scholarly journals Protein Analysis of Sapienic Acid-Treated Porphyromonas gingivalis Suggests Differential Regulation of Multiple Metabolic Pathways

2015 ◽  
Vol 198 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol L. Fischer ◽  
Deborah V. Dawson ◽  
Derek R. Blanchette ◽  
David R. Drake ◽  
Philip W. Wertz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTLipids endogenous to skin and mucosal surfaces exhibit potent antimicrobial activity againstPorphyromonas gingivalis, an important colonizer of the oral cavity implicated in periodontitis. Our previous work demonstrated the antimicrobial activity of the fatty acid sapienic acid (C16:1Δ6) againstP. gingivalisand found that sapienic acid treatment alters both protein and lipid composition from those in controls. In this study, we further examined whole-cell protein differences between sapienic acid-treated bacteria and untreated controls, and we utilized open-source functional association and annotation programs to explore potential mechanisms for the antimicrobial activity of sapienic acid. Our analyses indicated that sapienic acid treatment induces a unique stress response inP. gingivalisresulting in differential expression of proteins involved in a variety of metabolic pathways. This network of differentially regulated proteins was enriched in protein-protein interactions (P= 2.98 × 10−8), including six KEGG pathways (Pvalue ranges, 2.30 × 10−5to 0.05) and four Gene Ontology (GO) molecular functions (Pvalue ranges, 0.02 to 0.04), with multiple suggestive enriched relationships in KEGG pathways and GO molecular functions. Upregulated metabolic pathways suggest increases in energy production, lipid metabolism, iron acquisition and processing, and respiration. Combined with a suggested preferential metabolism of serine, which is necessary for fatty acid biosynthesis, these data support our previous findings that the site of sapienic acid antimicrobial activity is likely at the bacterial membrane.IMPORTANCEP. gingivalisis an important opportunistic pathogen implicated in periodontitis. Affecting nearly 50% of the population, periodontitis is treatable, but the resulting damage is irreversible and eventually progresses to tooth loss. There is a great need for natural products that can be used to treat and/or prevent the overgrowth of periodontal pathogens and increase oral health. Sapienic acid is endogenous to the oral cavity and is a potent antimicrobial agent, suggesting a potential therapeutic or prophylactic use for this fatty acid. This study examines the effects of sapienic acid treatment onP. gingivalisand highlights the membrane as the likely site of antimicrobial activity.

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (11) ◽  
pp. e00790-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Rocco ◽  
Lauren O. Bakaletz ◽  
Steven D. Goodman

ABSTRACTThe oral cavity is home to a wide variety of bacterial species, both commensal, such as various streptococcal species, and pathogenic, such asPorphyromonas gingivalis, one of the main etiological agents of periodontal disease. Our understanding of how these bacteria ultimately cause disease is highly dependent upon understanding how they coexist and interact with one another in biofilm communities and the mechanisms by which biofilms are formed. Our research has demonstrated that the DNABII family of DNA-binding proteins are important components of the extracellular DNA (eDNA)-dependent matrix of bacterial biofilms and that sequestering these proteins via protein-specific antibodies results in the collapse of the biofilm structure and release of the resident bacteria. While the high degree of similarity among the DNABII family of proteins has allowed antibodies derived against specific DNABII proteins to disrupt biofilms formed by a wide range of bacterial pathogens, the DNABII proteins ofP. gingivalishave proven to be antigenically distinct, allowing us to determine if we can use anti-P. gingivalisHUβ antibodies to specifically target this species for removal from a mixed-species biofilm. Importantly, despite forming homotypic biofilmsin vitro,P. gingivalismust enter preexisting biofilmsin vivoin order to persist within the oral cavity. The data presented here indicate that antibodies derived against theP. gingivalisDNABII protein, HUβ, reduce by half the amount ofP. gingivalisorganisms entering into preexisting biofilm formed by four oral streptococcal species. These results support our efforts to develop methods for preventing and treating periodontal disease.IMPORTANCEPeriodontitis is one of the most prevalent chronic infections, affecting 40 to 50% of the population of the United States. The root cause of periodontitis is the presence of bacterial biofilms within the gingival space, withPorphyromonas gingivalisbeing strongly associated with the development of the disease. Periodontitis also increases the risk of secondary conditions and infections such as atherosclerosis and infective endocarditis caused by oral streptococci. To induce periodontitis,P. gingivalisneeds to incorporate into preformed biofilms, with oral streptococci being important binding partners. Our research demonstrates that targeting DNABII proteins with an antibody disperses oral streptococcus biofilm and preventsP. gingivalisentry into oral streptococcus biofilm. These results suggest potential therapeutic treatments for endocarditis caused by streptococci as well as periodontitis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Roky ◽  
Jinlian Tan ◽  
Maryta N. Sztukowska ◽  
John O. Trent ◽  
Donald R. Demuth

