scholarly journals New Insights into the Cyp51 Contribution to Azole Resistance in Aspergillus Section Nigri

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba Pérez-Cantero ◽  
Loida López-Fernández ◽  
Josep Guarro ◽  
Javier Capilla

ABSTRACT Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a severe condition mainly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, although other species of the genus, such as section Nigri members, can also be involved. Voriconazole (VRC) is the recommended treatment for IA; however, the prevalence of azole-resistant Aspergillus isolates has alarmingly increased in recent years, and the underlying resistance mechanisms in non-fumigatus species remain unclear. We have determined the in vitro susceptibility of 36 strains from section Nigri to VRC, posaconazole (POS), and itraconazole (ITC), and we have explored the role of Cyp51A and Cyp51B, both targets of azoles, in azole resistance. The three drugs were highly active; POS displayed the best in vitro activity, while ITC and VRC showed MICs above the established epidemiological cutoff values in 9 and 16% of the strains, respectively. Furthermore, expression studies of cyp51A and cyp51B in control condition and after VRC exposure were performed in 14 strains with different VRC susceptibility. We found higher transcription of cyp51A, which was upregulated upon VRC exposure, but no correlation between MICs and cyp51 transcription levels was observed. In addition, cyp51A sequence analyses revealed nonsynonymous mutations present in both, wild-type and non-wild-type strains of A. niger and A. tubingensis. Nevertheless, a few mutations were exclusively present in non-wild-type A. tubingensis strains. Altogether, our results suggest that azole resistance in section Nigri is not clearly explained by Cyp51A protein alteration or by cyp51 gene upregulation, which indicates that other mechanisms might be involved.

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 532-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maiken Cavling Arendrup ◽  
Rasmus Hare Jensen ◽  
Manuel Cuenca-Estrella

ABSTRACTASP2397 is a new compound with a novel and as-yet-unknown target different from that of licensed antifungal agents. It has activity againstAspergillusandCandida glabrata. We compared itsin vitroactivity against wild-type and azole-resistantA. fumigatusandA. terreusisolates with that of amphotericin B, itraconazole, posaconazole, and voriconazole. Thirty-four isolates, including 4 wild-typeA. fumigatusisolates, 24A. fumigatusisolates with alterations in CYP51A TR/L98H (5 isolates), M220 (9 isolates), G54 (9 isolates), and HapE (1 isolate), andA. terreusisolates (2 wild-type isolates and 1 isolate with an M217I CYP51A alteration), were analyzed. EUCAST E.Def 9.2 and CLSI M38-A2 MIC susceptibility testing was performed. ASP2397 MIC50values (in milligrams per liter, with MIC ranges in parentheses) determined by EUCAST and CLSI were 0.5 (0.25 to 1) and 0.25 (0.06 to 0.25) againstA. fumigatusCYP51A wild-type isolates and were similarly 0.5 (0.125 to >4) and 0.125 (0.06 to >4) against azole-resistantA. fumigatusisolates, respectively. These values were comparable to those for amphotericin B, which were 0.25 (0.125 to 0.5) and 0.25 (0.125 to 0.25) against wild-type isolates and 0.25 (0.125 to 1) and 0.25 (0.125 to 1) against isolates with azole resistance mechanisms, respectively. In contrast, MICs for the azole compounds were elevated and highest for itraconazole: >4 (1 to >4) and 4 (0.5 to >4) against isolates with azole resistance mechanisms compared to 0.125 (0.125 to 0.25) and 0.125 (0.06 to 0.25) against wild-type isolates, respectively. ASP2397 was active againstA. terreusCYP51A wild-type isolates (MIC 0.5 to 1), whereas MICs of both azole and ASP2397 were elevated for the mutant isolate. ASP2397 displayedin vitroactivity againstA. fumigatusandA. terreusisolates which was independent of the presence or absence of azole target gene resistance mutations inA. fumigatus. The findings are promising at a time when azole-resistantA. fumigatusis emerging globally.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 1738-1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleftheria Mavridou ◽  
Joseph Meletiadis ◽  
Antony Rijs ◽  
Johan W. Mouton ◽  
Paul E. Verweij

