scholarly journals Site-Specific Contributions of Glutamine-Dependent Regulator GlnR and GlnR-Regulated Genes to Virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae

2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1230-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter T. Hendriksen ◽  
Tomas G. Kloosterman ◽  
Hester J. Bootsma ◽  
Silvia Estevão ◽  
Ronald de Groot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Glutamate Uptake ◽  
Glutamate Metabolism ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Infection Models ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Bacterial Fitness ◽  
Number Of Bacteria

ABSTRACT The transcriptional regulator GlnR of Streptococcus pneumoniae is involved in the regulation of glutamine and glutamate metabolism, controlling the expression of the glnRA and glnPQ-zwf operons, as well as the gdhA gene. To assess the contribution of the GlnR regulon to virulence, D39 wild-type and mutant strains lacking genes of this regulon were tested in an in vitro adherence assay and murine infection models. All of the mutants, except the ΔglnR mutant, were attenuated in adherence to human pharyngeal epithelial Detroit 562 cells, suggesting a contribution of these genes to adherence during the colonization of humans. During murine colonization, only the ΔglnA mutant and the glnP-glnA double mutant (ΔglnAP) were attenuated, in contrast to ΔglnP, indicating that the effect is caused by the lack of GlnA expression. In our pneumonia model, only ΔglnP and ΔglnAP showed a significantly reduced number of bacteria in the lungs and blood, indicating that GlnP is required for survival in the lungs and possibly for dissemination to the blood. In intravenously infected mice, glnP and glnA were individually dispensable for survival in the blood whereas the ΔglnAP mutant was avirulent. Finally, transcriptome analysis of the ΔglnAP mutant showed that many genes involved in amino acid metabolism were upregulated. This signifies the importance of glutamine/glutamate uptake and synthesis for full bacterial fitness and virulence. In conclusion, several genes of the GlnR regulon are required at different sites during pathogenesis, with glnA contributing to colonization and survival in the blood and glnP important for survival in the lungs and, possibly, efficient transition from the lungs to the blood.

scholarly journals Contributions of the 8-Methoxy Group of Gatifloxacin to Resistance Selectivity, Target Preference, and Antibacterial Activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1649-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideyuki Fukuda ◽  
Ryuta Kishii ◽  
Masaya Takei ◽  
Masaki Hosaka
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Methoxy Group ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Dna Gyrase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Topoisomerase Iv ◽  
Mutant Strains

ABSTRACT Gatifloxacin (8-methoxy, 7-piperazinyl-3′-methyl) at the MIC selected mutant strains that possessed gyrA mutations at a low frequency (3.7 × 10−9) from wild-type strainStreptococcus pneumoniae IID553. AM-1147 (8-methoxy, 7-piperazinyl-3′-H) at the MIC or higher concentrations selected no mutant strains. On the other hand, the respective 8-H counterparts of these two compounds, AM-1121 (8-H, 7-piperazinyl-3′-methyl) and ciprofloxacin (8-H, 7-piperazinyl-3′-H), at one and two times the MIC selected mutant strains that possessed parC mutations at a high frequency (>2.4 × 10−6). The MIC of AM-1147 increased for the gyrA mutant strains but not for theparC mutant strains compared with that for the wild-type strain. These results suggest that fluoroquinolones that harbor 8-methoxy groups select mutant strains less frequently and prefer DNA gyrase, as distinct from their 8-H counterparts. The in vitro activities of gatifloxacin and AM-1147 are twofold higher against the wild-type strain, eight- and twofold higher against the first-stepparC and gyrA mutant strains, respectively, and two- to eightfold higher against the second-step gyrA andparC double mutant strains than those of their 8-H counterparts. These results indicate that the 8-methoxy group contributes to enhancement of antibacterial activity against target-altered mutant strains as well as the wild-type strain. It is hypothesized that the 8-methoxy group of gatifloxacin increases the level of target inhibition, especially against DNA gyrase, so that it is nearly the same as that for topoisomerase IV inhibition in the bacterial cell, leading to potent antibacterial activity and a low level of resistance selectivity.

scholarly journals Impact of Resistance Selection and Mutant Growth Fitness on the Relative Efficacies of Streptomycin and Levofloxacin for Plague Therapy

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 2661-2667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Louie ◽  
Mark R. Deziel ◽  
Weiguo Liu ◽  
George L. Drusano
Keyword(s):  
Aminoglycoside Antibiotic ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Time Profiles ◽  
Resistance Selection ◽  
Infection Models ◽  
Resistant Mutants ◽  
Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic ◽  
Number Of Bacteria

