scholarly journals Oxidative and Non-Oxidative Antimicrobial Activities of the Granzymes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyne Lavergne ◽  
Maria Andrea Hernández-Castañeda ◽  
Pierre-Yves Mantel ◽  
Denis Martinvalet ◽  
Michael Walch

Cell-mediated cytotoxicity is an essential immune defense mechanism to fight against viral, bacterial or parasitic infections. Upon recognition of an infected target cell, killer lymphocytes form an immunological synapse to release the content of their cytotoxic granules. Cytotoxic granules of humans contain two membrane-disrupting proteins, perforin and granulysin, as well as a homologous family of five death-inducing serine proteases, the granzymes. The granzymes, after delivery into infected host cells by the membrane disrupting proteins, may contribute to the clearance of microbial pathogens through different mechanisms. The granzymes can induce host cell apoptosis, which deprives intracellular pathogens of their protective niche, therefore limiting their replication. However, many obligate intracellular pathogens have evolved mechanisms to inhibit programed cells death. To overcome these limitations, the granzymes can exert non-cytolytic antimicrobial activities by directly degrading microbial substrates or hijacked host proteins crucial for the replication or survival of the pathogens. The granzymes may also attack factors that mediate microbial virulence, therefore directly affecting their pathogenicity. Many mechanisms applied by the granzymes to eliminate infected cells and microbial pathogens rely on the induction of reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species may be directly cytotoxic or enhance death programs triggered by the granzymes. Here, in the light of the latest advances, we review the antimicrobial activities of the granzymes in regards to their cytolytic and non-cytolytic activities to inhibit pathogen replication and invasion. We also discuss how reactive oxygen species contribute to the various antimicrobial mechanisms exerted by the granzymes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiumei Luo ◽  
Tingting Tian ◽  
Maxime Bonnave ◽  
Xue Tan ◽  
Xiaoqing Huang ◽  
...  

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are critical for the growth, development, proliferation, and pathogenicity of microbial pathogens; however, excessive levels of ROS are toxic. Little is known regarding the signaling cascades in response to ROS stress in oomycetes such as Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of potato late blight. Here, P. infestans was used as a model system to investigate the mechanism underlying the response to ROS stress in oomycete pathogens. Results showed severe defects in sporangium germination, mycelial growth, appressorium formation, and virulence of P. infestans in response to H2O2 stress. Importantly, these phenotypes mimic those of P. infestans treated with rapamycin, the inhibitor of target of rapamycin (TOR, 1-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase). Strong synergism occurred when P. infestans was treated with a combination of H2O2 and rapamycin, suggesting that a crosstalk exists between ROS stress and the TOR signaling pathway. Comprehensive analysis of transcriptome, proteome and phosphorylation omics showed that H2O2 stress significantly induced the operation of the TOR-mediated autophagy pathway. Monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining showed that in the presence of H2O2 and rapamycin, the autophagosome level increased in a dosage-dependent manner. Furthermore, transgenic potatoes containing double-stranded RNA of PiTOR (TOR in P. infestans) displayed high resistance to P. infestans. Taken together, TOR is involved in the ROS response and is a potential target for control of oomycete diseases, as host-mediated silencing of PiTOR enhances potato resistance to late blight.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (11) ◽  
pp. 1563-1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kieran D. Collins ◽  
Tessa M. Andermann ◽  
Jenny Draper ◽  
Lisa Sanders ◽  
Susan M. Williams ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCytoplasmic chemoreceptors are widespread among prokaryotes but are far less understood than transmembrane chemoreceptors, despite being implicated in many processes. One such cytoplasmic chemoreceptor isHelicobacter pyloriTlpD, which is required for stomach colonization and drives a chemotaxis response to cellular energy levels. Neither the signals sensed by TlpD nor its molecular mechanisms of action are known. We report here that TlpD functions independently of the other chemoreceptors. When TlpD is the sole chemoreceptor, it is able to localize to the pole and recruits CheW, CheA, and at least two CheV proteins to this location. It loses the normal membrane association that appears to be driven by interactions with other chemoreceptors and with CheW, CheV1, and CheA. These results suggest that TlpD can form an autonomous signaling unit. We further determined that TlpD mediates a repellent chemotaxis response to conditions that promote oxidative stress, including being in the presence of iron, hydrogen peroxide, paraquat, and metronidazole. Last, we found that all testedH. pyloristrains express TlpD, whereas other chemoreceptors were present to various degrees. Our data suggest a model in which TlpD coordinates a signaling complex that responds to oxidative stress and may allowH. pylorito avoid areas of the stomach with high concentrations of reactive oxygen species.IMPORTANCEHelicobacter pylorisenses its environment with proteins called chemoreceptors. Chemoreceptors integrate this sensory information to affect flagellum-based motility in a process called chemotaxis. Chemotaxis is employed during infection and presumably aidsH. pyloriin encountering and colonizing preferred niches. A cytoplasmic chemoreceptor named TlpD is particularly important in this process, and we report here that this chemoreceptor is able to operate independently of other chemoreceptors to organize a chemotaxis signaling complex and mediate a repellent response to oxidative stress conditions.H. pyloriencounters and must cope with oxidative stress during infection due to oxygen and reactive oxygen species produced by host cells. TlpD's repellent response may allow the bacteria to escape niches experiencing inflammation and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 693
Author(s):  
Lin Liu ◽  
Rui Fang ◽  
Ziyan Wei ◽  
Jingxue Wu ◽  
Xiaoyun Li ◽  
...  

