Biochemical and genetical approaches to the mechanism of action of penicillin

1980 ◽  
Vol 289 (1036) ◽  
pp. 273-283 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Considerable Effort ◽  
Lethal Effects ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis

Since the discovery in 1965 that penicillin inhibits the transpeptidation reaction in peptidoglycan synthesis, a considerable effort has been put into the purification of enzymes that catalyse this reaction. This has resulted in the recognition that bacteria possess multiple forms of these penicillin-sensitive enzymes and has made it difficult to identify the precise target that penicillin inactivates to kill the organism. Recently penicillin-sensitive enzymes have been detected and studied as penicillin-binding proteins on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gels. The availability of this convenient method for identifying penicillin-sensitive enzymes has allowed biochemical and genetical approaches to be used to dissect their roles in the lethal effects of penicillin and other β-lactam antibiotics. Three penicillin-binding proteins (1B, 2 and 3) have been identified as killing targets for penicillin in Escherichia coli , whereas four other binding proteins are not implicated in the mechanism of action of the antibiotic. The complex biological effects that β-lactam antibiotics produce on the growth of E. coli can be explained by their interaction with the three killing targets. Progress in the correlation of penicillin-binding proteins with penicillin-sensitive enzymes and in the development of strains of E. coli that overproduce penicillin-binding proteins is discussed.

scholarly journals Profiling of β-Lactam Selectivity for Penicillin-Binding Proteins in Escherichia coli Strain DC2

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 2785-2790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozden Kocaoglu ◽  
Erin E. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Coli Strain ◽  
Bacterial Cell Division ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
E Coli

ABSTRACTPenicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are integral players in bacterial cell division, and their catalytic activities can be monitored with β-lactam-containing chemical probes. Compounds that target a single PBP could provide important information about the specific role(s) of each enzyme, making identification of such molecules important. We evaluated 22 commercially available β-lactams for inhibition of the PBPs in liveEscherichia colistrain DC2. Whole cells were titrated with β-lactam antibiotics and subsequently incubated with a fluorescent penicillin derivative, Bocillin-FL (Boc-FL), to label uninhibited PBPs. Protein visualization was accomplished by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) separation and fluorescent scanning. The examined β-lactams exhibited diverse PBP selectivities, with amdinocillin (mecillinam) showing selectivity for PBP2, aztreonam, piperacillin, cefuroxime, cefotaxime, and ceftriaxone for PBP3, and amoxicillin and cephalexin for PBP4. The remaining β-lactams did not block any PBPs in the DC2 strain ofE. colior inhibited more than one PBP at all examined concentrations in this Gram-negative organism.

scholarly journals Enterobactin- and salmochelin-β-lactam conjugates induce cell morphologies consistent with inhibition of penicillin-binding proteins in uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Sargun ◽  
Timothy C. Johnstone ◽  
Hui Zhi ◽  
Manuela Raffatellu ◽  
Elizabeth M. Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli

Siderophore-β-lactam conjugates based on enterobactin and diglucosylated enterobactin enter the periplasm of uropathogenic E. coli CFT073 via the FepA and IroN transporters, and target penicillin-binding proteins.

scholarly journals Escherichia coli Mutants Lacking All Possible Combinations of Eight Penicillin Binding Proteins: Viability, Characteristics, and Implications for Peptidoglycan Synthesis

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (13) ◽  
pp. 3981-3993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia A. Denome ◽  
Pamela K. Elf ◽  
Thomas A. Henderson ◽  
David E. Nelson ◽  
Kevin D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Kanamycin Resistance ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis ◽  
Kanamycin Resistance Cassette ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACT The penicillin binding proteins (PBPs) synthesize and remodel peptidoglycan, the structural component of the bacterial cell wall. Much is known about the biochemistry of these proteins, but little is known about their biological roles. To better understand the contributions these proteins make to the physiology ofEscherichia coli, we constructed 192 mutants from which eight PBP genes were deleted in every possible combination. The genes encoding PBPs 1a, 1b, 4, 5, 6, and 7, AmpC, and AmpH were cloned, and from each gene an internal coding sequence was removed and replaced with a kanamycin resistance cassette flanked by two ressites from plasmid RP4. Deletion of individual genes was accomplished by transferring each interrupted gene onto the chromosome of E. coli via λ phage transduction and selecting for kanamycin-resistant recombinants. Afterwards, the kanamycin resistance cassette was removed from each mutant strain by supplying ParA resolvase in trans, yielding a strain in which a long segment of the original PBP gene was deleted and replaced by an 8-bpres site. These kanamycin-sensitive mutants were used as recipients in further rounds of replacement mutagenesis, resulting in a set of strains lacking from one to seven PBPs. In addition, thedacD gene was deleted from two septuple mutants, creating strains lacking eight genes. The only deletion combinations not produced were those lacking both PBPs 1a and 1b because such a combination is lethal. Surprisingly, all other deletion mutants were viable even though, at the extreme, 8 of the 12 known PBPs had been eliminated. Furthermore, when both PBPs 2 and 3 were inactivated by the β-lactams mecillinam and aztreonam, respectively, several mutants did not lyse but continued to grow as enlarged spheres, so that one mutant synthesized osmotically resistant peptidoglycan when only 2 of 12 PBPs (PBPs 1b and 1c) remained active. These results have important implications for current models of peptidoglycan biosynthesis, for understanding the evolution of the bacterial sacculus, and for interpreting results derived by mutating unknown open reading frames in genome projects. In addition, members of the set of PBP mutants will provide excellent starting points for answering fundamental questions about other aspects of cell wall metabolism.

