| 1. |
- Karlsborn, Tony, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Loss of ncm5 and mcm5 wobble uridine side chains results in an altered metabolic profile
- 2016
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In: Metabolomics. - : Springer. - 1573-3882 .- 1573-3890. ; 12:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: The Elongator complex, comprising six subunits (Elp1p-Elp6p), is required for formation of 5-carbamoylmethyl (ncm(5)) and 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl (mcm(5)) side chains on wobble uridines in 11 out of 42 tRNA species in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Loss of these side chains reduces the efficiency of tRNA decoding during translation, resulting in pleiotropic phenotypes. Overexpression of hypomodified tRNA(s2UUU)(Lys); tRNA(s2UUG)(Gln) and tRNA(s2UUC)(Glu), which in wild-type strains are modified with mcm(5)s(2)U, partially suppress phenotypes of an elp3 Delta strain. Objectives: To identify metabolic alterations in an elp3 Delta strain and elucidate whether these metabolic alterations are suppressed by overexpression of hypomodified tRNA(s2UUU)(Lys); tRNA(s2UUG)(Gln) and tRNA(s2UUC)(Glu). Method: Metabolic profiles were obtained using untargeted GC-TOF-MS of a temperature-sensitive elp3 Delta strain carrying either an empty low-copy vector, an empty high-copy vector, a low-copy vector harboring the wild-type ELP3 gene, or a high-copy vector overexpressing tRNA(s2UUU)(Lys); tRNA(s2UUG)(Gln) and tRNA(s2UUC)(Glu). The temperature sensitive elp3 Delta strain derivatives were cultivated at permissive (30 degrees C) or semi-permissive (34 degrees C) growth conditions. Results: Culturing an elp3 Delta strain at 30 or 34 degrees C resulted in altered metabolism of 36 and 46 %, respectively, of all metabolites detected when compared to an elp3D strain carrying the wild-type ELP3 gene. Overexpression of hypomodified tRNA(s2UUU)(Lys); tRNA(s2UUG)(Gln) and tRNA(s2UUC)(Glu) suppressed a subset of the metabolic alterations observed in the elp3 Delta strain. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the presence of ncm(5)- and mcm(5)-side chains on wobble uridines in tRNA are important for metabolic homeostasis.
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| 4. |
- de Oliveira, Ana Henriques, et al.
(author)
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Listeria monocytogenes requires the RsbX protein to prevent SigB-activation under non-stressed conditions
- 2022
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In: Journal of Bacteriology. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0021-9193 .- 1098-5530. ; 204:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The survival of microbial cells under changing environmental conditions requires an efficient reprogramming of transcription, often mediated by alternative sigma factors. The Gram-positive human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes senses and responds to environmental stress mainly through the alternative sigma factor σB (SigB), which controls expression of the general stress response regulon. SigB activation is achieved through a complex series of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation events culminating in the release of SigB from its anti-sigma factor RsbW. At the top of the signal transduction pathway lies a large multi-protein complex known as the stressosome that is believed to act as a sensory hub for stresses. Following signal detection, stressosome proteins become phosphorylated. Resetting of the stressosome is hypothesized to be exerted by a putative phosphatase, RsbX, which presumably removes phosphate groups from stressosome proteins post-stress.We addressed the role of the RsbX protein in modulating the activity of the stressosome and consequently regulating SigB activity in L. monocytogenes. We show that RsbX is required to reduce SigB activation/levels under non-stress conditions and that it is required for appropriate SigB mediated stress-adaptation. A strain lacking RsbX displayed impaired motility and biofilm formation, but also an increased survival at low pH. Our results could suggest that absence of RsbX alter the multi-protein composition of the stressosome without dramatically affecting its phosphorylation status. Overall the data show that RsbX plays a critical role in modulating the signal transduction pathway by blocking SigB activation under non-stressed conditions.
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| 5. |
- de Oliveira, Ana H., 1995-, et al.
