scholarly journals Antibacterial Peptides from Plants: What They Are and How They Probably Work

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Barbosa Pelegrini ◽  
Rafael Perseghini del Sarto ◽  
Osmar Nascimento Silva ◽  
Octávio Luiz Franco ◽  
Maria Fátima Grossi-de-Sa
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Bacterial Membrane ◽  
Antibacterial Peptides ◽  
Disulphide Bonds ◽  
Plant Peptides

Plant antibacterial peptides have been isolated from a wide variety of species. They consist of several protein groups with different features, such as the overall charge of the molecule, the content of disulphide bonds, and structural stability under environmental stress. Although the three-dimensional structures of several classes of plant peptides are well determined, the mechanism of action of some of these molecules is still not well defined. However, further studies may provide new evidences for their function on bacterial cell wall. Therefore, this paper focuses on plant peptides that show activity against plant-pathogenic and human-pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, we describe the folding of several peptides and similarities among their three-dimensional structures. Some hypotheses for their mechanisms of action and attack on the bacterial membrane surface are also proposed.

scholarly journals Non-Lytic Antibacterial Peptides That Translocate Through Bacterial Membranes to Act on Intracellular Targets

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlon H. Cardoso ◽  
Beatriz T. Meneguetti ◽  
Bruna O. Costa ◽  
Danieli F. Buccini ◽  
Karen G. N. Oshiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Antibacterial Peptides ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Bacterial Membranes ◽  
Intracellular Targets

The advent of multidrug resistance among pathogenic bacteria has attracted great attention worldwide. As a response to this growing challenge, diverse studies have focused on the development of novel anti-infective therapies, including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The biological properties of this class of antimicrobials have been thoroughly investigated, and membranolytic activities are the most reported mechanisms by which AMPs kill bacteria. Nevertheless, an increasing number of works have pointed to a different direction, in which AMPs are seen to be capable of displaying non-lytic modes of action by internalizing bacterial cells. In this context, this review focused on the description of the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of non-lytic AMPs, including indolicidin, buforin II PR-39, bactenecins, apidaecin, and drosocin, also shedding light on how AMPs interact with and further translocate through bacterial membranes to act on intracellular targets, including DNA, RNA, cell wall and protein synthesis.

Freeze-Fracture Replication in the Ultrastructure of Blue-Green Algae

1967 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 74-75
Author(s):  
L. V. Leak
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Green Algae ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Photosynthetic Membranes ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
Cellular Components

Electron microscopic observations of freeze-fracture replicas of Anabaena cells obtained by the procedures described by Bullivant and Ames (J. Cell Biol., 1966) indicate that the frozen cells are fractured in many different planes. This fracturing or cleaving along various planes allows one to gain a three dimensional relation of the cellular components as a result of such a manipulation. When replicas that are obtained by the freeze-fracture method are observed in the electron microscope, cross fractures of the cell wall and membranes that comprise the photosynthetic lamellae are apparent as demonstrated in Figures 1 & 2.A large portion of the Anabaena cell is composed of undulating layers of cytoplasm that are bounded by unit membranes that comprise the photosynthetic membranes. The adjoining layers of cytoplasm are closely apposed to each other to form the photosynthetic lamellae. Occassionally the adjacent layers of cytoplasm are separated by an interspace that may vary in widths of up to several 100 mu to form intralamellar vesicles.

In vitro and in vivo polysaccharides assembly: ultrastructural and cytochemical study of growing plant cell wall components.

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 434-435
Author(s):  
D. Reis ◽  
B. Vian ◽  
J. C. Roland
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Plant Cell Wall ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cytochemical Study ◽  
Wall Components

Wall morphogenesis in higher plants is a problem still open to controversy. Until now the possibility of a transmembrane control and the involvement of microtubules were mostly envisaged. Self-assembly processes have been observed in the case of walls of Chlamydomonas and bacteria. Spontaneous gelling interactions between xanthan and galactomannan from Ceratonia have been analyzed very recently. The present work provides indications that some processes of spontaneous aggregation could occur in higher plants during the formation and expansion of cell wall.Observations were performed on hypocotyl of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) for which growth characteristics and wall composition have been previously defined.In situ, the walls of actively growing cells (primary walls) show an ordered three-dimensional organization (fig. 1). The wall is typically polylamellate with multifibrillar layers alternately transverse and longitudinal. Between these layers intermediate strata exist in which the orientation of microfibrils progressively rotates. Thus a progressive change in the morphogenetic activity occurs.

scholarly journals Structural and functional insights into esterase-mediated macrolide resistance

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Zieliński ◽  
Jaeok Park ◽  
Barry Sleno ◽  
Albert M. Berghuis
Keyword(s):  
Active Site ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Catalytic Mechanism ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Macrolide Resistance ◽  
Flexible Docking ◽  
Sequence Identity ◽  
Substrate Spectrum

AbstractMacrolides are a class of antibiotics widely used in both medicine and agriculture. Unsurprisingly, as a consequence of their exensive usage a plethora of resistance mechanisms have been encountered in pathogenic bacteria. One of these resistance mechanisms entails the enzymatic cleavage of the macrolides’ macrolactone ring by erythromycin esterases (Eres). The most frequently identified Ere enzyme is EreA, which confers resistance to the majority of clinically used macrolides. Despite the role Eres play in macrolide resistance, research into this family enzymes has been sparse. Here, we report the first three-dimensional structures of an erythromycin esterase, EreC. EreC is an extremely close homologue of EreA, displaying more than 90% sequence identity. Two structures of this enzyme, in conjunction with in silico flexible docking studies and previously reported mutagenesis data allowed for the proposal of a detailed catalytic mechanism for the Ere family of enzymes, labeling them as metal-independent hydrolases. Also presented are substrate spectrum assays for different members of the Ere family. The results from these assays together with an examination of residue conservation for the macrolide binding site in Eres, suggests two distinct active site archetypes within the Ere enzyme family.

