mexico [2003-C1-63, 104804-M]
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Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen causing nosocomial infections. Main virulence determinants of K. pneumoniae are pili, capsular polysaccharide, lipopolysaccharide, and siderophores. The histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein (H-NS) is a pleiotropic regulator found in several gram-negative pathogens. It has functions both as an architectural component of the nucleoid and as a global regulator of gene expression. We generated a Delta hns mutant and evaluated the role of the H-NS nucleoid protein on the virulence features of K. pneumoniae. A Delta hns mutant down-regulated the mrkA pilin gene and biofilm formation was affected. In contrast, capsule expression was derepressed in the absence of H-NS conferring a hypermucoviscous phenotype. Moreover, H-NS deficiency affected the K pneumoniae adherence to epithelial cells such as A549 and HeLa cells. In infection experiments using RAW264.7 and THP-1 differentiated macrophages, the Delta hns mutant was less phagocytized than the wild-type strain. This phenotype was likely due to the low adherence to these phagocytic cells. Taken together, our data indicate that H-NS nucleoid protein is a crucial regulator of both T3P and CPS of K. pneumoniae.
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