Comparative sequence analysis of recA gene among Vibrio cholerae isolates from Iran with globally reported sequences

Evaluation of the Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Effect of Chitosan Nanoparticles as Carrier for Supernatant of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Multidrug-Resistant Vibrio cholerae

AIM

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) incorporated with mesenchymal stem cells-derived conditioned media (MSCs CM) on MDR Vibrio cholerae strains.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Chitosan NPs were prepared and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and zeta potential measurement. MSCs CM were prepared and entrapped into MSCs CM-CS NPs composite and its release efficiency was measured. Antibacterial efficacy of nano structures was determined by disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Antibiofilm activity was assessed by crystal violet assay.

RESULTS

BM-MSCs were characterized to be negative for CD34 and CD45 markers, positive for CD73 and CD44 markers, and able to differentiate into osteoblast and adipocyte cells. The mean particle size of 96.6% of chitosan NPs was 414.9 nm with a suitable zeta potential and SEM morphology. Entrapment efficiency of MSCs CM-CS NPs was 76.9%. Unstimulated MSCs CM-CS NPs composite as a novel and proficient therapeutic nanostructure against MDR V. cholerae strains showed the synergistic activity of the two components of MSCs CM and CS NPs, leading to greater bacterial killing compared to control groups. MSCs CM more efficiently inhibited biofilm formation, although MSCs CM-CS NPs was also appeared to be effective in inhibiting biofilm formation compared to CS NPs and control group.

CONCLUSION

The designed nanodrug composite showed the best release in conditions mimicking the physiological conditions of the intestinal lumen. Given the fact that no overuse or genetic event would cause the emergence of antimicrobial resistance against the MSCs CM-CS NPs nanodrug, it could be considered as a promising alternative for the treatment of MDR V. cholerae infections in clinical settings.

Impact of Na+-Translocating NADH:Quinone Oxidoreductase on Iron Uptake and nqrM Expression in Vibrio cholerae

The Na⁺ ion-translocating NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (NQR) from Vibrio cholerae is a membrane-bound respiratory enzyme which harbors flavins and Fe-S clusters as redox centers. The NQR is the main producer of the sodium motive force (SMF) and drives energy-dissipating processes such as flagellar rotation, substrate uptake, ATP synthesis, and cation-proton antiport. The NQR requires for its maturation, in addition to the six structural genes nqrABCDEF, a flavin attachment gene, apbE, and the nqrM gene, presumably encoding a Fe delivery protein. We here describe growth studies and quantitative real-time PCR for the V. cholerae O395N1 wild-type (wt) strain and its mutant Δnqr and ΔubiC strains, impaired in respiration. In a comparative proteome analysis, FeoB, the membrane subunit of the uptake system for Fe²⁺ (Feo), was increased in V. cholerae Δnqr In this study, the upregulation was confirmed on the mRNA level and resulted in improved growth rates of V. cholerae Δnqr with Fe²⁺ as an iron source. We studied the expression of feoB on other respiratory enzyme deletion mutants such as the ΔubiC mutant to determine whether iron transport is specific to the absence of NQR resulting from impaired respiration. We show that the nqr operon comprises, in addition to the structural nqrABCDEF genes, the downstream apbE and nqrM genes on the same operon and demonstrate induction of the nqr operon by iron in V. cholerae wt. In contrast, expression of the nqrM gene in V. cholerae Δnqr is repressed by iron. The lack of functional NQR has a strong impact on iron homeostasis in V. cholerae and demonstrates that central respiratory metabolism is interwoven with iron uptake and regulation.IMPORTANCE Investigating strategies of iron acquisition, storage, and delivery in Vibrio cholerae is a prerequisite to understand how this pathogen thrives in hostile, iron-limited environments such as the human host. In addition to highlighting the maturation of the respiratory complex NQR, this study points out the influence of NQR on iron metabolism, thereby making it a potential drug target for antibiotics.

