RTX Toxin Enhances the Survival of Vibrio vulnificus During Infection by Protecting the Organism From Phagocytosis

Vibrio vulnificus is a marine bacterium causing serious septicemia and wound infection in humans. It produces an RTX toxin that can lyse a variety of cells and is important for virulence in mice. In this study, we explored the role of RTX in pathogenesis by characterizing an RTX-deficient mutant. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2011-06, Vol.203 (12), p.1866-1874
Main Authors: Lo, Horng-Ren, Lin, Jen-Hsing, Chen, Yi-Hsuan, Chen, Chun-Liang, Shao, Chung-Ping, Lai, Yi-Chi, Hor, Lien-I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacteria
Bacterial colonization
Bacterial Toxins - genetics
Bacterial Toxins - immunology
Bacterial Toxins - metabolism
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Line
Cytotoxicity
Cytotoxins - immunology
Cytotoxins - metabolism
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Macrophages
Macrophages - immunology
Medical sciences
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Mice, Inbred C3H
Microbiology
Miscellaneous
Mutation
Neutrophils
Phagocytosis
Phagocytosis - immunology
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Toxins
Vibrio Infections - microbiology
Vibrio Infections - pathology
Vibrio vulnificus
Vibrio vulnificus - genetics
Vibrio vulnificus - immunology
Vibrio vulnificus - pathogenicity
Virulence
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Summary:Vibrio vulnificus is a marine bacterium causing serious septicemia and wound infection in humans. It produces an RTX toxin that can lyse a variety of cells and is important for virulence in mice. In this study, we explored the role of RTX in pathogenesis by characterizing an RTX-deficient mutant. This mutant showed an ~2-log reduction in virulence for mice infected by various routes. Survival of the mutant at the infection site and subsequent spread into the bloodstream were impaired. In mice pretreated with cyclophosphamide to deplete the neutrophils, both the virulence and survival at the infection site of this mutant were enhanced. This mutant was further shown to be more readily cleared from the macrophage-rich mouse peritoneal cavity and phagocytosed by murine macrophages. These findings suggest that the RTX of V. vulnificus is required for bacterial survival during infection by protecting the organism from phagocytosis.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/jir070