ABSTRACT Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, is a potential agent of biowarfare and bioterrorism. The aminoglycoside antibiotic streptomycin is the gold standard for treatment. However, this recommendation is based on scant animal and clinical data. We used an in vitro pharmacodynamic infection model to compare the efficacies of 10-day regimens of streptomycin versus the fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin for the treatment of Y. pestis infection and to evaluate for emergence of resistance. The human serum concentration-time profiles for standard clinical regimens of 1 g of streptomycin given every 12 h and 500 mg of levofloxacin given every 24 h were simulated. The growth fitness of drug-resistant mutants was examined in neutropenic and immunocompetent mouse thigh infection models. In the in vitro infection system, untreated bacteria grew from 107 to 1010 CFU/ml. Streptomycin therapy caused a 105 CFU/ml reduction in the number of bacteria over 24 h, followed by regrowth with streptomycin-resistant mutants. Levofloxacin resulted in a 107 CFU/ml reduction in the number of bacteria within 12 h, ultimately sterilizing the culture without resistance selection. In both the normal and neutropenic mouse infection models, streptomycin-resistant and wild-type strains were equally fit. However, 90% of levofloxacin-resistant isolates, cultured from the control in vitro infection arm, did not proliferate in the mouse models. Thus, the fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin was superior to streptomycin in our in vitro infection model. The majority of levofloxacin-resistant mutants were less fit than streptomycin-resistant and wild-type Y. pestis.

scholarly journals In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of DA-7867, a New Oxazolidinone, against Aerobic Gram-Positive Bacteria

2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 2498-2500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Jeong Yoon ◽  
Yeong Woo Jo ◽  
Sung Hak Choi ◽  
Tae Ho Lee ◽  
Jae Keol Rhee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Methicillin Resistant ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Infection Models ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

ABSTRACT In vitro and in vivo activities of DA-7867 were assessed against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. All isolates were inhibited by DA-7867 at ≤0.78 μg/ml, a four-times-lower concentration than that of inhibition by linezolid. For murine infection models, DA-7867 also exhibited greater efficacy than linezolid against all isolates tested.

Enhanced fitness of a Helicobacter pylori babA mutant in a murine model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Lorena Harvey ◽  
Aung Soe Lin ◽  
Lili Sun ◽  
Tatsuki Koyama ◽  
Jennifer H. B. Shuman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Outer Membrane Proteins ◽  
Population Diversity ◽  
Fitness Advantage ◽  
Neutral Locus ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Bacterial Fitness ◽  
H Pylori

Helicobacter pylori genomes encode >60 predicted outer membrane proteins (OMPs). Several OMPs in the Hop family act as adhesins, but the functions of most Hop proteins are unknown. To identify hop mutant strains that exhibit altered fitness in vivo compared to fitness in vitro , we used a genetic barcoding method that allowed us to track changes in the proportional abundance of H. pylori strains within a mixed population. We generated a library of hop mutant strains, each containing a unique nucleotide barcode, as well as a library of control strains, each containing a nucleotide barcode in an intergenic region predicted to be a neutral locus unrelated to bacterial fitness. We orogastrically inoculated each of the libraries into mice and analyzed compositional changes in the populations over time in vivo compared to changes detected in the populations during library passage in vitro . The control library proliferated as a relatively stable community in vitro, but there was a reduction in the population diversity of this library in vivo and marked variation in the dominant strains recovered from individual animals, consistent with the existence of a non-selective bottleneck in vivo . We did not identify any OMP mutants exhibiting fitness defects exclusively in vivo without corresponding fitness defects in vitro . Conversely, a babA mutant exhibited a strong fitness advantage in vivo but not in vitro . These findings, when taken together with results of other studies, suggest that production of BabA may have differential effects on H. pylori fitness depending on the environmental conditions.

scholarly journals In Vitro Infection Model Characterizing the Effect of Efflux Pump Inhibition on Prevention of Resistance to Levofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin in Streptococcus pneumoniae

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 3988-4000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Louie ◽  
David L. Brown ◽  
Weiguo Liu ◽  
Robert W. Kulawy ◽  
Mark R. Deziel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Community Acquired Pneumonia ◽  
Fluoroquinolone Resistance ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibition ◽  
Short Term Exposure ◽  
Emergence Of Resistance

