ExoU-induced procoagulant activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected airway cells.

The present study addressed the question whether ExoU, a Pseudomonas aeruginosa toxin with phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity, may induce airway epithelial cells to overexpress tissue factor (TF) and exhibit a procoagulant phenotype. Cells from the human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B line were infected with an ExoU-producing P. aeruginosa strain, pre-treated or not with the cytosolic PLA2 inhibitor methylarachidonyl fluorophosphate (MAFP), or with two ExoU-deficient mutants. Control noninfected and infected cells were assessed for the expression of: 1) TF mRNA by RT-PCR; 2) cell-associated TF by enzyme immunoassay and flow cytometry; 3) procoagulant activity by a colorimetric assay; and 4) microparticle-associated TF by flow cytometry. An enzyme immunoassay was also used to assess cell-associated TF in lung extracts from mice infected intratracheally with ExoU-producing and -deficient bacteria. Cells infected with the wild-type bacteria had higher levels of TF mRNA, cell-associated TF expression, procoagulant activity and released microparticle-associated TF than cells infected with the mutants. Bacterial treatment with MAFP significantly reduced the expression of TF by infected cells. Lung samples from mice infected with the wild-type bacteria exhibited higher levels of cell-associated TF and procoagulant activity. The present results demonstrate that ExoU may contribute to the pathogenesis of lung injury by inducing a tissue factor-dependent procoagulant activity in airway epithelial cells.

Eicosanoid-mediated proinflammatory activity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ExoU.

As Pseudomonas aeruginosa ExoU possesses two functional blocks of homology to calcium-independent (iPLA(2)) and cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)), we addressed the question whether it would exhibit a proinflammatory activity by enhancing the synthesis of eicosanoids by host organisms. Endothelial cells from the HMEC-1 line infected with the ExoU-producing PA103 strain exhibited a potent release of arachidonic acid (AA) that could be significantly inhibited by methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate (MAFP), a specific PLA(2) inhibitor, as well as significant amounts of the cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived prostaglandins PGE(2) and PGI(2). Cells infected with an isogenic mutant defective in ExoU synthesis did not differ from non-infected cells in the AA release and produced prostanoids in significantly lower concentrations. Infection by PA103 induced a marked inflammatory response in two different in vivo experimental models. Inoculation of the parental bacteria into mice footpads led to an early increase in the infected limb volume that could be significantly reduced by inhibitors of both COX and lipoxygenase (ibuprofen and NDGA respectively). In an experimental respiratory infection model, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from mice instilled with 10(4) cfu of PA103 exhibited a marked influx of inflammatory cells and PGE(2) release that could be significantly reduced by indomethacin, a non-selective COX inhibitor. Our results suggest that ExoU may contribute to P. aeruginosa pathogenesis by inducing an eicosanoid-mediated inflammatory response of host organisms.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa selective adherence to and entry into human endothelial cells.

The pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa disseminated infections depends on bacterial interaction with blood vessels. We have hypothesized that in order to traverse the endothelial barrier, bacteria would have to adhere to and damage endothelial cells. To test this hypothesis, we studied the adherence to human endothelial cells in primary culture of the piliated P. aeruginosa strain PAK and of two isogenic nonpiliated strains: PAK/p-, which carries a mutation in the pilin structural gene, and PAK-N1, a mutant defective in the regulatory rpoN gene. PAK adhered significantly more than did the pilus-lacking strains. P. aeruginosa was also taken up by endothelial cells, as determined by quantitative bacteriologic assays and by transmission electron microscopy. This internalization of P. aeruginosa seems to be a selective process, since the piliated strain was taken up significantly more than the nonpiliated bacteria and the avirulent Escherichia coli DH5 alpha, even following bacterial centrifugation onto the cell monolayers. A significant fraction of the internalized P. aeruginosa PAK was recovered in a viable form after 6 h of residence within endothelial cells. Progressive endothelial cell damage resulted from PAK intracellular harboring, as indicated by the release of lactate dehydrogenase. An increasing concentration of PAK cells was recovered from the extracellular medium with time, suggesting that ingested bacteria were released from endothelial cells and multiplied freely. We speculate that in vivo the ability of some P. aeruginosa strains to resist intracellular residence would afford protection from host defenses and antibiotics and that the release of viable bacteria into bloodstream may represent a central feature of the pathogenesis of bacteremia in compromised patients.

Toxicity of the hexachlorocyclohexane in rats.

Three groups, with 10 sixty-day-old male rats each, were given dietary levels of technical hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) 0, 0.9 and 900 ppm for 90 days. Observations were made on blood glucose, live glycogen and glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase), organ weights, histology and histochemistry of different tissues. Significant findings included growth retardation at 900 ppm, increased relative liver weight at the same dietary level, reduction of blood glucose levels at 0.9 ppm while liver glycogen and G-6-Pase levels were not affected in any dosage. Histological and histochemical changes were seen only in liver and kidneys, including steatosis and gutular hyaline degeneration in the kidneys of animals receiving dietary levels of technical HCH 900 ppm.