scholarly journals Characterization and Therapeutic Potential of Bacteriophage-Encoded Polysaccharide Depolymerases with β Galactosidase Activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae K57 Capsular Type

Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 732
Author(s):  
Nikolay V. Volozhantsev ◽  
Anna M. Shpirt ◽  
Alexander I. Borzilov ◽  
Ekaterina V. Komisarova ◽  
Valentina M. Krasilnikova ◽  
...  

Bacteriophages and phage enzymes are considered as possible alternatives to antibiotics in the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Due to the ability to cleave the capsular polysaccharides (CPS), one of the main virulence factors of Klebsiella pneumoniae, phage depolymerases, has potential in the treatment of K. pneumoniae infections. Here, we characterized in vivo two novel phage-encoded polysaccharide depolymerases as therapeutics against clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae. The depolymerases Dep_kpv79 and Dep_kpv767 encoded by Klebsiella phages KpV79 (Myoviridae; Jedunavirus) and KpV767 (Autographiviridae, Studiervirinae, Przondovirus), respectively, were identified as specific β-galactosidases that cleave the K. pneumoniae K57 type CPS by the hydrolytic mechanism. They were found to be highly effective at combating sepsis and hip infection caused by K. pneumoniae in lethal mouse models. Here, 80–100% of animals were protected against death by a single dose (e.g., 50 μg/mouse) of the enzyme injected 0.5 h after infection by K. pneumoniae strains of the K57 capsular type. The therapeutic effect of the depolymerases is because they strip the capsule and expose the underlying bacterium to the immune attack such as complement-mediated killing. These data provide one more confirmation that phage polysaccharide depolymerases represent a promising tool for antimicrobial therapy.

Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Pérez-Peinado ◽  
Sira Defaus ◽  
David Andreu

For decades, natural products in general and snake venoms (SV) in particular have been a rich source of bioactive compounds for drug discovery, and they remain a promising substrate for therapeutic development. Currently, a handful of SV-based drugs for diagnosis and treatment of various cardiovascular disorders and blood abnormalities are on the market. Likewise, far more SV compounds and their mimetics are under investigation today for diverse therapeutic applications, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria and cancer. In this review, we analyze the state of the art regarding SV-derived compounds with therapeutic potential, focusing on the development of antimicrobial and anticancer drugs. Specifically, information about SV peptides experimentally validated or predicted to act as antimicrobial and anticancer peptides (AMPs and ACPs, respectively) has been collected and analyzed. Their principal activities both in vitro and in vivo, structures, mechanisms of action, and attempts at sequence optimization are discussed in order to highlight their potential as drug leads.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 850
Author(s):  
Shobha Giri ◽  
Vaishnavi Kudva ◽  
Kalidas Shetty ◽  
Veena Shetty

As the global urban populations increase with rapid migration from rural areas, ready-to-eat (RTE) street foods are posing food safety challenges where street foods are prepared with less structured food safety guidelines in small and roadside outlets. The increased presence of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) producing bacteria in street foods is a significant risk for human health because of its epidemiological significance. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae have become important and dangerous foodborne pathogens globally for their relevance to antibiotic resistance. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potential burden of antibiotic-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae contaminating RTE street foods and to assess the microbiological quality of foods in a typical emerging and growing urban suburb of India where RTE street foods are rapidly establishing with public health implications. A total of 100 RTE food samples were collected of which, 22.88% were E. coli and 27.12% K. pneumoniae. The prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae was 25.42%, isolated mostly from chutneys, salads, paani puri, and chicken. Antimicrobial resistance was observed towards cefepime (72.9%), imipenem (55.9%), cefotaxime (52.5%), and meropenem (16.9%) with 86.44% of the isolates with MAR index above 0.22. Among β-lactamase encoding genes, blaTEM (40.68%) was the most prevalent followed by blaCTX (32.20%) and blaSHV (10.17%). blaNDM gene was detected in 20.34% of the isolates. This study indicated that contaminated RTE street foods present health risks to consumers and there is a high potential of transferring multi-drug-resistant bacteria from foods to humans and from person to person as pathogens or as commensal residents of the human gut leading to challenges for subsequent therapeutic treatments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Chung Pham ◽  
Van-Nghia Nguyen ◽  
Yeonghwan Choi ◽  
Dongwon Kim ◽  
Ok-Sang Jung ◽  
...  

