Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate-Dependent Oligomerization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cytotoxin ExoU.

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa type III secretion system delivers effector proteins directly into target cells, allowing the bacterium to modulate host cell functions. ExoU is the most cytotoxic of the known effector proteins and has been associated with more severe infections in humans. ExoU is a patatin-like A2 phospholipase requiring the cellular host factors phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] and ubiquitin for its activation in vitro We demonstrated that PI(4,5)P2 also induces the oligomerization of ExoU and that this PI(4,5)P2-mediated oligomerization does not require ubiquitin. Single amino acid substitutions in the C-terminal membrane localization domain of ExoU reduced both its activity and its ability to form higher-order complexes in transfected cells and in vitro Combining inactive truncated ExoU proteins partially restored phospholipase activity and cytotoxicity, indicating that ExoU oligomerization may have functional significance. Our results indicate that PI(4,5)P2 induces the oligomerization of ExoU, which may be a mechanism by which this coactivator enhances the phospholipase activity of ExoU.

The Role of ExoS in Dissemination of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during Pneumonia.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, and dissemination to the bloodstream is a recognized risk factor for particularly poor outcomes. Yet the mechanism by which bacteria in the lungs gain access to the bloodstream remains poorly understood. In this study, we used a mouse model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia to examine this mechanism. P. aeruginosa uses a type III secretion system to deliver effector proteins such as ExoS directly into the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. ExoS, a bi-functional GTPase activating protein (GAP) and ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADPRT), inhibits phagocytosis during pneumonia but has also been linked to a higher incidence of dissemination to the bloodstream. We used a novel imaging methodology to identify ExoS intoxicated cells during pneumonia and found that ExoS is injected into not only leukocytes but also epithelial cells. Phagocytic cells, primarily neutrophils, were targeted for injection with ExoS early during infection, but type I pneumocytes became increasingly injected at later time points. Interestingly, injection of these pneumocytes did not occur randomly but rather in discrete regions, which we designate ""fields of cell injection" (FOCI). These FOCI increased in size as the infection progressed and contained dead type I pneumocytes. Both of these phenotypes were attenuated in infections caused by bacteria secreting ADPRT-deficient ExoS, indicating that FOCI growth and type I pneumocyte death were dependent on the ADPRT activity of ExoS. During the course of infection, increased FOCI size was associated with enhanced disruption of the pulmonary-vascular barrier and increased bacterial dissemination into the blood, both of which were also dependent on the ADPRT activity of ExoS. We conclude that the ADPRT activity of ExoS acts upon type I pneumocytes to disrupt the pulmonary-vascular barrier during P. aeruginosa pneumonia, leading to bacterial dissemination.

The great escape: Pseudomonas breaks out of the lung.

The Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections and the focus of much attention due to its resistance to many conventional antibiotics. It harbors a wide range of disease-promoting virulence factors, including a type III secretion system. Here we review our recent study of ExoS, one of the effector proteins exported by this type III secretion system. Using a mouse model of pneumonia, we showed that the ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADPRT) activity of ExoS caused formation of "fields of cell injection" (FOCI) in the lungs. These FOCI represented ExoS-injected clusters of type I pneumocytes that became compromised, leading to disruption of the pulmonary-vascular barrier and subsequent bacterial dissemination from the lungs to the bloodstream. We discuss the potential mechanisms by which these processes occur as well as the novel techniques used to study ExoS function in vivo.