Published ahead of print on February 1, 2005, doi:10.1164/rccm.200408-1044SO
© 2005 American Thoracic Society doi: 10.1164/rccm.200408-1044SO
Pathogen–Host Interactions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PneumoniaDepartment of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Departments of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee; Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; and Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Ruxana T. Sadikot, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, T-1217 MCN, Nashville, TN 37232-2650. E-mail: ruxana.sadikot{at}vanderbilt.edu
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen causing a wide range of acute and chronic infections. P. aeruginosa rarely causes infection in the normal host, but is an efficient opportunistic pathogen causing serious infections in patients who are mechanically ventilated, individuals who are immunocompromised, and patients with malignancies or HIV infection. Among these risk groups, the most vulnerable hosts are neutropenic and patients who are mechanically ventilated. In addition, P. aeruginosa is the most prevalent chronic infection contributing to the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis. Because of the ubiquitous nature of P. aeruginosa and its ability to develop resistance to antibiotics, it continues to be problematic from a treatment perspective. The pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa is largely caused by multiple bacterial virulence factors and genetic flexibility enabling it to survive in varied environments. Lung injury associated with P. aeruginosa infection results from both the direct destructive effects of the organism on the lung parenchyma and exuberant host immune responses. This article focuses on the major bacterial virulence factors and important aspects of the host immunity that are involved in the pathogenesis of serious P. aeruginosa infection. In addition to antibiotic therapy, strategies directed toward enhancing host defense and/or limiting excessive inflammation could be important to improve outcome in P. aeruginosa lung infections.
Key Words: cystic fibrosis • cytokines • epithelium • host defense • nosocomial
Introduction Overview of P. aeruginosa Respiratory Infections Epidemiology of P. aeruginosa Respiratory Infections Acute Infections Chronic Infections Pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa Infections Bacterial Factors Host Factors Summary and Conclusions
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen associated with respiratory tract infections in diverse clinical settings. As a common cause of nosocomial infection in hospitalized and immunocompromised patients and the major pathogen associated with respiratory tract infection in cystic fibrosis (CF), there is a great deal of information available regarding the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa pneumonia. The genomes of a prototypic laboratory strain of P. aeruginosa and several clinical isolates have been sequenced. Microarray studies have identified a variety of epithelial cell genes that are activated in response to contact with P. aeruginosa, and the contribution of numerous host receptors and signaling proteins has been established through the analysis of P. aeruginosa infection in transgenic mouse models. This article reviews recent data that elucidate host and pathogen factors that explain how this versatile pathogen causes pulmonary infection.
P. aeruginosa is an important nosocomial pathogen in patients with significant underlying diseases, and colonization is frequently selected by broad-spectrum antimicrobial usage (1, 2). In patients with damaged airways from mechanical ventilation, trauma, or antecedent viral infection, P. aeruginosa colonization of the respiratory tract is often followed by acute pneumonia, sepsis, and death. As a cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), P. aeruginosa has a high mortality compared with other pathogens (3). The epidemiology and mortality related to VAP has been recently reviewed (3). Some recent studies have reported an increased colonization of the oropharynx of patients with nasogastric tubes with P. aeruginosa and other gram-negative bacteria (4). The properties of the P. aeruginosa strains associated with VAP and acute respiratory failure are very different from those associated with the P. aeruginosa strains that chronically colonize the airways of patients with CF. Patients who are immunosuppressed, particularly transplant recipients, neutropenic patients, and patients with HIV, are at increased risk for P. aeruginosa infection. Loss of mucosal barriers, mucositis from chemotherapy, and the selective pressure of broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy are important risk factors for P. aeruginosa infection (5). Current guidelines for empiric therapy of fever and neutropenia insist on adequate anti–P. aeruginosa coverage (usually two drugs expected to have anti–P. aeruginosa activity). However, this ubiquitous organism remains a potentially serious threat to patients who are immunosuppressed. Patients with HIV whose viral load is not adequately controlled with antiretroviral drugs are also at an increased risk of P. aeruginosa infection (6, 7). P. aeruginosa can cause community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). In the community, the incidence of P. aeruginosa pneumonia is increased in nursing home residents, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and patients recently discharged from the hospital (8). Molecular tools have aided in understanding the epidemiology of P. aeruginosa infections. Phenotypic typing methods using LPS, phage, pyocin, and antimicrobial serotyping are useful for understanding the epidemiology of acute infections; however, P. aeruginosa is phenotypically very unstable and therefore phenotypic typing is of limited value for chronic infections. Molecular typing techniques, such as restriction fragment length polymorphism, or RFLP, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and polymerase chain reaction–based methods, are more useful and discriminatory in chronic infections, permitting differentiation among many strains that may be considered identical by methods such as LPS serotyping. A recently published review on these methods for molecular diagnosis of P. aeruginosa infections provides further details (9).
