Sanchez de Groot, NataliaTorrent Burgas, Marc2019-10-252019-10-252019de Groot NS, Torrent Burgas M. A coordinated response at the transcriptome and interactome level is required to ensure uropathogenic Escherichia coli survival during bacteremia. Microorganisms. 2019; 7(9). pii: E292. DOI 10.3390/microorganisms70902922076-2607http://hdl.handle.net/10230/42510Localized infections or disruption of the skin barrier can enable the entry of bacteria into the bloodstream, possibly leading to acute inflammation and sepsis. There is currently no holistic view on how bacteria can survive and spread in the bloodstream. In this context, we combined transposon mutagenesis, gene-expression profiling and a protein interaction network analysis to examine how uropathogenic Escherichia coli can proliferate in blood. Our results indicate that, upon migration from the urea to serum, E. coli reacts to the osmolarity difference, triggering a transcriptomic response in order to express survival genes. The proteins codified by these genes are precisely organized at the interactome level and specifically target short linear motifs located in disordered regions of host proteins. Such a coordinated response helps to explain how bacteria can adapt to and survive environmental changes within the host. Overall, our results provide a general framework for the study of bacteremia and reveal new targets for potential study as novel antimicrobials.application/pdfeng© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7090292Escherichia coliAntimicrobialsBacteremiaUrinary tract infectioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess