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Value of T6SS Core Gene hcp in Acinetobacter baumannii Respiratory Tract Infection

  • ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii is a major healthcare burden. Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) contributes to both virulence and drug resistance in this bacteria. This study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of hemolysin co-regulated protein (Hcp) gene in A. baumannii pneumonia and further explore the effect of hcp on clinical, pathogenicity and drug resistance. 53 clinical A. baumannii strains from patients’ respiratory tract at a teaching hospital were included in this study. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was carried out to examine the expression of hcp. Recombinant Hcp expression plasmids (pET-28a(+)-hcp) were constructed and his-tagged Hcp were purified to stimulate Tohoku Hospital Pediatrics-1 (THP-1) macrophages. Nuclear Factor Kappa B p65 (NF-κBp65) and Interleukin 8 (IL-8) were detected by qRT-PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) were examined by an automated instrument system. Hcp gene had 92.6% sensitivity and 75% specificity for distinguishing invasive or colonizing A. baumannii from the respiratory tract. His-tagged Hcp induced NF-κBp65 and IL-8 at gene level in THP-1 macrophages. Additional, high hcp expression isolates showed higher rate of antimicrobial agent exposure (< 30 days) of carbapenems, antibiotic combination therapy and multiple or extensive drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) and exhibited higher resistance rate to clinical commonly-used antimicrobial agents. Hcp gene could serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker to distinguish A. baumannii respiratory tract infection from colonization and participate in eliciting inflammatory responses in vitro. T6SS/hcp may play a role in the development of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB), multiple or extensive drug-resistant A. baumannii (MDRAB/XDRAB).

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Acknowledgements

All colleagues collaborated in the collection and interpretation of the data and contributed to the manuscript. We are grateful to Professor Yunsong Yu of the Infectious Diseases Department at Yifu Shao Hospital, which is affiliated with Zhejiang University, for providing the ATCC 17978 strain.

Funding

This study was supported by a Grant from the Nanyang Science and Technology Bureau (KJGG088).

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Author notes

  1. Yin-yin Hu and Shuo Chen have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Nanyang Central Hospital, Nanyang, 473000, Henan Province, China

    Yin-yin Hu, Qing-wen Lu & Fei Wang

  2. Department of Infection Control, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang Province, China

    Shuo Chen

  3. Department of Breast Surgery, Nan yang Second General Hospital, Nanyang, 473000, Henan Province, China

    Ya-dong Zhang

  4. Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Childrens Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang Province, China

    Aijuan Ren & Cai-xia Liu

Authors
  1. Yin-yin Hu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by YH, SC, YZ, FW and AR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by YH and SC. QL and CL revised the manuscript and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. YH and SC contribute to this work equally.

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Correspondence to Cai-xia Liu.

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This is an retrospective study, so no ethical approval is required.

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Hu, Yy., Chen, S., Zhang, Yd. et al. Value of T6SS Core Gene hcp in Acinetobacter baumannii Respiratory Tract Infection. Indian J Microbiol 63, 291–298 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-023-01083-8

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