The ability to detect hypochlorite (HOCl/ClO−) in vivo is of great importance to identify and visualize infection. Here, we report the use of imidazoline-2-thione (R1SR2) probes, which act to both sense ClO− and kill bacteria. The N2C=S moieties can recognize ClO− among various typical reactive oxygen species (ROS) and turn into imidazolium moieties (R1IR2) via desulfurization. This was observed through UV–vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectroscopy, with a high fluorescence emission quantum yield (ՓF = 43–99%) and large Stokes shift (∆v∼115 nm). Furthermore, the DIM probe, which was prepared by treating the DSM probe with ClO−, also displayed antibacterial efficacy toward not only Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) but also methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended-spectrum ß-lactamase–producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC), that is, antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These results suggest that the DSM probe has great potential to carry out the dual roles of a fluorogenic probe and killer of bacteria.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Adamo ◽  
Immaculada Margarit

ABSTRACT Antibiotics and vaccines have greatly impacted human health in the last century by dramatically reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases. The recent challenge posed by the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria could possibly be addressed by novel immune prophylactic and therapeutic approaches. Among the newly threatening pathogens, Klebsiella pneumoniae is particularly worrisome in the nosocomial setting, and its surface polysaccharides are regarded as promising antigen candidates. The majority of Klebsiella carbapenem-resistant strains belong to the sequence type 158 (ST258) lineage, with two main clades expressing capsular polysaccharides CPS1 and CPS2. In a recent article, S. D. Kobayashi and colleagues (mBio 9:e00297-18, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00297-18) show that CPS2-specific IgGs render ST258 clade 2 bacteria more sensitive to human serum and phagocytic killing. E. Diago-Navarro et al. (mBio 9:e00091-18, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00091-18) generated two murine monoclonal antibodies recognizing distinct glycotopes of CPS2 that presented functional activity against multiple ST258 strains. These complementary studies represent a step toward the control of this dangerous pathogen.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Gurney ◽  
Léa Pradier ◽  
Joanne S Griffin ◽  
Claire Gougat-Barbera ◽  
Benjamin K Chan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and objectives Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global concern and has spurred increasing efforts to find alternative therapeutics. Bacteriophage therapy has seen near constant use in Eastern Europe since its discovery over a century ago. One promising approach is to use phages that not only reduce bacterial pathogen loads but also select for phage resistance mechanisms that trade-off with antibiotic resistance—so called ‘phage steering’. Methodology Recent work has shown that the phage OMKO1 can interact with efflux pumps and in so doing select for both phage resistance and antibiotic sensitivity of the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We tested the robustness of this approach to three different antibiotics in vitro (tetracycline, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin) and one in vivo (erythromycin). Results We show that in vitro OMKO1 can reduce antibiotic resistance of P. aeruginosa (Washington PAO1) even in the presence of antibiotics, an effect still detectable after ca.70 bacterial generations in continuous culture with phage. Our in vivo experiment showed that phage both increased the survival times of wax moth larvae (Galleria mellonella) and increased bacterial sensitivity to erythromycin. This increased antibiotic sensitivity occurred both in lines with and without the antibiotic. Conclusions and implications Our study supports a trade-off between antibiotic resistance and phage sensitivity. This trade-off was maintained over co-evolutionary time scales even under combined phage and antibiotic pressure. Similarly, OMKO1 maintained this trade-off in vivo, again under dual phage/antibiotic pressure. Our findings have implications for the future clinical use of steering in phage therapies. Lay Summary: Given the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection, new approaches to treatment are urgently needed. Bacteriophages (phages) are bacterial viruses. The use of such viruses to treat infections has been in near-continuous use in several countries since the early 1900s. Recent developments have shown that these viruses are not only effective against routine infections but can also target antibiotic resistant bacteria in a novel, unexpected way. Similar to other lytic phages, these so-called ‘steering phages’ kill the majority of bacteria directly. However, steering phages also leave behind bacterial variants that resist the phages, but are now sensitive to antibiotics. Treatment combinations of these phages and antibiotics can now be used to greater effect than either one independently. We evaluated the impact of steering using phage OMKO1 and a panel of three antibiotics on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important pathogen in hospital settings and in people with cystic fibrosis. Our findings indicate that OMKO1, either alone or in combination with antibiotics, maintains antibiotic sensitivity both in vitro and in vivo, giving hope that phage steering will be an effective treatment option against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.


mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Conlan ◽  
Morgan Park ◽  
Clayton Deming ◽  
Pamela J. Thomas ◽  
Alice C. Young ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains are formidable hospital pathogens that pose a serious threat to patients around the globe due to a rising incidence in health care facilities, high mortality rates associated with infection, and potential to spread antibiotic resistance to other bacterial species, such as Escherichia coli . Over 6 months in 2011, 17 patients at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center became colonized with a highly virulent, transmissible carbapenem-resistant strain of K. pneumoniae . Our real-time genomic sequencing tracked patient-to-patient routes of transmission and informed epidemiologists’ actions to monitor and control this outbreak. Two of these patients remained colonized with carbapenemase-producing organisms for at least 2 to 4 years, providing the opportunity to undertake a focused genomic study of long-term colonization with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Whole-genome sequencing studies shed light on the underlying complex microbial colonization, including mixed or evolving bacterial populations and gain or loss of plasmids. Isolates from NIH patient 15 showed complex plasmid rearrangements, leaving the chromosome and the bla KPC -carrying plasmid intact but rearranging the two other plasmids of this outbreak strain. NIH patient 16 has shown continuous colonization with bla KPC -positive organisms across multiple time points spanning 2011 to 2015. Genomic studies defined a complex pattern of succession and plasmid transmission across two different K. pneumoniae sequence types and an E. coli isolate. These findings demonstrate the utility of genomic methods for understanding strain succession, genome plasticity, and long-term carriage of antibiotic-resistant organisms. IMPORTANCE In 2011, the NIH Clinical Center had a nosocomial outbreak involving 19 patients who became colonized or infected with bla KPC -positive Klebsiella pneumoniae . Patients who have intestinal colonization with bla KPC -positive K. pneumoniae are at risk for developing infections that are difficult or nearly impossible to treat with existing antibiotic options. Two of those patients remained colonized with bla KPC -positive Klebsiella pneumoniae for over a year, leading to the initiation of a detailed genomic analysis exploring mixed colonization, plasmid recombination, and plasmid diversification. Whole-genome sequence analysis identified a variety of changes, both subtle and large, in the bla KPC -positive organisms. Long-term colonization of patients with bla KPC -positive Klebsiella pneumoniae creates new opportunities for horizontal gene transfer of plasmids encoding antibiotic resistance genes and poses complications for the delivery of health care.


2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 640-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lester A. Sampath ◽  
Suhas M. Tambe ◽  
Shanta M. Modak

AbstractObjective:To compare the efficacy of a new antiseptic catheter containing silver sulfadiazine and chlorhexidine on the external surface and chlorhexidine in the lumens to an antibiotic catheter impregnated with minocycline and rifampin on its external and luminal surfaces.Design:Experimental trial.Methods:Antimicrobial spectrum of catheters was determined by zones of inhibition. Resistance to luminal colonization was tested in vitro by locking catheter lumens withStaphylococcus epidermidisorStaphylococcus aureusculture after 7 days of perfusion. In vitro development of resistance to the antiseptic or antibiotic combination used in catheters was investigated. In vivo efficacy was tested (rat subcutaneous model) by challenge with sensitive or antibiotic-resistant bacteria.Results:Antiseptic and antibiotic catheters exhibited broad-spectrum action. However, antibiotic catheters were not effective againstCandidaspecies andPseudomonas aeruginosa.Both catheters prevented luminal colonization. Compared to controls, both test catheters resisted colonization when challenged withS aureus7 and 14 days' postimplant (P<.05).Repeated in vitro exposure ofS epidermidisculture to the antibiotic and antiseptic combinations led to small increases in the minimum inhibitory concentration (15 times and 2 times, respectively). Unlike the antibiotic catheter, the in vitro and in vivo activity of the antiseptic catheter was unaffected by the resistance profile of the test organism. Antiseptic catheters were more effective than antibiotic catheters in preventing colonization by rifampin-resistantS epidermidisin vivo (P<.05).Conclusions:Antiseptic and antibiotic catheters exhibit similar efficacy; however, when challenged with a rifampin-resistant strain, the antibiotic catheter appeared to be more susceptible to colonization than the antiseptic device.


