scholarly journals Role of Premycofactocin Synthase in Growth, Microaerophilic Adaptation, and Metabolism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gopinath Krishnamoorthy ◽  
Peggy Kaiser ◽  
Patricia Constant ◽  
Ulrike Abu Abed ◽  
Monika Schmid ◽  
...  

Characterization of proteins with unknown functions is a critical research priority as the intracellular growth and metabolic state of Mycobacterium tuberculosis , the causative agent of tuberculosis, remain poorly understood. Mycofactocin is a peptide-derived redox cofactor present in almost all mycobacterial species; however, its functional relevance in M. tuberculosis pathogenesis and host survival has never been studied experimentally.

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Vilchèze ◽  
Rajagopalan Saranathan ◽  
Brian Weinrick ◽  
William R. Jacobs

ABSTRACT Large genomic deletions (LGDs) (6 to 63 kbp) were observed in isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutants derived from four M. tuberculosis strains. These LGDs had no growth defect in vitro but could be defective in intracellular growth and showed various sensitivities toward oxidative stress despite lacking katG. The LGD regions comprise 74 genes, mostly of unknown function, that may be important for M. tuberculosis intracellular growth and protection against oxidative stress.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Jagielski ◽  
Zofia Bakuła ◽  
Anna Brzostek ◽  
Alina Minias ◽  
Radosław Stachowiak ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTResistance ofMycobacterium tuberculosisto rifampin (RMP), mediated by mutations in therpoBgene coding for the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase, poses a serious threat to the efficacy of clinical management and, thus, control programs for tuberculosis (TB). The contribution of many individualrpoBmutations to the development and level of RMP resistance remains elusive. In this study, the incidence of mutations throughout therpoBgene among 115Mycobacterium tuberculosisclinical isolates, both resistant and susceptible to RMP, was determined. Of the newly discoveredrpoBmutations, the role of three substitutions in the causation of RMP resistance was empirically tested. The results fromin vitromutagenesis experiments were combined with the assessment of the prevalence ofrpoBmutations, and their reciprocal co-occurrences, across globalM. tuberculosispopulations. Twenty-two different types of mutations in therpoBgene were identified and distributed among 58 (89.2%) RMP-resistant strains. The MICs of RMP were within the range of 40 to 800 mg/liter, with MIC50and MIC90values of 400 and 800 mg/liter, respectively. None of the mutations (Gln429His, Met434Ile, and Arg827Cys) inspected for their role in the development of RMP resistance produced an RMP-resistant phenotype in isogenicM. tuberculosisH37Rv strain-derived mutants. These mutations are supposed to compensate for fitness impairment incurred by other mutations directly associated with drug resistance.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 6873-6881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Winglee ◽  
Shichun Lun ◽  
Marco Pieroni ◽  
Alan Kozikowski ◽  
William Bishai

ABSTRACTDrug resistance is a major problem inMycobacterium tuberculosiscontrol, and it is critical to identify novel drug targets and new antimycobacterial compounds. We have previously identified an imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-4-carbonitrile-based agent, MP-III-71, with strong activity againstM. tuberculosis. In this study, we evaluated mechanisms of resistance to MP-III-71. We derived three independentM. tuberculosismutants resistant to MP-III-71 and conducted whole-genome sequencing of these mutants. Loss-of-function mutations inRv2887were common to all three MP-III-71-resistant mutants, and we confirmed the role ofRv2887as a gene required for MP-III-71 susceptibility using complementation. The Rv2887 protein was previously unannotated, but domain and homology analyses suggested it to be a transcriptional regulator in the MarR (multiple antibiotic resistance repressor) family, a group of proteins first identified inEscherichia colito negatively regulate efflux pumps and other mechanisms of multidrug resistance. We found that two efflux pump inhibitors, verapamil and chlorpromazine, potentiate the action of MP-III-71 and that mutation ofRv2887abrogates their activity. We also used transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify genes which are differentially expressed in the presence and absence of a functional Rv2887 protein. We found that genes involved in benzoquinone and menaquinone biosynthesis were repressed by functional Rv2887. Thus, inactivating mutations ofRv2887, encoding a putative MarR-like transcriptional regulator, confer resistance to MP-III-71, an effective antimycobacterial compound that shows no cross-resistance to existing antituberculosis drugs. The mechanism of resistance ofM. tuberculosisRv2887mutants may involve efflux pump upregulation and also drug methylation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Ellis ◽  
Alexis Balgeman ◽  
Mark Rodgers ◽  
Cassaundra Updike ◽  
Jaime Tomko ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Nonhuman primates can be used to study host immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCMs) are a unique group of animals that have limited major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genetic diversity, such that MHC-identical animals can be infected with M. tuberculosis. Two MCMs homozygous for the relatively common M1 MHC haplotype were bronchoscopically infected with 41 CFU of the M. tuberculosis Erdman strain. Four other MCMs, which had at least one copy of the M1 MHC haplotype, were infected with a lower dose of 3 CFU M. tuberculosis. All animals mounted similar T-cell responses to CFP-10 and ESAT-6. Two epitopes in CFP-10 were characterized, and the MHC class II alleles restricting them were determined. A third epitope in CFP-10 was identified but exhibited promiscuous restriction. The CFP-10 and ESAT-6 antigenic regions targeted by T cells in MCMs were comparable to those seen in cases of human M. tuberculosis infection. Our data lay the foundation for generating tetrameric molecules to study epitope-specific CD4 T cells in M. tuberculosis-infected MCMs, which may guide future testing of tuberculosis vaccines in nonhuman primates.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislav Huszár ◽  
Vinayak Singh ◽  
Alica Polčicová ◽  
Peter Baráth ◽  
María Belén Barrio ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The mycobacterial phosphoglycosyltransferase WecA, which initiates arabinogalactan biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has been proposed as a target of the caprazamycin derivative CPZEN-45, a preclinical drug candidate for the treatment of tuberculosis. In this report, we describe the functional characterization of mycobacterial WecA and confirm the essentiality of its encoding gene in M. tuberculosis by demonstrating that the transcriptional silencing of wecA is bactericidal in vitro and in macrophages. Silencing wecA also conferred hypersensitivity of M. tuberculosis to the drug tunicamycin, confirming its target selectivity for WecA in whole cells. Simple radiometric assays performed with mycobacterial membranes and commercially available substrates allowed chemical validation of other putative WecA inhibitors and resolved their selectivity toward WecA versus another attractive cell wall target, translocase I, which catalyzes the first membrane step in the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan. These assays and the mutant strain described herein will be useful for identifying potential antitubercular leads by screening chemical libraries for novel WecA inhibitors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Piton ◽  
Anthony Vocat ◽  
Andréanne Lupien ◽  
Caroline S. Foo ◽  
Olga Riabova ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Macozinone (MCZ) is a tuberculosis (TB) drug candidate that specifically targets the essential flavoenzyme DprE1, thereby blocking synthesis of the cell wall precursor decaprenyl phosphoarabinose (DPA) and provoking lysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. As part of the MCZ backup program, we exploited structure-guided drug design to produce a new series of sulfone-containing derivatives, 2-sulfonylpiperazin 8-nitro 6-trifluoromethyl 1,3-benzothiazin-4-one, or sPBTZ. These compounds are less active than MCZ but have a better solubility profile, and some derivatives display enhanced stability in microsomal assays. DprE1 was efficiently inhibited by sPBTZ, and covalent adducts with the active-site cysteine residue (C387) were formed. However, despite the H-bonding potential of the sulfone group, no additional bonds were seen in the crystal structure of the sPBTZ-DprE1 complex with compound 11326127 compared to MCZ. Compound 11626091, the most advanced sPBTZ, displayed good antitubercular activity in the murine model of chronic TB but was less effective than MCZ. Nonetheless, further testing of this MCZ backup compound is warranted as part of combination treatment with other TB drugs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 5357-5365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Smith ◽  
Alex Bossers ◽  
Frank Harders ◽  
Guanghui Wu ◽  
Neil Woodford ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe aim of the study was to identify the plasmid-encoded factors contributing to the emergence and spread of epidemic IncI1-Iγ plasmids obtained fromEscherichia coliandSalmonella entericaisolates from animal and human reservoirs. For this, 251 IncI1-Iγ plasmids carrying various extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) or AmpC β-lactamase genes were compared using plasmid multilocus sequence typing (pMLST). Thirty-two of these plasmids belonging to different pMLST types were sequenced using Roche 454 and Illumina platforms. Epidemic IncI1-Iγ plasmids could be assigned to various dominant clades, whereas rarely detected plasmids clustered together as a distinct clade. Similar phylogenetic trees were obtained using only the plasmid backbone sequences, showing that the differences observed between the plasmids belonging to distinct clades resulted mainly from differences between their backbone sequences. Plasmids belonging to the various clades differed particularly in the presence/absence of genes encoding partitioning and addiction systems, which contribute to stable inheritance during cell division and plasmid maintenance. Despite this, plasmids belonging to the various phylogenetic clades also showed marked resistance gene associations, indicating the circulation of successful plasmid-gene combinations. The variation intraYandexcAgenes found in IncI1-Iγ plasmids is conserved within pMLST sequence types and plays a role in incompatibility, although functional study is needed to elucidate the role of these genes in plasmid epidemiology.