Acute Infections Nosocomial infections. According to the National Nosocomial Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall incidence of P. aeruginosa infection in U.S. hospitals between 1985 and 1991 was 4.0 per 100 discharges, accounting for 10.1% of all hospital-acquired infections (10). In the SENTRY study performed in 1997 in Canada, the United States, and Latin America, among a total of 4,267 nosocomial and community-acquired blood stream infections, P. aeruginosa was the most common pathogen (10). Another recent survey indicated that, of the patients who develop nosocomial pneumonia, P. aeruginosa was isolated in at least 21% of cases (11). The most recent National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance indicates that P. aeruginosa is the second most common cause of nosocomial pneumonia after Staphylococcus aureus (12).
Ventilator-associated pneumonias.
Infections in the immunocompromised host. With the advent of antiretroviral therapy, trends among persons dying of HIV infection in the United States show an increase in the percentage of deaths associated with bacterial pneumonias, including P. aeruginosa pneumonia. Vidal and coworkers (6) prospectively studied episodes of bacteremia in patients infected with HIV and found a substantially higher risk for P. aeruginosa bacteremia compared with the general population. Neutropenia, previous treatment with cephalosporins, and a low CD4 count were independent risk factors for developing P. aeruginosa bacteremia in patients infected with HIV. Afessa and Green (7) reported that P. aeruginosa pneumonia is a common pulmonary complication in patients with HIV with low CD4 counts. Compared with other pathogens, hospitalization was prolonged in patients with P. aeruginosa pneumonia by 14 days (7).
Community acquired pneumonia. P. aeruginosa rarely causes infection in previously healthy individuals. When P. aeruginosa infection occurs in these patients, it has been associated with heavy exposure to aerosols of contaminated water and can be rapidly progressive, with a reported mortality of 33% (32).
Chronic Infections An enormous amount of work has been done to explain why P. aeruginosa (and not other opportunistic pathogens) is the major cause of pulmonary disease in CF. Although there is still no simple explanation, there is a wealth of information to help understand the interactions of P. aeruginosa in both the normal and the CF lung. Because the clinical features and management of pulmonary infection in CF have recently been reviewed, we will summarize several current hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the predilection for P. aeruginosa lung infections in patients with CF and will refer readers to recently published reviews for more details (37–42). The lack of normal CFTR chloride channel function in the airway epithelium and associated defects in sodium and water transport result in dehydrated airway secretions and mucus plugging (43). The contamination of these mucus plugs by ubiquitous P. aeruginosa and its rapid adaptation to the milieu of the airway result in initially intermittent, then chronic, infection. Despite the presence of large numbers of bacteria in the airway lumen, pathologic specimens obtained from patients with CF at the time of lung transplantation show intact epithelia (Figure 1). Numerous in vivo studies as well as animal models indicate that few P. aeruginosa are actually directly adherent to the airway epithelium. Instead, most of the bacteria are enmeshed in a biofilm composed of bacterial exopolysaccharides as well as host mucin (44). Thus, it is likely that much of the airway inflammation induced by these organisms is caused by the release of immunogenic bacterial components that can gain access to airway epithelium and immune cells in the lung and not have direct contact between bacteria and host cells.
CFTR has been proposed to function as a receptor that increases clearance of P. aeruginosa; therefore, lack of CFTR could directly impair host defense against this organism. Although there are substantial in vitro data supporting this hypothesis (45, 46), there are no human data that conclusively demonstrate a major role for CFTR in bacterial clearance mechanisms. Several reports have suggested that the activity of antimicrobial peptides is diminished in the purportedly high-salt environment of the CF airway surface liquid (47–50); however, these studies have not been substantiated (51). There is general agreement that the persistent inflammatory response to bacteria infecting CF airways eventually results in lung damage and fibrosis. However, it remains unclear whether excessive inflammation in CF is entirely caused by exogenous bacterial stimulation (52–55) or if CFTR dysfunction leads to endogenous "hyperinflammatory" responses in the CF airway cell.
