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At least 145 records · Page 8

Multidrug Efflux Pumps and the Two-Faced Janus of Substrates and Inhibitors

Antibiotics are miracle drugs that can cure infectious bacterial diseases. However, their utility is challenged by antibiotic resistant bacteria emerging in clinics and straining the modern medicine and our ways of life. Certain bacteria such as Gram-negative (Gram(- )) and Mycobacteriales species are intrinsically resistant to most clinical antibiotics and can further gain multidrug resistance through mutations and plasmid acquisition. These species stand out by the presence of an additional external lipidic membranes (the outer membrane, OM) that are composed of unique glycolipids. Although formidable, the OM is a passive permeability barrier that can reduce penetration of antibiotics but cannot affect intracellular steady-state concentrations of drugs. The two-membrane envelopes are further reinforced by active efflux transporters that expel antibiotics from cells against their concentration gradients. The major mechanism of antibiotic resistance in Gram(-) pathogens is the active efflux of drugs, which acts synergistically with the low permeability barrier of the OM and other mutational and plasmid-borne mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

An Analysis of the Novel Fluorocycline TP-6076 Bound to Both the Ribosome and Multidrug Efflux Pump AdeJ from Acinetobacter baumannii

Antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens continues to pose a serious global health threat. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of the Gram-negative organism Acinetobacter baumannii utilize a number of resistance determinants to evade current antibiotics. One of the major resistance mechanisms employed by these pathogens is the use of multidrug efflux pumps. These pumps extrude xenobiotics directly out of bacterial cells, resulting in treatment failures when common antibiotics are administered. Here, the structure of the novel tetracycline antibiotic TP-6076, bound to both the Acinetobacter drug efflux pump AdeJ and the ribosome from Acinetobacter baumannii, using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), is elucidated. In this work, the structure of the AdeJ–TP-6076 complex is solved, and we show that AdeJ utilizes a network of hydrophobic interactions to recognize this fluorocycline. Concomitant with this, we elucidate three structures of TP-6076 bound to the A. baumannii ribosome and determine that its binding is stabilized largely by electrostatic interactions. We then compare the differences in binding modes between TP-6076 and the related tetracycline antibiotic eravacycline in both targets. These differences suggest that modifications to the tetracycline core may be able to alter AdeJ binding while maintaining interactions with the ribosome. Together, this work highlights how different mechanisms are used to stabilize the binding of tetracycline-based compounds to unique bacterial targets and provides guidance for the future clinical development of tetracycline antibiotics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An accurate and interpretable model for antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic Escherichia coli from livestock and companion animal species

Understanding the microbial genomic contributors to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is essential for early detection of emerging AMR infections, a pressing global health threat in human and veterinary medicine. Here we used whole genome sequencing and antibiotic susceptibility test data from 980 disease causing Escherichia coli isolated from companion and farm animals to model AMR genotypes and phenotypes for 24 antibiotics. We determined the strength of genotype-to-phenotype relationships for 197 AMR genes with elastic net logistic regression. Model predictors were designed to evaluate different potential modes of AMR genotype translation into resistance phenotypes. Our results show a model that considers the presence of individual AMR genes and total number of AMR genes present from a set of genes known to confer resistance was able to accurately predict isolate resistance on average (mean F 1 score = 98.0%, SD = 2.3%, mean accuracy = 98.2%, SD = 2.7%). However, fitted models sometimes varied for antibiotics in the same class and for the same antibiotic across animal hosts, suggesting heterogeneity in the genetic determinants of AMR resistance. We conclude that an interpretable AMR prediction model can be used to accurately predict resistance phenotypes across multiple host species and reveal testable hypotheses about how the mechanism of resistance may vary across antibiotics within the same class and across animal hosts for the same antibiotic.