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hea-Jin Jung ◽  
Eric R. Littmann ◽  
Ruth Seok ◽  
Ingrid M. Leiner ◽  
Ying Taur ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A diverse, antibiotic-naive microbiota prevents highly antibiotic-resistant microbes, including carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp), from achieving dense colonization of the intestinal lumen. Antibiotic-mediated destruction of the microbiota leads to expansion of CR-Kp in the gut, markedly increasing the risk of bacteremia in vulnerable patients. While preventing dense colonization represents a rational approach to reduce intra- and interpatient dissemination of CR-Kp, little is known about pathogen-associated factors that enable dense growth and persistence in the intestinal lumen. To identify genetic factors essential for dense colonization of the gut by CR-Kp, we constructed a highly saturated transposon mutant library with >150,000 unique mutations in an ST258 strain of CR-Kp and screened for in vitro growth and in vivo intestinal colonization in antibiotic-treated mice. Stochastic and partially reversible fluctuations in the representation of different mutations during dense colonization revealed the dynamic nature of intestinal microbial populations. We identified genes that are crucial for early and late stages of dense gut colonization and confirmed their role by testing isogenic mutants in in vivo competition assays with wild-type CR-Kp. Screening of the transposon library also identified mutations that enhanced in vivo CR-Kp growth. These newly identified colonization factors may provide novel therapeutic opportunities to reduce intestinal colonization by CR-Kp. IMPORTANCE Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of bloodstream infections in immunocompromised and hospitalized patients, and over the last 2 decades, some strains have acquired resistance to nearly all available antibiotics, including broad-spectrum carbapenems. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CR-Kp) as an urgent public health threat. Dense colonization of the intestine by CR-Kp and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria is associated with an increased risk of bacteremia. Reducing the density of gut colonization by CR-Kp is likely to reduce their transmission from patient to patient in health care facilities as well as systemic infections. How CR-Kp expands and persists in the gut lumen, however, is poorly understood. Herein, we generated a highly saturated mutant library in a multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae strain and identified genetic factors that are associated with dense gut colonization by K. pneumoniae. This study sheds light on host colonization by K. pneumoniae and identifies potential colonization factors that contribute to high-density persistence of K. pneumoniae in the intestine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Domingo-Calap ◽  
Beatriz Beamud ◽  
Justine Vienne ◽  
Fernando González-Candelas ◽  
Rafael Sanjuán

The emergence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria represents a major public-health threat. Phages constitute a promising alternative to chemical antibiotics due to their high host specificity, abundance in nature, and evolvability. However, phage host specificity means that highly diverse bacterial species are particularly difficult to target for phage therapy. This is the case of Klebsiella pneumoniae, which presents a hypervariable extracellular matrix capsule exhibiting dozens of variants. Here, we report four novel phages infecting K. pneumoniae capsular type K22 which were isolated from environmental samples in Valencia, Spain. Full genome sequencing showed that these phages belong to the Podoviridae family and encode putative depolymerases that allow digestion of specific K22 K. pneumoniae capsules. Our results confirm the capsular type-specificity of K. pneumoniae phages, as indicated by their narrow infectivity in a panel of K. pneumoniae clinical isolates. Nonetheless, this work represents a step forward in the characterization of phage diversity, which may culminate in the future use of large panels of phages for typing and/or for combating multi-drug-resistant K. pneumoniae.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (30) ◽  
pp. 5312-5315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Dong ◽  
Enguo Ju ◽  
Nan Gao ◽  
Zhenzhen Wang ◽  
Jinsong Ren ◽  
...  

A novel multifunctional NIR-sensitive nanoplatform has been developed, which could synergistically eradicate biofilms and combat biofilm-associated infections.


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