ABSTRACTThe majority of azole resistance mechanisms inAspergillus fumigatuscorrespond to mutations in thecyp51Agene. As azoles are less effective against infections caused by multiply azole-resistantA. fumigatusisolates, new therapeutic options are warranted for treating these infections. We therefore investigated thein vitrocombination of posaconazole (POSA) and caspofungin (CAS) against 20 wild-type and resistantA. fumigatusisolates with 10 different resistance mechanisms. Fungal growth was assessed with the XTT [2,3-bis (2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide inner salt] method. Pharmacodynamic interactions were assessed with the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index (FICi) on the basis of 10% (FICi-0), 25% (FICi-1), or 53 0% (FICi-2) growth, and FICs were correlated with POSA and CAS concentrations. Synergy and antagonism were concluded when the FICi values were statistically significantly (ttest,P< 0.05) lower than 1 and higher than 1.25, respectively. Significant synergy was found for all isolates with mean FICi-0 values ranging from 0.28 to 0.75 (median, 0.46). Stronger synergistic interactions were found with FICi-1 (median, 0.18; range, 0.07 to 0.47) and FICi-2 (0.31; 0.07 to 0.6). The FICi-2 values of isolates with tandem-repeat-containing mutations or codon M220 were lower than those seen with the other isolates (P< 0.01). FIC-2 values were inversely correlated with POSA MICs (rs= −0.52,P= 0.0006) and linearly with the ratio of drug concentrations in combination over the MIC of POSA (rs= 0.76,P< 0.0001) and CAS (rs= 0.52,P= 0.0004). The synergistic effect of the combination of POSA and CAS (POSA/CAS) againstA. fumigatusisolates depended on the underlying azole resistance mechanism. Moreover, the drug combination synergy was found to be increased against isolates with elevated POSA MICs compared to wild-type isolates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raees A. Paul ◽  
Shivaprakash M. Rudramurthy ◽  
Manpreet Dhaliwal ◽  
Pankaj Singh ◽  
Anup K. Ghosh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The magnitude of azole resistance in Aspergillus flavus and its underlying mechanism is obscure. We evaluated the frequency of azole resistance in a collection of clinical (n = 121) and environmental isolates (n = 68) of A. flavus by the broth microdilution method. Six (5%) clinical isolates displayed voriconazole MIC greater than the epidemiological cutoff value. Two of these isolates with non-wild-type MIC were isolated from same patient and were genetically distinct, which was confirmed by amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. Mutations associated with azole resistance were not present in the lanosterol 14-α demethylase coding genes (cyp51A, cyp51B, and cyp51C). Basal and voriconazole-induced expression of cyp51A homologs and various efflux pump genes was analyzed in three each of non-wild-type and wild-type isolates. All of the efflux pump genes screened showed low basal expression irrespective of the azole susceptibility of the isolate. However, the non-wild-type isolates demonstrated heterogeneous overexpression of many efflux pumps and the target enzyme coding genes in response to induction with voriconazole (1 μg/ml). The most distinctive observation was approximately 8- to 9-fold voriconazole-induced overexpression of an ortholog of the Candida albicans ATP binding cassette (ABC) multidrug efflux transporter, Cdr1, in two non-wild-type isolates compared to those in the reference strain A. flavus ATCC 204304 and other wild-type strains. Although the dominant marker of azole resistance in A. flavus is still elusive, the current study proposes the possible role of multidrug efflux pumps, especially that of Cdr1B overexpression, in contributing azole resistance in A. flavus.


2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1990-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix Pantel ◽  
Stéphanie Petrella ◽  
Nicolas Veziris ◽  
Florence Brossier ◽  
Sylvaine Bastian ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTFluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance is emerging inMycobacterium tuberculosis. The main mechanism of FQ resistance is amino acid substitution within the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of the GyrA subunit of DNA gyrase, the sole FQ target inM. tuberculosis. However, substitutions in GyrB whose implication in FQ resistance is unknown are increasingly being reported. The present study clarified the role of four GyrB substitutions identified inM. tuberculosisclinical strains, two located in the QRDR (D500A and N538T) and two outside the QRDR (T539P and E540V), in FQ resistance. We measured FQ MICs and also DNA gyrase inhibition by FQs in order to unequivocally clarify the role of these mutations in FQ resistance. Wild-type GyrA, wild-type GyrB, and mutant GyrB subunits produced from engineeredgyrBalleles by mutagenesis were overexpressed inEscherichia coli, purified to homogeneity, and used to reconstitute highly active gyrase complexes. MICs and DNA gyrase inhibition were determined for moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, and enoxacin. All these substitutions are clearly implicated in FQ resistance, underlining the presence of a hot spot region housing most of the GyrB substitutions implicated in FQ resistance (residues NTE, 538 to 540). These findings help us to refine the definition of GyrB QRDR, which is extended to positions 500 to 540.


