Hb. Tang et al., CONTRIBUTION OF SPECIFIC PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA VIRULENCE FACTORS TO PATHOGENESIS OF PNEUMONIA IN A NEONATAL MOUSE MODEL OF INFECTION, Infection and immunity, 64(1), 1996, pp. 37-43
We sought to identify which Pseudomonas aeruginosa products are involv
ed in initiating respiratory tract infection. Defined mutants derived
from strain PAO, i.e., PAOR1 (lasR), PAO-pmm (algC) (an LPS mutant), a
nd AK1152 (which is Fla(-) and lacks functional pili), were significan
tly less virulent than PAO1 in a BALBc/ByJ neonatal mouse model of inf
ection as measured by their abilities to cause acute pneumonia, bacter
emia, and death. All three mutants were also less adherent to epitheli
al cells in an in vitro binding assay. PAOR1 and AK1152 were less able
to elicit epithelial production of interleukin-8 than PAO1. LasR was
found to be required for the optimal expression of neuraminidase under
conditions of increased osmolarity, as might be present in certain pa
thological conditions. PAO-exsA::Omega, which lacks exoenzyme S expres
sion, was fully virulent, causing at least as much pathology as PAO1.
The expression of several P. aeruginosa virulence factors appears to b
e required to establish pulmonary infection in the neonatal mouse.