TY  - JOUR
A1  - Koenigs, Arno
A1  - Zipfel, Peter F.
A1  - Kraiczy, Peter
T1  - Translation elongation factor Tuf of Acinetobacter baumannii is a plasminogen-binding protein
T2  - PLoS One
N2  - Acinetobacter baumannii is an important nosocomial pathogen, causing a variety of opportunistic infections of the skin, soft tissues and wounds, urinary tract infections, secondary meningitis, pneumonia and bacteremia. Over 63% of A. baumannii infections occurring in the United States are caused by multidrug resistant isolates, and pan-resistant isolates have begun to emerge that are resistant to all clinically relevant antibiotics. The complement system represents the first line of defense against invading pathogens. However, many A. baumannii isolates, especially those causing severe bacteremia are resistant to complement-mediated killing, though the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we show for the first time that A. baumannii binds host-derived plasminogen and we identify the translation elongation factor Tuf as a moonlighting plasminogen-binding protein that is exposed on the outer surface of A. baumannii. Binding of plasminogen to Tuf is at least partly dependent on lysine residues and ionic interactions. Plasminogen, once bound to Tuf can be converted to active plasmin and proteolytically degrade fibrinogen as well as the key complement component C3b. Thus, Tuf acts as a multifunctional protein that may contribute to virulence of A. baumannii by aiding in dissemination and evasion of the complement system.
Y1  - 2015
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/37977
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-379775
SN  - 1932-6203
N1  - Copyright: © 2015 Koenigs et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
VL  - 10
IS  - (7): e0134418
SP  - 1
EP  - 22
PB  - PLoS
CY  - Lawrence, Kan.
ER  -