Attachment of Yersinia pestis to human respiratory cell lines is inhibited by certain oligosaccharides

Growth of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum in medium containing N-acetylsucrosamine: Enzyme that induces the growth of this bacterium via degradation of this disaccharide

Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum grows well in the early stages of cultivation in medium containing sucrose (Suc), whereas its growth in medium containing the analogue disaccharide N-acetylsucrosamine (SucNAc) tends to exhibit a considerable delay. To elucidate the cause of this phenomenon, we investigated the proliferation pattern of B. pseudocatenulatum in medium containing D-glucose (Glc) and SucNAc and identified the enzyme that degrades this disaccharide. We found that B. pseudocatenulatum initially proliferates by assimilating Glc, with subsequent growth based on SucNAc assimilation depending on production of the β-fructofuranosidase, which can hydrolyze SucNAc, after Glc is completely consumed. Thus, B. pseudocatenulatum exhibited a diauxic growth pattern in medium containing Glc and SucNAc. In contrast, when cultured in medium containing Glc and Suc, B. pseudocatenulatum initially grew by degrading Suc via the phosphorolysis activity of Suc phosphorylase, which did not react to SucNAc. These observations indicate that B. pseudocatenulatum proliferates by assimilating Suc and SucNAc via different pathways. The β-fructofuranosidase of B. pseudocatenulatum exhibited higher hydrolytic activity against several naturally occurring Suc-based tri- or tetrasaccharides than against Suc, suggesting that this enzyme actively catabolizes oligosaccharides other than Suc.

Enzymatic Synthesis and Structural Confirmation of Novel Oligosaccharide, D-Fructofuranose-linked Chitin Oligosaccharide

Utilizing transglycosylation reaction catalyzed by β- N -acetylhexosaminidase of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia , β-D-fructofuranosyl-(2↔1)-α- N , N ´diacetylchitobioside (GlcNAc ₂ -Fru) was synthesized from N -acetylsucrosamine and N , N ´-diacetylchitobiose (GlcNAc ₂ ), and β-D-fructofuranosyl-(2↔1)-α- N , N ´, N ´´-triacetylchitotrioside (GlcNAc ₃ -Fru) was synthesized from GlcNAc ₂ -Fru and GlcNAc ₂ . Through purification by charcoal column chromatography, pure GlcNAc ₂ -Fru and GlcNAc ₃ -Fru were obtained in molar yields of 33.0 % and 11.7 % from GlcNAc ₂ , respectively. The structures of these oligosaccharides were confirmed by comparing instrumental analysis data of fragments obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis and acid hydrolysis of them with known data of these fragments.

Antibiotic Therapy of Plague: A Review

Plague-a deadly disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis-is still an international public health concern. There are three main clinical forms: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pulmonary plague. In all three forms, the symptoms appear suddenly and progress very rapidly. Early antibiotic therapy is essential for countering the disease. Several classes of antibiotics (e.g., tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, chloramphenicol, rifamycin, and β-lactams) are active in vitro against the majority of Y. pestis strains and have demonstrated efficacy in various animal models. However, some discrepancies have been reported. Hence, health authorities have approved and recommended several drugs for prophylactic or curative use. Only monotherapy is currently recommended; combination therapy has not shown any benefits in preclinical studies or case reports. Concerns about the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Y. pestis have led to the development of new classes of antibiotics and other therapeutics (e.g., LpxC inhibitors, cationic peptides, antivirulence drugs, predatory bacteria, phages, immunotherapy, host-directed therapy, and nutritional immunity). It is difficult to know which of the currently available treatments or therapeutics in development will be most effective for a given form of plague. This is due to the lack of standardization in preclinical studies, conflicting data from case reports, and the small number of clinical trials performed to date.

