OmpT is one of the members of the outer membrane protein family that has been identified as a virulence factor in most of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC).
However, the exact role of OmpT in the urinary tract infections (UTIs) remains unclear. To determine the role of OmpT in the pathogenesis of UPEC, an isogenic deletion mutant of ompT (COTD) was constructed by the λ Red recombination. Human bladder epithelial cell line 5637(HBEC 5637) was used to evaluate the ability of bacterial adhesion/invasion. A murine model of UTI was established to study the formation of intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) in the process of UTIs. The cytokines were also examined during the pathogenesis. The results showed that the COTD strain was deficient in bacterial adhesion and invasion as well as in IBC formation compare to the parent strain. ELISA quantification analysis of cytokines showed that the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 in the serum, bladder and kidney tissues of the mice infected with COTD were lower than that of the CFT073 group. In summary, these results suggest that OmpT plays a multifaceted role in pathogenesis of UTI, including increased bacterial adhesiveness/invasiveness, formation of IBCs and upregulated proinflammatory cytokines.
Written by:
He XL, Wang Q, Peng L, Qu YR, Puthiyakunnon S, Liu XL, Hui CY, Boddu S, Cao H, Huang SH. Are you the author?
Department of Microbiology, School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510260 China; Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Disease, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518001, China; Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90027, USA.
Reference: Pathog Dis. 2015 Apr;73(3). pii: ftv006.
doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftv006
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25825479