2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Verma ◽  
Thaís Cabrera Galvão Rojas ◽  
Renato Pariz Maluta ◽  
Janaína Luisa Leite ◽  
Livia Pilatti Mendes da Silva ◽  
...  

The extraintestinal pathogen termed avian pathogenicEscherichia coli(APEC) is known to cause colibacillosis in chickens. The molecular basis of APEC pathogenesis is not fully elucidated yet. In this work, we deleted a component of the Yad gene cluster (yadC) in order to understand the role of Yad in the pathogenicity of the APEC strain SCI-07.In vitro, the transcription level ofyadCwas upregulated at 41°C and downregulated at 22°C. TheyadCexpressionin vivowas more pronounced in lungs than in spleen, suggesting a role in the early steps of the infection. Chicks infected with the wild-type and mutant strains presented, respectively, 80% and 50% mortality rates. The ΔyadCstrain presented a slightly decreased ability to adhere to HeLa cells with or without thed-mannose analog compared with the wild type. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assays showed thatfimHwas downregulated (P< 0.05) andcsgAandecpAwere slightly upregulated in the mutant strain, showing thatyadCmodulates expression of other fimbriae. Bacterial internalization studies showed that the ΔyadCstrain had a lower number of intracellular bacteria recovered from Hep-2 cells and HD11 cells than the wild-type strain (P< 0.05). Motility assays in soft agar demonstrated that the ΔyadCstrain was less motile than the wild type (P< 0.01). Curiously, flagellum-associated genes were not dramatically downregulated in the ΔyadCstrain. Taken together, the results show that the fimbrial adhesin Yad contributes to the pathogenicity and modulates different biological characteristics of the APEC strain SCI-07.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali H. Reingewertz ◽  
Tom Meyer ◽  
Fiona McIntosh ◽  
Jaryd Sullivan ◽  
Michal Meir ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Isoniazid (INH) is a cornerstone of antitubercular therapy. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex bacteria are the only mycobacteria sensitive to clinically relevant concentrations of INH. All other mycobacteria, including M. marinum and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis are resistant. INH requires activation by bacterial KatG to inhibit mycobacterial growth. We tested the role of the differences between M. tuberculosis KatG and that of other mycobacteria in INH sensitivity. We cloned the M. bovis katG gene into M. marinum and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and measured the MIC of INH. We recombinantly expressed KatG of these mycobacteria and tested in vitro binding to, and activation of, INH. Introduction of katG from M. bovis into M. marinum and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis rendered them 20 to 30 times more sensitive to INH. Analysis of different katG sequences across the genus found KatG evolution diverged from RNA polymerase-defined mycobacterial evolution. Biophysical and biochemical tests of M. bovis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) KatG proteins showed lower affinity to INH and substantially lower enzymatic capacity for the conversion of INH into the active form in NTM. The KatG proteins of M. marinum and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis are substantially less effective in INH activation than that of M. tuberculosis, explaining the relative INH insensitivity of these microbes. These data indicate that the M. tuberculosis complex KatG is divergent from the KatG of NTM, with a reciprocal relationship between resistance to host defenses and INH resistance. Studies of bacteria where KatG is functionally active but does not activate INH may aid in understanding M. tuberculosis INH-resistance mechanisms, and suggest paths to overcome them.


2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1432-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele E. Ejzykowicz ◽  
Norma V. Solis ◽  
Fabrice N. Gravelat ◽  
Josee Chabot ◽  
Xuexian Li ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The transcription factors that regulate Aspergillus fumigatus interactions with host cells and virulence are incompletely defined. We investigated the role of the putative C2H2 transcription factor DvrA in governing these processes. Although DvrA was identified by its limited homology to Candida albicans Bcr1, a ΔdvrA mutant strain of A. fumigatus had wild-type adherence to host constituents in vitro. However, it had increased capacity to damage both endothelial cells and a pulmonary epithelial cell line compared to the ability of the wild-type strain and a ΔdvrA::dvrA-complemented strain. This increase in damage required direct contact between the mutant and host cells. The ΔdvrA mutant also stimulated greater CCL20, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor mRNA expression in a pulmonary epithelial cell line compared to levels induced by the control strains. Also, it was resistant to nikkomycin Z, suggesting an altered cell wall composition. As predicted by these in vitro results, the ΔdvrA mutant had increased virulence and stimulated a greater pulmonary inflammatory response than the wild-type strain and ΔdvrA::dvrA-complemented strains in the nonneutropenic mouse model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. These results indicate that DvrA influences A. fumigatus virulence as well as its capacity to damage host cells and stimulate a proinflammatory response.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1806-1811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Valsesia ◽  
Michael Hombach ◽  
Florian P. Maurer ◽  
Patrice Courvalin ◽  
Malgorzata Roos ◽  
...  