Utilization of sucrose and analog disaccharides by human intestinal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli: Search of the bifidobacteria enzymes involved in the degradation of these disaccharides

The majority of oligosaccharides used as prebiotics typically consist of a combination of 3 kinds of neutral monosaccharides, d-glucose, d-galactose, and d-fructose. In this context, we aimed to generate new types of prebiotic oligosaccharides containing other monosaccharides, and to date have synthesized various oligosaccharides containing an amino sugar, uronic acid, and their derivatives. In this study, we investigated the effects of 4 kinds of sucrose (Suc) analog disaccharides containing d-glucosamine, N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, d-glucuronic acid, or d-glucuronamide as constituent monosaccharides, on the growth of 8 species of bifidobacteria and 3 species of lactobacilli isolated from the human intestine. The results of these experiments were compared with those obtained from identical experiments using Suc. We confirmed that all bacterial strains could utilize Suc as a nutrient source for growth; in contrast, only specific species of bifidobacteria showed growth with Suc analog disaccharides. When oligosaccharides are utilized as a nutrient source by bacteria, they are often broken down into monosaccharides or their derivatives by cellular enzymes before entering the intracellular glycolytic pathway. Therefore, to clarify the above phenomenon involved in the growth of bifidobacteria using Suc analog disaccharides, we investigated the cellular glycosidases of 3 strains of bifidobacteria shown to be capable or incapable of growth in the presence of these disaccharides. As the result, it was confirmed that the strains capable of growth using Suc analog disaccharides show greater productivity of glycosidases that degrade these disaccharides than strains not capable of growth; however, we have not identified the enzymes here.

Yersinia pestis Interacts With SIGNR1 (CD209b) for Promoting Host Dissemination and Infection

Yersinia pestis, a Gram-negative bacterium and the etiologic agent of plague, has evolved from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a cause of a mild enteric disease. However, the molecular and biological mechanisms of how Y. pseudotuberculosis evolved to such a remarkably virulent pathogen, Y. pestis, are not clear. The ability to initiate a rapid bacterial dissemination is a characteristic hallmark of Y. pestis infection. A distinguishing characteristic between the two Yersinia species is that Y. pseudotuberculosis strains possess an O-antigen of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) while Y. pestis has lost the O-antigen during evolution and therefore exposes its core LPS. In this study, we showed that Y. pestis utilizes its core LPS to interact with SIGNR1 (CD209b), a C-type lectin receptor on antigen presenting cells (APCs), leading to bacterial dissemination to lymph nodes, spleen and liver, and the initiation of a systemic infection. We therefore propose that the loss of O-antigen represents a critical step in the evolution of Y. pseudotuberculosis into Y. pestis in terms of hijacking APCs, promoting bacterial dissemination and causing the plague.

Innovative Solutions to Sticky Situations: Antiadhesive Strategies for Treating Bacterial Infections

Bacterial adherence to host tissue is an essential process in pathogenesis, necessary for invasion and colonization and often required for the efficient delivery of toxins and other bacterial effectors. As existing treatment options for common bacterial infections dwindle, we find ourselves rapidly approaching a tipping point in our confrontation with antibiotic-resistant strains and in desperate need of new treatment options. Bacterial strains defective in adherence are typically avirulent and unable to cause infection in animal models. The importance of this initial binding event in the pathogenic cascade highlights its potential as a novel therapeutic target. This article seeks to highlight a variety of strategies being employed to treat and prevent infection by targeting the mechanisms of bacterial adhesion. Advancements in this area include the development of novel antivirulence therapies using small molecules, vaccines, and peptides to target a variety of bacterial infections. These therapies target bacterial adhesion through a number of mechanisms, including inhibition of pathogen receptor biogenesis, competition-based strategies with receptor and adhesin analogs, and the inhibition of binding through neutralizing antibodies. While this article is not an exhaustive description of every advancement in the field, we hope it will highlight several promising examples of the therapeutic potential of antiadhesive strategies.

Efficient and Regioselective Synthesis of β-GalNAc/GlcNAc-Lactose by a Bifunctional Transglycosylating β-N-Acetylhexosaminidase from Bifidobacterium bifidum

