scholarly journals Genetic Analysis of Factors Affecting Susceptibility of Bacillus subtilis to Daptomycin

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 1598-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Barbara Hachmann ◽  
Esther R. Angert ◽  
John D. Helmann
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Membrane Composition ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids ◽  
Cyclic Lipopeptide

ABSTRACT Daptomycin is the first of a new class of cyclic lipopeptide antibiotics used against multidrug-resistant, gram-positive pathogens. The proposed mechanism of action involves disruption of the functional integrity of the bacterial membrane in a Ca2+-dependent manner. We have used transcriptional profiling to demonstrate that treatment of Bacillus subtilis with daptomycin strongly induces the lia operon including the autoregulatory LiaRS two-component system (homologous to Staphylococcus aureus VraSR). The lia operon protects against daptomycin, and deletion of liaH, encoding a phage-shock protein A (PspA)-like protein, leads to threefold increased susceptibility. Since daptomycin interacts with the membrane, we tested mutants with altered membrane composition for effects on susceptibility. Deletion mutations of mprF (lacking lysyl-phosphatidylglycerol) or des (lipid desaturase) increased daptomycin susceptibility, whereas overexpression of MprF decreased susceptibility. Conversely, depletion of the cell for the anionic lipid phosphatidylglycerol led to increased resistance. Fluorescently labeled daptomycin localized to the septa and in a helical pattern around the cell envelope and was delocalized upon the depletion of phosphatidylglycerol. Together, these results indicate that the daptomycin-Ca2+ complex interacts preferentially with regions enriched in anionic phospholipids and leads to membrane stresses that can be ameliorated by PspA family proteins.

scholarly journals Reduction in Membrane Phosphatidylglycerol Content Leads to Daptomycin Resistance in Bacillus subtilis

2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 4326-4337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Barbara Hachmann ◽  
Elif Sevim ◽  
Ahmed Gaballa ◽  
David L. Popham ◽  
Haike Antelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Stringent Response ◽  
Resistant Isolate ◽  
Cross Resistance ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Membrane Composition ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTDaptomycin (DAP) is a cyclic lipopeptide that disrupts the functional integrity of the cell membranes of Gram-positive bacteria in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Here we present genetic, genomic, and phenotypic analyses of an evolved DAP-resistant isolate, DapR1, from the model bacteriumBacillus subtilis168. DapR1 was obtained by serial passages with increasing DAP concentrations, is 30-fold more resistant than the parent strain, and displays cross-resistance to vancomycin, moenomycin, and bacitracin. DapR1 is characterized by aberrant septum placement, notably thickened peptidoglycan at the cell poles, and pleiotropic alterations at both the transcriptome and proteome levels. Genome sequencing of DapR1 revealed 44 point mutations, 31 of which change protein sequences. An intermediate isolate that was 20-fold more resistant to DAP than the wild type had only three of these point mutations: mutations affecting the cell shape modulator genemreB, the stringent response generelA, and the phosphatidylglycerol synthase genepgsA. Genetic reconstruction studies indicated that thepgsA(A64V) allele is primarily responsible for DAP resistance. Allelic replacement with wild-typepgsArestored DAP sensitivity to wild-type levels. The additional point mutations in the evolved strain may contribute further to DAP resistance, serve to compensate for the deleterious effects of altered membrane composition, or represent neutral changes. These results suggest a resistance mechanism by which reduced levels of phosphatidylglycerol decrease the net negative charge of the membrane, thereby weakening interaction with the positively charged Ca2+-DAP complex.

scholarly journals The Lipopeptide Antibiotic Friulimicin B Inhibits Cell Wall Biosynthesis through Complex Formation with Bactoprenol Phosphate

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 1610-1618 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Schneider ◽  
K. Gries ◽  
M. Josten ◽  
I. Wiedemann ◽  
S. Pelzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Cyclic Lipopeptide ◽  
Excellent Activity ◽  
Lipopeptide Antibiotic

