The PqsE-RhlR Interaction Regulates RhlR DNA Binding to Control Virulence Factor Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacteria use a cell-cell communication process called quorum sensing (QS) to orchestrate collective behaviors. QS relies on the group-wide detection of molecules called autoinducers (AI).

The nodD1 gene of Sinorhizobium fredii HH103 Restores Nodulation Capacity on Bean in a Rhizobium tropici CIAT 899 nodD1/nodD2 Mutant, but the Secondary Symbiotic Regulators nolR, nodD2 or syrM Prevent HH103 to Nodulate with This Legume

Rhizobial NodD proteins and appropriate flavonoids induce rhizobial nodulation gene expression. In this study, we show that the nodD1 gene of Sinorhizobium fredii HH103, but not the nodD2 gene, can restore the nodulation capacity of a double nodD1/nodD2 mutant of Rhizobium tropici CIAT 899 in bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris). S. fredii HH103 only induces pseudonodules in beans. We have also studied whether the mutation of different symbiotic regulatory genes may affect the symbiotic interaction of HH103 with beans: ttsI (the positive regulator of the symbiotic type 3 protein secretion system), and nodD2, nolR and syrM (all of them controlling the level of Nod factor production). Inactivation of either nodD2, nolR or syrM, but not that of ttsI, affected positively the symbiotic behavior of HH103 with beans, leading to the formation of colonized nodules. Acetylene reduction assays showed certain levels of nitrogenase activity that were higher in the case of the nodD2 and nolR mutants. Similar results have been previously obtained by our group with the model legume Lotus japonicus. Hence, the results obtained in the present work confirm that repression of Nod factor production, provided by either NodD2, NolR or SyrM, prevents HH103 to effectively nodulate several putative host plants.

A Novel Use of Allopurinol as A Quorum-Sensing Inhibitor in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause a variety of healthcare-associated infections by its arsenal of virulence factors. Virulence factor production is largely controlled by the cell-to-cell communication system termed quorum sensing (QS). Targeting QS may be a good approach to inhibit the production of virulence factors and attenuate pathogenicity without exerting selective stress on bacterial growth. This will greatly reduce the emergence of resistant mutants. In this work, we investigated the anti-virulence and anti-QS activities of the FDA-approved drug allopurinol against the P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain. Allopurinol at 200 µg/mL (1/10 MIC) significantly decreased the production of the QS-controlled Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 violet pigment violacein and other P. aeruginosa QS-controlled virulence factors phenotypically. Furthermore, allopurinol reduced the infiltration of P. aeruginosa and leucocytes and diminished the congestion in the liver and kidney tissues of infected mice. In silico study showed that allopurinol could compete with the autoinducers on binding to the receptors LasR and RhlR by hydrogen bonding. On the molecular level, qRT-PCR proved that allopurinol showed a significant downregulating effect on all tested QS-encoding genes that regulate virulence factor production. In summary, allopurinol is a promising QS inhibitor that may be useful in the future treatment of P. aeruginosa infection.

APPLICATIONS OF "SMART TECHNOLOGIES" IN OIL PRODUCTION AREAS

The article discusses the application of "smart technologies" in preventing the decline in production in the oil industry. Unlike other economic sectors, the factors that determine the application of "smart technologies" in the process of modeling and forecasting hydrocarbon fields by oil companies to increase production and ensure the safety of processes in the fields have been studied. The advantages of the application of "smart technologies" in ensuring the sustainable and dynamic development of oil companies are discussed here. Keywords: field, oil, machinery, technology, digital, factor, production.

Intestinal Dysbacteriosis-Propelled T Helper 17 Cells Activation Mediate the Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorder Induced by Anesthesia/Surgery in Aged Rats

Background: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) occur frequently in elderly patients after surgery, but the mechanism of PND is not very clear at present. It is reported that anesthesia/surgery could cause intestinal flora imbalance and induce neurocognitive impairment. However, the effect of intestinal flora on PND is poorly understood. We previously found that peripheral interleukin-17A (IL17A) destroyed the blood-brain barrier (BBB), leading to central inflammation and neurocognitive impairment. The small intestine is the main place where Th17 cells are produced. Therefore, we hypothesized that Th17 cells and IL-17 may be an important bridge for intestinal microbes to cause neuroinflammation. Methods: Exploratory laparotomy was performed to establish PND model under sevoflurane anesthesia. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing was used to detect the changes of intestinal flora. To explore the relationship between intestinal flora and PND, compound antibiotics were used to eliminate intestinal flora before anesthesia/surgery, and behavior tests, such as open field, Y maze, and fear conditioning tests were applied to detect the changes of memory ability and which was compared with the rats that did not receive compound antibiotics. The number of Th17 cells and Foxp3 cells was detected by flow cytometry in the Peyer's patches (PP), mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), blood and brain. Hippocampus IL17, IL17RA, IL6 and IL10 were detected by Western blot. Hippocampus IL17, IL17R and IBA1 (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule1) were detected by immunofluorescence. Results: Anesthesia/surgery caused intestinal flora imbalance and induced neurocognitive impairment, increased the number of Th17 cells in the PP, MLN, blood and brain, up-regulated the lever of IL17, IL17R and inflammatory factor production in the hippocampus. The administration of compound antibiotics before anesthesia/surgery evidently inhibited this effect, including decreased the number of Th17 cells, down-regulated the lever of IL17, IL17R and inflammatory factor production, and improved the memory function. In addition, we found that IL17R was co-labeled with IBA1 in a large amount in the hippocampus through immunofluorescence double-staining. Conclusion: Our study suggested that intestinal dysbacteriosis-propelled T helper 17 cells activation might play an important role in the pathogenesis of PND.

ToxR mediates the antivirulence activity of phenyl-arginine-β-naphthylamide to attenuate Vibrio cholerae virulence.

Multidrug efflux systems belonging to the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) family are ubiquitous in Gram negative bacteria and critical for antimicrobial resistance. This realization has led to efforts to develop efflux pump inhibitors (EPI) for use as adjuvants for antibiotic treatment of resistant organisms. However, the functions of RND transporters extend beyond antimicrobial resistance to include physiological functions that are critical for pathogenesis, suggesting that EPIs could also be used as antivirulence therapeutics. This was documented in the enteric pathogen Vibrio cholerae where EPIs were shown to attenuate the production of the critical virulence factors cholera toxin (CT) and the toxin coregulated pilus (TCP). In this study we investigated the antivirulence mechanism of action of the EPI phenyl-arginine-β-naphthylamide (PAβN) on V. cholerae. Using bioassays, we documented that PAβN inhibited virulence factor production in three epidemic V. cholerae isolates. Transcriptional reporter studies and mutant analysis indicated that PAβN initiated a ToxR-dependent regulatory circuit to activate leuO expression and that LeuO repressed the expression of the critical virulence activator aphA to attenuate CT and TCP production. The antivirulence activity of PAβN was found to be dependent on the ToxR periplasmic sensing domain suggesting that a feedback mechanism was involved in its activity. Collectively the data indicated that PAβN inhibited V. cholerae virulence factor production by activating a ToxR-dependent metabolic feedback mechanism to repress the expression of the ToxR virulence regulon. This suggests that efflux pump inhibitors could be used as antivirulence therapeutics for the treatment of cholera and perhaps other gram negative pathogens.