The outer membrane porin OmpW of Acinetobacter baumannii is involved in iron uptake and colistin binding

M. Catel-Ferreira , S. Marti , L. Guillon , L. Jara , Gaël Coadou (1) , V. Molle (2) , E. Bouffartigues (3) , G. Bou , I. Shalk , T. Jouenne (4) , X. Vila-Farrés , E. Dé

1 COBRA - Chimie Organique et Bioorganique : Réactivité et Analyse
2 IBCP - Institut de biologie et chimie des protéines [Lyon]
3 LMDF-SME - Laboratoire de Microbiologie du Froid – Signaux et Micro-Environnement
4 PBS - Polymères Biopolymères Surfaces

This study was undertaken to characterize functions of the outer membrane protein OmpW, which potentially contributes to the development of colistin‐ and imipenem‐resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii. Reconstitution of OmpW in artificial lipid bilayers showed that it forms small channels (23 pS in 1 m KCl) and markedly interacts with iron and colistin, but not with imipenem. In vivo, 55Fe uptake assays comparing the behaviours of ΔompW mutant and wild‐type strains confirmed a role for OmpW in A. baumannii iron homeostasis. However, the loss of OmpW expression did not have an impact on A. baumannii susceptibilities to colistin or imipenem.

Domains: Chemical Sciences

M. Catel-Ferreira, S. Marti, L. Guillon, L. Jara, Gaël Coadou, et al.. The outer membrane porin OmpW of Acinetobacter baumannii is involved in iron uptake and colistin binding. FEBS Letters, 2016, 590 (2), pp.224-231. ⟨10.1002/1873-3468.12050⟩. ⟨hal-02046192⟩