Retos ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
Angeles Filgueira Perez

En el presente estudio se ha tratado de obtener una aproximación al perfil ideal del entrenador de alto rendimiento en atletismo. En el mundo del deporte de alta competición, el entrenador debe desarrollar funciones de maestro, técnico y líder, lo cual hace difícil delimitar sus competencias (conocimientos, habilidades y cualidades personales). Por tanto, la principal motivación de este trabajo es establecer el papel que debe desempeñar el entrenador para la preparación física, técnica, táctica, psicológica y moral del deportista de alto nivel. Para ello, se ha considerado como población objeto de estudio al conjunto de entrenadores de alto rendimiento que en el momento de la investigación estuviesen activo, ya que interesaba realizar este estudio desde su propia perspectiva. Los datos recogidos forman parte de una investigación más amplia, llevada a cabo mediante encuesta, para la que se diseñó un cuestionario de 78 preguntas en el que se abarcaban tres temas: el perfil del entrenador y del deportista, así como la figura del formador de entrenadores en el Practicum. En este trabajo nos centramos en el primer tema y el análisis de la información obtenida nos permite concluir que la que práctica totalidad de los entrenadores de atletismo consideran necesario dominar con precisión los aspectos técnico-metodológicos. Además, consideran que su ética profesional debe estar regida por los principios de autonomía y beneficencia, de modo que valores como la honestidad y la justicia deben primar en el desarrollo de sus funciones.Abstract: In the current study, we have tried to get an approximation of the ideal profile of high performance coaches in athletics. In the high-level sports world, the coach must develop the role of teacher, technician and leader,  which makes it difficult to delimit  his/her competencies (knowledge, skills and personal qualities). Therefore, the main motivation of this work is to define the role that the coach plays in relation  to the physical, technical, tactical, psychological and moral preparation of elite athletes. Keeping this aim as an objective, we have considered as the target population the high performance coaches who are active at the time of the investigation, since we were interested  in knowing their own perspective. The data that was collected is a part of a wider investigation, conducted by a survey, for which we designed a questionnaire of 78 questions divided on three topics: the profile of the coach and the athlete, as well as the figure of the coach educator in the Practicum. In this work, we focus on the first topic and the analysis of the information that we obtained allows us to conclude that almost all the track and field coaches find it necessary to dominate the technical and methodological aspects. They also consider that professional ethics must be governed by the principles of autonomy and care that values   like honesty and justice must prevail in the performance of their work.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (19) ◽  
pp. 6799-6803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Abraham ◽  
David M. Gordon ◽  
James Chin ◽  
Huub J. M. Brouwers ◽  
Peter Njuguna ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe role ofEscherichia colias a pathogen has been the focus of considerable study, while much less is known about it as a commensal and how it adapts to and colonizes different environmental niches within the mammalian gut. In this study, we characterizeEscherichia coliorganisms (n= 146) isolated from different regions of the intestinal tracts of eight pigs (dueodenum, ileum, colon, and feces). The isolates were typed using the method of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and screened for the presence of bacteriocin genes and plasmid replicon types. Molecular analysis of variance using the RAPD data showed thatE. coliisolates are nonrandomly distributed among different gut regions, and that gut region accounted for 25% (P< 0.001) of the observed variation among strains. Bacteriocin screening revealed that a bacteriocin gene was detected in 45% of the isolates, with 43% carrying colicin genes and 3% carrying microcin genes. Of the bacteriocins observed (H47, E3, E1, E2, E7, Ia/Ib, and B/M), the frequency with which they were detected varied with respect to gut region for the colicins E2, E7, Ia/Ib, and B/M. The plasmid replicon typing gave rise to 25 profiles from the 13 Inc types detected. Inc F types were detected most frequently, followed by Inc HI1 and N types. Of the Inc types detected, 7 were nonrandomly distributed among isolates from the different regions of the gut. The results of this study indicate that not only may the different regions of the gastrointestinal tract harbor different strains ofE. colibut also that strains from different regions have different characteristics.


2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1990-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix Pantel ◽  
Stéphanie Petrella ◽  
Nicolas Veziris ◽  
Florence Brossier ◽  
Sylvaine Bastian ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTFluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance is emerging inMycobacterium tuberculosis. The main mechanism of FQ resistance is amino acid substitution within the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of the GyrA subunit of DNA gyrase, the sole FQ target inM. tuberculosis. However, substitutions in GyrB whose implication in FQ resistance is unknown are increasingly being reported. The present study clarified the role of four GyrB substitutions identified inM. tuberculosisclinical strains, two located in the QRDR (D500A and N538T) and two outside the QRDR (T539P and E540V), in FQ resistance. We measured FQ MICs and also DNA gyrase inhibition by FQs in order to unequivocally clarify the role of these mutations in FQ resistance. Wild-type GyrA, wild-type GyrB, and mutant GyrB subunits produced from engineeredgyrBalleles by mutagenesis were overexpressed inEscherichia coli, purified to homogeneity, and used to reconstitute highly active gyrase complexes. MICs and DNA gyrase inhibition were determined for moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, and enoxacin. All these substitutions are clearly implicated in FQ resistance, underlining the presence of a hot spot region housing most of the GyrB substitutions implicated in FQ resistance (residues NTE, 538 to 540). These findings help us to refine the definition of GyrB QRDR, which is extended to positions 500 to 540.


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