scholarly journals ACoccidioides posadasii CPS1Deletion Mutant Is Avirulent and Protects Mice from Lethal Infection

2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 3007-3016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hema P. Narra ◽  
Lisa F. Shubitz ◽  
M. Alejandra Mandel ◽  
Hien T. Trinh ◽  
Kurt Griffin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Homologous Gene ◽  
Coccidioides Posadasii ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lethal Infection ◽  
High Doses ◽  
Regulatory Functions ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Promising Vaccine Candidate

TheCPS1gene was identified as a virulence factor in the maize pathogenCochliobolus heterostrophus. Hypothesizing that the homologous gene inCoccidioides posadasiicould be important for virulence, we created a Δcps1deletion mutant which was unable to cause disease in three strains of mice (C57BL/6, BALB/c, or the severely immunodeficient NOD-scid,γcnull[NSG]). Only a single colony was recovered from 1 of 60 C57BL/6 mice following intranasal infections of up to 4,400 spores. Following administration of very high doses (10,000 to 2.5 × 107spores) to NSG and BALB/c mice, spherules were observed in lung sections at time points from day 3 to day 10 postinfection, but nearly all appeared degraded with infrequent endosporulation. Although the role ofCPS1in virulence is not understood, phenotypic alterations and transcription differences of at least 33 genes in the Δcps1strain versusC. posadasiiis consistent with both metabolic and regulatory functions for the gene. Thein vitrophenotype of the Δcps1strain showed slower growth of mycelia with delayed and lower spore production thanC. posadasii, andin vitrospherules were smaller. Vaccination of C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice with live Δcps1spores either intranasally, intraperitoneally, or subcutaneously resulted in over 95% survival with mean residual lung fungal burdens of <1,000 CFU from an otherwise lethalC. posadasiiintranasal infection. Considering its apparently complete attenuation of virulence and the high degree of resistance toC. posadasiiinfection when used as a vaccine, the Δcps1strain is a promising vaccine candidate for preventing coccidioidomycosis in humans or other animals.

scholarly journals Fosfomycin Enhances the Activity of Daptomycin against Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in anIn VitroPharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 5716-5723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley D. Hall Snyder ◽  
Brian J. Werth ◽  
Poochit Nonejuie ◽  
John P. McRoberts ◽  
Joe Pogliano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Surface Charge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cell Surface Charge ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant ◽  
High Doses ◽  
Zeta Potential Analysis

ABSTRACTDaptomycin (DAP) is being used more frequently to treat infections caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE). DAP tends to be less active against enterococci than staphylococci and may require high doses or combination therapy to be bactericidal. Fosfomycin (FOF) has activity against VRE and has demonstrated synergistic bactericidal activity with DAPin vitro. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of DAP alone and in combination with FOF against VRE in anin vitropharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model. The activity of DAP at 8 and 12 mg/kg of body weight/day (DAP 8 and DAP 12, respectively) and FOF of 40 mg/kg intravenously every 8 h, alone and in combination, were evaluated against 2 vancomycin-resistantEnterococcus faeciumstrains (8019 and 5938) and 2 vancomycin-resistantE. faecalisstrains (V583 and R7302) in anin vitroPK/PD model over 72 h. Cell surface charge in the presence and absence of FOF was evaluated by zeta potential analysis. Daptomycin-boron-dipyrromethene (bodipy) binding was assessed by fluorescence microscopy. The addition of FOF to DAP 8 and DAP 12 resulted in significantly increased killing over DAP alone at 72 h for 8019, V583, and R7302 (P< 0.05). Therapeutic enhancement was observed with DAP 12 plus FOF against 8019, V583, and R7302. Cell surface charge became more negative after exposure to FOF by ∼2 to 8mV in all 4 strains. Daptomycin-bodipy binding increased by 2.6 times in the presence of fosfomycin (P< 0.0001). The combination of DAP plus FOF may provide improved killing against VRE (including DAP-resistant strains) through modulation of cell surface charge. Further studies to clarify the role of intravenous FOF are warranted.