Cumulative protective efficacy of rZot and rAce combination in challenge experiments with wild type Vibrio cholerae in mouse model

The aim of this study was to assess the cumulative immunogenicity properties of rZot and rAce combination and their potential ability to increase the clearance rate of pathogenic standard Vibrio cholerae strain in challenge experiments in mice model. The recombinant Zot and Ace proteins were produced and used to raise polyclonal antibodies of anti-Zot and anti-Ace recombinant proteins in rabbit. Six-week female BALB/c mice were immunized with different antigens via oral route. Blood samples were collected, and the total amount of IgG and IgA antibodies against rZot and rAce were measured in blood and stool samples of each immunized mouse. Challenge experiments were done with toxigenic V. cholerae strain. The anti-Zot and anti-Ace IgG titers were significantly higher in immunized mice in comparison with control group. The IgG and IgA titers were higher in the sera of mice immunized by recombinant Ace than in group immunized by rZot, indicating the higher immunogenicity of rAce than rZot. The use of rAce and rZot mixture led to synergistic activities in increasing the level of IgG and IgA in comparison with the use of each protein separately. The clearance rate was significantly higher in different challenge groups than in the control group, and the coherence between rZot and rAce reduced the bacterial shedding significantly. In conclusion, the use of recombinant Zot and Ace mixture can produce the proper amount of IgA and IgG against to toxigenic V. cholerae, reduce bacterial shedding in immunized mice significantly, and be used as a potent candidate in cholera vaccine research.

Over a Decade of recA and tly Gene Sequence Typing of the Skin Bacterium Propionibacterium acnes: What Have We Learnt?

The Gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium Propionibacterium acnes forms part of the normal microbiota on human skin and mucosal surfaces. While normally associated with skin health, P. acnes is also an opportunistic pathogen linked with a range of human infections and clinical conditions. Over the last decade, our knowledge of the intraspecies phylogenetics and taxonomy of this bacterium has increased tremendously due to the introduction of DNA typing schemes based on single and multiple gene loci, as well as whole genomes. Furthermore, this work has led to the identification of specific lineages associated with skin health and human disease. In this review we will look back at the introduction of DNA sequence typing of P. acnes based on recA and tly loci, and then describe how these methods provided a basic understanding of the population genetic structure of the bacterium, and even helped characterize the grapevine-associated lineage of P. acnes, known as P. acnes type Zappe, which appears to have undergone a host switch from humans-to-plants. Particular limitations of recA and tly sequence typing will also be presented, as well as a detailed discussion of more recent, higher resolution, DNA-based methods to type P. acnes and investigate its evolutionary history in greater detail.

The role of CTX and RS1 satellite phages genomic arrangement in Vibrio cholera toxin production in two recent cholera outbreaks (2012 and 2013) in IR Iran

The objective of the present study was to investigate the genomic arrangement of CTX/RS1 prophages in 30 Vibrio cholerae strains obtained from 2 consecutive years of cholera outbreak and to compare the role of different CTX/RS1 arrangements in cholera toxin expression among the El Tor strains. Profile A with TLC-RS1-CTX-RTX arrangement was observed in 46.7% of the isolates with RS1 phage locating adjacent to TLC element. About 50% of the isolates showed Profile B with TLC-CTX-RS1-RTX arrangement and one single isolate (3.3%) revealed TLC-CTX-RS1-RS1-RTX arrangement (Profile C). No RS1 element was detected to be adjacent to TLC element in B and C profiles. No truncated CTX phage genome was detected among the isolates of 2 years. Different CTX-RS1 arrangement profiles (A, B, and C) with different RS1 copy numbers and locations uniformly showed low level of cholera toxin production in El Tor strains with no significant difference, revealing that different RS1 copy numbers and locations have no effect on cholera toxin production level (p-value >0.05). However, increased cholera toxin expression was observed for control V. cholerae classical biotype strain. In conclusion, variations in RS1 prophage did not affect CT expression level in related El Tor V. cholerae strains. CTX genotyping establishes a more valuable database for epidemiologic, pathogenesis, and source tracking purposes.

