Antibiofilm activity of Prevotella species from the cystic fibrosis lung microbiota against Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Lucia Grassi,
Kyle L. Asfahl,
Sara Van den Bossche,
Ine Maenhout,
Andrea Sass,
Yannick Vande Weygaerde,
Eva Van Braeckel,
Bruno Verhasselt,
Jerina Boelens,
Michael M. Tunney,
Ajai A. Dandekar,
Tom Coenye,
Aurélie Crabbé
Affiliations
Lucia Grassi
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Kyle L. Asfahl
Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Sara Van den Bossche
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Ine Maenhout
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Andrea Sass
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Yannick Vande Weygaerde
Cystic Fibrosis Reference Centre, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
Eva Van Braeckel
Cystic Fibrosis Reference Centre, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Internal Medicine and Paediatrics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Bruno Verhasselt
Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Jerina Boelens
Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Michael M. Tunney
School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Ajai A. Dandekar
Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Tom Coenye
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
It is increasingly recognized that interspecies interactions may modulate the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during chronic lung infections. Nevertheless, while the interaction between P. aeruginosa and pathogenic microorganisms co-infecting the lungs has been widely investigated, little is known about the influence of other members of the lung microbiota on the infection process. In this study, we focused on investigating the impact of Prevotella species isolated from the sputum of people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) on biofilm formation and virulence factor production by P. aeruginosa. Screening of a representative collection of Prevotella species recovered from clinical samples showed that several members of this genus (8 out 10 isolates) were able to significantly reduce biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa PAO1, without impact on growth. Among the tested isolates, the strongest biofilm-inhibitory activity was observed for Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens, which caused a reduction of up to 90% in the total biofilm biomass of several P. aeruginosa isolates from pwCF. In addition, a strain-specific effect of P. nigrescens on the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce proteases and pyocyanin was observed, with significant alterations in the levels of these virulence factors detected in LasR mutant strains. Overall, these results suggest that non-pathogenic bacteria from the lung microbiota may regulate pathogenicity traits of P. aeruginosa, and possibly affect the outcome of chronic lung infections.