Myocardial CO2 buffering: role of transmembrane transport of H+ or HCO3-ions

1976 ◽  
Vol 230 (4) ◽  
pp. 1037-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR Strome ◽  
RL Clancy ◽  
NC Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Small Volume ◽  
Coronary Circulation ◽  
Myocardial Cell ◽  
Ringer Solution ◽  
Red Cells ◽  
Transmembrane Transport ◽  
High Degree

Isolated rabbit hearts were perfused with rabbit red cells suspended in Ringer solution. A small volume of perfusate was recirculated for 10 min at Pco2 of 33.4 +/- 0.9 or 150.8 +/- 7.5 mmHg. Hypercapnia resulted in an increase in perfusate HCO3- concentration that was smaller than that observed when isolated perfusate was equilibrated in vitro with the same CO2 tensions (delta HCO-3e = 1.6 mM, P less than 0.01). This difference is consistent with a net movement of HCO3- into or H+ out of the mycardial cell, and cannot be accounted for by dilution of HCO3- in the myocardial interstitium. Recirculation of perfusate through the coronary circulation at normal Pco2 for two consecutive 10-min periods was not followed by changes in perfusate HCO3- concentration. A high degree of correlation (r = 0.81) was observed between intracellular HCO-3e concentration and the corresponding delta HCO-3e in individual experiments. The results suggest that transmembrane exchange of H+ or HCO3- is a buffer mechanism for CO2 in the myocardial cell.

scholarly journals Activity of the Pore-Forming Virulence Factor Listeriolysin O Is Reversibly Inhibited by Naturally Occurring S-Glutathionylation

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L. Portman ◽  
Qiongying Huang ◽  
Michelle L. Reniere ◽  
Anthony T. Iavarone ◽  
Daniel A. Portnoy
Keyword(s):  
Protein Function ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Cysteine Residue ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Listeriolysin O ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pore Forming Proteins

ABSTRACT Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) represent a family of homologous pore-forming proteins secreted by many Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. CDCs mediate membrane binding partly through a conserved C-terminal undecapeptide, which contains a single cysteine residue. While mutational changes to other residues in the undecapeptide typically have severe effects, mutation of the cysteine residue to alanine has minor effects on overall protein function. Thus, the role of this highly conserved reactive cysteine residue remains largely unknown. We report here that the CDC listeriolysin O (LLO), secreted by the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, was posttranslationally modified by S-glutathionylation at this conserved cysteine residue and that either endogenously synthesized or exogenously added glutathione was sufficient to form this modification. When recapitulated with purified protein in vitro, this modification completely ablated the activity of LLO, and this inhibitory effect was fully reversible by treatment with reducing agents. A cysteine-to-alanine mutation in LLO rendered the protein completely resistant to inactivation by S-glutathionylation, and a mutant expressing this mutation retained full hemolytic activity. A mutant strain of L. monocytogenes expressing the cysteine-to-alanine variant of LLO was able to infect and replicate within bone marrow-derived macrophages indistinguishably from the wild type in vitro, yet it was attenuated 4- to 6-fold in a competitive murine infection model in vivo. This study suggests that S-glutathionylation may represent a mechanism by which CDC-family proteins are posttranslationally modified and regulated and help explain an evolutionary pressure to retain the highly conserved undecapeptide cysteine.

scholarly journals Allelic variation contributes to bacterial host specificity

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Yue ◽  
Xiangan Han ◽  
Leon De Masi ◽  
Chunhong Zhu ◽  
Xun Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Gene Gain ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Serovar Typhimurium ◽  
Functional Analyses ◽  
High Degree

Abstract Understanding the molecular parameters that regulate cross-species transmission and host adaptation of potential pathogens is crucial to control emerging infectious disease. Although microbial pathotype diversity is conventionally associated with gene gain or loss, the role of pathoadaptive nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) has not been systematically evaluated. Here, our genome-wide analysis of core genes within Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium genomes reveals a high degree of allelic variation in surface-exposed molecules, including adhesins that promote host colonization. Subsequent multinomial logistic regression, MultiPhen and Random Forest analyses of known/suspected adhesins from 580 independent Typhimurium isolates identifies distinct host-specific nsSNP signatures. Moreover, population and functional analyses of host-associated nsSNPs for FimH, the type 1 fimbrial adhesin, highlights the role of key allelic residues in host-specific adherence in vitro. Together, our data provide the first concrete evidence that functional differences between allelic variants of bacterial proteins likely contribute to pathoadaption to diverse hosts.

scholarly journals High doses of immunoglobulin G attenuate immune aggregate-mediated complement activation by enhancing physiologic cleavage of C3b in C3bn- IgG complexes

Blood ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
HU Lutz ◽  
P Stammler ◽  
E Jelezarova ◽  
M Nater ◽  
PJ Spath
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Factor H ◽  
Human Igg ◽  
Partial Protection ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
High Doses ◽  
Immune Aggregates