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis is one of the primary causative agents of periodontal disease and initially colonizes the oral cavity by adhering to commensal streptococci. Adherence requires the interaction of a minor fimbrial protein (Mfa1) of P. gingivalis with streptococcal antigen I/II (AgI/II). Our previous work identified an AgI/II peptide that potently inhibited adherence and significantly reduced P. gingivalis virulence in vivo, suggesting that this interaction represents a potential target for drug discovery. To develop targeted small-molecule inhibitors of this protein-protein interaction, we performed a virtual screen of the ZINC databases to identify compounds that exhibit structural similarity with the two functional motifs (NITVK and VQDLL) of the AgI/II peptide. Thirty three compounds were tested for in vitro inhibition of P. gingivalis adherence and the three most potent compounds, namely, N7, N17, and V8, were selected for further analysis. The in vivo efficacy of these compounds was evaluated in a murine model of periodontitis. Treatment of mice with each of the compounds significantly reduced maxillary alveolar bone resorption in infected animals. Finally, a series of cytotoxicity tests were performed against human and murine cell lines. Compounds N17 and V8 exhibited no significant cytotoxic activity toward any of the cell lines, whereas compound N7 was cytotoxic at the highest concentrations that were tested (20 and 40 μM). These results identify compounds N17 and V8 as potential lead compounds that will facilitate the design of more potent therapeutic agents that may function to limit or prevent P. gingivalis colonization of the oral cavity.


Planta Medica ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (09) ◽  
Author(s):  
K Skalica-Woźniak ◽  
R Los ◽  
K Głowniak ◽  
A Malm

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (18) ◽  
pp. 6129-6144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulsamie Hanano ◽  
Ibrahem Almousally ◽  
Mouhnad Shaban ◽  
Elizabeth Blee

ABSTRACTCaleosins are a small family of calcium-binding proteins endowed with peroxygenase activity in plants. Caleosin-like genes are present in fungi; however, their functions have not been reported yet. In this work, we identify a plant caleosin-like protein inAspergillus flavusthat is highly expressed during the early stages of spore germination. A recombinant purified 32-kDa caleosin-like protein supported peroxygenase activities, including co-oxidation reactions and reduction of polyunsaturated fatty acid hydroperoxides. Deletion of the caleosin gene prevented fungal development. Alternatively, silencing of the gene led to the increased accumulation of endogenous polyunsaturated fatty acid hydroperoxides and antioxidant activities but to a reduction of fungal growth and conidium formation. Two key genes of the aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway,aflRandaflD, were downregulated in the strains in whichA. flavusPXG(AfPXG) was silenced, leading to reduced aflatoxin B1 productionin vitro. Application of caleosin/peroxygenase-derived oxylipins restored the wild-type phenotype in the strains in whichAfPXGwas silenced.PXG-deficientA. flavusstrains were severely compromised in their capacity to infect maize seeds and to produce aflatoxin. Our results uncover a new branch of the fungal oxylipin pathway and may lead to the development of novel targets for controlling fungal disease.


