scholarly journals Increasing the Oxidative Stress Response Allows Escherichia coli To Overcome Inhibitory Effects of Condensed Tannins

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 3406-3411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra H. Smith ◽  
James A. Imlay ◽  
Roderick I. Mackie

ABSTRACT Tannins are plant-derived polyphenols with antimicrobial effects. The mechanism of tannin toxicity towards Escherichia coli was determined by using an extract from Acacia mearnsii (Black wattle) as a source of condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins). E. coli growth was inhibited by tannins only when tannins were exposed to oxygen. Tannins auto-oxidize, and substantial hydrogen peroxide was generated when they were added to aerobic media. The addition of exogenous catalase permitted growth in tannin medium. E. coli mutants that lacked HPI, the major catalase, were especially sensitive to tannins, while oxyR mutants that constitutively overexpress antioxidant enzymes were resistant. A tannin-resistant mutant was isolated in which a promoter-region point mutation increased the level of HPI by 10-fold. Our results indicate that wattle condensed tannins are toxic to E. coli in aerobic medium primarily because they generate H2O2. The oxidative stress response helps E. coli strains to overcome their inhibitory effect.

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto C. Molina-Quiroz ◽  
Cecilia Silva-Valenzuela ◽  
Jennifer Brewster ◽  
Eduardo Castro-Nallar ◽  
Stuart B. Levy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBacterial persistence is a transient, nonheritable physiological state that provides tolerance to bactericidal antibiotics. The stringent response, toxin-antitoxin modules, and stochastic processes, among other mechanisms, play roles in this phenomenon. How persistence is regulated is relatively ill defined. Here we show that cyclic AMP, a global regulator of carbon catabolism and other core processes, is a negative regulator of bacterial persistence in uropathogenicEscherichia coli, as measured by survival after exposure to a β-lactam antibiotic. This phenotype is regulated by a set of genes leading to an oxidative stress response and SOS-dependent DNA repair. Thus, persister cells tolerant to cell wall-acting antibiotics must cope with oxidative stress and DNA damage and these processes are regulated by cyclic AMP in uropathogenicE. coli.IMPORTANCEBacterial persister cells are important in relapsing infections in patients treated with antibiotics and also in the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Our results show that in uropathogenicE. coli, the second messenger cyclic AMP negatively regulates persister cell formation, since in its absence much more persister cells form that are tolerant to β-lactams antibiotics. We reveal the mechanism to be decreased levels of reactive oxygen species, specifically hydroxyl radicals, and SOS-dependent DNA repair. Our findings suggest that the oxidative stress response and DNA repair are relevant pathways to target in the design of persister-specific antibiotic compounds.


1973 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
pp. 1009-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel F. Pierce

Natural cholera toxoid appears to act as a competitive inhibitor of cholera enterotoxin and is thus a useful tool for studying the interaction of cholera enterotoxin with cell membranes. Cholera enterotoxin binds to gut mucosa more rapidly than does its natural toxoid. Once binding occurs, however, it appears to be prolonged for both materials. Formalinized cholera toxoid has no inhibitory effect upon cholera enterotoxin. Enterotoxic activity, ability to bind to gut mucosa, and antitoxigenicity appear to be independent properties of cholera enterotoxin. Natural cholera toxoid does not inhibit Escherichia coli enterotoxin, indicating that although the two enterotoxins activate the same mucosal secretory mechanism they occupy different binding sites in the mucosa. Ganglioside, which may be the mucosal receptor of cholera enterotoxin, is highly efficient in deactivating cholera enterotoxin. By contrast, ganglioside is relatively inefficient in deactivating heat-labile E. coli enterotoxin and is without effect upon the heat-stable component of E. coli enterotoxin. These findings suggest that ganglioside is not likely to be the mucosal receptor for E. coli enterotoxin. Differences in cellular binding of E. coli and cholera enterotoxins may explain, at least in part, the marked differences in the time of onset and duration of their effects upon gut secretion.


2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 1783-1789 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. BOLAND ◽  
P. M. DAVIDSON ◽  
J. WEISS