ABSTRACT The prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae is slowly rising as a consequence of the increased use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics to treat community-acquired pneumonia. We tested the hypothesis that increased efflux pump (EP) expression by S. pneumoniae may facilitate the emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance. By using an in vitro pharmacodynamic infection system, a wild-type S. pneumoniae strain (Spn-058) and an isogenic strain with EP overexpression (Spn-RC2) were treated for 10 days with ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin in the presence or absence of the EP inhibitor reserpine to evaluate the effect of EP inhibition on the emergence of resistance. Cultures of Spn-058 and Spn-RC2 were exposed to concentration-time profiles simulating those in humans treated with a regimen of ciprofloxacin at 750 mg orally once every 12 h and with regimens of levofloxacin at 500 and 750 mg orally once daily (QD; with or without continuous infusions of 20 μg of reserpine/ml). The MICs of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin for Spn-058 were both 1 μg/ml when susceptibility testing was conducted with each antibiotic alone and with each antibiotic in the presence of reserpine. For Spn-RC2, the MIC of levofloxacin alone and with reserpine was also 1 μg/ml; the MICs of ciprofloxacin were 2 and 1 μg/ml, respectively, when determined with ciprofloxacin alone and in combination with reserpine. Reserpine, alone, had no effect on the growth of Spn-058 and Spn-RC2. For Spn-058, simulated regimens of ciprofloxacin at 750 mg every 12 h or levofloxacin at 500 mg QD were associated with the emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance. However, the use of ciprofloxacin at 750 mg every 12 h and levofloxacin at 500 mg QD in combination with reserpine rapidly killed Spn-058 and prevented the emergence of resistance. For Spn-RC2, levofloxacin at 500 mg QD was associated with the emergence of resistance, but again, the resistance was prevented when this levofloxacin regimen was combined with reserpine. Ciprofloxacin at 750 mg every 12 h also rapidly selected for ciprofloxacin-resistant mutants of Spn-RC2. However, the addition of reserpine to ciprofloxacin therapy only delayed the emergence of resistance. Levofloxacin at 750 mg QD, with and without reserpine, effectively eradicated Spn-058 and Spn-RC2 without selecting for fluoroquinolone resistance. Ethidium bromide uptake and efflux studies demonstrated that, at the baseline, Spn-RC2 had greater EP expression than Spn-058. These studies also showed that ciprofloxacin was a better inducer of EP expression than levofloxacin in both Spn-058 and Spn-RC2. However, in these isolates, the increase in EP expression by short-term exposure to ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin was transient. Mutants of Spn-058 and Spn-RC2 that emerged under suboptimal antibiotic regimens had a stable increase in EP expression. Levofloxacin at 500 mg QD in combination with reserpine, an EP inhibitor, or at 750 mg QD alone killed wild-type S. pneumoniae and strains that overexpressed reserpine-inhibitable EPs and was highly effective in preventing the emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in S. pneumoniae during therapy. Ciprofloxacin at 750 mg every 12 h, as monotherapy, was ineffective for the treatment of Spn-058 and Spn-RC2. Ciprofloxacin in combination with reserpine prevented the emergence of resistance in Spn-058 but not in Spn-RC2, the EP-overexpressing strain.

scholarly journals Pneumococcal Surface Protein C Contributes to Sepsis Caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in Mice

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 3077-3080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Iannelli ◽  
Damiana Chiavolini ◽  
Susanna Ricci ◽  
Marco Rinaldo Oggioni ◽  
Gianni Pozzi
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Protein C ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Type 3

ABSTRACT The role of pneumococcal surface protein C (PspC; also called SpsA, CbpA, and Hic) in sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae was investigated in a murine infection model. The pspC gene was deleted in strains D39 (type 2) and A66 (type 3), and the mutants were tested by being injected intravenously into mice. The animals infected with the mutant strains showed a significant increase in survival, with the 50% lethal dose up to 250-fold higher than that for the wild type. Our findings indicate that PspC affords a decisive contribution to sepsis development.