β-N-Acetylhexosaminidases have attracted interest particularly for oligosaccharide synthesis, but their use remains limited by the rarity of enzyme sources , low efficiency, and relaxed regioselectivity of transglycosylation. In this work, genes of 13 β-N-acetylhexosaminidases, including 5 from Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 25285, 5 from Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124, and 3 from Bifidobacterium bifidum JCM 1254, were cloned and heterogeneously expressed in Escherichia coli The resulting recombinant enzymes were purified and screened for transglycosylation activity. A β-N-acetylhexosaminidase named BbhI, which belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 20 and was obtained from B. bifidum JCM 1254, possesses the bifunctional property of efficiently transferring both GalNAc and GlcNAc residues through β1-3 linkage to the Gal residue of lactose. The effects of initial substrate concentration, pH, temperature, and reaction time on transglycosylation activities of BbhI were studied in detail. With the use of 10 mM pNP-β-GalNAc or 20 mM pNP-β-GlcNAc as the donor and 400 mM lactose as the acceptor in phosphate buffer (pH 5.8), BbhI synthesized GalNAcβ1-3Galβ1-4Glc and GlcNAcβ1-3Galβ1-4Glc at maximal yields of 55.4% at 45°C and 4 h and 44.9% at 55°C and 1.5 h, respectively. The model docking of BbhI with lactose showed the possible molecular basis of strict regioselectivity of β1-3 linkage in β-N-acetylhexosaminyl lactose synthesis.

IMPORTANCE

Oligosaccharides play a crucial role in many biological events and therefore are promising potential therapeutic agents. However, their use is limited because large-scale production of oligosaccharides is difficult. The chemical synthesis requires multiple protecting group manipulations to control the regio- and stereoselectivity of glycosidic bonds. In comparison, enzymatic synthesis can produce oligosaccharides in one step by using glycosyltransferases and glycosidases. Given the lower price of their glycosyl donor and their broader acceptor specificity, glycosidases are more advantageous than glycosyltransferases for large-scale synthesis. β-N-Acetylhexosaminidases have attracted interest particularly for β-N-acetylhexosaminyl oligosaccharide synthesis, but their application is affected by having few enzyme sources, low efficiency, and relaxed regioselectivity of transglycosylation. In this work, we describe a microbial β-N-acetylhexosaminidase that exhibited strong transglycosylation activity and strict regioselectivity for β-N-acetylhexosaminyl lactose synthesis and thus provides a powerful synthetic tool to obtain biologically important GalNAcβ1-3Lac and GlcNAcβ1-3Lac.

Enzymatic synthesis of novel oligosaccharides from N-acetylsucrosamine and melibiose using Aspergillus niger α-galactosidase, and properties of the products

Two kinds of oligosaccharides, N-acetylraffinosamine (RafNAc) and N-acetylplanteosamine (PlaNAc), were synthesized from N-acetylsucrosamine and melibiose using the transgalactosylation activity of Aspergillus niger α-galactosidase. RafNAc and PlaNAc are novel trisaccharides in which d-glucopyranose residues in raffinose (Raf) and planteose are replaced with N-acetyl-d-glucosamine. These trisaccharides were more stable in acidic solution than Raf. RafNAc was hydrolyzed more rapidly than Raf by α-galactosidase of green coffee bean. In contrast, RafNAc was not hydrolyzed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase, although Raf was hydrolyzed well by this enzyme. These results indicate that the physicochemical properties and steric structure of RafNAc differ considerably from those of Raf.

Host Langerin (CD207) is a receptor for Yersinia pestis phagocytosis and promotes dissemination

Yersinia pestis is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes plague. After Y. pestis overcomes the skin barrier, it encounters antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as Langerhans and dendritic cells. They transport the bacteria from the skin to the lymph nodes. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in bacterial transmission are unclear. Langerhans cells (LCs) express Langerin (CD207), a calcium-dependent (C-type) lectin. Furthermore, Y. pestis possesses exposed core oligosaccharides. In this study, we show that Y. pestis invades LCs and Langerin-expressing transfectants. However, when the bacterial core oligosaccharides are shielded or truncated, Y. pestis propensity to invade Langerhans and Langerin-expressing cells decreases. Moreover, the interaction of Y. pestis with Langerin-expressing transfectants is inhibited by purified Langerin, a DC-SIGN (DC-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3 grabbing nonintegrin)-like molecule, an anti-CD207 antibody, purified core oligosaccharides and several oligosaccharides. Furthermore, covering core oligosaccharides reduces the mortality associated with murine infection by adversely affecting the transmission of Y. pestis to lymph nodes. These results demonstrate that direct interaction of core oligosaccharides with Langerin facilitates the invasion of LCs by Y. pestis. Therefore, Langerin-mediated binding of Y. pestis to APCs may promote its dissemination and infection.