Chung, Henri C.↗

Efficacy of Antimicrobials on Bacteria Cultured in a Spaceflight Analogue

As humans travel in space, they will interact with microbial flora from themselves, other crewmembers, their food, and the environment. While evaluations of microbial ecology aboard the Mir and ISS suggest a predominance of common environmental flora, the presence of (and potential for) infectious agents has been well documented. Likewise, pathogens have been detected during preflight monitoring of spaceflight food, resulting in the disqualification of that production lot from flight. These environmental and food organisms range from the obligate pathogen, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), which has been responsible for disqualification and removal of food destined for ISS and has previously been reported from Shuttle crew refuse, to the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, isolated numerous times from ISS habitable compartments and the crew. Infectious disease events have affected spaceflight missions, including an upper respiratory infection that delayed the launch of STS-36 and an incapacitating Pseudomonas aeruginosa urinary tract infection of a crewmember during Apollo 13. These observations indicate that the crew has the potential to be exposed to obligate and opportunistic pathogens. This risk of exposure is expected to increase with longer mission durations and increased use of regenerative life support systems. As antibiotics are the primary countermeasure after infection, determining if their efficacy during spaceflight missions is comparable to terrestrial application is of critical importance. The NASA Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) culture system has been successfully used as a spaceflight culture analogue to identify potential alterations in several key microbial characteristics, such as virulence and gene regulation, in response to spaceflight culture. We hypothesized that bacteria cultured in the low fluid shear RWV environment would demonstrate changes in efficacy of antibiotics compared to higher fluid shear controls. This study investigated the response of three medically significant microorganisms grown in the RWV to antibiotics that could be used on spaceflight missions. Our findings suggest potential alterations in antibiotic efficacy during spaceflight and indicate that future studies on the antibiotic response require additional basic research using the RWV and/or true spaceflight. However, while this analogue has reinforced these potential alterations, the results suggest the best approach for applied forward work is evaluating an in vivo system during spaceflight, including human and rodent studies. The complex nature of the analysis for many antibiotics and organism suggests the best approach to determine in vivo responses during pharmaceutical treatment is evaluating an in vivo system during spaceflight.

Nickerson, CA↗

Manipulation of the Gut Microbiome Alters Acetaminophen Biodisposition in Mice

The gut microbiota is a vast and diverse microbial community that has co-evolved with its host to perform a variety of essential functions involved in the utilization of nutrients and the processing of xenobiotics. Shifts in the composition of gut microbiota can disturb the balance of organisms which can infuence the biodisposition of orally administered drugs. To determine how changes in the gut microbiome can alter drug disposition, the pharmacokinetics (PK), and biodistribution of acetaminophen were assessed in C57Bl/6 mice after treatment with the antibiotics ciprofoxacin, amoxicillin, or a cocktail of ampicillin/neomycin. Altered PK, and excretion profles of acetaminophen were observed in antibiotic exposed animals. Plasma C max was signifcantly decreased in antibiotic treated animals suggesting decreased bioavailability. Urinary metabolite profles revealed decreases in acetaminophen-sulfate metabolite levels in both the amoxicillin and ampicillin/neomycin treated animals. The ratio between urinary and fecal excretion was also altered in antibiotic treated animals. Analysis of gut microbe composition revealed that changes in microbe content in antibiotic treated animals was associated with changes in acetaminophen biodisposition. These results suggest that exposure to amoxicillin or ampicillin/neomycin can alter the biodisposition of acetaminophen and that these alterations could be due to changes in gut microbiome composition.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

C6 Hydroxymethyl-Substituted Carbapenem MA-1-206 Inhibits the Major Acinetobacter baumannii Carbapenemase OXA-23 by Impeding Deacylation