This study examined the effects of three chelating agents (EDTA, disodium pyrophosphate [DSPP], and pentasodium tripolyphosphate [PSTPP]) on the inhibition of the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by lysozyme. The objective of this study was to identify replacement chelators that exhibit synergistic properties similar to those of EDTA. The inhibitory effects of EDTA at 300 to 1,500 μg/ml and of DSPP and PSTPP at 3,000 to 15,000 μg/ml in combination with lysozyme at 200 to 600 μg/ml for up to 48 h at pHs of 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0 on four strains of E. coli O157:H7 was studied with the use of a microbroth dilution assay. The addition of EDTA enhanced lysozyme's inhibitory effect on strains of E. coli O157:H7. EDTA at ≥300 μg/ml combined with lysozyme at 200 to 600 μg/ml was sufficient to inhibit the growth of the strains at pHs of 6.0 and 8.0. At pH 7.0, lysozyme at 200 to 600 μg/ml and EDTA concentrations of ≥1,000 μg/ml were effective in inhibiting three of the four strains. DSPP at pH 6.0 was inhibitory at ≥10,000 μg/ml when combined with lysozyme at 200 to 300 μg/ml. In contrast, PSTPP increased the inhibitory activity of lysozyme more effectively at pH 8.0. Lysozyme at 200 to 600 μg/ml was effective against two strains of E. coli O157:H7 when used in conjunction with PSTPP at ≥5,000 μg/ml. The remaining strains were inhibited by PSTPP at ≥10,000 μg/ml. Our results indicate that inhibition occurred with each lysozyme-chelator combination, but the concentrations of phosphates required to increase the antimicrobial spectrum of lysozyme against E. coli O157:H7 were higher than the EDTA concentrations required to achieve the same effect.


Microbiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 156 (9) ◽  
pp. 2873-2886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa M. Lacey ◽  
Jonathan D. Partridge ◽  
Jeffrey Green

The Escherichia coli K-12 yfgF gene encodes a protein with domains associated with cyclic di-GMP signalling: GGDEF (associated with diguanylate cyclase activity) and EAL (associated with cyclic di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity). Here, it is shown that yfgF is expressed under anaerobic conditions from a class II FNR (regulator of fumarate and nitrate reduction)-dependent promoter. Anaerobic expression of yfgF is greatest in stationary phase, and in cultures grown at 28 °C, suggesting that low growth rates promote yfgF expression. Mutation of yfgF resulted in altered cell surface properties and enhanced sensitivity when anaerobic cultures were exposed to peroxides. The purified YfgF GGDEF-EAL (YfgFGE) and EAL (YfgFE) domains possessed cyclic di-GMP-specific phosphodiesterase activity, but lacked diguanylate cyclase activity. However, the catalytically inactive GGDEF domain was required for YfgFGE dimerization and enhanced cyclic di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity in the presence of physiological concentrations of Mg2+. The cyclic di-GMP phosphodiesterase activity of YfgFGE and YfgFE was inhibited by the product of the reaction, 5′-phosphoguanylyl-(3′–5′)-guanosine (pGpG). Thus, it is shown that the yfgF gene encodes an anaerobic cyclic di-GMP phosphodiesterase that is involved in remodelling the cell surface of E. coli K-12 and in the response to peroxide shock, with implications for integrating three global regulatory networks, i.e. oxygen regulation, cyclic di-GMP signalling and the oxidative stress response.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 2468-2477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guochi Zhang ◽  
Robert Dru Nichols ◽  
Masaru Taniguchi ◽  
Toshinori Nakayama ◽  
Michael J. Parmely

ABSTRACT The reductive-oxidative status of tissues regulates the expression of many inflammatory genes that are induced during gram-negative bacterial infections. The cytokine gamma interferon (IFN-γ) is a potent stimulus for host inflammatory gene expression, and oxidative stress has been shown to inhibit its production in mice challenged with Escherichia coli bacteria. The objective of the present study was to characterize the cells that produced IFN-γ in a mouse bacterial peritonitis model and determine the effects of oxidative stress on their activation. The liver contained large numbers of IFN-γ-expressing lymphocytes following challenge with viable E. coli bacteria. The surface phenotypes of IFN-γ-expressing hepatic lymphocytes were those of natural killer (NK) cells (NK1.1+ CD3−), conventional T cells (NK1.1− CD3+), and NK T cells (NK1.1+ CD3+). Treating mice with diethyl maleate to deplete tissue thiols significantly impaired IFN-γ production by NK cells, conventional T cells, and CD1d-restricted NK T cells in response to E. coli challenge. However, IFN-γ expression by a subset of NK T cells, which did not bind α-galactosylceramide-CD1d tetramers, was resistant to the inhibitory effects of tissue oxidative stress. Stress-resistant IFN-γ-expressing cells were also predominantly CD8+ and bore γδ T-cell antigen receptors. The residual IFN-γ response by NK T cells may explain previous reports of hepatic gene expression following gram-negative bacterial challenge in thiol-depleted mice. The finding also demonstrates that innate immune cells differ significantly in their responses to altered tissue redox status.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1569-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Hong ◽  
Wu Jing ◽  
Wang Qing ◽  
Su Anxiang ◽  
Xue Mei ◽  
...  

The inhibitory effects of Zanthoxylum bungeanum essential oil (ZBEO) on Escherichia coli (E. coli) in vitro and in vivo were investigated, as well as its function of improvement of intestinal health.


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