Distribution of resistance genetic determinants among Vibrio cholerae isolates of 2012 and 2013 outbreaks in IR Iran

The objective of this study was to characterize antimicrobial resistance determinants in relation to antimicrobial susceptibility and genotyping profile in 20 clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae. All of the isolates were resistant to streptomycin. The second most prevalent resistance was observed to trimethoprim (75%), co-trimoxazole (60%), tetracycline (50%), and minocycline (45%). About 50% of the isolates fulfilled the criteria of Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) phenotype. None of the isolates carried tet A, B, C, and, D determinants. This finding shows that tetracycline resistance determinants recognized so far, does not satisfactorily describe the 50% tetracycline resistance phenotype in this study, suggesting the possible contribution of other not yet characterized resistance mechanisms involved. Class 1 integron, widely distributed among enteric bacteria, was not detected among V. cholerae strains under study. Conversely, 100% of the isolates harbored SXT constin_(int), among which 70% were positive for dfrA1, strA, and strB genes. The sul1gene was present in 60% of the isolates while none of them contained floR gene. All the isolates uniformly appeared to be identical in fingerprinting profiles expected from outbreak strains. In conclusion, SXT element with its mosaic structure was the exclusive antimicrobial resistance determinant of clonal V. cholerae isolates taken from outbreaks of 2012 and 2013 in Iran.

Multi-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis of Vibrio cholerae isolates from 2012 to 2013 cholera outbreaks in Iran

Cholera remains to be an international threat, with high rates of illness and death. In 2012 and 2013, two cholera outbreak happened in Iran, affecting lots of people. Vibrio cholerae O1 was confirmed as the etiological agent. Source identification and controlling the spread of the cholera disease are two critical approaches in cholera outbreaks. In this study, thirty V. cholerae O1 isolates were selected and has been evaluated for antimicrobial resistant as well as molecular typing by multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) method. Twenty-nine (97%) isolates were sero-grouped as El Tor (one isolate was classical) and 100% were related to Inaba serotype. All of the isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, ampicillin and gentamicin. On the other hand, 60% of the isolates were MDR (resistant to 3 or more classes). There were three resistance patterns. The most prevalent pattern was resistance to streptomycin, erythromycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline (ST-SXT-E-T) which was seen in 50% of isolates. Using MLVA method 14 MLVA types were identified. MLVA type 2 (5-7-7-16-15) accounted for 43% of isolates. Isolates with the same genotype often did not have the same antibiogram. Overall, the data indicate that the Iranian V. cholerae were MDR and clonaly related. Furthermore, the results of this study shows that MLVA can be used as useful method for V. cholerae genotyping in epidemiological investigations.

Molecular characterization of Vibrio cholerae isolates from Iran 2012 and 2013 outbreaks

The aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of Vibrio cholerae isolated from 2012 and 2013 outbreaks in Iran, with regard to their virulence properties. A total of 20 V. cholerae strains were collected from Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran during 2012 and 2013 outbreaks. Hybridization assays showed the presence of ctx, zot, ace and rstC genes related to CTX and RS1 phages in all of the isolates. PCR assay indicated the concomitant presence of ORFs within RTX (1448, 1451) and TLC (1465, 1469) elements within the genome of the isolates. ERIC-PCR analysis showed four homogeneous profiles among which strains from 2013 outbreak and 72·7% of 2012 outbreak uniformly showed a common ERIC-PCR fingerprint. Ribotyping assay showed a single dominant profile (ribotype A) among 77·7 and 72·7% of isolates recovered from 2013 and 2012 outbreaks respectively. In conclusion, this study reports high degree of homogeneity among isolates from 2012 and 2013 outbreaks in Iran and emphasizes on the primary application of ERIC-PCR to generate fingerprints and differentiate between V. cholerae isolates of clinical origin in a timely manner for epidemiological investigations and source tracking purposes, although ribotyping method was proved to be more discriminatory.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The clonality of Vibrio cholerae isolates recovered from patients with Afghan nationality during 2012 and 2013 outbreaks in Iran emphasizes on the need for monitoring Iran boundaries. This highlights the demand for a simple, reproducible and time-saving typing method for rapid and reliable assessment of clonal correlation of isolates in outbreaks. In this regard, ERIC-PCR produced results comparable with those obtained by PFGE and ribotyping which is of great significance in public health and source tracking purposes.