(author)
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The virulence and infectivity of Listeria monocytogenes are not substantially altered by elevated SigB activity
- 2023
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In: Infection and Immunity. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522. ; 91:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterial pathogen capable of causing severe infections but also thriving outside the host. To respond to different stress conditions, L. monocytogenes mainly utilizes the general stress response regulon, which largely is controlled by the alternative sigma factor Sigma B (SigB). In addition, SigB is important for virulence gene expression and infectivity. Upon encountering stress, a large multicomponent protein complex known as the stressosome becomes activated, ultimately leading to SigB activation. RsbX is a protein needed to reset a "stressed"stressosome and prevent unnecessary SigB activation in nonstressed conditions. Consequently, absence of RsbX leads to constitutive activation of SigB even without prevailing stress stimulus. To further examine the involvement of SigB in the virulence of this pathogen, we investigated whether a strain with constitutively active SigB would be affected in virulence factor expression and/or infectivity in cultured cells and in a chicken embryo infection model. Our results suggest that increased SigB activity does not substantially alter virulence gene expression compared with the wild-type (WT) strain at transcript and protein levels. Bacteria lacking RsbX were taken up by phagocytic and nonphagocytic cells at a similar frequency to WT bacteria, both in stressed and nonstressed conditions. Finally, the absence of RsbX only marginally affected the ability of bacteria to infect chicken embryos. Our results suggest only a minor role of RsbX in controlling virulence factor expression and infectivity under these conditions.
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| 6. |
- Flentie, Kelly, et al.
(author)
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Chemical disarming of isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- 2019
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : The National Academy of Scionces of the United States of America. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 116:21, s. 10510-10517
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) killed more people in 2017 than any other single infectious agent. This dangerous pathogen is able to withstand stresses imposed by the immune system and tolerate exposure to antibiotics, resulting in persistent infection. The global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has been exacerbated by the emergence of mutant strains of Mtb that are resistant to frontline antibiotics. Thus, both phenotypic drug tolerance and genetic drug resistance are major obstacles to successful TB therapy. Using a chemical approach to identify compounds that block stress and drug tolerance, as opposed to traditional screens for compounds that kill Mtb, we identified a small molecule, C10, that blocks tolerance to oxidative stress, acid stress, and the frontline antibiotic isoniazid (INH). In addition, we found that C10 prevents the selection for INH-resistant mutants and restores INH sensitivity in otherwise INH-resistant Mtb strains harboring mutations in the katG gene, which encodes the enzyme that converts the prodrug INH to its active form. Through mechanistic studies, we discovered that C10 inhibits Mtb respiration, revealing a link between respiration homeostasis and INH sensitivity. Therefore, by using C10 to dissect Mtb persistence, we discovered that INH resistance is not absolute and can be reversed.
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| 7. |
- Nye, Taylor M., et al.
(author)
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Ring-fused 2-pyridones effective against multidrug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens and synergistic with standard-of-care antibiotics
- 2022
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : PNAS. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:43
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The alarming rise of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria has precipitated a healthcare crisis, necessitating the development of new antimicrobial therapies. Here we describe a new class of antibiotics based on a ring-fused 2-pyridone backbone, which are active against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), a serious threat as classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. Ring-fused 2-pyridone antibiotics have bacteriostatic activity against actively dividing exponential phase enterococcal cells and bactericidal activity against nondividing stationary phase enterococcal cells. The molecular mechanism of drug-induced killing of stationary phase cells mimics aspects of fratricide observed in enterococcal biofilms, where both are mediated by the Atn autolysin and the GelE protease. In addition, combinations of sublethal concentrations of ring-fused 2-pyridones and standard-of-care antibiotics, such as vancomycin, were found to synergize to kill clinical strains of VRE. Furthermore, a broad range of antibiotic resistant Gram-positive pathogens, including those responsible for the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistant healthcare-associated infections, are susceptible to this new class of 2-pyridone antibiotics. Given the broad antibacterial activities of ring-fused 2-pyridone compounds against Gram-positive (GmP) bacteria we term these compounds GmPcides, which hold promise in combating the rising tide of antibiotic resistant Gram-positive pathogens.
