A common strategy employed by Staphylococcus aureus to survive in the host is to develop into an encased community of cells called a biofilm. Our central PPG hypothesis is that S. aureus biofilm architecture and metabolism creates a unique niche that promotes an immune suppressive environment. In this proposal (Project 3), we are focusing on the architecture aspects of this hypothesis by identifying critical components of the biofilm matrix, and in the case of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates, this matrix material is predominantly proteins and extracellular DNA (eDNA). We have developed a new approach to identify eDNA- binding proteins that are part of the biofilm matrix. In this proposal, we will characterize these matrix proteins through a series of biofilm, imaging, regulation, and infection model studies.
In Specific Aim 1, we will confirm our new method to identify candidate proteins and characterize the biofilm phenotypes of mutants using various assays. We will also assess DNA binding activity and determine whether immunotherapy has an anti- biofilm effect.
In Specific Aim 2, we will investigate the regulation of biofilm matrix composition in collaboration with Dr. Bayles (Project 1). We demonstrated that SaeP binds DNA and high level expression causes a dramatic up-regulation in biofilm capacity. We will assess the properties of the SaeP hyper-biofilm and investigate whether the Sae regulatory system senses nucleic acid content in a SaeP dependent manner. Finally, in Specific Aim 3 we will investigate the influence of biofilm matrix proteins on virulence and the establishment of an anti-inflammatory environment during an MRSA orthopedic implant infection model in collaboration with Dr. Kielian (Project 4). We will test eDNA-binding protein mutants in the model, image mutants using nuclease-activatable probes, and assess the effects of mutants on M2 macrophage polarization and establishment of the anti-inflammatory biofilm milieu. Taken together, the proposed studies will advance our understanding of the complex architecture of MRSA biofilms that is important for these infections to persist in the host.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
2P01AI083211-06
Application #
8742806
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Omaha
State
NE
Country
United States
Zip Code
68198
Yamada, Kelsey J; Kielian, Tammy (2018) Biofilm-Leukocyte Cross-Talk: Impact on Immune Polarization and Immunometabolism. J Innate Immun :1-9
Bhinderwala, Fatema; Lonergan, Samantha; Woods, Jade et al. (2018) Expanding the Coverage of the Metabolome with Nitrogen-Based NMR. Anal Chem 90:4521-4528
Heim, Cortney E; Vidlak, Debbie; Odvody, Jessica et al. (2018) Human prosthetic joint infections are associated with myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs): Implications for infection persistence. J Orthop Res 36:1605-1613
Svechkarev, Denis; Sadykov, Marat R; Bayles, Kenneth W et al. (2018) Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor Array as a Versatile Tool for Bacterial Pathogen Identification and Analysis. ACS Sens 3:700-708
Yamada, Kelsey J; Heim, Cortney E; Aldrich, Amy L et al. (2018) Arginase-1 Expression in Myeloid Cells Regulates Staphylococcus aureus Planktonic but Not Biofilm Infection. Infect Immun 86:
King, Alyssa N; Borkar, Samiksha; Samuels, David J et al. (2018) Guanine limitation results in CodY-dependent and -independent alteration of Staphylococcus aureus physiology and gene expression. J Bacteriol :
Mlynek, Kevin D; Sause, William E; Moormeier, Derek E et al. (2018) Nutritional Regulation of the Sae Two-Component System by CodY in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol 200:
Markley, John L; Brüschweiler, Rafael; Edison, Arthur S et al. (2017) The future of NMR-based metabolomics. Curr Opin Biotechnol 43:34-40
Mishra, Surabhi; Horswill, Alexander R (2017) Heparin Mimics Extracellular DNA in Binding to Cell Surface-Localized Proteins and Promoting Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Formation. mSphere 2:
Gries, Casey M; Kielian, Tammy (2017) Staphylococcal Biofilms and Immune Polarization During Prosthetic Joint Infection. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 25 Suppl 1:S20-S24

Showing the most recent 10 out of 105 publications