Staphylococcus is a leading causative agent for hospital-acquired infections. S. aureus can cause skin, bone, heart valve, blood, and lung infection resulting in severe diseases such as endocarditis, osteomyelitis and pneumonia, while S. epidermidis mainly causes foreign body infections. Biofilm formation has long been recognized as the major virulence factor for S. epidermidis and has been recently implicated to play a key role in endocarditis, osteomyelitis and indwelling device associated infections caused by S. aureus. Biofilm, a community of microorganisms attached to a solid surface, is generally highly resistant to antibiotics and host immune defense mechanisms and therefore contributes to persistence of diseases. The mechanism of biofilm formation in staphycococci is largely unknown and much remains to be explored. Recently, we have identified and initially characterized a novel regulator, Rbf, which positively regulates biofilm formation in S. aureus. We demonstrated that Rbf affected biofilm formation in various strains and it affected many target genes. We also showed that rbf was regulated by two regulators, agr and sigB, and was an important virulence factor in promoting bacterial persistence in a mouse foreign body infection model. In this application we propose to continue our studies by accomplishing four specific aims: (1) to study the molecular architecture of the rbf locus and to analyze rbf expression in the murine model of foreign body infection;(2) to identify the rbf target genes by proteomic and microarray approaches and to study the mechanism of target gene regulation by rbf;(3) to study regulation of rbf by known regulators, agr and sigB, and to identify additional genes affect Rbf expression;(4) to investigate the role of Rbf in native tissue infection using a biofilm relevant model of septic arthritis in mice. Staphylococcal infections have become more difficult to treat due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance strains. Moreover, bacteria that form biofilm will be protected in the biofilm from treatments even with effective antibiotics. Understanding biofilm formation and its regulation at the molecular level will contribute to new knowledge on the mechanisms of pathogenesis of biofilm-associated infecitons, which will lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for treating biofilm-related Staphylococcal diseases.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI067857-04
Application #
7900598
Study Section
Bacterial Pathogenesis Study Section (BACP)
Program Officer
Huntley, Clayton C
Project Start
2007-07-05
Project End
2012-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$352,057
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
122452563
City
Little Rock
State
AR
Country
United States
Zip Code
72205
Cue, David; Junecko, Jennifer M; Lei, Mei G et al. (2015) SaeRS-dependent inhibition of biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus Newman. PLoS One 10:e0123027
Cassat, James E; Smeltzer, Mark S; Lee, Chia Y (2014) Investigation of biofilm formation in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. Methods Mol Biol 1085:195-211
Prax, Marcel; Lee, Chia Y; Bertram, Ralph (2013) An update on the molecular genetics toolbox for staphylococci. Microbiology 159:421-35
Cue, David; Lei, Mei G; Lee, Chia Y (2013) Activation of sarX by Rbf is required for biofilm formation and icaADBC expression in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol 195:1515-24
Lei, Mei G; Cue, David; Alba, Jimena et al. (2012) A single copy integration vector that integrates at an engineered site on the Staphylococcus aureus chromosome. BMC Res Notes 5:5
Cue, David; Lei, Mei G; Lee, Chia Y (2012) Genetic regulation of the intercellular adhesion locus in staphylococci. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2:38
Mrak, Lara N; Zielinska, Agnieszka K; Beenken, Karen E et al. (2012) saeRS and sarA act synergistically to repress protease production and promote biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus. PLoS One 7:e38453
Zhu, Yefei; Nandakumar, Renu; Sadykov, Marat R et al. (2011) RpiR homologues may link Staphylococcus aureus RNAIII synthesis and pentose phosphate pathway regulation. J Bacteriol 193:6187-96
Lei, Mei G; Cue, David; Roux, Christelle M et al. (2011) Rsp inhibits attachment and biofilm formation by repressing fnbA in Staphylococcus aureus MW2. J Bacteriol 193:5231-41
Cue, David; Lei, Mei G; Luong, Thanh T et al. (2009) Rbf promotes biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus via repression of icaR, a negative regulator of icaADBC. J Bacteriol 191:6363-73

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