In a recent study, Mall and colleagues (56) overexpressed individual epithelial sodium channel subunits using an airway cell–specific promoter and generated transgenic mice that absorb excess sodium in their airways. These mice show the key abnormalities of CF: airway obstruction with dehydrated mucus. The inflammation and airway remodeling (increased numbers of mucus-secreting goblet cells) were related to accumulation of cytokines and growth factors within the retained mucus, indicating that the excessive inflammation may be related to the structural changes and increased mucus viscosity. In cultured epithelial cells, mutant CFTR is associated with dysregulated inflammatory response and persistent activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor– Bacterial factors contribute to the development of chronic infections in CF, particularly the ability of P. aeruginosa to form biofilms (60, 61). P. aeruginosa isolates recovered from chronically colonized patients with CF are phenotypically different from those collected from other patients or from the environment (Figure 2). Patients with CF have a high frequency of P. aeruginosa isolates with a phenotypic variant capable of forming biofilms related to a regulatory protein (PvrR) (62). Alginate production or mucoidy is another prominent feature of P. aeruginosa encountered in patients with CF (63). Conversion to a mucoid strain, which is dependent on biofilm formation, has been associated with establishment of chronic infection. In a mouse model of acute lung infection, which compared a nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strain (PAO1) to its constitutive alginate-overproducing derivative, alginate production not only impeded pulmonary clearance but also resulted in more severe lung damage (64). Other phenotypic changes in P. aeruginosa isolated from patients with CF include lack of flagellin or pilin expression (65–67).
P. aeruginosa is a ubiquitous, gram-negative aerobic rod with polar, monotrichous flagella and protein structures on the surface (pili) that are responsible for adherence to respiratory epithelium. The single flagellum provides the bacteria with mobility and kinetic activity. P. aeruginosa produces several pigments, a fluorescent yellow-green as well as a blue-green pigment pyocyanin, which give P. aeruginosa colonies a characteristic appearance in culture media. The bacteria are widely distributed and can grow in almost any aqueous habitat, including soil, surface waters, sewage, plants, and various foods, such as leafy vegetables and fresh fruit juice (68). P. aeruginosa is also a common human intestinal bacterium. These organisms can be found in hand-washing sinks and humidifiers in the hospital environment and are often transmitted by medical personnel through direct health care worker–to-patient transfer (69). Central to the success of P. aeruginosa as an opportunistic pathogen is the genetic flexibility provided by its large genome. Although the function of the majority of the predicted open reading frames in the P. aeruginosa PAO1 genome are unknown, many of the genes identified thus far are involved in the regulation, catabolism, and transport of organic compounds (70). Clinical isolates have been found to have pathogenicity islands, which contain discrete group of several genes that directly contribute to virulence (71, 72). The pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa pneumonia is complex, and the outcome of an infection depends on the virulence factors displayed by the bacteria (Figure 3) as well as the host response. The large genome of P. aeruginosa (73) provides a tremendous amount of flexibility and the metabolic capabilities to thrive in environments that are inhospitable to most other organisms. A potent array of innate antimicrobial defense molecules expressed within the airway itself (e.g., lactoferrin, antimicrobial peptides, antibodies, neutrophil elastase, reactive oxygen intermediates) prevents colonization of the respiratory mucosa by most other bacteria. Once an organism does elude host mucociliary clearance, it must also adapt to the milieu, compete for iron, and avoid professional phagocytic cells and complement. Depending on the milieu imposed, P. aeruginosa mutants are selected that thrive in diverse circumstances. Surface appendages, such as flagella and pili, which are critical for the initial colonization phase of infection, function as ligands for phagocytic cells or stimulate the recruitment of neutrophils. Thus, mutants that fail to express pili or flagella and are less immunogenic are selected and persist (74–76).