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| 8. |
- Tükenmez, Hasan, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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A highly substituted ring-fused 2-pyridone compound targeting PrfA and the efflux regulator BrtA in listeria monocytogenes
- 2023
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In: mBio. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2161-2129 .- 2150-7511. ; 14:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative Gram-positive bacterium that causes listeriosis, a severe foodborne disease. We previously discovered that ring-fused 2-pyridone compounds can decrease virulence factor expression in Listeria by binding and inactivating the PrfA virulence activator. In this study, we tested PS900, a highly substituted 2-pyridone that was recently discovered to be bactericidal to other Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. We show that PS900 can interact with PrfA and reduce the expression of virulence factors. Unlike previous ring-fused 2-pyridones shown to inactivate PrfA, PS900 had an additional antibacterial activity and was found to potentiate sensitivity toward cholic acid. Two PS900-tolerant mutants able to grow in the presence of PS900 carried mutations in the brtA gene, encoding the BrtA repressor. In wild-type (WT) bacteria, cholic acid binds and inactivates BrtA, thereby alleviating the expression of the multidrug transporter MdrT. Interestingly, we found that PS900 also binds to BrtA and that this interaction causes BrtA to dissociate from its binding site in front of the mdrT gene. In addition, we observed that PS900 potentiated the effect of different osmolytes. We suggest that the increased potency of cholic acid and osmolytes to kill bacteria in the presence of PS900 is due to the ability of the latter to inhibit general efflux, through a yet-unknown mechanism. Our data indicate that thiazolino 2-pyridones constitute an attractive scaffold when designing new types of antibacterial agents.IMPORTANCE: Bacteria resistant to one or several antibiotics are a very large problem, threatening not only treatment of infections but also surgery and cancer treatments. Thus, new types of antibacterial drugs are desperately needed. In this work, we show that a new generation of substituted ring-fused 2-pyridones not only inhibit Listeria monocytogenes virulence gene expression, presumably by inactivating the PrfA virulence regulator, but also potentiate the bactericidal effects of cholic acid and different osmolytes. We identified a multidrug repressor as a second target of 2-pyridones. The repressor–2-pyridone interaction displaces the repressor from DNA, thus increasing the expression of a multidrug transporter. In addition, our data suggest that the new class of ring-fused 2-pyridones are efficient efflux inhibitors, possibly explaining why the simultaneous addition of 2-pyridones together with cholic acid or osmolytes is detrimental for the bacterium. This work proves conclusively that 2-pyridones constitute a promising scaffold to build on for future antibacterial drug design.
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| 9. |
- Tükenmez, Hasan, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Complete Genome Sequence of the Uropathogenic Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strain MRSA-1369
- 2022
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In: Microbiology Resource Announcements. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2576-098X. ; 11:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- MRSA-1369 is a uropathogenic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of MRSA-1369, which consists of one chromosome (2.87 Mb) and two plasmids (16.68 kb and 3.13 kb). This will serve as a reference genome for future Staphylococcus aureus pathogenesis and multiomic studies.
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| 10. |
- Tükenmez, Hasan, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Corticosteroids protect infected cells against mycobacterial killing in vitro
- 2019
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In: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - : Elsevier. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 511:1, s. 117-121
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effect of corticosteroids on human physiology is complex and their use in tuberculosis patients remains controversial. In a high-throughput screening approach designed to discover virulence inhibitors, several corticosteroids were found to prevent cytolysis of fibroblasts infected with mycobacteria. Further experiments with Mycobacterium tuberculosis showed anti-cytolytic activity in the 10 nM range, but no effect on bacterial growth or survival in the absence of host cells at 20 mu M. The results from a panel of corticosteroids with various affinities to the glucocorticoid- and mineralocorticoid receptors indicate that the inhibition of cytolysis most likely is mediated through the glucocorticoid receptor. Using live-imaging of M. tuberculosis-infected human monocyte-derived macrophages, we also show that corticosteroids to some extent control intracellular bacteria. In vitro systems with reduced complexity are to further study and understand the interactions between bacterial infection, immune defense and cell signaling. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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