Comparative study of phenotypic expression of Bordetella pertussis grown in biofilm and in planktonic mode by proteomic analysis

SERRA DIEGO O.; LÜCKING GENIA; SCHERER SIEGFRIED; YANTORNO OSVALDO M.; EHLING SCHULZ MONIKA

Universidad Austral, Pilar

Congreso; First Annual Iberoamerican Proteomics Congress; 2007

Latinamerican Human Proteome Organization and Human Proteome Organization

Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, is an obligate human pathogen. Although vaccination has proven successful in controlling the acute B. pertussis infection, this pathogen continues to be a common cause of persistent cough in all age groups. Therefore, a better understanding of the colonization and survival strategies of the bacterium in the host could lead to the development of improved methods for controlling the disease. Traditionally, whole planktonic cells have been used as immunogens. Since the relevance of biofilm formation is increasingly recognized as an important strategy for survival and persistence of human pathogens in their host, we investigated in the present study the impact of biofilm formation on the proteome of sessile cells of B. pertussis in relation to their counterpart Planktonic cells. A 2D gel-based approach revealed 8.9 and 13.5 percentage of change of the analyzed cytosolic and membrane-associated subproteomes respectively, between biofilm and Planktonic cells. Those proteins overexpressed and newly expressed in the cytosolic subproteome of sessile cells were found predominant. Differentially regulated proteins that were positively identified in the cytosolic fraction encompasses mainly those involved in central and intermediary metabolism, adaptation and stress response, as well as regulatory processes, whereas those from the membrane group are represented by proteins involved in adhesion and transport activities. Coincidently, these proteins are distributed in functional categories of proteins that were reported to be affected in biofilms of other bacteria. These results suggest that phenotypic traits associated to the biofilm lifestyle might be useful to the pathogen to persist in the host.