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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1493859

First report on the physicochemical and proteomic characterization of Proteus mirabilis outer membrane vesicles under urine-mimicking growth conditions: comparative analysis with Escherichia coli

Provisionally accepted
Maria Jose González Maria Jose González 1Nicolás Navarro Martínez Nicolás Navarro Martínez 1Erlen Cruz Erlen Cruz 1Sofía Sánchez Sofía Sánchez 2Javier O. Morales Javier O. Morales 2Pablo Zunino Pablo Zunino 3Luciana Robino Luciana Robino 4Analía Lima Analía Lima 5*Paola Scavone Paola Scavone 1*
  • 1 Laboratorio de Biofilms Microbianos, Departamento de Microbiología, Montevideo, Uruguay
  • 2 Laboratorio Drug Delivery, Departamento de Ciencia Y tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • 3 Department of Microbiology, Clemente Estable Biological Research Institute (IIBCE), Montevideo, Uruguay
  • 4 Departamento de Bacteriología y Virología, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República., Montevideo, Uruguay
  • 5 Unidad de Bioquímica y Proteómica Analíticas, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo & Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Uropathogenic bacteria employ multiple strategies to colonize the urinary tract, including biofilm formation, invasion of urothelial cells, and the production of adhesins, toxins, and siderophores. Among the most prevalent pathogens causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) are Uropathogenic Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis. A notable feature of Gram-negative bacteria is their ability to produce outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), which play critical roles in bacterial survival, virulence, and host-pathogen interactions, including UTIs. In this study, OMVs were isolated and characterized from two clinical strains, E. coli U144 and P. mirabilis 2921, cultured in both Luria-Bertani broth and artificial urine. The OMVs ranged in size from 85 to 260 nm, with the largest vesicles observed in artificial urine. Proteomic analysis allowed the identification of 282 proteins in OMVs from E. coli and 353 proteins from P. mirabilis when cultured LB medium, while 215 were identified from E. coli and 103 from P. mirabilis when cultured in artificial urine. The majority of these proteins originated from the bacterial envelope, while others linked to motility and adhesion. Notably, the protein composition of OMVs varied depending on the growth medium, and proteins associated with zinc and iron uptake being more prominent in artificial urine, suggesting their importance in the urinary environment. Crucially, this is the first report to characterize P. mirabilis OMVs under different culture conditions, offering novel insights into the role of OMVs in UTI pathogenesis. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which OMVs contribute to bacterial virulence, establishing the foundation for potential therapeutic interventions targeting OMV-mediated processes in UTIs.

    Keywords: outer membrane vesicles, Urinary Tract Infections, Uropathogenic Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, proteomic, Mass Spectrometry

    Received: 09 Sep 2024; Accepted: 21 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 González, Navarro Martínez, Cruz, Sánchez, Morales, Zunino, Robino, Lima and Scavone. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Analía Lima, Unidad de Bioquímica y Proteómica Analíticas, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo & Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
    Paola Scavone, Laboratorio de Biofilms Microbianos, Departamento de Microbiología, Montevideo, Uruguay

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