Coordination of Metabolism and Virulence Factors Expression of Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Purified from Blood Cultures of Patients with Sepsis

One of the trademarks of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli is adaptation of metabolism and basic physiology to diverse host sites. However, little is known how this common human pathogen adapts to permit survival and growth in blood. We used label-free quantitative proteomics to characterize five E. coli strains purified from clinical blood cultures associated with sepsis and urinary tract infections. Further comparison of proteome profiles of the clinical strains and a reference uropathogenic E. coli strain 536 cultivated in blood culture and on two different solid media distinguished cellular features altered in response to the pathogenically relevant condition. The analysis covered nearly 60% of the strains predicted proteomes, and included quantitative description based on label-free intensity scores for 90% of the detected proteins. Statistical comparison of anaerobic and aerobic blood cultures revealed 32 differentially expressed proteins (1.5% of the shared proteins), mostly associated with acquisition and utilization of metal ions critical for anaerobic or aerobic respiration. Analysis of variance identified significantly altered amounts of 47 proteins shared by the strains (2.7%), including proteins involved in vitamin B6 metabolism and virulence. Although the proteomes derived from blood cultures were fairly similar for the investigated strains, quantitative proteomic comparison to the growth on solid media identified 200 proteins with substantially changed levels (11% of the shared proteins). Blood culture was characterized by up-regulation of anaerobic fermentative metabolism and multiple virulence traits, including cell motility and iron acquisition. In a response to the growth on solid media there were increased levels of proteins functional in aerobic respiration, catabolism of medium-specific carbon sources and protection against oxidative and osmotic stresses. These results demonstrate on the expressed proteome level that expression of extraintestinal virulence factors and overall cellular metabolism closely reflects specific growth conditions. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD002912.