Proteomic Network of Antibiotic-Induced Outer Membrane Vesicles Released by Extensively Drug-Resistant Elizabethkingia anophelis

Abstract

Elizabethkingia anophelis is a bacterium often associated with nosocomial infection. This study demonstrated that imipenem-induced E. anophelis outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are immunologically relevant and crucial for bacterial survival under antibiotic stress conditions rather than being a source of antibiotic resistance.

Elizabethkingia anophelis outer membrane vesicles as a novel vaccine candidate against infection: insights into immune response and potential for passive immunity

“…The significant reduction in egg production observed in our study after exposure to E. anophelis C08 suggested that this strain possessed virulence factors that impact host reproductive fitness ( 31 , 34 ). This finding was consistent with results from our previous study indicating that iOMVs support the production of virulence factors and survival-related proteins, reflecting their potential for vaccine development ( 18 ).…”

“… a MIC, minimum inhibitory concentration (μg/mL); S, susceptible; I, intermediate; R, resistant. b Breakpoints were adapted from Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints for other species ( 18 ). …”

“… b Breakpoints were adapted from Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints for other species ( 18 ). …”

“…Subinhibitory concentrations of imipenem induce the release of immunologically relevant OMVs related to bacterial survival rather than promote antibiotic resistance, as observed in antibiotic stress-induced environments. In E. anopheles , imipenem-induced OMVs (iOMVs) are enriched with proteins involved in virulence, survival, and carbohydrate metabolism, making them a good source for vaccine development against the pathogen ( 18 ). Indeed, bacterial OMVs are a promising tool that can be employed as antigens and immunomodulators against Gram-negative bacteria ( 19 , 20 ).…”

Clinical manifestations, antimicrobial resistance and genomic feature analysis of the multi-drug resistance Elizabethkingia strains

“…Due to their natural resistance towards several commonly used carbapenem antibiotics, treatment of Elizabethkingia infections always challenging, and empirical treatment often leads to relatively high mortality rates. Moreover, several prior studies have reported that patients with a history of persistent antibiotic exposure are more likely to develop nosocomial infections associated with Elizabethkingia disease (9). The Virulence Factor Database (VFDB) was used to predict a number of common virulence factors for Elizabethkingia, in which many virulent genes were reported to be involved in the synthesis of lipo-oligosaccharides, capsule polysaccharide, catalases, proteases, peroxidase, a two-component regulatory system, superoxide dismutase, heat shock protein, and several others that were responsible for virulence (10).…”