This study aimed to determine resistant-population cutoffs (RCOFFs) to allow for improved characterization of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in bacterial populations. RCOFFs can complement epidemiological cutoff (ECOFF)-based settings of clinical breakpoints (CBPs) by systematically describing the correlation between non-wild-type and wild-type populations. We illustrate this concept by describing three paradigmatic examples of wild-type and non-wild-typeEscherichia colipopulations from our clinical strain database of disk diffusion diameters. The statistical determination of RCOFFs and ECOFFs and their standardized applications in antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) facilitates the assignment of isolates to wild-type or non-wild-type populations. This should improve the correlation ofin vitroAST data and distinct antibiotic resistance mechanisms with clinical outcome facilitating the setting and validation of CBPs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 4682-4689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trupti Pandharkar ◽  
Xiaohua Zhu ◽  
Radhika Mathur ◽  
Jinmai Jiang ◽  
Thomas D. Schmittgen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTArylimidamides (AIAs) are inspired by diamidine antimicrobials but show superior activity against intracellular parasites. The AIA DB766 {2,5-bis[2-(2-i-propoxy)-4-(2-pyridylimino)aminophenyl]furan hydrochloride} displays outstanding potency against intracellularLeishmaniaparasites and is effective in murine and hamster models of visceral leishmaniasis when given orally, but its mechanism of action is unknown. In this study, through the use of continuous DB766 pressure, we raisedLeishmania donovaniaxenic amastigotes that displayed 12-fold resistance to this compound. These DB766-resistant (DB766R) parasites were 2-fold more sensitive to miltefosine than wild-type organisms and were hypersensitive to the sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) inhibitors ketoconazole and posaconazole (2,000-fold more sensitive and over 12,000-fold more sensitive than the wild type, respectively). Western blot analysis of DB766R parasites indicated that while expression of CYP51 is slightly increased in these organisms, expression of CYP5122A1, a recently identified cytochrome P450 associated with ergosterol metabolism inLeishmania, is dramatically reduced in DB766R parasites.In vitrosusceptibility assays demonstrated that CYP5122A1 half-knockoutL. donovanipromastigotes were significantly less susceptible to DB766 and more susceptible to ketoconazole than their wild-type counterparts, consistent with observations in DB766R parasites. Further, DB766-posaconazole combinations displayed synergistic activity in both axenic and intracellularL. donovaniamastigotes. Taken together, these studies implicate CYP5122A1 in the antileishmanial action of the AIAs and suggest that DB766-azole combinations are potential candidates for the development of synergistic antileishmanial therapy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 4524-4529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix Pantel ◽  
Stéphanie Petrella ◽  
Stéphanie Matrat ◽  
Florence Brossier ◽  
Sylvaine Bastian ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe main mechanism of fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance inMycobacterium tuberculosisis mutation in DNA gyrase (GyrA2GyrB2), especially ingyrA. However, the discovery of unknown mutations ingyrBwhose implication in FQ resistance is unclear has become more frequent. We investigated the impact on FQ susceptibility of eightgyrBmutations inM. tuberculosisclinical strains, three of which were previously identified in an FQ-resistant strain. We measured FQ MICs and also DNA gyrase inhibition by FQs in order to clarify the role of these mutations in FQ resistance. Wild-type GyrA, wild-type GyrB, and mutant GyrB subunits produced from engineeredgyrBalleles by mutagenesis were overexpressed inEscherichia coli, purified to homogeneity, and used to reconstitute highly active gyrase complexes. MICs and DNA gyrase inhibition were determined for moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, and enoxacin. We demonstrated that the eight substitutions in GyrB (D473N, P478A, R485H, S486F, A506G, A547V, G551R, and G559A), recently identified in FQ-resistant clinical strains or encountered inM. tuberculosisstrains isolated in France, are not implicated in FQ resistance. These results underline that, as opposed to phenotypic FQ susceptibility testing, the DNA gyrase inhibition assay is the only way to prove the role of a DNA gyrase mutation in FQ resistance. Therefore, the use of FQ in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) patients should not be ruled out only on the basis of the presence of mutations ingyrB.


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