Bacterial Factors Surface components. P. aeruginosa expresses a limited number of polar pili, which are involved in attachment to eukaryotic cells. They bind to the GalNacß1-4 gal moiety exposed on asialylated glycolipids and then activate NF-  B and proinflammatory gene expression through a receptor complex that includes asialoGM1, Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and associated kinases in a lipid raft (77). Because the antigenically dominant epitope of P. aeruginosa pili is distinct from the cell-binding domain, strategies to prevent pilin-mediated bacterial adherence have been unsuccessful thus far. P. aeruginosa also produces polar flagella, which are critical for motility. Flagella are involved in the initial stages of pulmonary infection and activate interleukin (IL-)-8 production by binding to TLR5 on the apical surface of airway epithelial cells (78). Shortly after colonization of the lung, flagella expression is turned off, coincident with the expression of genes involved in biofilm production.
Type III secretion system.
Several animal model systems have demonstrated the importance of type III secretion proteins in acute P. aeruginosa infections. The neutralization of the type III secretion proteins has been shown to prevent septic shock and improve survival (86). In a mouse model of P. aeruginosa pneumonia, intravenous administration of polyclonal antibodies against PcrV (a protein involved in translocation of type III–secreted toxin) of P. aeruginosa resulted in complete survival of the animals (86). Complementary studies in a rabbit model of P. aeruginosa–induced septic shock associated with lung injury showed that treatment with anti–PcrV IgG significantly reduced lung injury, bacteremia, and plasma TNF- In a human study, the relative risk of mortality was sixfold higher in acute infections associated with expression of the type III secretory proteins ExoS, ExoT, ExoU, or PcrV. Similarly, Hauser and coworkers (76) showed that, in patients with VAP, type III–secreting isolates were associated with worse clinical outcomes. Furthermore, the prevalence of the type III secretion phenotype was found to be significantly higher in acutely infected patients rather than in chronically infected patients with CF, suggesting that the type III protein secretion system is integral to increased P. aeruginosa virulence, particularly in the acute setting (87). Type III secretion protein phenotype analysis may help distinguish respiratory tract colonization from potentially lethal infection. Because antibodies against type III secretory proteins have been protective in animal models, antibodies targeted against these proteins (e.g., anti-PcrV immunoglobulin) may prove to be useful as adjunctive therapy in patients with P. aeruginosa infection who demonstrate the type III secretory phenotype.
Quorum sensing (cell-to-cell signaling). In many bacteria, quorum-sensing signaling molecules are acyl homoserine lactones (AHL), which are freely diffusible. When a threshold AHL concentration is reached, AHL binds LasR/RhlR transcriptional activators to induce expression of certain genes. P. aeruginosa predominately makes two autoinducers: N-3-oxododecanoyl homoserine lactone (3-O-C12-HSL, also called PAI-1) and N-butyryl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL, also called PAI-2) (90, 91). The activation of the quorum-sensing cascade promotes the formation of biofilms, structured communities that coat mucosal surfaces and invasive devices. The formation of biofilms makes conditions more favorable for bacterial persistence in the lungs. Bacteria in biofilms are inherently more difficult to eradicate than those in the planktonic form (92, 93). It is important to note that production of alginate, the mucoexopolysaccharide characteristic of P. aeruginosa isolated from patients with CF, is a separate genetic event, even though these organisms also are enmeshed in a protective carbohydrate polymer.
Quorum-sensing molecules have the potential to directly modulate the host immune system. Smith and coworkers (94) showed that AHL induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) production in host cells through activation of NF- Recent studies suggest that macrolide antibiotics inhibit quorum sensing and biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa (99). Although macrolides lack intrinsic antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa, after prolonged exposure they inhibit synthesis of gene products that are expressed during late logarithmic and stationary phase of growth, such as the gene products involved in quorum sensing (100). Although bacterial density is not altered by drugs, such as azithromycin, immunostimulatory exoproduct expression may be inhibited. Clinical trials in patients with CF have shown modest improvement in lung function, and there is considerable enthusiasm for the use of these well-tolerated antibiotics in CF.
Iron scavenging.
