Virulence role of the outer membrane protein CarO in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

LABRADOR-HERRERA G; PÉREZ-PULIDO AJ; ÁLVAREZ-MARÍN R; CASIMIRO-SORIGUER CS; CEBRERO-CANGUIRO T; MORAN BARRIO J; PACHÓN J; VIAJE AM; PACHÓN-IBAÑEZ ME

virulence

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2020

2150-5594

Novel approaches to treat carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections areurgently needed and anti-virulence drugs represent promising alternatives, but our knowledge onpotential targets is scarce. We searched for potential A. baumannii virulence factors by wholegenomesequencing-based comparisons of CRAB clinical isolates causing bloodstream infectionssecondary to ventilator-associated pneumonia from demographics and clinically homogeneouspatients, who received optimal treatment but with different clinical outcomes. Thus, the carOgene was interrupted in CRAB isolates from surviving patients, while it was intact in isolates fromnon-surviving patients, and proteomic/immunoblot techniques corroborated it. When the virulencerole of A. baumannii CarO was analyzed in model systems, isogenic ΔcarO mutants anda CRAB clinical isolate with truncated CarO, showed lower ability to adhere and invade A549 cellsand in vivo virulence. This unnoticed virulence role for CarO postulate this A. baumannii outermembrane protein as a potential target for new therapies against CRAB infections.