Staphylococcus aureus exhibits heterogeneous siderophore production within the vertebrate host

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Oct 29;116(44):21980-21982. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1913991116. Epub 2019 Oct 14.

Abstract

Siderophores, iron-scavenging small molecules, are fundamental to bacterial nutrient metal acquisition and enable pathogens to overcome challenges imposed by nutritional immunity. Multimodal imaging mass spectrometry allows visualization of host-pathogen iron competition, by mapping siderophores within infected tissue. We have observed heterogeneous distributions of Staphylococcus aureus siderophores across infectious foci, challenging the paradigm that the vertebrate host is a uniformly iron-depleted environment to invading microbes.

Keywords: infectious disease; metallophore; mulitmodal molecular imaging; nutritional immunity; siderophore.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Abscess / microbiology
  • Animals
  • Citrates / analysis
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Iron / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Ornithine / analogs & derivatives
  • Ornithine / analysis
  • Siderophores / analysis*
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / pathology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / pathogenicity*

Substances

  • Citrates
  • Siderophores
  • staphyloferrin B
  • staphyloferrin A
  • Iron
  • Ornithine

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.9617633.v4