A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection
ABSTRACT Microorganisms that are involved in microbial invasion keratitis infiltrate the cornea and cause eye pain. Despite the administration of antimicrobial treatment, patients with amoebic keratitis develop bacterial coinfections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection accounts for 50% of the reported...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Microbiology Spectrum |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02683-23 |
| _version_ | 1827383689150988288 |
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| author | Chun-Hsien Chen Chen-Chieh Liao Yu-Jen Wang Fu-Chin Huang Wei-Chen Lin |
| author_facet | Chun-Hsien Chen Chen-Chieh Liao Yu-Jen Wang Fu-Chin Huang Wei-Chen Lin |
| author_sort | Chun-Hsien Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Microorganisms that are involved in microbial invasion keratitis infiltrate the cornea and cause eye pain. Despite the administration of antimicrobial treatment, patients with amoebic keratitis develop bacterial coinfections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection accounts for 50% of the reported bacterial coinfections in these patients. However, the role of pathogenic bacteria in amoeba-induced corneal damage remains unclear. In our current study, we conducted assays to examine cytopathic effects and observed increased corneal cell damage in the group with secondary P. aeruginosa infections. Imaging revealed that the presence of A. castellanii enhanced the accumulation of P. aeruginosa in areas of cell monolayer leakage. We demonstrated that treatment of P. aeruginosa with amoeba-soluble antigen resulted in higher adhesion ability, increased biofilm formation, and more severe corneal cell damage. Overall, this research significantly contributes to our understanding of the risk of P. aeruginosa coinfection in the progression of Acanthamoeba keratitis. IMPORTANCE At the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, numerous cases of amoebic keratitis had been identified with concurrent bacterial infections. Among these bacterial coinfections, Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounted for 50% of the reported cases. However, the impact of pathogenic bacteria on amoeba-induced corneal damage remains unclear. In our study, we successfully demonstrated that P. aeruginosa accumulated on the Acanthamoeba castellanii surface and caused more severe corneal damage. We also indicated that the exposure of P. aeruginosa to amoeba-soluble antigens enhanced its adhesion ability, promoted biofilm formation, and led to more severe corneal cell damage. These findings significantly contributed to our understanding of the risk associated with P. aeruginosa coinfection in the progression of amoeba keratitis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:43:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4eb838a5dd274b63bc422f55af358a16 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2165-0497 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:43:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbiology Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-4eb838a5dd274b63bc422f55af358a162024-01-11T14:04:37ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972024-01-0112110.1128/spectrum.02683-23A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfectionChun-Hsien Chen0Chen-Chieh Liao1Yu-Jen Wang2Fu-Chin Huang3Wei-Chen Lin4Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Parasitology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Parasitology, School of Medicine, China Medical University , Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Parasitology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan, TaiwanABSTRACT Microorganisms that are involved in microbial invasion keratitis infiltrate the cornea and cause eye pain. Despite the administration of antimicrobial treatment, patients with amoebic keratitis develop bacterial coinfections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection accounts for 50% of the reported bacterial coinfections in these patients. However, the role of pathogenic bacteria in amoeba-induced corneal damage remains unclear. In our current study, we conducted assays to examine cytopathic effects and observed increased corneal cell damage in the group with secondary P. aeruginosa infections. Imaging revealed that the presence of A. castellanii enhanced the accumulation of P. aeruginosa in areas of cell monolayer leakage. We demonstrated that treatment of P. aeruginosa with amoeba-soluble antigen resulted in higher adhesion ability, increased biofilm formation, and more severe corneal cell damage. Overall, this research significantly contributes to our understanding of the risk of P. aeruginosa coinfection in the progression of Acanthamoeba keratitis. IMPORTANCE At the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, numerous cases of amoebic keratitis had been identified with concurrent bacterial infections. Among these bacterial coinfections, Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounted for 50% of the reported cases. However, the impact of pathogenic bacteria on amoeba-induced corneal damage remains unclear. In our study, we successfully demonstrated that P. aeruginosa accumulated on the Acanthamoeba castellanii surface and caused more severe corneal damage. We also indicated that the exposure of P. aeruginosa to amoeba-soluble antigens enhanced its adhesion ability, promoted biofilm formation, and led to more severe corneal cell damage. These findings significantly contributed to our understanding of the risk associated with P. aeruginosa coinfection in the progression of amoeba keratitis.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02683-23Acanthamoeba castellaniiPseudomonas aeruginosacorneal cellscoinfection |
| spellingShingle | Chun-Hsien Chen Chen-Chieh Liao Yu-Jen Wang Fu-Chin Huang Wei-Chen Lin A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection Microbiology Spectrum Acanthamoeba castellanii Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal cells coinfection |
| title | A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection |
| title_full | A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection |
| title_fullStr | A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection |
| title_full_unstemmed | A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection |
| title_short | A. castellanii and P. aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection |
| title_sort | a castellanii and p aeruginosa mutually exacerbate damage to corneal cells during coinfection |
| topic | Acanthamoeba castellanii Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal cells coinfection |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02683-23 |
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