scholarly journals Sorting out the Superbugs: Potential of Sortase A Inhibitors among Other Antimicrobial Strategies to Tackle the Problem of Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Zrelovs ◽  
Viktorija Kurbatska ◽  
Zhanna Rudevica ◽  
Ainars Leonchiks ◽  
Davids Fridmanis
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Sortase A ◽  
Inhibitory Compounds ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Conventional Antibiotics

Rapid spread of antibiotic resistance throughout the kingdom bacteria is inevitably bringing humanity towards the “post-antibiotic” era. The emergence of so-called “superbugs”—pathogen strains that develop resistance to multiple conventional antibiotics—is urging researchers around the globe to work on the development or perfecting of alternative means of tackling the pathogenic bacteria infections. Although various conceptually different approaches are being considered, each comes with its advantages and drawbacks. While drug-resistant pathogens are undoubtedly represented by both Gram(+) and Gram(−) bacteria, possible target spectrum across the proposed alternative approaches of tackling them is variable. Numerous anti-virulence strategies aimed at reducing the pathogenicity of target bacteria rather than eliminating them are being considered among such alternative approaches. Sortase A (SrtA) is a membrane-associated cysteine protease that catalyzes a cell wall sorting reaction by which surface proteins, including virulence factors, are anchored to the bacterial cell wall of Gram(+) bacteria. Although SrtA inhibition seems perspective among the Gram-positive pathogen-targeted antivirulence strategies, it still remains less popular than other alternatives. A decrease in virulence due to inactivation of SrtA activity has been extensively studied in Staphylococcus aureus, but it has also been demonstrated in other Gram(+) species. In this manuscript, results of past studies on the discovery of novel SrtA inhibitory compounds and evaluation of their potency were summarized and commented on. Here, we discussed the rationale behind the inhibition of SrtA, raised some concerns on the comparability of the results from different studies, and touched upon the possible resistance mechanisms as a response to implementation of such therapy in practice. The goal of this article is to encourage further studies of SrtA inhibitory compounds.

scholarly journals High-density transposon libraries utilising outward-oriented promoters identify mechanisms of action and resistance to antimicrobials

2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Coward ◽  
Gopujara Dharmalingham ◽  
Omar Abdulle ◽  
Tim Avis ◽  
Stephan Beisken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Over Expression ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Synthase Inhibitor ◽  
Established Technique ◽  
Bacterial Transposon

ABSTRACT The use of bacterial transposon mutant libraries in phenotypic screens is a well-established technique for determining which genes are essential or advantageous for growth in conditions of interest. Standard, inactivating, transposon libraries cannot give direct information about genes whose over-expression gives a selective advantage. We report the development of a system wherein outward-oriented promoters are included in mini-transposons, generation of transposon mutant libraries in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and their use to probe genes important for growth under selection with the antimicrobial fosfomycin, and a recently-developed leucyl-tRNA synthase inhibitor. In addition to the identification of known mechanisms of action and resistance, we identify the carbon–phosphorous lyase complex as a potential resistance liability for fosfomycin in E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The use of this technology can facilitate the development of novel mechanism-of-action antimicrobials that are urgently required to combat the increasing threat worldwide from antimicrobial-resistant pathogenic bacteria.

scholarly journals Trastuzumab Mechanism of Action; 20 Years of Research to Unravel a Dilemma

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3540
Author(s):  
Hamid Maadi ◽  
Mohammad Hasan Soheilifar ◽  
Won-Shik Choi ◽  
Abdolvahab Moshtaghian ◽  
Zhixiang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Targeted Therapy ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Her2 Positive ◽  
Her2 Positive Breast Cancer ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

Trastuzumab as a first HER2-targeted therapy for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer patients was introduced in 1998. Although trastuzumab has opened a new avenue to treat patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and other types of cancer, some patients are not responsive or become resistant to this treatment. So far, several mechanisms have been suggested for the mode of action of trastuzumab; however, the findings regarding these mechanisms are controversial. In this review, we aimed to provide a detailed insight into the various mechanisms of action of trastuzumab.

The penetration of Human Defensin 5 (HD5) through bacterial outer membrane: Simulation studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadsanee Awang ◽  
Prapasiri Pongprayoon
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Lipid A ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Head Groups ◽  
Bacterial Outer Membrane ◽  
Human Defensin 5

Abstract Human α-defensin 5 (HD5) is one of cationic antimicrobial peptides which plays a crucial role in an innate immune system in human body. HD5 shows the killing activity against a broad spectrum of pathogenic bacteria by making a pore in a bacterial membrane and penetrating into a cytosol. Nonetheless, its pore-forming mechanisms remain unclear. Thus, in this work, the constant-velocity steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulation was used to simulate the permeation of a dimeric HD5 into a gram-negative LPS membrane model. Arginine-rich HD5 is found to strongly interact with a LPS surface. Upon arrival, arginines on HD5 interact with lipid A head groups and then drag these charged moieties down into a hydrophobic core resulting in the formation of water-filled pore. Although all arginines are found to interact with a membrane, R13 and R32 appear to play a dominant role in the HD5 adsorption on a gram-negative membrane. Furthermore, one chain of a dimeric HD5 is required for HD5 adhesion. The interactions of arginine-Lipid A head groups play a major role in adhering a cationic HD5 on a membrane surface and retarding a HD5 passage in the meantime.

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