ABSTRACT Friulimicin B is a naturally occurring cyclic lipopeptide, produced by the actinomycete Actinoplanes friuliensis, with excellent activity against gram-positive pathogens, including multidrug-resistant strains. It consists of a macrocyclic decapeptide core and a lipid tail, interlinked by an exocyclic amino acid. Friulimicin is water soluble and amphiphilic, with an overall negative charge. Amphiphilicity is enhanced in the presence of Ca2+, which is also indispensable for antimicrobial activity. Friulimicin shares these physicochemical properties with daptomycin, which is suggested to kill gram-positive bacteria through the formation of pores in the cytoplasmic membrane. In spite of the fact that friulimicin shares features of structure and potency with daptomycin, we found that friulimicin has a unique mode of action and severely affects the cell envelope of gram-positive bacteria, acting via a defined target. We found friulimicin to interrupt the cell wall precursor cycle through the formation of a Ca2+-dependent complex with the bactoprenol phosphate carrier C55-P, which is not targeted by any other antibiotic in use. Since C55-P also serves as a carrier in teichoic acid biosynthesis and capsule formation, it is likely that friulimicin blocks multiple pathways that are essential for a functional gram-positive cell envelope.

scholarly journals Regulation of LiaRS-Dependent Gene Expression in Bacillus subtilis: Identification of Inhibitor Proteins, Regulator Binding Sites, and Target Genes of a Conserved Cell Envelope Stress-Sensing Two-Component System

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (14) ◽  
pp. 5153-5166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Jordan ◽  
Anja Junker ◽  
John D. Helmann ◽  
Thorsten Mascher
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Genomic Context ◽  
Envelope Stress ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Stress Signals

ABSTRACT The regulatory network of the cell envelope stress response in Bacillus subtilis involves both extracytoplasmic function σ-factors and two-component signal transducing systems. One such system, LiaRS, responds to cell wall antibiotics that interfere with the undecaprenol cycle and to perturbation of the cytoplasmic membrane. It is encoded by the last two genes of the liaIHGFSR locus. Here, we analyzed the expression of two LiaR-dependent operons, liaIHGFSR and yhcYZ-yhdA, and characterized a palindromic sequence required for LiaR-dependent activation. Since induction of the strong liaI promoter leads to both liaIH and liaIHGFRS transcripts, LiaR is positively autoregulated. Systematic deletion analysis of the liaI operon revealed that LiaF is a potent negative regulator of LiaR-dependent gene expression: a nonpolar liaF deletion led to constitutive activation of both characterized LiaR-dependent promoters. The liaF gene is conserved in both sequence and genomic context in the Firmicutes group of gram-positive bacteria, located directly upstream of liaSR orthologs. LiaH, a homolog of Escherichia coli phage shock protein A, also plays a more subtle role in negatively modulating the bacitracin-inducible expression from LiaR-dependent promoters. Our results support a model in which the LiaFRS module integrates both positive and negative feedback loops to transduce cell envelope stress signals.

scholarly journals β-lactam-induced cell envelope adaptations, not solely enhanced daptomycin binding, underlies daptomycin-β-lactam synergy in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Lew ◽  
Nagendra N. Mishra ◽  
Arnold S. Bayer ◽  
Warren E. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Surface Charge ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Methicillin Resistant ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids ◽  
High Infection ◽  
Strain Dependent ◽  
Multiple Antibiotics

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) is a serious clinical threat due to innate virulence properties, high infection rates and the ability to develop resistance to multiple antibiotics, including the lipopeptide, daptomycin ( DAP ). Acquisition of DAP resistance ( DAP-R ) in MRSA has been linked with several characteristic alterations in the cell envelope. Clinical treatment of DAP-R MRSA infections has generally involved DAP plus β-lactam combinations, although definable synergy of such combinations varies in a strain-dependent, as well as a β-lactam-dependent manner. We investigated distinct β-lactam-induced cell envelope adaptations of nine clinically-derived DAP-susceptible (DAP-S)/DAP-R strain-pairs following in vitro exposure to a panel of six standard β-lactams (nafcillin, meropenem, cloxacillin, ceftriaxone, cefaclor, or cefoxitin) which differ in their PBP-targeting profiles. In general, in both DAP-S and DAP-R strains, exposure to these β-lactams led to: i ) decreased positive surface charge; ii ) decreased CM fluidity; iii ) increased content and delocalization of anionic phospholipids (i.e., cardiolipin), with the delocalization more pronounced in DAP-R strains; and iv ) increased DAP binding in DAP-S (but not DAP-R) strains. Collectively, these results suggest β-lactam-induced alterations in at least three major cell envelope phenotypes (surface charge, membrane fluidity and cardiolipin content) could underlie improved DAP activity, not mediated solely by an increase in DAP binding. This work was presented in part at the 30th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases ( ECCMID) Meeting, April 18-21, 2020; Poster #P3403 Note – For ease of presentation, we will utilize the terminology, “DAP-R”, instead of “DAP-nonsusceptibility”.

scholarly journals Silver Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Applications