The intestinal protozoan parasite, Giardia duodenalis, infects a large number of people in the world annually. Giardia infection has been considered a negative effect on intestinal epithelial cell growth, while the underlying mechanisms remain to be explored. Here we evaluated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptotic events in Giardia trophozoites-stimulated Caco-2 cells via fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, western blot, and cell counting kit-8 analyses. The results showed that Giardia trophozoite treatment could induce lactate dehydrogenase release and Caco-2 cell apoptosis. The ROS levels were increased post treatment. The observed typical characteristics of mitochondria damage include significant swelling and degeneration of matrix and cristae. After trophozoite treatment, the level of Bax protein expression was increased, while Bcl-2 protein decreased. Trophozoite stimulation also led to reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm, and this process was accompanied by activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 cleavage. Pretreatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a ROS inhibitor, reversed G. duodenalis-induced Caco-2 cell apoptosis. Taken together, we indicated that G. duodenalis could induce Caco-2 cell apoptosis through a ROS- and mitochondria-mediated caspase-dependent pathway. This study furthers our understanding of the cellular mechanism of the interaction between Giardia trophozoites and host cells.


Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysun Ozkan

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate that: (i) epirubicin-HCl (EPI) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells cytotoxicity may be mediated by free radical generation; and (ii) resistant H1299 cells may be more sensitive to combined treatment of LAK cells plus EPI than the LAK or EPI treatment alone. Viability of H1299 cells treated with EPI, LAK and LAK plus EPI was measured using the MTT test. Amount of glutathione (GSH), protein content and enzymatic activity were measured by spectrophotometer. Glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pi expression in the cells was determined by western blot analysis. LAK plus EPI combined treatment increased susceptibility of H1299 WT and H1299 EPI(R) (300-fold EPI resistant) cells to LAK cell cytotoxicity. The resistance of H1299 EPI(R) cells to EPI appears to be associated with a developed tolerance to free radicals, most likely because of a 2-fold increase in NADPH-dependent-cytochrome-P450 reductase (NADPH-CYP reductase) activity, 11-fold GST activity and 11-and 7-fold augmented selenium dependent and independent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, respectively. Amount of GST-pi in H1299 EPI(R) cells is statistically different from negative control and H1299 WT (p < 0.01). It is proposed that production of reactive oxygen species and hydrogen peroxide by the treatment of EPI and LAK cells can cause cytotoxicity of H1299 WT and H1299 EPI(R) cells. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, GSH-Px, GST, NADPH-CYP reductase and GSH must be considered as part of the intracellular antioxidant defense mechanism of H1299 WT and H1299 EPI(R) cells against reactive oxygen species. Combined treatment of EPI plus LAK cells caused the increasing cytotoxicity on the H1299 EPI(R) cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjin Kim ◽  
Yunyeol Jo ◽  
Yoon Jung Hwang ◽  
Hye Won Hong ◽  
Sung Sik Hong ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWhen phages infect bacteria cultured in the presence of sublethal doses of antibiotics, the sizes of the phage plaques are significantly increased. This phenomenon is known as phage-antibiotic synergy (PAS). In this study, the observation of PAS was extended to a wide variety of bacterium-phage pairs using different classes of antibiotics. PAS was shown in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Cells stressed with β-lactam antibiotics filamented or swelled extensively, resulting in an increase in phage production. PAS was also sometimes observed in the presence of other classes of antibiotics with or without bacterial filamentation. The addition of antibiotics inducedrecAexpression in various bacteria, but arecAdeletion mutant strain ofEscherichia colialso showed filamentation and PAS in the presence of quinolone antibiotics. The phage adsorption efficiency did not change in the presence of the antibiotics when the cell surfaces were enlarged as they filamented. Increases in the production of phage DNA and mRNAs encoding phage proteins were observed in these cells, with only a limited increase in protein production. The data suggest that PAS is the product of a prolonged period of particle assembly due to delayed lysis. The increase in the cell surface area far exceeded the increase in phage holin production in the filamented host cells, leading to a relatively limited availability of intracellular holins for aggregating and forming holes in the host membrane. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress also led to an increased production of phages, while heat stress resulted in only a limited increase in phage production.IMPORTANCEPhage-antibiotic synergy (PAS) has been reported for a decade, but the underlying mechanism has never been vigorously investigated. This study shows the presence of PAS from a variety of phage-bacterium-antibiotic pairings. We show that increased phage production resulted directly from a lysis delay caused by the relative shortage of holin in filamented bacterial hosts in the presence of sublethal concentrations of stress-inducing substances, such as antibiotics and reactive oxygen species (ROS).


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami B. Kassab ◽  
Ondrej Vasicek ◽  
Milan Ciz ◽  
Antonin Lojek ◽  
Tomas Perecko

AbstractThe health benefits of berberine have been recognized for years. Even so, its effects on human neutrophils, the first line of immune defense, have not been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of berberine on the human neutrophil oxidative burst. Reactive oxygen species production was analyzed by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. The analysis was performed in spontaneous and stimulated (phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or opsonized zymosan particles (OZP)) whole blood and isolated neutrophils in the presence or absence of berberine. The effects of berberine on oxidant production in cell-free assays were evaluated using luminescence (H2O2-peroxidase-luminol) and fluorescence (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity – ORAC) techniques. Berberine decreased the production of reactive oxygen species in human whole blood and isolated neutrophils stimulated with either PMA or OZP with a different efficiency (EC50was 69 μM and 197 μM for PMA and OZP, respectively). The effect was more pronounced in isolated neutrophils. Cell-free assays showed the antioxidant activity of berberine against peroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide. Based on our results, we suggest that the effects of berberine on reactive oxygen species production in human neutrophils are due to its antioxidant activity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 742
Author(s):  
Samskruthi Madireddy ◽  
Sahithi Madireddy

The biochemical integrity of the brain is paramount to the function of the central nervous system, and oxidative stress is a key contributor to cerebral biochemical impairment. Oxidative stress, which occurs when an imbalance arises between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the efficacy of the antioxidant defense mechanism, is believed to play a role in the pathophysiology of various brain disorders. One such disorder, schizophrenia, not only causes lifelong disability but also induces severe emotional distress; however, because of its onset in early adolescence or adulthood and its progressive development, consuming natural antioxidant products may help regulate the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Therefore, elucidating the functions of ROS and dietary antioxidants in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia could help formulate improved therapeutic strategies for its prevention and treatment. This review focuses specifically on the roles of ROS and oxidative damage in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, as well as the effects of nutrition, antipsychotic use, cognitive therapies, and quality of life on patients with schizophrenia. By improving our understanding of the effects of various nutrients on schizophrenia, it may become possible to develop nutritional strategies and supplements to treat the disorder, alleviate its symptoms, and facilitate long-term recovery.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. S18
Author(s):  
Amit K. Mishra ◽  
Kishor Pant ◽  
Saman M. Pradhan ◽  
Senthil K. Venugopal

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