Clinical Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Secrete LasB Elastase to Induce Hemorrhagic Diffuse Alveolar Damage in Mice

Acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) are most often caused by bacterial pneumonia and characterized by severe dyspnea and high mortality. Knowledge about the lung injury effects of current clinical bacterial strains is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of representative pathogenic bacteria isolated from patients to cause ALI/ARDS in mice and identify the major virulence factor.Seven...