scholarly journals Real time monitoring of peptidoglycan synthesis by membrane-reconstituted penicillin binding proteins

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor M Hernández-Rocamora ◽  
Natalia Baranova ◽  
Katharina Peters ◽  
Eefjan Breukink ◽  
Martin Loose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Lipid Bilayers ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis ◽  
Class A ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
Osmotic Lysis

Peptidoglycan is an essential component of the bacterial cell envelope that surrounds the cytoplasmic membrane to protect the cell from osmotic lysis. Important antibiotics such as β-lactams and glycopeptides target peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Class A penicillin binding proteins are bifunctional membrane-bound peptidoglycan synthases that polymerize glycan chains and connect adjacent stem peptides by transpeptidation. How these enzymes work in their physiological membrane environment is poorly understood. Here we developed a novel FRET-based assay to follow in real time both reactions of class A PBPs reconstituted in liposomes or supported lipid bilayers and we applied this assay with PBP1B homologues from Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in the presence or absence of their cognate lipoprotein activator. Our assay will allow unravelling the mechanisms of peptidoglycan synthesis in a lipid-bilayer environment and can be further developed to be used for high throughput screening for new antimicrobials.

scholarly journals Affinity of Tomopenem (CS-023) for Penicillin-Binding Proteins in Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 1238-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsufumi Koga ◽  
Chika Sugihara ◽  
Masayo Kakuta ◽  
Nobuhisa Masuda ◽  
Eiko Namba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Penicillin Binding Protein ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
High Affinity

ABSTRACT Tomopenem (formerly CS-023), a novel 1β-methylcarbapenem, exhibited high affinity for penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2 in Staphylococcus aureus, PBP 2 in Escherichia coli, and PBPs 2 and 3 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are considered major lethal targets. Morphologically, tomopenem induced spherical forms in E. coli and short filamentation with bulges in P. aeruginosa, which correlated with the drug's PBP profiles. The potential of resistance of these bacteria to tomopenem was comparable to that to imipenem.

scholarly journals Unstable Escherichia coli L Forms Revisited: Growth Requires Peptidoglycan Synthesis

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (18) ◽  
pp. 6512-6520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danièle Joseleau-Petit ◽  
Jean-Claude Liébart ◽  
Juan A. Ayala ◽  
Richard D'Ari
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Specific Inhibitor ◽  
Hypertonic Medium ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Chromatography Analysis ◽  
Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽  
K 12

ABSTRACT Growing bacterial L forms are reputed to lack peptidoglycan, although cell division is normally inseparable from septal peptidoglycan synthesis. To explore which cell division functions L forms use, we established a protocol for quantitatively converting a culture of a wild-type Escherichia coli K-12 strain overnight to a growing L-form-like state by use of the β-lactam cefsulodin, a specific inhibitor of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) 1A and 1B. In rich hypertonic medium containing cefsulodin, all cells are spherical and osmosensitive, like classical L forms. Surprisingly, however, mutant studies showed that colony formation requires d-glutamate, diaminopimelate, and MurA activity, all of which are specific to peptidoglycan synthesis. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis confirmed that these L-form-like cells contain peptidoglycan, with 7% of the normal amount. Moreover, the β-lactam piperacillin, a specific inhibitor of the cell division protein PBP 3, rapidly blocks the cell division of these L-form-like cells. Similarly, penicillin-induced L-form-like cells, which grow only within the agar layers of rich hypertonic plates, also require d-glutamate, diaminopimelate, and MurA activity. These results strongly suggest that cefsulodin- and penicillin-induced L-form-like cells of E. coli—and possibly all L forms—have residual peptidoglycan synthesis which is essential for their growth, probably being required for cell division.

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