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Nielsen TK, Petersen IB, Xu L, Barbuti MD, Mebus V, Justh A, Alqarzaee AA, Jacques N, Oury C, Thomas V, Kjos M, Henriksen C, Frees D. The Spx stress regulator confers high-level β-lactam resistance and decreases susceptibility to last-line antibiotics in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2024:e0033524. [PMID: 38690894 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00335-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. MRSA has acquired resistance to next-generation β-lactam antibiotics through the horizontal acquisition of the mecA resistance gene. Development of high resistance is, however, often associated with additional mutations in a set of chromosomal core genes, known as potentiators, which, through poorly described mechanisms, enhance resistance. The yjbH gene was recently identified as a hot spot for adaptive mutations during severe infections. Here, we show that inactivation of yjbH increased β-lactam MICs up to 16-fold and transformed MRSA cells with low levels of resistance to being homogenously highly resistant to β-lactams. The yjbH gene encodes an adaptor protein that targets the transcriptional stress regulator Spx for degradation by the ClpXP protease. Using CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to knock down spx transcription, we unambiguously linked hyper-resistance to the accumulation of Spx. Spx was previously proposed to be essential; however, our data suggest that Spx is dispensable for growth at 37°C but becomes essential in the presence of antibiotics with various targets. On the other hand, high Spx levels bypassed the role of PBP4 in β-lactam resistance and broadly decreased MRSA susceptibility to compounds targeting the cell wall or the cell membrane, including vancomycin, daptomycin, and nisin. Strikingly, Spx potentiated resistance independently of its redox-sensing switch. Collectively, our study identifies a general stress pathway that, in addition to promoting the development of high-level, broad-spectrum β-lactam resistance, also decreases MRSA susceptibility to critical antibiotics of last resort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Krogh Nielsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ida Birkjær Petersen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lijuan Xu
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Maria Disen Barbuti
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Viktor Mebus
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anni Justh
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Abdulelah Ahmed Alqarzaee
- Center for Staphylococcal Research, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Nicolas Jacques
- Laboratory of Cardiology, GIGA Institute, University of Liège Hospital, Liège, Belgium
| | - Cécile Oury
- Laboratory of Cardiology, GIGA Institute, University of Liège Hospital, Liège, Belgium
| | - Vinai Thomas
- Center for Staphylococcal Research, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Morten Kjos
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Camilla Henriksen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dorte Frees
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Crozier D, Gray JM, Maltas JA, Bonomo RA, Burke ZDC, Card KJ, Scott JG. The evolution of diverse antimicrobial responses in vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus and its therapeutic implications. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.30.569373. [PMID: 38077036 PMCID: PMC10705500 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.30.569373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus causes endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and bacteremia. Clinicians often prescribe vancomycin as an empiric therapy to account for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and narrow treatment based on culture susceptibility results. However, these results reflect a single time point before empiric treatment and represent a limited subset of the total bacterial population within the patient. Thus, while they may indicate that the infection is susceptible to a particular drug, this recommendation may no longer be accurate during therapy. Here, we addressed how antibiotic susceptibility changes over time by accounting for evolution. We evolved 18 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) populations under increasing vancomycin concentrations until they reached intermediate resistance levels. Sequencing revealed parallel mutations that affect cell membrane stress response and cell-wall biosynthesis. The populations exhibited repeated cross-resistance to daptomycin and varied responses to meropenem, gentamicin, and nafcillin. We accounted for this variability by deriving likelihood estimates that express a population's probability of exhibiting a drug response following vancomycin treatment. Our results suggest antistaphylococcal penicillins are preferable first-line treatments for MSSA infections but also highlight the inherent uncertainty that evolution poses to effective therapies. Infections may take varied evolutionary paths; therefore, considering evolution as a probabilistic process should inform our therapeutic choices.
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Mellergaard M, Skovbakke SL, Jepsen SD, Panagiotopoulou N, Hansen ABR, Tian W, Lund A, Høgh RI, Møller SH, Guérillot R, Hayes AS, Erikstrup LT, Andresen L, Peleg AY, Larsen AR, Stinear TP, Handberg A, Erikstrup C, Howden BP, Goletz S, Frees D, Skov S. Clinical Staphylococcus aureus inhibits human T-cell activity through interaction with the PD-1 receptor. mBio 2023; 14:e0134923. [PMID: 37796131 PMCID: PMC10653905 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01349-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Therapies that target and aid the host immune defense to repel cancer cells or invading pathogens are rapidly emerging. Antibiotic resistance is among the largest threats to human health globally. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the most common bacterial infection, and it poses a challenge to the healthcare system due to its significant ability to develop resistance toward current available therapies. In long-term infections, S. aureus further adapt to avoid clearance by the host immune defense. In this study, we discover a new interaction that allows S. aureus to avoid elimination by the immune system, which likely supports its persistence in the host. Moreover, we find that blocking the specific receptor (PD-1) using antibodies significantly relieves the S. aureus-imposed inhibition. Our findings suggest that therapeutically targeting PD-1 is a possible future strategy for treating certain antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maiken Mellergaard
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah Line Skovbakke
- Biotherapeutic Glycoengineering and Immunology, DTU Bioengineering, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Stine Dam Jepsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nafsika Panagiotopoulou
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Amalie Bøge Rud Hansen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Weihua Tian
- Biotherapeutic Glycoengineering and Immunology, DTU Bioengineering, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Astrid Lund
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rikke Illum Høgh
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sofie Hedlund Møller
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Romain Guérillot
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ashleigh S. Hayes
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Lars Andresen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anton Y. Peleg
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology, Infection Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Centre to Impact Antimicrobial Resistance, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anders Rhod Larsen
- Statens Serum Institute, Microbiology and Infection Control, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Timothy P. Stinear
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Aase Handberg
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, North Denmark Region, Aalborg, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Christian Erikstrup
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Benjamin P. Howden
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Steffen Goletz
- Biotherapeutic Glycoengineering and Immunology, DTU Bioengineering, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Dorte Frees
- Food Safety and Zoonosis, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Søren Skov
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of immunology, Section for Preclinical Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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