Calreticulin Mediates Anesthetic Sensitivity in Drosophila melanogaster 

2003 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumiko Gamo ◽  
Junya Tomida ◽  
Katsuyuki Dodo ◽  
Dai Keyakidani ◽  
Hitoshi Matakatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Northern Blotting ◽  
General Anesthetics ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Low Expression

Background Various species, e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and mice, have been used to explore the mechanisms of action of general anesthetics in vivo. The authors isolated a Drosophila mutant, ethas311, that was hypersensitive to diethylether and characterized the calreticulin (crc) gene as a candidate of altered anesthetic sensitivity. Methods Molecular analysis of crc included cloning and sequencing of the cDNA, Northern blotting, and in situ hybridization to accomplish the function of the gene and its mutation. For anesthetic phenotype assay, the 50% anesthetizing concentrations were determined for ethas311, revertants, and double-mutant strains (wild-type crc transgene plus ethas311). Results Expression of the crc 1.4-kb transcript was lower in the mutant ethas311 than in the wild type at all developmental stages. The highest expression at 19 h after pupation was observed in the brain of the wild type but was still low in the mutant at that stage. The mutant showed resistance to isoflurane as well as hypersensitivity to diethylether, whereas it showed the wild phenotype to halothane. Both mutant phenotypes were restored to the wild type in the revertants and double-mutant strains. Conclusion ethas311 is a mutation of low expression of the Drosophila calreticulin gene. The authors demonstrated that hypersensitivity to diethylether and resistance to isoflurane are associated with low expression of the gene. In Drosophila, calreticulin seems to mediate these anesthetic sensitivities, and it is a possible target for diethylether and isoflurane, although the predicted anesthetic targets based on many studies in vitro and in vivo are the membrane proteins, such as ion channels and receptors.

scholarly journals phgABC, a Three-Gene Operon Required for Growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Hyperosmotic Medium and In Vivo

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 4579-4588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Brown ◽  
Sarah M. Gilliland ◽  
Shilpa Basavanna ◽  
David W. Holden
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Compatible Solutes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Related Proteins ◽  
And Oxidative Stress

ABSTRACT To cause disease, bacterial pathogens need to be able to adapt to the physiological conditions found within the host, including an osmolality of approximately 290 mosmol kg−1. While investigating Streptococcus pneumoniae genes contained within pneumococcal pathogenicity island 1, we identified a three-gene operon of unknown function termed phgABC. PhgC has a domain with similarity to diacylglycerol kinases of eukaryotes and is the first described member of a family of related proteins found in many gram-positive bacteria. phgA and phgC mutant strains were constructed by insertional duplication mutagenesis and found to have impaired growth under conditions of high osmotic and oxidative stress. The compatible solutes proline and glycine betaine improved growth of the wild-type and the phgA mutant strains in hyperosmolar medium, and when analyzed by electron microscopy, the cellular morphology of the phgA mutant strain was unaffected by osmotic stress. The phgA and phgC mutant strains were reduced in virulence in models of both systemic and pulmonary infection. As the virulence of the phgA mutant strain was not restored in gp91phox−/− mice and the phgA and phgC mutant strains had reduced growth in both blood and serum, the reduced virulence of these strains is unlikely to be due to increased sensitivity to the respiratory burst of phagocytes but is, instead, due to impaired growth at physiological osmolality.

scholarly journals Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis Pathogenicity Island 1 Is Not Essential for but Facilitates Rapid Systemic Spread in Chickens

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 2866-2875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taseen S. Desin ◽  
Po-King S. Lam ◽  
Birgit Koch ◽  
Claudia Mickael ◽  
Emil Berberov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Systemic Infection ◽  
Poultry Meat ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Secretion Systems ◽  
Salmonella Enterica Serovar Enteritidis ◽  
Systemic Spread ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Vitro Analysis

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis is a leading cause of human food-borne illness that is mainly associated with the consumption of contaminated poultry meat and eggs. To cause infection, S. Enteritidis is known to use two type III secretion systems, which are encoded on two salmonella pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2, the first of which is thought to play a major role in invasion and bacterial uptake. In order to study the role of SPI-1 in the colonization of chicken, we constructed deletion mutants affecting the complete SPI-1 region (40 kb) and the invG gene. Both ΔSPI-1 and ΔinvG mutant strains were impaired in the secretion of SipD, a SPI-1 effector protein. In vitro analysis using polarized human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) revealed that both mutant strains were less invasive than the wild-type strain. A similar observation was made when chicken cecal and small intestinal explants were coinfected with the wild-type and ΔSPI-1 mutant strains. Oral challenge of 1-week-old chicken with the wild-type or ΔSPI-1 strains demonstrated that there was no difference in chicken cecal colonization. However, systemic infection of the liver and spleen was delayed in birds that were challenged with the ΔSPI-1 strain. These data demonstrate that SPI-1 facilitates systemic infection but is not essential for invasion and systemic spread of the organism in chickens.

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