%0 Journal Article
%T Arginine catabolism is essential to polymyxin dependence in Acinetobacter baumannii.
%A Han ML
%A Alsaadi Y
%A Zhao J
%A Zhu Y
%A Lu J
%A Jiang X
%A Ma W
%A Patil NA
%A Dunstan RA
%A Le Brun AP
%A Wickremasinghe H
%A Hu X
%A Wu Y
%A Yu HH
%A Wang J
%A Barlow CK
%A Bergen PJ
%A Shen HH
%A Lithgow T
%A Creek DJ
%A Velkov T
%A Li J
%J Cell Rep
%V 43
%N 7
%D 2024 Jun 25
%M 38923457
暂无%R 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114410
%X Polymyxins are often the only effective antibiotics against the "Critical" pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. Worryingly, highly polymyxin-resistant A. baumannii displaying dependence on polymyxins has emerged in the clinic, leading to diagnosis and treatment failures. Here, we report that arginine metabolism is essential for polymyxin-dependent A. baumannii. Specifically, the arginine degradation pathway was significantly altered in polymyxin-dependent strains compared to wild-type strains, with critical metabolites (e.g., L-arginine and L-glutamate) severely depleted and expression of the astABCDE operon significantly increased. Supplementation of arginine increased bacterial metabolic activity and suppressed polymyxin dependence. Deletion of astA, the first gene in the arginine degradation pathway, decreased phosphatidylglycerol and increased phosphatidylethanolamine levels in the outer membrane, thereby reducing the interaction with polymyxins. This study elucidates the molecular mechanism by which arginine metabolism impacts polymyxin dependence in A. baumannii, underscoring its critical role in improving diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening infections caused by "undetectable" polymyxin-dependent A. baumannii.