Acinetobacter baumannii has become a major nosocomial pathogen, as it is often multidrug-resistant, which results in infections characterized by high mortality rates. The bacterium achieves high levels of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics by producing β-lactamases, enzymes which destroy these valuable agents. Historically, the carbapenem family of b-lactam antibiotics have been the drugs of choice for treating A. baumannii infections. However, their effectiveness has been significantly diminished due to the pathogen’s production of carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases (CHDLs); thus, new antibiotics and inhibitors of these enzymes are urgently needed. Here, we describe a new carbapenem antibiotic, MA-1-206, in which the canonical C6 hydroxyethyl group has been replaced with hydroxymethyl. The antimicrobial susceptibility studies presented here demonstrated that this compound is more potent than meropenem and imipenem against A. baumannii producing OXA-23, the most prevalent CHDL of this pathogen, and also against strains producing the CHDL OXA-24/40 and the class B metallo-β-lactamase VIM-2. Our kinetic and mass spectrometry studies revealed that this drug is a reversible inhibitor of OXA-23, where inhibition takes place through a branched pathway. X-ray crystallographic studies, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations of the OXA-23-MA-1-206 complex show that the C6 hydroxymethyl group forms a hydrogen bond with the carboxylated catalytic lysine of OXA-23, effectively preventing deacylation. These results provide a promising strategy for designing a new generation of CHDL-resistant carbapenems to restore their efficacy against deadly A. baumannii infections. Carbapenem antibiotics are the drugs of choice for treatment of deadly infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. However, their efficacy is severely compromised by the wide spread of carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases (CHDLs). The importance of this research is the discovery that substitution of the canonical hydroxyethyl group of carbapenems by a hydroxymethyl significantly enhances stability against inactivation by the major CHDL of Acinetobacter baumannii, OXA-23. These results provide a novel strategy for designing next-generation, carbapenemase-stable carbapenems to fight multidrug-resistant infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Host tracheal and intestinal microbiomes inhibit Coccidioides growth in vitro

Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever, is a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Coccidioides. Unfortunately, patients are often misdiagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, leading to inappropriate antibiotic treatment. The soil Bacillus subtilis-like species exhibits antagonistic properties against Coccidioides in vitro; however, the antagonistic capabilities of host microbiota against Coccidioides are unexplored. We sought to examine the potential of the tracheal and intestinal microbiomes to inhibit the growth of Coccidioides in vitro. We hypothesized that an uninterrupted lawn of microbiota obtained from antibiotic-free mice would inhibit the growth of Coccidioides, while partial in vitro depletion through antibiotic disk diffusion assays would allow a niche for fungal growth. We observed that the microbiota grown on 2×GYE (GYE) and Columbia colistin and nalidixic acid with 5% sheep’s blood agar inhibited the growth of Coccidioides, but microbiota grown on chocolate agar did not. Partial depletion of the microbiota through antibiotic disk diffusion revealed diminished inhibition and comparable growth of Coccidioides to controls. To characterize the bacteria grown and identify potential candidates contributing to the inhibition of Coccidioides, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on tracheal and intestinal agar cultures and murine lung extracts. We found that the host bacteria likely responsible for this inhibition primarily included Lactobacillus and Staphylococcus. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of the host microbiota to inhibit the growth of Coccidioides in vitro and suggest that an altered microbiome through antibiotic treatment could negatively impact effective fungal clearance and allow a niche for fungal growth in vivo.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

The Antibio experiment

An experiment was flown on Spacelab to confirm the results of the Cytos 2 experiment on Salyut 7, which found an increase in minimal inhibitory concentration in in-flight cultures, i.e., an increase of antibiotic resistance. The 1 g centrifuge on Biorack was also used to differentiate the effects of cosmic rays and microgravity. The antibiotic sensitivity of bacteria cultivated in vitro during orbital flight was studied. The bacteria was E. coli, the antibiotic was Colistin. An increase of antibiotic resistance is observed. Three explanations are offered: stimulation of bacterial proliferation in space; a relationship between the transport of antibiotics into cells and modifications of cellular envelope permeability; and a combined effect of both phenomena.