Assessing clonal correlation of epidemic Vibrio cholerae isolates during 2011 in 16 provinces of Iran

A total of 1,187 Vibrio cholerae isolates were received during 2011 cholera outbreaks from 16 provinces in different geographical location to Iranian reference Health laboratory. A random selection was performed, and 61 isolates were subjected to further investigations. Cholera cases were come up from May with nine cases and reached to its maximum rate at August (57 cases) and continued to October after which a fall occurred in September. All of the isolates were susceptible to three antimicrobial agents including ciprofloxacin, cefixime, and ampicillin. The highest rate of resistance was seen to nalidixic acid (96.7 %) and co-trimoxazole (91.8 %). Clonality of isolates was investigated through genotyping by PFGE method. A total of seven pulsotypes were obtained from 61 isolates under study. The pulsotypes were highly related with only 1-3 bands differences. Three pulsotypes (PT5, PT6, and PT7) constituted 93.4 % of total isolates. One environmentally isolated strain showed distinct pattern from clinical specimens. This strain although had no any evidence in identified cholera infections, highlighted selecting more environmental specimens in any future outbreaks as long as human samples. In conclusion, emergence and dominance of Ogawa serotypes after about 7 years in Iran are alarming due to fear of import of new V. cholerae clones from out of the country. Approximately, one third of patients in 2011 cholera outbreak in Iran were of Afghan or Pakistani nationality which makes the hypothesis of import of Ogawa serotype strains from neighboring countries more documented and signifies the need to monitor and protect the boundaries.

The hows and whys of constructing a native recombinant cholera vaccine

Emergence of different ctxB genotypes within virulent Vibrio cholerae populations accentuates the need to develop a vaccine that has the potential to protect against all cholera toxin genotypes. Oral administration of rCTB-alone and in combination with 2 dominant domestic killed whole cells of V. cholerae (O1 Ogawa El Tor and O1 Inaba El Tor) plus one standard V. cholerae (O1 Ogawa classic ATCC 14035)-has shown satisfactory protection as a potent vaccine candidate against toxigenic V. cholerae.

Genetic relatedness of clinical and environmental Vibrio cholerae isolates based on triple housekeeping gene analysis

Sequence analysis of dnaE, hlyA, and asd housekeeping genes were used to determine the genetic relatedness of our collection of Vibrio cholerae isolated from patients and surface waters over a 5-year period in Iran. The results showed 41, 17, and 9 variable sites throughout the sequenced fragments of dnaE (837 bp), hlyA (495 bp), and asd (295 bp), respectively. The results from sequence typing showed that all our clinical isolates were grouped in the same cluster. Eleven genotypes were identified among the environmental isolates. One environmental isolate was found to be in close genetic relatedness with our clinical isolates. One V. cholerae isolate showed a single-locus variant in the dnaE. For each of the studied genetic loci 10, 7, and 7 sequence types were observed for dnaE, hlyA, and asd, respectively. Only asd sequence analysis could make the distinction between the classical and El Tor isolates which emphasizes on selection of housekeeping locus with better discrimination power for analysis of different groups of isolates. Overall, the results indicated that surface waters in Tehran are a pool of non-toxigenic V. cholerae strains which are rarely related to clinical toxigenic isolates. In addition, our results verified that housekeeping gene sequence analysis could be a suitable approach for determination of the relatedness between clinical and environmental V. cholerae isolates.