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7202
Author(s):  
Tamara Bruna ◽  
Francisca Maldonado-Bravo ◽  
Paul Jara ◽  
Nelson Caro
Keyword(s):  
Silver Nanoparticles ◽  
Antibacterial Agents ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Secondary Effects ◽  
Cytotoxic Effects ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Resistant Strains

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been imposed as an excellent antimicrobial agent being able to combat bacteria in vitro and in vivo causing infections. The antibacterial capacity of AgNPs covers Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, including multidrug resistant strains. AgNPs exhibit multiple and simultaneous mechanisms of action and in combination with antibacterial agents as organic compounds or antibiotics it has shown synergistic effect against pathogens bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The characteristics of silver nanoparticles make them suitable for their application in medical and healthcare products where they may treat infections or prevent them efficiently. With the urgent need for new efficient antibacterial agents, this review aims to establish factors affecting antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles, as well as to expose the advantages of using AgNPs as new antibacterial agents in combination with antibiotic, which will reduce the dosage needed and prevent secondary effects associated to both.

scholarly journals Antimicrobial Peptide Modifications against Clinically Isolated Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4654
Author(s):  
Suthee Mangmee ◽  
Onrapak Reamtong ◽  
Thareerat Kalambaheti ◽  
Sittiruk Roytrakul ◽  
Piengchan Sonthayanon
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Hemolytic Activity ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Terminal Group ◽  
Scorpion Venom ◽  
Antibiofilm Activity ◽  
Peptide Antibiotic ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Relationship Of

Antimicrobial peptides are promising molecules to address the global antibiotic resistance problem, however, optimization to achieve favorable potency and safety is required. Here, a peptide-template modification approach was employed to design physicochemical variants based on net charge, hydrophobicity, enantiomer, and terminal group. All variants of the scorpion venom peptide BmKn-2 with amphipathic α-helical cationic structure exhibited an increased antibacterial potency when evaluated against multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates at a MIC range of 4–8 µM. They revealed antibiofilm activity in a dose-dependent manner. Sheep red blood cells were used to evaluate hemolytic and cell selectivity properties. Peptide Kn2-5R-NH2, dKn2-5R-NH2, and 2F-Kn2-5R-NH2 (variants with +6 charges carrying amidated C-terminus) showed stronger antibacterial activity than Kn2-5R (a variant with +5 charges bearing free-carboxyl group at C-terminus). Peptide dKn2-5R-NH2 (d-enantiomer) exhibited slightly weaker antibacterial activity with much less hemolytic activity (higher hemolytic concentration 50) than Kn2-5R-NH2 (l-enantiomer). Furthermore, peptide Kn2-5R with the least hydrophobicity had the lowest hemolytic activity and showed the highest specificity to Salmonella (the highest selectivity index). This study also explained the relationship of peptide physicochemical properties and bioactivities that would fulfill and accelerate progress in peptide antibiotic research and development.

scholarly journals Antimicrobial Activity of Cyclic-Monomeric and Dimeric Derivatives of the Snail-Derived Peptide Cm-p5 against Viral and Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Strains

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 745
Author(s):  
Melaine González-García ◽  
Fidel Morales-Vicente ◽  
Erbio Díaz Pico ◽  
Hilda Garay ◽  
Daniel G. Rivera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Antifungal Activity ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Moderate Activity ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Acinetobacter Baumanii ◽  
Concentration Dependent Manner ◽  
Conventional Antibiotics

Cm-p5 is a snail-derived antimicrobial peptide, which demonstrated antifungal activity against the pathogenic strains of Candida albicans. Previously we synthetized a cyclic monomer as well as a parallel and an antiparallel dimer of Cm-p5 with improved antifungal activity. Considering the alarming increase of microbial resistance to conventional antibiotics, here we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of these derivatives against multiresistant and problematic bacteria and against important viral agents. The three peptides showed a moderate activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL), and Streptococcus agalactiae, with MIC values > 100 µg/mL. They exerted a considerable activity with MIC values between 25–50 µg/mL against Acinetobacter baumanii and Enterococcus faecium. In addition, the two dimers showed a moderate activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14. The three Cm-p5 derivatives inhibited a virulent extracellular strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, they inhibited Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) infection in a concentration-dependent manner, but had no effect on infection by the Zika Virus (ZIKV) or pseudoparticles of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). At concentrations of >100 µg/mL, the three new Cm-p5 derivatives showed toxicity on different eukaryotic cells tested. Considering a certain cell toxicity but a potential interesting activity against the multiresistant strains of bacteria and HSV-2, our compounds require future structural optimization.