Lapchine, L.↗

Crystal structure of vancomycin bound to the resistance determinant D -alanine- D -serine

Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that for decades has been a mainstay of treatment for persistent bacterial infections. However, the spread of antibiotic resistance threatens its continued utility. In particular, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become a pressing clinical challenge. Vancomycin acts by binding and sequestering the intermediate Lipid II in cell-wall biosynthesis, specifically recognizing a D-alanine-D-alanine dipeptide motif within the Lipid II molecule. VRE achieve resistance by remodeling this motif to either D-alanine-D-lactate or D-alanine-D-serine; the former substitution essentially abolishes recognition by vancomycin of Lipid II, whereas the latter reduces the affinity of the antibiotic by roughly one order of magnitude. The complex of vancomycin bound to D-alanine-D-serine has been crystallized, and its 1.20 Å X-ray crystal structure is presented here. This structure reveals that the D-alanine-D-serine ligand is bound in essentially the same position and same pose as the native D-alanine-D-alanine ligand. The serine-containing ligand appears to be slightly too large to be comfortably accommodated in this way, suggesting one possible contribution to the reduced binding affinity. In addition, two flexible hydroxyl groups – one from the serine side chain of the ligand, and the other from a glucose sugar on the antibiotic – are locked into single conformations in the complex, which is likely to contribute an unfavorable entropic component to the recognition of the serine-containing ligand.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Axenisation of oleaginous microalgal cultures via anoxic photosensitisation

Growing interest in sustainable food and biofuel research has necessitated high quality axenic oleaginous microalgal strains. Unfortunately, most strains available in culture banks contain commensal microbes such as bacteria and the default decontamination method involves antibiotic treatment which has begun to exacerbate the emergence of antibiotic resistance. To overcome this problem, anoxic photosensitisation was investigated as an alternate approach. Four oleaginous microalgal species (Tetradesmus obliquus, Desmodesmus armatus, Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis limnetica) were incubated in varying concentrations of Rose Bengal (0 μM, 1 μM, 3 μM or 9 μM) either in normal (oxic) or anoxic conditions, for 72 h under light (8.85 ± 0.4 W/m 2 ) in a specially designed heterotrophic growth complex (HGC) medium, followed by 72 h in standard Bold's Basal Medium (BBM). Commonly used antibiotics-based protocol was used as the control method. Post treatment, cell numbers and percentage populations were counted with Flow Cytometry, and viability was tested using standard plating methods using BBM and LB. Additionally, the contaminating microbes in the cultures were profiled using 16Ss rRNA sequencing. Anoxic conditions were able to significantly decrease bacterial content, albeit with an equally detrimental effect on the microalgal population. Although the responses differed between the microalgae, anoxic incubation along with Rose Bengal at 3 μM was able to completely decontaminate N. limnetica and C. vulgaris, while D. armatus and T. obliquus could be decontaminated with an additional streak-plating step. None of the cultures could be decontaminated using antibiotics treatment. These results suggest that axenisation of microalgal cultures was largely due to anoxy, that was synergistically enhanced by Rose Bengal at a concentration of ≥3 μM.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Decarboxylation of the Catalytic Lysine Residue by the C5α-Methyl-Substituted Carbapenem NA-1-157 Leads to Potent Inhibition of the OXA-58 Carbapenemase

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a major global health concern. The wide spread of carbapenemases, bacterial enzymes that degrade the last-resort carbapenem antibiotics, is responsible for multidrug resistance in bacterial pathogens and has further significantly exacerbated this problem. Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the leading nosocomial pathogens due to the acquisition and wide dissemination of carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases, which have dramatically diminished available therapeutic options. Thus, new antibiotics that are active against multidrug-resistantA. baumannii and carbapenemase inhibitors are urgently needed. Here we report characterization of the interaction of the C5α-methyl-substituted carbapenem NA-1-157 with one of the clinically important class D carbapenemases, OXA-58. Antibiotic susceptibility testing shows that the compound is more potent than commercial carbapenems against OXA-58-producingA. baumannii, with a clinically sensitive MIC value of 1 μg/mL. Kinetic studies demonstrate that NA-1-157 is a very poor substrate of the enzyme due mainly to a significantly reduced deacylation rate. Mass spectrometry analysis shows that inhibition of OXA-58 by NA-1-157 proceeds through both the classical acyl-enzyme intermediate and a reversible covalent species. Time-resolved X-ray crystallographic studies reveal that upon acylation of the enzyme, the compound causes progressive decarboxylation of the catalytic lysine residue, thus severely impairing deacylation. Overall, this study demonstrates that the carbapenem NA-1-157 is highly resistant to degradation by the OXA-58 carbapenemase.