Other virulence factors. Most P. aeruginosa strains secrete pyocyanin (N-methyl-1-hydroxyphenazine), the pigment that gives blue-green color to the bacterial colonies (108). High concentrations of pyocyanin are detected in pulmonary secretions of patients with CF, where it exerts a proinflammatory effect, disrupts the bronchial epithelium, and impairs ciliary function. Pyocyanin also interferes with the antioxidant defenses in the lung and facilitates oxidative damage to the lung epithelium through inhibition of catalase activity (109, 110). P. aeruginosa can cause direct tissue damage and necrosis, often a consequence of exotoxin A production. Exotoxin A is an exceptionally potent ADP-ribosylating enzyme that enters eukaryotic cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis and catalyzes the ADP-ribosylation of eukaryotic elongation factor-2. This inhibits protein synthesis, ultimately leading to cellular death (111, 112). Exotoxin A facilitates the dissemination of infection and is highly lethal in animal models of infection. Increased titers of anti–exotoxin A antibodies in serum from patients with P. aeruginosa sepsis has shown to be associated with better survival in some human studies (113, 114) LPS is another important component of P. aeruginosa and other gram-negative bacteria. The antigenic O-side chains of LPS were the basis of serologic typing schemes historically used for P. aeruginosa epidemiologic studies before genomic typing methods were available (115). Environmental isolates of P. aeruginosa typically express smooth (typable) LPS with long O-side chains, as opposed to the strains that have adapted to CF lung, which are often nontypable and have lost these O-side chains. Ernst and coworkers (67) have demonstrated that LPS from CF isolates has a characteristic penta- or hexa-acylated lipid A structure. This is associated with increased immunogenicity, although it should be noted that P. aeruginosa LPS is much less immunogenic and evokes a more modest cytokine response from macrophages than Escherichia coli or Salmonella LPS (67). Another extracellular polysaccharide expressed by CF isolates of P. aeruginosa is alginate, usually the consequence of a bacterial muc mutation (116). This polymer of D-mannuronic acid and L-glucuronic acid is generally pathognomonic for CF isolates of P. aeruginosa (117). Although these organisms in vivo produce copious amounts of slimy exopolysaccharide, the phenotype is relatively unstable, often reverting to the wild-type phenotype on subculture.
Host Factors
Role of individual cell types. RESPIRATORY EPITHELIUM. The airway epithelium is remarkably resistant to bacterial invasion. Epithelia provide a formidable mucosal barrier and contribute mucociliary clearance functions. The tight junctions between cells help to prevent microbial invasion (118–120). In addition, there are numerous signaling cascades that result in epithelial expression of mucins (121), antimicrobial peptides (122, 123), and chemokines (124–126) to recruit and activate neutrophils. Normal epithelial cells secrete antimicrobial peptides (127, 128), such as ß-defensins and lactoferrins, which directly contribute to host defense (129). There are few bacterial receptors displayed on the apical surface of airway epithelial cells, which may serve to prevent inadvertent activation by transient contamination of the lower airways. However, in response to a significant bacterial challenge or exposure to bacterial products, airway cells actively mobilize signaling components to the apical surface of the airway cell to initiate inflammatory responses (77). As shown in Figure 5, P. aeruginosa interacts with epithelial cells via cell-surface receptors, such as asialoGM1 and TLRs, to induce signal transduction cascades leading to production of inflammatory mediators. Contact between P. aeruginosa and airway epithelial cells results in clustering of asialoGM1 receptors on the epithelium at sites of bacterial contact (Figure 6).
Several bacterial components, including both P. aeruginosa flagella and pili, activate an intracellular calcium-dependent signaling cascade that includes Ras, Src, and Erk 1/2MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinases (130, 131). P. aeruginosa flagellin has also been shown to stimulate matrilysin expression in lung epithelial cells, and the overexpression of this proteinase in CF lungs may contribute to the lung pathology (132). Cytotoxic bacteria that express the type III secretion system attach to the epithelium and produce specific toxins that interfere with cytoskeletal function cause the loss of tight junctions, and expose the basolateral surface of the epithelium. Damaged airway epithelium is much more readily colonized by bacteria, as increased amounts of the receptor asialoGM1 are available on the basolateral aspects of the epithelial cell. Thus, once the epithelial barrier is breached, the organisms can invade and may disseminate. P. aeruginosa can induce apoptosis of a variety of cell types, including bronchial epithelial cells. The role of epithelial cell apoptosis in the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa lung infection is currently not well defined. In one model system, apoptosis induced by the interaction of CD95 and CD95 ligand was found to be critical for the clearance of P. aeruginosa from murine lungs through the internalization of apoptotic cells containing ingested bacteria (133). Apoptosis induced by the CD95–CD95 ligand interaction requires clustering of the CD95 receptors, which involves the generation of ceramide by the action of acid sphingomyelinase on sphingolipids (134). P. aeruginosa infection can trigger activation of acid sphingomyelinase and induce the formation of lipid rafts containing CD95, which appear to regulate apoptosis and cytokine responses by infected cells (135). In contrast, infections caused by more indolent organisms, such as those that form biofilms and fail to invade, have not been found to be associated with apoptosis, even when high inocula are used to infect murine airways (136–138).
