Modulation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae susceptibility to vertebrate antibacterial peptides due to a member of the resistance/nodulation/division efflux pump family.

We have previously described the antibacterial capacity of protegrin-1 (PG-1), a cysteine-rich, cationic peptide from porcine leukocytes, against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We now report genetic and biochemical evidence that gonococcal susceptibility to the lethal action of PG-1 and other structurally unrelated antibacterial peptides, including a peptide (LL-37) that is expressed constitutively by human granulocytes and testis and inducibly by keratinocytes, is modulated by an energy-dependent efflux system termed mtr. These results indicate that such efflux systems may enable mucosal pathogens like gonococci to resist endogenous antimicrobial peptides that are thought to act during infection.