Acinetobactor↗

C10-Benzoate Esters of Anhydrotetracycline Inhibit Tetracycline Destructases and Recover Tetracycline Antibacterial Activity

Tetracyclines (TCs) are an important class of antibiotics threatened by enzymatic inactivation. These tetracycline-inactivating enzymes, also known as tetracycline destructases (TDases), are a subfamily of class A flavin monooxygenases (FMOs) that catalyze hydroxyl group transfer and oxygen insertion (Baeyer–Villiger type) reactions on TC substrate scaffolds. Semisynthetic modification of TCs (e.g., tigecycline, omadacycline, eravacycline, and sarecycline) has proven effective in evading certain resistance mechanisms, such as ribosomal protection and efflux, but does not protect against TDase-mediated resistance. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of a new series of 22 semisynthetic TDase inhibitors that explore D-ring substitution of anhydrotetracycline (aTC) including 14 C10-benzoate ester and eight C9-benzamides. Overall, the C10-benzoate esters displayed enhanced bioactivity and water solubility compared to the corresponding C9-benzamides featuring the same heterocyclic aryl side chains. The C10-benzoate ester derivatives of aTC were prepared in a high-yield one-step synthesis without the need for protecting groups. The C10-esters are water-soluble, stable toward hydrolysis, and display dose-dependent rescue of tetracycline antibiotic activity in E. coli expressing two types of tetracycline destructases, represented by TetX7 (Type 1) and Tet50 (Type 2). The best inhibitors recovered tetracycline antibiotic activity at concentrations as low as 2 μM, producing synergistic scores <0.5 in the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) against TDase-expressing strains of E. coli and clinical P. aeruginosa. The C10-benzoate ester derivatives of aTC reported here are promising new leads for the development of tetracycline drug combination therapies to overcome TDase-mediated antibiotic resistance.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Structural insights into the mechanism of overcoming Erm-mediated resistance by macrolides acting together with hygromycin-A

The ever-growing rise of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens is one of the top healthcare threats today. Although combination antibiotic therapies represent a potential approach to more efficiently combat infections caused by susceptible and drug-resistant bacteria, only a few known drug pairs exhibit synergy/cooperativity in killing bacteria. Here, we discover that well-known ribosomal antibiotics, hygromycin A (HygA) and macrolides, which target peptidyl transferase center and peptide exit tunnel, respectively, can act cooperatively against susceptible and drug-resistant bacteria. Remarkably, HygA slows down macrolide dissociation from the ribosome by 60-fold and enhances the otherwise weak antimicrobial activity of the newest-generation macrolide drugs known as ketolides against macrolide-resistant bacteria. By determining a set of high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of drug-sensitive wild-type and macrolide-resistant Erm-methylated 70S ribosomes in complex with three HygA-macrolide pairs, we provide a structural rationale for the binding cooperativity of these drugs and also uncover the molecular mechanism of overcoming Erm-type resistance by macrolides acting together with hygromycin A. Altogether our structural, biochemical, and microbiological findings lay the foundation for the subsequent development of synergistic antibiotic tandems with improved bactericidal properties against drug-resistant pathogens, including those expressing erm genes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Evolution of carbapenemase activity in the class C β-lactamase ADC-1