Immune cells. In response to P. aeruginosa infection of the distal airways, macrophages have the capacity to ingest bacteria and produce inflammatory mediators that are important for host defense. The interaction of P. aeruginosa with macrophages occurs via multiple cell surface receptors and is accompanied by the formation of pseudopods. Several phagocytosis-promoting receptors, including a variety of Fc receptors, complement receptor 1 and 3, and macrophage mannose receptor, have been implicated in phagocytosis of P. aeruginosa (141). The phagocytic response also requires the small GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 (142). P. aeruginosa is ingested by macrophages in a unique two-step glucose-dependent process. Binding occurs in the absence of sugars, but ingestion requires D-glucose or D-mannose and is delivered via facilitative glucose transporter GLUT1 to the macrophage (143).
Although lung macrophages have the capacity to participate in the host response to P. aeruginosa, the role of alveolar macrophages in acute P. aeruginosa infection has not been clearly defined. In studies using strategies to eliminate macrophages or investigate the importance of macrophage phagocytosis in lung host defense, contradictory findings have been reported concerning the requirement for macrophages in the protective response to acute P. aeruginosa pneumonia. Kooguchi and coworkers (144) reported that depletion of lung macrophages by aerosolized clodronate-containing liposomes resulted in decreased early neutrophil recruitment and chemokine production. This treatment resulted in persistent neutrophilic alveolitis and decreased bacterial clearance at 48 hours, suggesting that macrophages were important for the coordinated innate immune response to P. aeruginosa infection. A separate study, however, found that depletion of alveolar macrophages by 78 to 88% using airway administration of liposomal clodronate did not affect survival or bacterial clearance in mice infected with P. aeruginosa (145). Also, tissue macrophage depletion using intravenous liposomal clodronate treatment 48 hours before infection did not impact the severity of bacteremia or the survival of infected mice, but decreased plasma TNF- In a syngenic bone marrow transplantation model in mice, increased susceptibility to P. aeruginosa pneumonia after engraftment was not found to be related to altered neutrophil recruitment, but rather, defective phagocytosis of the bacteria by alveolar macrophages (147). In contrast, other studies using strains of mice resistant or susceptible to P. aeruginosa infection concluded that the ability of macrophages to ingest and kill bacteria was not a critical determinant of the outcome of the infection (148).
NEUTROPHILS. In addition to chemokines and their receptors, Kumasaka and coworkers (150) showed that the emigration of neutrophils into the lungs was dependent on CD11/18 in a rabbit model of acute P. aeruginosa pneumonia. Similar studies in murine models of P. aeruginosa pneumonia confirmed that the presence of CD11a(b)/18 is required for neutrophil emigration to the lungs in response to P. aeruginosa infection (151, 152). Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), a modulator of ß2 integrins, may also have a role in host response to P. aeruginosa infection. Mice deficient in uPAR were found to have diminished neutrophil recruitment in response to P. aeruginosa lung infection compared with the wild-type mice (153). P. aeruginosa pyocyanin has been shown to induce apoptosis of neutrophils and may be a mechanism by which the bacteria resist host defenses, leading to persistent infection (154, 155)
T lymphocytes.
A recent study suggests that CD1d-restricted T cells appear to play a key role in host defense against P. aeruginosa in acute infections. CD1 is a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I–like protein that is expressed on the macrophage and presents glycolipid antigens to CD1-restricted T cells. These CD1d-restricted natural killer T cells play an important role in defending against bacteria. In a murine P. aeruginosa pneumonia model, CD1d knockout mice showed markedly reduced pulmonary eradication of P. aeruginosa compared with wild-type mice. The treatment of wild-type mice with
Molecules important for host defense. Several members of the TLR family interact with surface components of P. aeruginosa. TLR2 is engaged by pili and appears to play an important role in epithelial activation by P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, a recent study by Lorenz and coworkers (164) indicates that TLR2 may also interact with nonpilus adhesins. P. aeruginosa flagella have been shown to initiate signaling through TLR5 and TLR2 (76, 165). Recent data also indicate that ExoS of P. aeruginosa may activate monocytes by binding to both TLR2 and TLR4 (81). In addition, P. aeruginosa has been shown to signal through TLR4 with its LPS moiety (166–168). Although TLR4 is expressed in airway epithelial cells, it does not appear to be prominently involved in signaling of P. aeruginosa presented at the apical surface of polarized epithelial cells (169, 170).
The TLRs induce signal transduction via adaptor proteins, five of which have been described. It has been shown that different TLRs interact with distinct adaptor proteins. Differential use of these adaptor molecules may provide the specificity in the TLR signaling (171). The role of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), which is one of the key adaptor proteins used by TLRs, has been investigated in the host response to P. aeruginosa lung infections. Skerrett and colleagues (172) compared the responses of MyD88-deficient and wild-type mice to pulmonary infection with P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. They showed that MyD88-dependent signaling is integral to the initiation of cytokine and inflammatory responses to both pathogens after infection of the lower respiratory tract; however, MyD88 is essential for innate immunity to P. aeruginosa but not S. aureus. Another recent study confirmed that MyD88-deficient mice have impaired bacterial clearance of P. aeruginosa from the lungs compared with the wild-type controls. This defect in host defense was found to be related to impaired activation of NF-
Cytokines and chemokines.
The role of TNF-
Although TNF-
IL-18 is a member of the IL-1 family of ligands and is produced mainly as a precursor protein (24 kD) that requires proteolytic activation by an IL-1ß–converting enzyme to liberate the 18-kD mature active protein (181). IL-18 is secreted mainly by macrophages and stimulates IFN-
Studies have demonstrated that several P. aeruginosa virulence factors are potent inducers of neutrophil chemotactic chemokines (CXC), particularly human IL-8. Bacterial products that induce chemokine production include pili, flagella, peptidoglycan, and the homoserine lactone autoinducer (186). These products may initially interact with discrete receptors, but downstream activation of NF-
IFN- IL-10 is an antiinflammatory cytokine that has been shown to be important in sepsis and in the evolution of bacterial pneumonia (191–193). Antiinflammatory cytokines are involved in regulating the potentially damaging effects of neutrophilic inflammation. IL-10 null mice show prolonged and excessive proinflammatory cytokine production and neutrophil infiltration in the airways after P. aeruginosa infection (194). Similarly, Sawa and colleagues (195) reported improved survival from P. aeruginosa pneumonia after administration of IL-10 to mice infected with cytotoxic strains of P. aeruginosa. These studies demonstrate that antiinflammatory signaling pathways (in addition to proinflammatory signaling pathways) are important in P. aeruginosa pneumonia. IL-4 is produced primarily by Th2 lymphocytes and by mast cells. IL-4 induces the differentiation of uncommitted precursor CD4+ T cells toward the Th2 subset and inhibits the differentiation of Th1 cells, in addition to enhancing differentiation and activation of various inflammatory cells. Transgenic mice overexpressing IL-4 in respiratory epithelial cells are able to clear P. aeruginosa much more rapidly than are wild-type mice (196). Intranasal administration of IL-4 enhances bacterial clearance from the lungs of wild-type mice and decreases mortality after infection (196). The protective effects of IL-4 may be related to its ability to modulate leukocyte function. IL-4 enhances expression of complement receptors CR1, CR3, and CR4 and increases complement-dependent phagocytosis. IL-4 is also a potent stimulator of mannose receptor expression on macrophages (197).
Complement system.
Reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates. NO is another key mediator produced in many inflammatory and infectious conditions by inducible NO synthase. The antimicrobial effects of NO have been demonstrated against a variety of pathogens (203). In a rat model of P. aeruginosa pneumonia, the administration of inhaled NO markedly reduced pulmonary bacterial load and lung myeloperoxidase activity (204). However, defining the role of inhaled NO as an antimicrobial agent against P. aeruginosa requires further investigation.
Syndecans.