Label-free detection of Staphylococcus aureus captured on immutable ligand arrays

The rapid capture and label-free detection of Staphylococcus aureus , an opportunistic bacterium that can infect upon contact, can be performed using periodic microarrays of ligand-protein conjugates created by noncontact (inkjet) printing, darkfield imaging conditions, and a FFT-based readout method. Ink solutes were prepared using bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugated to a glycan with high affinity for bacterial adhesins and printed as dot-matrix arrays with periodicities of 80-120 μm using a thermal injection method. Upon exposing the glycan-BSA microarrays to live strains of S. aureus , patterns emerge that can be detected under optical darkfield conditions. These patterns can be decoded by fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis to generate fault-tolerant readout signals that correspond to the capture of S. aureus, with a limit of detection between 10(2) and 10(3) cfu/mL. Inkjet printing provides independent control over array periodicity, enabling FFT signals to be assigned to specific frequencies in reciprocal k-space.

Anti-adhesion methods as novel therapeutics for bacterial infections

Anti-adhesion therapies for bacterial infections offer an alternative to antibiotics, with those therapies bacteria are not killed but are prevented from causing harm to a host by inhibiting adherence to host cells and tissues, a prerequisite for the majority of infectious diseases. The mechanisms of these potential therapeutic agents include inhibition of adhesins and their host receptors, vaccination with adhesins or analogs, use of probiotics and dietary supplements that interfere with receptor-adhesin interactions, subminimal inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics and manipulation of hydrophobic interactions. Once developed, these drugs will contribute to the arsenal for fighting infectious disease in the future, potentially subverting antibiotic resistance.

Structural insights into Ail-mediated adhesion in Yersinia pestis

Ail is an outer membrane protein from Yersinia pestis that is highly expressed in a rodent model of bubonic plague, making it a good candidate for vaccine development. Ail is important for attaching to host cells and evading host immune responses, facilitating rapid progression of a plague infection. Binding to host cells is important for injection of cytotoxic Yersinia outer proteins. To learn more about how Ail mediates adhesion, we solved two high-resolution crystal structures of Ail, with no ligand bound and in complex with a heparin analog called sucrose octasulfate. We identified multiple adhesion targets, including laminin and heparin, and showed that a 40 kDa domain of laminin called LG4-5 specifically binds to Ail. We also evaluated the contribution of laminin to delivery of Yops to HEp-2 cells. This work constitutes a structural description of how a bacterial outer membrane protein uses a multivalent approach to bind host cells.

Receptor mimicry as novel therapeutic treatment for biothreat agents

The specter of intentional release of pathogenic microbes and their toxins is a real threat. This article reviews the literature on adhesins of biothreat agents, their interactions with oligosaccharides and the potential for anti-adhesion compounds as an alternative to conventional therapeutics. The minimal binding structure of ricin has been well characterised and offers the best candidate for successful anti-adhesion therapy based on the Galβ1-4GlcNAc structure. The botulinum toxin serotypes A-F bind to a low number of gangliosides (GT1b, GQ1b, GD1a and GD1b) hence it should be possible to determine the minimal structure for binding. The minimal disaccharide sequence of GalNAcβ1-4Gal found in the gangliosides asialo-GM1 and asialo-GM2 is required for adhesion for many respiratory pathogens. Although a number of adhesins have been identified in bacterial biothreat agents such as Yersinia pestis, Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Brucella species and Burkholderia pseudomallei, specific information regarding their in vivo expression during pneumonic infection is lacking. Limited oligosaccharide inhibition studies indicate the potential of GalNAcβ1-4Gal, GalNAcβ-3Gal and the hydrophobic compound, para-nitrophenol as starting points for the rational design of generic anti-adhesion compounds. A cocktail of multivalent oligosaccharides based on the minimal binding structures of identified adhesins would offer the best candidates for anti-adhesion therapy.

