Proteomics of the oxidative stress response induced by hydrogen peroxide and paraquat reveals a novel AhpC-like protein in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous pathogen most typically associated with wound infections, but also the main cause of mortality in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). The ability to adapt to oxidative stress associated with host immune defense may be one mechanism by which P. aeruginosa establishes infection in the cystic fibrosis lung and eventually out-competes other pathogenic bacteria to persist into chronic infection. We utilized a proteomics approach to identify the proteins associated with the oxidative stress response of P. aeruginosa PAO1 to hydrogen peroxide and superoxide-inducing paraquat. 2-DE and MS allowed for the identification of 59 and 58 protein spots that were statistically significantly altered following H2O2 and paraquat treatment, respectively. We observed a unique mass and pI pattern for alkylhydroperoxide reductase C (AhpC) that was replicated by hypothetical protein PA3529 following treatment with 10mM H2O2. AhpC belongs to the 2-Cys peroxiredoxin family and is a redox enzyme responsible for removing peroxides in bacterial cells. MS analysis showed that PA3529 was altered by the formation of a dimer via a disulfide bond in a manner analogous to that known for AhpC, and by cysteine overoxidation to Cys-sulfonic acid (SO3H) postoxidative stress. PA3529 is therefore a functional AhpC paralog expressed under H2O2 stress. Following paraquat-induced oxidative stress, we also observed the overabundance and likely oxidative modification of a second hypothetical antioxidant protein (PA3450) that shares sequence similarity with 1-Cys peroxiredoxins. Other induced proteins included known oxidative stress proteins (superoxide dismutase and catalase), as well as those involved in iron acquisition (siderophore biosynthesis and receptor proteins FpvA and FptA) and hypothetical proteins, including others predicted to be antioxidants (PA0848). These data suggest that P. aeruginosa contains a plethora of novel antioxidant proteins that contribute to its increased resistance against oxidative stress.