Polyamines in the virulence of bacterial pathogens of respiratory tract

Abstract

Polyamines are positively charged hydrocarbons that are essential for the growth and cellular maintenance in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Polyamines have been demonstrated to play a role in bacterial pathogenicity and biofilm formation. However, the role of extracellular polyamines as a signaling molecule in the regulation of virulence is not investigated in detail. The bacterial pathogens residing in the respiratory tract remain asymptomatic for an extended period; however, the factors that lead to symptomatic behavior are poorly understood. Further investigation to understand the relation between the host‐secreted factors and virulence of pathogenic bacteria in the respiratory tract may provide insights into the pathogenesis of respiratory tract infections. Polyamines produced within the bacterial cell are generally sequestered. Therefore, the pool of extracellular polyamines formed by secretion of the commensals and the host may be one of the signaling molecules that might contribute toward the alterations in the expression of virulence factors in bacterial pathogens. Besides, convergent mechanisms of polyamine biosynthesis do exist across the border of species and genus level. Also, several novel polyamine transporters in the host and bacteria remain yet to be identified. The review focuses on the role of polyamines in the expression of virulence phenotypes and biofilm formation of the respiratory tract pathogens.

Bacterial threat assessment of bacteriophage infection is mediated by intracellular polyamine accumulation and Gac/Rsm signaling

“…Polyamines are small polycationic compounds that are involved in a variety of cellular processes in eukaryotes and prokaryotes through interactions with negatively charged molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins (Childs et al, 2003; Sarkar et al, 1995). In bacteria, putrescine and spermidine are the most common polyamines (Banerji et al, 2021) and are typically present at high concentrations (0.1–30 millimolar) inside bacterial cells (Duprey and Groisman, 2020; Shah and Swiatlo, 2008). In response to phage infection or other mass-lysis events, millimolar concentrations of polyamine could be released into the immediate environment.…”

“…Polyamines also influence bacterial responses related to virulence or immune evasion (Banerji et al ., 2021). One example involves Gac/Rsm signaling and type III secretion gene regulation in P. aeruginosa (Mulcahy et al, 2006).…”

Spermidine Binding to the<em> Acetinobacter baumannii</em> Efflux Protein AceI Observed by Near-UV Synchrotron Radiation Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

“…Possible natural substrates of AceI that we investigated included polyamines such as spermidine, spermine, putrescine and cadaverine that have some chemical and structural similarity to chlorhexidine. Polyamines are primordial compounds found abundantly in eukaryotes, bacteria and archaea [9], and they have multiple roles in bacterial pathogens [10,11]. Polyamines may exist at high (millimolar) concentrations in cells and they can inhibit cell growth when they are in excess, so it makes sense for cells to have detoxification mechanisms for polyamines such as active efflux.…”

Exogenous Polyamines Influence In Vitro Microbial Adhesion to Human Mucus According to the Age of Mucus Donor

“…Similar to eukaryotic cells, PUT, SPD, and SPM are the main PAs together with cadaverine, with recent studies highlighting their role in bacterial activity [17]. More specifically, PAs can influence bacteria-host interactions with various reports describing the mechanism by which PAs may contribute to bacterial pathogenesis [18,19]. For instance, spermidine production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa protects the pathogen against antibiotics while agmatine (a precursor of SPD and PUT) derived by the same pathogen can reduce the pro-inflammatory response of airway epithelial cells [20,21].…”