A Pseudomonas aeruginosa small RNA regulates chronic and acute infection (Pengbo Cao, 24 May 2023)

[BrightCandle]

This I think is quite an interesting paper for us ME/CFS sufferers because we know we have low oxygenation of our bodies. Potentially its a reponse to bacteria that would acutely infect if oxygen was more abundent. It could be and appears to be an adaption of our body to control and maintain chronic infections. Gene is PA1414

Abstract

The ability to switch between different lifestyles allows bacterial pathogens to thrive in diverse ecological niches1,2. However, a molecular understanding of their lifestyle changes within the human host is lacking. Here, by directly examining bacterial gene expression in human-derived samples, we discover a gene that orchestrates the transition between chronic and acute infection in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The expression level of this gene, here named sicX, is the highest of the P. aeruginosa genes expressed in human chronic wound and cystic fibrosis infections, but it is expressed at extremely low levels during standard laboratory growth. We show that sicX encodes a small RNA that is strongly induced by low-oxygen conditions and post-transcriptionally regulates anaerobic ubiquinone biosynthesis. Deletion of sicX causes P. aeruginosa to switch from a chronic to an acute lifestyle in multiple mammalian models of infection. Notably, sicX is also a biomarker for this chronic-to-acute transition, as it is the most downregulated gene when a chronic infection is dispersed to cause acute septicaemia. This work solves a decades-old question regarding the molecular basis underlying the chronic-to-acute switch in P. aeruginosa and suggests oxygen as a primary environmental driver of acute lethality.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06111-7

 

[Wishful]

because we know we have low oxygenation of our bodies.

I don't know that. I haven't noticed any effect that I could attribute to low oxygen. Hyperventilating doesn't change my ME.

While some researchers might be finding lower than average levels of oxygen in some patients, that doesn't mean that it's an important part of ME; it could just be a downstream effect in some people. Also, there's a difference between "low" and "just lower than average". If a person breathes shallower for a few minutes, some parts of their body might have "lower than average" oxygen, but that doesn't mean seriously anaerobic.

 

[Judee]

This I think is quite an interesting paper for us ME/CFS sufferers because we know we have low oxygenation of our bodies.

I do think a lot of us experience this.

 

[Wishful]

I seem to recall several people reporting that they get some benefit from HBOT or other forms of oxygen supplementation, but I can't recall any saying that boosting their blood oxygen completely eliminates their ME symptoms. The benefits could be from altering some cell functions with higher-than-normal oxygen levels, rather than by correcting low oxygen availability for cells. It could even be from changing microbiome populations.

I checked the paper. They seem to be talking about highly localized low oxygen conditions in wounds; meaning some portions of a wound are not getting an adequate blood supply while being too far from the surface to diffuse O2 directly. That's for a theoretical model, which might be flawed. As far as I can tell, those conditions do not apply to regular parts of the body, and thus don't apply to 'slightly lower' concentrations found in some PWME.