Surfactant proteins. SP-A–deficient mice have an increased inflammatory cell infiltrate and proinflammatory cytokines in response to P. aeruginosa infection (218). However, because SP-A does not bind to P. aeruginosa in vitro, it is likely that SP-A enhances phagocytosis of P. aeruginosa in vivo by stimulating macrophage activity by a process independent of opsonization (218). In vitro studies support a role for SP-D in phagocytosis of mucoid and nonmucoid strains of P. aeruginosa (219, 220) SP-D can enhance phagocytosis of P. aeruginosa expressing either smooth or rough LPS (215). Surfactant proteins may also have a direct microbicidal function (215). A recent study showed that P. aeruginosa elastase causes degradation of SP-A and SP-D, suggesting that inactivation of these important host defense molecules is a mechanism of virulence used by P. aeruginosa (106).
P. aeruginosa is an exceptionally diverse, opportunistic pathogen capable of many different types of interactions in the lung. Depending on the environmental conditions and the immune status of the host, P. aeruginosa can be a quiescent colonizer, enmeshed in a carbohydrate biofilm, only occasionally shedding a few gene products capable of immunostimulation. P. aeruginosa can also be highly virulent invader, attaching to damaged epithelial cells, injecting toxins that interfere with eukaryotic cytoskeletal integrity, and rapidly triggering apoptosis and breaches in epithelial integrity. The recognition that different clinical entities may be the consequence of infection by the same organism is important in devising strategies to prevent or treat P. aeruginosa pulmonary infection. A great deal has been learned about the epidemiology and behavior of P. aeruginosa in biofilms, such as those present in infected lungs of patients with CF. Strategies to impair biofilm formation through drugs that block quorum-sensing systems are being actively sought. The understanding that these biofilms are dynamic bacterial communities provides targets for therapy. The recent success of azithromycin in CF may reflect its activity in blocking quorum-sensing systems in vivo. Analysis of the complete genome sequence of P. aeruginosa reveals many clues to the versatility of this pathogen. The large genome and the genetic complexity allow P. aeruginosa to thrive in diverse ecologic conditions. Multiple bacterial virulence factors impact the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa infections. Host factors have been extensively explored in the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa infection. The respiratory epithelium plays a critical role in defending against P. aeruginosa. The role of lipid rafts and clustering of cell-surface receptors in host defense against P. aeruginosa is being investigated and these studies will provide further insights into mechanisms that modulate host response. Neutrophils are the key phagocytic cells involved in bacterial clearance, with some contribution by the alveolar macrophage. Alveolar macrophages participate in generating the host inflammatory response through activation of cell-surface receptors and production of mediators, such as cytokines and chemokines. The role of T cells is being investigated and suggests that a Th1-type response is beneficial to the host. Studies with the CD1d-restricted T cells suggest that activation of CD1d cells by lipids may also help to enhance bacterial clearance in P. aeruginosa pneumonia.
A variety of cytokines play important roles in the host response to P. aeruginosa infection. TNF- The recognition that shed bacterial components efficiently activate proinflammatory signaling in epithelial cells may provide novel targets for antiinflammatory therapy. The control of airway inflammation through modulation of inflammatory signaling may prove to be an effective mode of therapy to prevent lung injury. The development of vaccines directed at flagella or pili may be useful in preventing the initial acquisition of environmental isolates, either in CF or in an intensive care unit setting, but is unlikely to be useful in established infection caused by organisms that no longer express flagella or pili. The prevention of invasive infection associated with type III–secreted toxins of P. aeruginosa, which are rarely expressed in CF isolates, is a realistic goal in an intensive care unit or nosocomial setting. It is hoped that better understanding of host immune mechanisms will lead to the development of successful adjuvant therapies targeted toward immunomodulation.
Supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and National Institutes of Health grants NHLBI HL61419, HL66196, and HL075557. Conflict of Interest Statement: R.T.S. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of the manuscript; T.S.B. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of the manuscript; J.W.C. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of the manuscript; A.S.P. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of the manuscript. Received in original form August 12, 2004; accepted in final form January 21, 2005
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ABSTRACT
CONTENTS
(TNF-
, and cytokines. Leukocidin is a pore-forming protein that has cytotoxic effects on host cells. Phospholipase and lecithinase are hemolysins that act synergistically to break down lipids and lecithin. These proteins promote invasion by causing cytotoxic effects on host cells (