Abstract Intravenously applied human IgG has beneficial effects in treating inflammatory diseases, presumably because it has a complement attenuating role. This role of IgG was studied in vitro by following C3 activation and inactivation in sera that were supplemented with exogenous human IgG and incubated with immune aggregates. IgG added at 2 to 10 mg/mL stimulated the physiologic inactivation of C3b-containing complexes twofold to threefold in 20% sera. This, in turn, lowered the overall C3 activation by 28%, as new C3 convertases primarily assembled on C3b-containing complexes. Exogenous IgG (5 mg/mL) also stimulated inactivation of purified C3b2-IgG complexes, whereby their half-life dropped from 3–4 to 1.5 minutes in 20% serum. IgG appeared to act like a modulator of factor H and I because it did not stimulate inactivation of C3b-containing complexes in factor I-deficient serum. Thus, the known partial protection of C3bn-IgG complexes from inactivation by factor H and I was downregulated by high concentrations of IgG. The ability of high doses of IgG to stimulate complement inactivation is a novel regulatory role of IgG. This may be one of the molecular principles for its therapeutic efficacy in treating complement-mediated inflammations.

scholarly journals Antioxidant Therapy in Graves’ Orbitopathy

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Lanzolla ◽  
Claudio Marcocci ◽  
Michele Marinò
Keyword(s):  
Ros Generation ◽  
Related Condition ◽  
Orbital Radiotherapy ◽  
Antioxidant Agents ◽  
Graves Orbitopathy ◽  
High Doses

The balance of the cell redox state is a key point for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation leads to oxidative damage of tissues, which is involved in the development of several diseases, including autoimmune diseases. Graves’ Orbitopathy (GO) is a disfiguring autoimmune-related condition associated with Graves’ Disease (GD). Patients with active, moderate-to-severe GO, are generally treated with high doses intravenous glucocorticoids (ivGCs) and/or orbital radiotherapy. On the contrary, up to recently, local ointments were the treatment most frequently offered to patients with mild GO, because the risks related to ivGCs does not justify the relatively poor benefits expected in mild GO. However, a medical treatment for these patients is heavily wanted, considering that GO can progress into more severe forms and also patients with mild GO complain with an impairment in their quality of life. Thus, based on the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of GO, a therapy with antioxidant agents has been proposed and a number of studies have been performed, both in vitro and in vivo, which is reviewed here.

scholarly journals Fimbria-Encoding GeneyadCHas a Pleiotropic Effect on Several Biological Characteristics and Plays a Role in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Pathogenicity

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 ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Soft Agar ◽  
Pleiotropic Effect ◽  
Biological Characteristics ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pathogenic Escherichia Coli

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.

scholarly journals Inhibition of LpxC Protects Mice from Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii by Modulating Inflammation and Enhancing Phagocytosis

mBio ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Lin ◽  
Brandon Tan ◽  
Paul Pantapalangkoor ◽  
Tiffany Ho ◽  
Beverlie Baquir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acinetobacter Baumannii ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Novel Treatments ◽  
New Class ◽  
Virulent Strains ◽  
Lethal Infection ◽  
Tlr4 Activation ◽  
Opsonophagocytic Killing

ABSTRACT New treatments are needed for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), such as Acinetobacter baumannii. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was previously reported to enhance bacterial clearance of GNB, including A. baumannii. However, here we have shown that 100% of wild-type mice versus 0% of TLR4-deficient mice died of septic shock due to A. baumannii infection, despite having similar tissue bacterial burdens. The strain lipopolysaccharide (LPS) content and TLR4 activation by extracted LPS did not correlate with in vivo virulence, nor did colistin resistance due to LPS phosphoethanolamine modification. However, more-virulent strains shed more LPS during growth than less-virulent strains, resulting in enhanced TLR4 activation. Due to the role of LPS in A. baumannii virulence, an LpxC inhibitor (which affects lipid A biosynthesis) antibiotic was tested. The LpxC inhibitor did not inhibit growth of the bacterium (MIC > 512 µg/ml) but suppressed A. baumannii LPS-mediated activation of TLR4. Treatment of infected mice with the LpxC inhibitor enhanced clearance of the bacteria by enhancing opsonophagocytic killing, reduced serum LPS concentrations and inflammation, and completely protected the mice from lethal infection. These results identify a previously unappreciated potential for the new class of LpxC inhibitor antibiotics to treat XDR A. baumannii infections. Furthermore, they have far-reaching implications for pathogenesis and treatment of infections caused by GNB and for the discovery of novel antibiotics not detected by standard in vitro screens. IMPORTANCE Novel treatments are needed for infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative bacterium that is extremely antibiotic resistant. The current study was undertaken to understand the immunopathogenesis of these infections, as a basis for defining novel treatments. The primary strain characteristic that differentiated virulent from less-virulent strains was shedding of Gram-negative lipopolysaccharide (LPS) during growth. A novel class of antibiotics, called LpxC inhibitors, block LPS synthesis, but these drugs do not demonstrate the ability to kill A. baumannii in vitro. We found that an LpxC inhibitor blocked the ability of bacteria to activate the sepsis cascade, enhanced opsonophagocytic killing of the bacteria, and protected mice from lethal infection. Thus, an entire new class of antibiotics which is already in development has heretofore-unrecognized potential to treat A. baumannii infections. Furthermore, standard antibiotic screens based on in vitro killing failed to detect this treatment potential of LpxC inhibitors for A. baumannii infections.