scholarly journals Time-Resolved Transcriptional Profiling of Epithelial Cells Infected by Intracellular Acinetobacter baumannii

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 354
Author(s):  
Nuria Crua Asensio ◽  
Javier Macho Rendón ◽  
Marc Torrent Burgas
Keyword(s):  
Acinetobacter Baumannii ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Multidrug Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Profile Changes

The rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has become a serious threat to health, making it important to identify, characterize and optimize new molecules to help us to overcome the infections they cause. It is well known that Acinetobacter baumannii has a significant capacity to evade the actions of antibacterial drugs, leading to its emergence as one of the bacteria responsible for hospital and community-acquired infections. Nonetheless, how this pathogen infects and survives inside the host cell is unclear. In this study, we analyze the time-resolved transcriptional profile changes observed in human epithelial HeLa cells after infection by A. baumannii, demonstrating how it survives in host cells and starts to replicate 4 h post infection. These findings were achieved by sequencing RNA to obtain a set of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) to understand how bacteria alter the host cells’ environment for their own benefit. We also determine common features observed in this set of genes and identify the protein–protein networks that reveal highly-interacted proteins. The combination of these findings paves the way for the discovery of new antimicrobial candidates for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

A GENERAL MECHANISM FOR LUPUS ANTICOAGULANTS

1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Pengo ◽  
M J Heine ◽  
P Thiagarajan ◽  
s s Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Lupus Anticoagulant ◽  
Anticoagulant Activity ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Coagulation Factors ◽  
Phosphatidyl Serine ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Factor X ◽  
Lupus Anticoagulants ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids

Although- a number of observations have implied that lupus anticoagulants have immunologic specificity towards anionic. phospholipids, thereby prolonging phospholipid-dependent coagulation tests, this assumption has been directly demonstrated in only one patient with a monoclonal IgM paraprotein. We have tested the generality of this hypothesis directly by isolating five IgG lupus anticoagulants from patients with lupus-like syndromes and/or thrombosis. IgG lupus anticoagulant fractions were isolated free of other plasma proteins and free of contaminating phospholipid by adsorption to and elution from cardiolipin-cholesterol-dicetylphosphate liposomes , followed by chromatography on protein A-Sepharose. Cardiolipin liposomes, but not phosphatidylcholine liposomes, were capable of removing all, or nearly all, lupus anticoagulant activity from patient plasma. Anticardiolipin and lupus anticoagulant activity were both present in acidic fractions on isoelectric focusing. F(ab’)2 fragments retained lupus anti coagulant activity and bound to cardiolipin in an ELISA assay. The affinity-purified IgG preparations reacted with cardiolipin, phosphatidyl serine , phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid, but not with phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidyl ethanol amine, and inhibited calcium-dependent binding of prothrombin and of factor X to phosphatidy1serine-coated surfaces. These data demonstrate a general mechanism for the action of lupus anticoagulants: antibodies that have immunologic specificity towards anionic phospholipids, thereby blocking the calcium-mediated binding of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors to coagulation-active phospholipid surfaces.

scholarly journals The δ subunit and NTPase HelD institute a two-pronged mechanism for RNA polymerase recycling

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao-Hong Pei ◽  
Tarek Hilal ◽  
Zhuo A. Chen ◽  
Yong-Heng Huang ◽  
Yuan Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Genome Stability ◽  
Slow Growth ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Main Channel ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Secondary Channel

AbstractCellular RNA polymerases (RNAPs) can become trapped on DNA or RNA, threatening genome stability and limiting free enzyme pools, but how RNAP recycling into active states is achieved remains elusive. In Bacillus subtilis, the RNAP δ subunit and NTPase HelD have been implicated in RNAP recycling. We structurally analyzed Bacillus subtilis RNAP-δ-HelD complexes. HelD has two long arms: a Gre cleavage factor-like coiled-coil inserts deep into the RNAP secondary channel, dismantling the active site and displacing RNA, while a unique helical protrusion inserts into the main channel, prying the β and β′ subunits apart and, aided by δ, dislodging DNA. RNAP is recycled when, after releasing trapped nucleic acids, HelD dissociates from the enzyme in an ATP-dependent manner. HelD abundance during slow growth and a dimeric (RNAP-δ-HelD)2 structure that resembles hibernating eukaryotic RNAP I suggest that HelD might also modulate active enzyme pools in response to cellular cues.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document