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria poses a significant threat to public health. Among dozens of available antimicrobial agents, carbapenems are used as drugs of choice for the treatment of serious infections caused by pathogens resistant to other antibiotics. However, their usefulness has been severely compromised due to the emergence and wide spread of carbapenem-resistant clinical isolates worldwide. High-level resistance to carbapenems in bacteria is mediated by the production of β-lactamases from three molecular classes, A, B, and D, but not by class C enzymes. In this study, we selected a triple mutant of the intrinsic class C Acinetobacter-derived cephalosporinase ADC-1 (ADC-1 TM ) that confers high-level resistance to the carbapenems meropenem, ertapenem, and doripenem. Kinetic experiments demonstrated that the apparent binding affinity, along with the acylation and deacylation rates, were all improved for the mutant enzyme. X-ray crystallography, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the amino acid substitutions in ADC-1 TM produce significant changes in the enzyme active site architecture and binding mode of the carbapenem ertapenem. These changes allow for better positioning of a deacylating water for nucleophilic attack, thus explaining the significantly improved rate of ertapenem deacylation by ADC-1 TM . In this study, we showed for the first time that a class C β-lactamase can produce high-level resistance to carbapenem antibiotics, which underlines the potential for enzymes of this class to evolve such resistance and could further exacerbate the problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Predictive Rules of Efflux Inhibition and Avoidance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria rapidly spread in clinical and natural environments and challenge our modern lifestyle. A major component of defense against antibiotics in Gram-negative bacteria is a drug permeation barrier created by active efflux across the outer membrane. We identified molecular determinants defining the propensity of small peptidomimetic molecules to avoid and inhibit efflux pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a human pathogen notorious for its antibiotic resistance. Combining experimental and computational protocols, we mapped the fate of the compounds from structure-activity relationships through their dynamic behavior in solution, permeation across both the inner and outer membranes, and interaction with MexB, the major efflux transporter of P. aeruginosa. We identified predictors of efflux avoidance and inhibition and demonstrated their power by using a library of traditional antibiotics and compound series and by generating new inhibitors of MexB. The identified predictors will enable the discovery and optimization of antibacterial agents suitable for treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Unusual modifications of protein biomarkers expressed by plasmid, prophage, and bacterial host of pathogenic Escherichia coli identified using top‐down proteomic analysis

Rationale Pathogenic bacteria often carry prophage (bacterial viruses) and plasmids (small circular pieces of DNA) that may harbor toxin, antibacterial, and antibiotic resistance genes. Proteomic characterization of pathogenic bacteria should include the identification of host proteins and proteins produced by prophage and plasmid genomes. Methods Protein biomarkers of two strains of Shiga toxin–producingEscherichia coli(STEC) were identified using antibiotic induction, matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐TOF‐TOF) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) with post‐source decay (PSD), top‐down proteomic (TDP) analysis, and plasmid sequencing. Alphafold2 was also used to compare predicted in silico structures of the identified proteins to prominent fragment ions generated using MS/MS‐PSD. Strain samples were also analyzed with and without chemical reduction treatment to detect the attachment of pendant groups bound by thioester or disulfide bonds. Results Shiga toxin was detected and/or identified in both STEC strains. For the first time, we also identified the osmotically inducible protein (OsmY) whose sequence unexpectedly had two forms: a full and a truncated sequence. The truncated OsmY terminates in the middle of an α‐helix as determined by Alphafold2. A plasmid‐encoded colicin immunity protein was also identified with and without attachment of an unidentified cysteine‐bound pendant group (~307 Da). Plasmid sequencing confirmed top‐down analysis and the identification of a promoter upstream of the immunity gene that is activated by antibiotic induction, that is, SOS box. Conclusions TDP analysis, coupled with other techniques (e.g., antibiotic induction, chemical reduction, plasmid sequencing, and in silico protein modeling), is a powerful tool to identify proteins (and their modifications), including prophage‐ and plasmid‐encoded proteins, produced by pathogenic microorganisms.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