Klebsiella pneumoniae disassembles host microtubules in lung epithelial cells

AbstractKlebsiella pneumoniae raises significant concerns to the health care industry as these microbes are the source of widespread contamination of medical equipment, cause pneumonia as well as other multi ‐organ metastatic infections and have gained multi‐drug resistance. Despite soaring mortality rates, the host cell alterations occurring during these infections remain poorly understood. Here, we show that duringin vitro andin vivo K. pneumoniae infections of lung epithelia, microtubules are severed and then eliminated. This destruction does not require direct association ofK. pneumoniae with the host cells, as microtubules are disassembled in cells that are distant from the infecting bacteria. This microtubule dismantling is dependent on theK. pneumoniae (Kp) geneytfL as non ‐pathogenicE. coli expressing KpytfL disassemble microtubules in the absence ofK. pneumoniae itself. Our data points to the host katanin catalytic subunit A like 1 protein (KATNAL1) and the katanin regulatory subunit B1 protein (KATNB1) as the gatekeepers to the microtubule ‐severing event as both proteins localize specifically to microtubule cut sites. Infected cells that had either of these proteins knocked‐out maintained intact microtubules. Taken together, we have identified a novel mechanism that a bacterial pathogen has exploited to cause microtubule destruct ion within the host epithelia.
Source: Cellular Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research