The LasB Elastase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Acts in Concert with Alkaline Protease AprA To Prevent Flagellin-Mediated Immune Recognition

Fiordiligie Casilag, Anne Lorenz, Jonas Krueger, Frank Klawonn, Siegfried Weiss, Susanne Häussler

99 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is capable of establishing severe and persistent infections in various eukaryotic hosts. It encodes a wide array of virulence factors and employs several strategies to evade immune detection. In the present study, we screened the Harvard Medical School transposon mutant library of P. aeruginosa PA14 for bacterial factors that modulate interleukin-8 responses in A549 human airway epithelial cells. We found that in addition to the previously identified alkaline protease AprA, the elastase LasB is capable of degrading exogenous flagellin under calcium-replete conditions and prevents flagellin-mediated immune recognition. Our results indicate that the production of two proteases with anti-flagellin activity provides a failsafe mechanism for P. aeruginosa to ensure the maintenance of protease-dependent immune-modulating functions.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInfection and Immunity
Volume84
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)162-71
Number of pages10
ISSN0019-9567
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bacterial Proteins/metabolism
  • Endopeptidases/metabolism
  • Epithelial Cells/immunology
  • Flagella/immunology
  • Flagellin/immunology
  • Humans
  • Immune Evasion/immunology
  • Interleukin-8/immunology
  • Metalloendopeptidases/metabolism
  • Pseudomonas Infections/immunology
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa/immunology
  • Serine Endopeptidases/metabolism
  • Virulence Factors

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