Characterization of the retrocyclin analogue RC-101 as a preventative of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization

Nasal colonization of Staphylococcus aureus is a risk factor for pathogenic autoinfection, particularly in postoperative patients and the immunocompromised. As such, standardized preoperative nasal decolonization of S. aureus has become a major consideration for the prevention of nosocomial infection. However, only a few treatment options for nasal decolonization are currently available, with resistance to these approaches already a concern. Here we have identified the macrocyclic -defensin analogue RC-101 as a promising anti-S. aureus agent for nasal decolonization. RC-101 exhibits bactericidal effects against S. aureus with the use of in vitro epithelium-free systems, while also preventing the pathogen's proliferation and attachment in an ex vivo human nasal epithelial cell adhesion model and an organotypic model of human airway epithelia. Peptide concentrations as low as 2.5 μM elicited significant reductions in S. aureus growth in epithelium-free systems, with 10 μM concentrations being completely bactericidal for all strains tested, including USA300. In ex vivo nasal colonization models, RC-101 significantly reduced adherence, survival, and proliferation of S. aureus on human nasal epithelia. Reductions in S. aureus viability were evident in these assays, with as little as 1 μg of peptide per tissue, while 10 μg of RC-101 completely prevented adhesion of all strains tested. Furthermore, RC-101 did not exhibit cellular toxicity to human nasal epithelia at concentrations up to 200 μM, nor did it induce a proinflammatory response in these cells. Collectively, the findings of this study identify RC-101 as a potential preventative of S. aureus nasal colonization.

Treatment of plague: promising alternatives to antibiotics

Plague still poses a significant threat to human health, and interest has been renewed recently in the possible use of Yersinia pestis as a biological weapon by terrorists. The septicaemic and pneumonic forms are always lethal if untreated. Attempts to treat this deadly disease date back to the era of global pandemics, when various methods were explored. The successful isolation of the plague pathogen led to the beginning of more scientific approaches to the treatment and cure of plague. This subsequently led to specific antibiotic prophylaxis and therapy for Y. pestis. The use of antibiotics such as tetracycline and streptomycin for the treatment of plague has been embraced by the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Plague as the 'gold standard' treatment. However, concerns regarding the development of antibiotic-resistant Y. pestis strains have led to the exploration of alternatives to antibiotics. Several investigators have looked into the use of alternatives, such as immunotherapy, non-pathogen-specific immunomodulatory therapy, phage therapy, bacteriocin therapy, and treatment with inhibitors of virulence factors. The alternative therapies reported in this review should be further investigated by comprehensive studies of their clinical application for the treatment of plague.

Respiratory immunotoxicity: An in vitro assessment

As yet, in vitro assessment of the immunotoxic potency of respiratory agents is not possible. The complexity of the endpoint and the respiratory tract, and the limited availability of well-documented respiratory agents are the main reasons. The evidence that epithelial cells (ECs) are triggered by compounds to express in vitro surface proteins and soluble mediators, has stimulated their use for developing tests for respiratory immunotoxicity. A variety of airway ECs and EC-lines have been assessed, but the available information seems to point at human alveolar cells (e.g., A549) as the most convenient cell type. EC-based test formats with various degrees of complexity have been assessed. Sofar, promising results were obtained using a 3D model using the human A549 lung cell line. Dendritic cells (DCs) have been subjected to intensive research. However, currently available tests are not well suited to discern among the potency of sensitizers. Potential explanations include the lack of standardised protocols for the generation of DCs, no good standards for estimating the quality of in vitro derived DC-cultures, and limited dynamics of the currently used end-points. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) have so far received less attention. This may proof unjustified as macrophages may link innate responses to adaptive immunity. The observation that ECs, DCs and AMs affect each other, suggests that test formats are required combining at least two of these cell types if ranking of compounds according to their sensitising potency is the aim. In addition, the capacity of compounds to cross a cellular membrane is an important property of an immunotoxic compound, which can be assessed only in 3D reconstituted human tissue models. While promising data have been reported for the skin, immunocompetent 3D reconstituted human lung remains to be evaluated for respiratory immunotoxicity. Obviously, the success of any of these simplified test (as compared to the complexity of the immune response) is highly dependent on the availability of early stage biomarkers (expressed at mucosal barrier level) that are predictive for relevant immunotoxicity mechanisms occurring down-stream of the immune response. As yet, such biomarkers are not yet available.