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Infection and Immunity, November 2008, p. 4859-4864, Vol. 76, No. 11
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00122-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

ZapA, a Virulence Factor in a Rat Model of Proteus mirabilis-Induced Acute and Chronic Prostatitis{triangledown}

Van Phan,1 Robert Belas,2 Brendan F. Gilmore,3 and Howard Ceri1*

The Biofilm Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4,1 Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 701 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202,2 School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom3

Received 28 January 2008/ Returned for modification 27 March 2008/ Accepted 16 August 2008

Our knowledge of pathogenesis has benefited from a better understanding of the roles of specific virulence factors in disease. To determine the role of the virulence factor ZapA, a 54-kDa metalloproteinase of Proteus mirabilis, in prostatitis, rats were infected with either wild-type (WT) P. mirabilis or its isogenic ZapA– mutant KW360. The WT produced both acute and chronic prostatitis showing the typical histological progressions that are the hallmarks of these diseases. Infection with the ZapA– mutant, however, resulted in reduced levels of acute prostatitis, as determined from lower levels of tissue damage, bacterial colonization, and inflammation. Further, the ZapA– mutant failed to establish a chronic infection, in that bacteria were cleared from the prostate, inflammation was resolved, and tissue was seen to be healing. Clearance from the prostate was not the result of a reduced capacity of the ZapA– mutant to form biofilms in vitro. These finding clearly define ZapA as an important virulence factor in both acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biofilm Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4. Phone: (403) 220-6960. Fax: (403) 289-9311. E-mail: ceri{at}ucalgary.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 25 August 2008.

Editor: J. B. Bliska

Infection and Immunity, November 2008, p. 4859-4864, Vol. 76, No. 11
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00122-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Nelson, L. K., D'Amours, G. H., Sproule-Willoughby, K. M., Morck, D. W., Ceri, H. (2009). Pseudomonas aeruginosa las and rhl quorum-sensing systems are important for infection and inflammation in a rat prostatitis model. Microbiology 155: 2612-2619 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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