scholarly journals Contributions ofyap1Mutation and SubsequentatrFUpregulation to Voriconazole Resistance inAspergillus flavus

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuuta Ukai ◽  
Miho Kuroiwa ◽  
Naoko Kurihara ◽  
Hiroki Naruse ◽  
Tomoyuki Homma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Mutation ◽  
Nuclear Export ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Resistant Mutant ◽  
Gene Replacement ◽  
Bzip Transcription Factor ◽  
Homologous Gene ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTAspergillus flavusis the second most significant pathogenic cause of invasive aspergillosis; however, its emergence risks and mechanisms of voriconazole (VRC) resistance have not yet been elucidated in detail. Here, we demonstrate that repeated exposure ofA. flavusto subinhibitory concentrations of VRCin vitrocauses the emergence of a VRC-resistant mutant with a novel resistance mechanism. The VRC-resistant mutant shows a MIC of 16 μg/ml for VRC and of 0.5 μg/ml for itraconazole (ITC). Whole-genome sequencing analysis showed that the mutant possesses a point mutation inyap1, which encodes a bZIP transcription factor working as the master regulator of the oxidative stress response, but no mutations in thecyp51genes. This point mutation inyap1caused alteration of Leu558 to Trp (Yap1Leu558Trp) in the putative nuclear export sequence in the carboxy-terminal cysteine-rich domain of Yap1. This Yap1Leu558Trpsubstitution was confirmed as being responsible for the VRC-resistant phenotype, but not for that of ITC, by the revertant to Yap1wild typewith homologous gene replacement. Furthermore, Yap1Leu558Trpcaused marked upregulation of theatrFATP-binding cassette transporter, and the deletion ofatrFrestored susceptibility to VRC inA. flavus. These findings provide new insights into VRC resistance mechanisms via a transcriptional factor mutation that is independent of thecyp51gene mutation inA. flavus.

scholarly journals The “Finger,” a Unique Multicellular Morphology of Candida albicans Induced by CO2and Dependent upon the Ras1-Cyclic AMP Pathway

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1257-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla J. Daniels ◽  
Claude Pujol ◽  
Thyagarajan Srikantha ◽  
David R. Soll
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Cyclic Amp ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Cell Monolayer ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dispersal Mechanism ◽  
Basal Bulb ◽  
High Doses

ABSTRACTMost experiments exploring the basic biology of pathogenic microbes are performedin vitrounder conditions that do not usually mimic those of their host niche. Hence, developmental programs initiated by specific host cues may be missedin vitro. We have tested the effects of growing low-density agar cultures of the yeast pathogenCandida albicansin concentrations of CO2found in the gastrointestinal tract. It is demonstrated that in physiological concentrations of CO2at 37°C, yeast cells form a heretofore undescribed multicellular “finger” morphology distinct from a previously described stalk-like structure induced by high doses of UV irradiation that kills more than 99.99% of cells. The finger extends aerially, is uniform in diameter, and is visible to the naked eye, attaining lengths of 3 mm. It is composed of a basal yeast cell monolayer adhering to a semispherical crater formed in the agar and connected to a basal bulb of yeast cells at a fragile interface. The bulb extends into the long shaft. We propose that a single, centrally located hypha extending the length of the shaft forms buds at compartment junctions that serve as the source of the yeast cells in the shaft. A mutational analysis reveals finger formation is dependent upon the pathway Ras1→Cdc35→cyclic AMP (cAMP) (PDE2—|)→Tpk2→Tec1. Because of the mechanically fragile interface and the compactness of bulb and shaft, we suggest that the finger may function as a multicellular dispersal mechanism produced in host niches containing high levels of CO2.

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