2011 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Li ◽  
Kurniyati ◽  
Bo Hu ◽  
Jiang Bian ◽  
Jianlan Sun ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe oral bacteriumPorphyromonas gingivalisis a key etiological agent of human periodontitis, a prevalent chronic disease that affects up to 80% of the adult population worldwide.P. gingivalisexhibits neuraminidase activity. However, the enzyme responsible for this activity, its biochemical features, and its role in the physiology and virulence ofP. gingivalisremain elusive. In this report, we found thatP. gingivalisencodes a neuraminidase, PG0352 (SiaPg). Transcriptional analysis showed thatPG0352is monocistronic and is regulated by a sigma70-like promoter. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that SiaPgis an exo-α-neuraminidase that cleaves glycosidic-linked sialic acids. Cryoelectron microscopy and tomography analyses revealed that thePG0352deletion mutant (ΔPG352) failed to produce an intact capsule layer. Compared to the wild type,in vitrostudies showed that ΔPG352 formed less biofilm and was less resistant to killing by the host complement.In vivostudies showed that while the wild type caused a spreading type of infection that affected multiple organs and all infected mice were killed, ΔPG352 only caused localized infection and all animals survived. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SiaPgis an important virulence factor that contributes to the biofilm formation, capsule biosynthesis, and pathogenicity ofP. gingivalis, and it can potentially serve as a new target for developing therapeutic agents againstP. gingivalisinfection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie A. C. Ikeh ◽  
Paul L. Fidel ◽  
Mairi C. Noverr

ABSTRACTPolymicrobial intra-abdominal infections (IAI) involvingCandida albicansandStaphylococcus aureusare associated with severe morbidity and mortality (∼80%). Our laboratory discovered that the immunomodulatory eicosanoid prostaglandin E2(PGE2) plays a key role in the lethal inflammatory response during polymicrobial IAI using a mouse model of infection. In studies designed to uncover key PGE2biosynthesis/signaling components involved in the response, selective eicosanoid enzyme inhibitors and receptor antagonists were selected and prescreened for antimicrobial activity againstC. albicansorS. aureus. Unexpectedly, we found that the EP4receptor antagonist L-161,982 had direct growth-inhibitory effects onS. aureusin vitroat the physiological concentration required to block the PGE2interaction with EP4. This antimicrobial activity was observed with methicillin-sensitiveS. aureusand methicillin-resistantS. aureus(MRSA) strains, with the MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration values for planktonic cells being 50 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml, respectively. In addition, L-161,982 inhibitedS. aureusbiofilm formation and had activity against preformed mature biofilms. More importantly, treatment of mice with L-161,982 following intraperitoneal inoculation with a lethal dose of MRSA significantly reduced the bioburden and enhanced survival. Furthermore, L-161,982 protected mice against the synergistic lethality induced by coinfection withC. albicansandS. aureus. The antimicrobial activity of L-161,982 is independent of EP4receptor inhibitory activity; an alternative EP4receptor antagonist exerted no antimicrobial or protective effects. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that L-161,982 has potent antimicrobial activity against MRSA and may represent a significant therapeutic alternative in improving the prognosis of mono- or polymicrobial infections involving MRSA.


2013 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 1502-1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaozhe Han ◽  
Xiaoping Lin ◽  
Xiaoqian Yu ◽  
Jiang Lin ◽  
Toshihisa Kawai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPorphyromonas gingivalisis one of the oral microorganisms associated with human chronic periodontitis. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) inP. gingivalisinfection-associated periodontal bone resorption. Inbred female Rowett rats were infected orally on four consecutive days (days 0 to 3) with 1 × 109P. gingivalisbacteria (strain ATCC 33277). Separate groups of rats also received an injection of anti-RANKL antibody, osteoprotegerin fusion protein (OPG-Fc), or a control fusion protein (L6-Fc) into gingival papillae in addition toP. gingivalisinfection. Robust serum IgG and salivary IgA antibody (P< 0.01) and T cell proliferation (P< 0.05) responses toP. gingivaliswere detected at day 7 and peaked at day 28 inP. gingivalis-infected rats. Both the concentration of soluble RANKL (sRANKL) in rat gingival tissues (P< 0.01) and periodontal bone resorption (P< 0.05) were significantly elevated at day 28 in theP. gingivalis-infected group compared to levels in the uninfected group. Correspondingly, RANKL-expressing T and B cells in rat gingival tissues were significantly increased at day 28 in theP. gingivalis-infected group compared to the levels in the uninfected group (P< 0.01). Injection of anti-RANKL antibody (P< 0.05) or OPG-Fc (P< 0.01), but not L6-Fc, into rat gingival papillae afterP. gingivalisinfection resulted in significantly reduced periodontal bone resorption. This study suggests thatP. gingivalisinfection-associated periodontal bone resorption is RANKL dependent and is accompanied by increased local infiltration of RANKL-expressing T and B cells.


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