The Biological and Regulatory Role of Type VI Secretion System of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Wenke Liu; Min Li; Shiwen Cao; Hafiz Muhammad Ishaq; Huajie Zhao; Fan Yang; Liang Liu

doi:10.2147/IDR.S426657

The Biological and Regulatory Role of Type VI Secretion System of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Infect Drug Resist. 2023 Oct 30:16:6911-6922. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S426657. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Wenke Liu^#¹, Min Li^#¹, Shiwen Cao¹, Hafiz Muhammad Ishaq², Huajie Zhao¹, Fan Yang¹, Liang Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, People's Republic of China.
² Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Bacteria communicate with their surroundings through diverse secretory systems, and the recently discovered Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) has gained significant attention. Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), an opportunistic pathogen known for causing severe infections in both hospital and animal settings, possesses this intriguing T6SS. This system equips K. pneumoniae with a formidable armory of protein-based weaponry, enabling the delivery of toxins into neighboring cells, thus granting a substantial competitive advantage. Remarkably, the T6SS has also been associated with K. pneumoniae's ability to form biofilms and acquire resistance against antibiotics. However, the precise effects of the T6SS on K. pneumoniae's functions remain inadequately studied, despite research efforts to understand the intricacies of these mechanisms. This comprehensive review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge regarding the biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of the T6SS in K. pneumoniae.

Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae; T6SS; competition; drug resistance; virulence.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Xinxiang Medical University (grant XYBSKYZZ202137), Science and Technology Research Project of Henan Province (grant 182102310553, 222102520036), the Project of Basic Medical College of Xinxiang Medical University (grant JCYXYKY202117).