Staphylococcus aureus Uses the GraXRS Regulatory System To Sense and Adapt to the Acidified Phagolysosome in Macrophages

ABSTRACT Macrophages are critical to innate immunity due to their ability to phagocytose bacteria. The macrophage phagolysosome is a highly acidic organelle with potent antimicrobial properties, yet remarkably, ingested Staphylococcus aureus replicates within this niche. Herein we demonstrate that S. aureus requires the GraXRS regulatory system for growth within this niche, while the SaeRS and AgrAC two-component regulatory systems and the α-phenol soluble modulins are dispensable. Importantly, we find that it is exposure to acidic pH that is required for optimal growth of S. aureus inside fully acidified macrophage phagolysosomes. Exposure of S. aureus to acidic pH evokes GraS signaling, which in turn elicits an adaptive response that endows the bacteria with increased resistance to antimicrobial effectors, such as antimicrobial peptides, encountered inside macrophage phagolysosomes. Notably, pH-dependent induction of antimicrobial peptide resistance in S. aureus requires the GraS sensor kinase. GraS and MprF, a member of the GraS regulon, play an important role for bacterial survival in the acute stages of systemic infection, where in murine models of infection, S. aureus resides within liver-resident Kupffer cells. We conclude that GraXRS represents a vital regulatory system that functions to allow S. aureus to evade killing, prior to commencement of replication, within host antibacterial immune cells. IMPORTANCE S. aureus can infect any site of the body, including the microbicidal phagolysosome of the macrophage. The ability of S. aureus to infect diverse niches necessitates that the bacteria be highly adaptable. Here we show that S. aureus responds to phagolysosome acidification to evoke changes in gene expression that enable the bacteria to resist phagolysosomal killing and to promote replication. Toxin production is dispensable for this response; however, the bacteria require the sensor kinase GraS, which transduces signals in response to acidic pH. GraS is necessary for phagolysosomal replication and survival of S. aureus in the acute stage of systemic infection. Disruption of this S. aureus adaptation would render S. aureus susceptible to phagocyte restriction.