Klebsiella pneumoniae triggers a cytotoxic effect on airway epithelial cells.

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dc.contributor.author Cano, Victoria
dc.contributor.author Moranta Mesquida, David
dc.contributor.author Llobet Brossa, Enrique
dc.contributor.author Bengoechea Alonso, José Antonio
dc.contributor.author Garmendia, Junkal
dc.date.accessioned 2015-09-21T11:53:58Z
dc.date.available 2015-09-21T11:53:58Z
dc.identifier.citation 1471-2180
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/11201/1262
dc.description.abstract Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a capsulated Gram negative bacterial pathogen and a frequent cause of nosocomial infections. Despite its clinical relevance, little is known about the features of the interaction between K. pneumoniae and lung epithelial cells on a cellular level, neither about the role of capsule polysaccharide, one of its best characterised virulence factors, in this interaction. Results: The interaction between Klebsiella pneumoniae and cultured airway epithelial cells was analysed. K. pneumoniae infection triggered cytotoxicity, evident by cell rounding and detachment from the substrate. This effect required the presence of live bacteria and of capsule polysaccharide, since it was observed with isolates expressing different amounts of capsule and/or different serotypes but not with non-capsulated bacteria. Cytotoxicity was analysed by lactate dehydrogenase and formazan measurements, ethidium bromide uptake and analysis of DNA integrity, obtaining consistent and complementary results. Moreover, cytotoxicity of noncapsulated strains was restored by addition of purified capsule during infection. While a noncapsulated strain was avirulent in a mouse infection model, capsulated K. pneumoniae isolates displayed different degrees of virulence. Conclusion: Our observations allocate a novel role to K. pneumoniae capsule in promotion of cytotoxicity. Although this effect is likely to be associated with virulence, strains expressing different capsule levels were not equally virulent. This fact suggests the existence of other bacterial requirements for virulence, together with capsule polysaccharide.
dc.language.iso eng
dc.publisher BioMed Central
dc.relation.isformatof Reproducció del document publicat a: 10.1186/1471-2180-9-156
dc.relation.ispartof Bmc Microbiology, 2009, vol. 9, p. 156
dc.rights cc-by (c) Cano, Victoria et al., 2009
dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es
dc.title Klebsiella pneumoniae triggers a cytotoxic effect on airway epithelial cells.
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.date.updated 2015-09-21T11:53:58Z
dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess


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cc-by (c) Cano, Victoria et al., 2009 Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by (c) Cano, Victoria et al., 2009

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