Functional characterization of a novel outer membrane porin KpnO, regulated by PhoBR two-component system in Klebsiella pneumoniae NTUH-K2044

Abstract

Background: The diffusion of antibiotics through the outer membrane is primarily affected by the porin super family, changes contribute to antibiotic resistance. Recently we demonstrated that the CpxAR two-component signaling system alters the expression of an uncharacterized porin OmpCKP, to mediate antimicrobial resistance in K. pneumoniae. Principal Findings: In this study, functional characterization of the putative porin OmpCKP (denoted kpnO) with respect to antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence was evaluated by generating an isogenic mutant, ΔkpnO in a clinical isolate of K. pneumoniae. Estimation of uronic acid content confirmed that ΔkpnO produced ~2.0 fold lesser capsular polysaccharide than the wild-type. The ΔkpnO displayed higher sensitivity to hyper osmotic and bile conditions. Disruption of kpnO increased the susceptibility of K. pneumoniae to oxidative and nitrostative stress by ~1.6 fold and >7 fold respectively. The loss of the Klebsiella porin led to an increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration of tetracycline (3-fold), nalidixic acid (4-fold), tobramycin (4-fold), streptomycin (10-fold), and spectinomycin (10-fold), which could be restored following complementation. The single deletion of kpnO reduced the survival of the pathogen by 50% when exposed to disinfectants. In Caenorhabditis elegans model, the kpnO mutant exhibited significantly (P<0.01) lower virulence. To dissect the role of PhoBR signaling system in regulating the expression of the kpnO, a phoBKP isogenic mutant was constructed. The phoBKP mutant exhibited impaired gastrointestinal stress response and decreased antimicrobial susceptibility. The mRNA levels of kpnO were found to be 4-fold less in phoBKP mutant compared to wild type. A regulatory role of PhoBKP for the expression of kpnO was further supported by the specific binding of PhoBKP to the putative promoter of kpnO. Conclusions and Significance: Loss of PhoBR regulated porin KpnO resulted in increased antimicrobial resistance, increased susceptibility to gastrointestinal stress, and reduced virulence in K. pneumoniae NTUH-K2044. © 2012 Srinivasan et al.