Mapping bacterial surface population physiology in real-time: infrared spectroscopy of Proteus mirabilis swarm colonies

Adjustment in the Composition and Organization of Proteus mirabilis Lipids during the Swarming Process

Proteus mirabilis, an opportunistic pathogen of the urinary tract, is known for its dimorphism and mobility. A connection of lipid alterations, induced by the rods elongation process, with enhanced pathogenicity of long-form morphotype for the development of urinary tract infections, seems highly probable. Therefore, research on the adjustment in the composition and organization of P. mirabilis lipids forming elongated rods was undertaken. The analyses performed using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry showed that drastic modifications in the morphology of P. mirabilis rods that occur during the swarming process are directly related to deprivation of the long-form cells of PE 33:1 and PG 31:2 and their enrichment with PE 32:1, PE 34:1, PE 34:2, PG 30:2, PG 32:1, and PG 34:1. The analyses conducted by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed negligible effects of the swarming process on fatty acids synthesis. However, the constant proportions between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids confirmed that phenotypic modifications in the P. mirabilis rods induced by motility were independent of the saturation of the phospholipid tails. The method of the Förster resonance energy transfer revealed the influence of the swarming process on the melting of ordered lipid rafts present in the short-form rods, corresponding to the homogeneity of lipid bilayers in the long-form rods of P. mirabilis. Confocal microscope photographs visualized strong Rhod-PE fluorescence of the whole area of swarmer cells, in contrast to weak membrane fluorescence of non-swarmer cells. It suggested an increased permeability of the P. mirabilis bilayers in long-form rods morphologically adapted to the swarming process. These studies clearly demonstrate that swarming motility regulates the lipid composition and organization in P. mirabilis rods.

From near-UV to long-wave infrared waveguides inscribed in barium fluoride using a femtosecond laser

Depressed-cladding waveguides (DCWs) of various sizes were inscribed in barium fluoride, allowing single-mode operation in the entirety of its transmission window (λ=0.2-12µm). Using femtosecond laser pulses at 515 nm, type I laser modified tracks were overlapped to form circular waveguides, whose cross-sectional geometry and numerical aperture were tailored to accommodate 0.405, 2.85, and 10.6 µm light. The mode profile, propagation loss, refractive index profile, and numerical aperture of the optimized waveguides were analyzed and compared with theory. We particularly demonstrate the challenging inscription of a large DCW for single-mode operation at 10.6 µm with propagation loss of <0.63dB/cm.

The mid-infrared spectroscopy: A novel non-invasive diagnostic tool for NASH diagnosis in severe obesity

There is an urgent medical need to develop non-invasive tests for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study evaluates the diagnostic performance of an innovative model based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy for the diagnosis of NASH.

Methods

Severely obese patients who underwent a bariatric procedure at the University Hospital of Nice, France (n = 395) were prospectively recruited. The clinico-biological characteristics were measured prior to surgery. Liver biopsies were collected during the surgical procedure and assessed by a pathologist. A training group (316 patients, NASH: 16.8%) and a validation group (79 patients, NASH: 16.5%) were randomly defined. MIR spectra were acquired by fiber evanescent wave spectroscopy, using chalcogenide glass fiber optic sensors and a spectrometer. This absorption spectroscopic technique delivers a spectrum that identifies the molecular composition of a sample, defining a patient's metabolic fingerprint.

Results

The areas under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) for the diagnosis of NASH were 0.82 and 0.77 in the training and validation groups, respectively. The best threshold was 0.15, which was associated with a sensitivity of 0.75 and 0.69, and a specificity of 0.72 and 0.76. Negative predictive values of 0.94 and 0.93 and positive predictive values of 0.35 and 0.36, as well as correctly classified patient rates of 72% and 75% were obtained in the training and validation groups, respectively. A composite model using aspartate aminotransferase level, triglyceride level and waist circumference alongside the MIR spectra led to an increase in AUROC (0.88 and 0.84 for the training and validations groups, respectively).

Conclusions

MIR spectroscopy provides good sensitivity and negative predictive values for NASH screening in patients with severe obesity.

Lay summary

There is an urgent need for tools to non-invasively diagnose and monitor non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study evaluates the performance of a new tool for fast NASH diagnosis based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. Using serum samples from severely obese patients who underwent a bariatric procedure, which enabled a concomitant liver biopsy to be performed, the MIR spectroscopy model performed well in screening patients for NASH compared to a traditional, histological diagnosis.

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There is no validated non-invasive diagnostic tool for NASH in routine care.

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NASH follow-up requires a non-invasive diagnostic method.

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Using a simple drop of serum, the mid-infrared spectrum captures a patient’s metabolic fingerprint.

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A model based on mid-infrared spectroscopy provides efficient NASH screening for patients with severe obesity.

Mid-infrared spectroscopy of serum, a promising non-invasive method to assess prognosis in patients with ascites and cirrhosis

Background & aims

Prognostic tests are critical in the management of patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Biological tests or scores perform poorly in that situation. Mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy (MIR-FEWS) which allows for global serum metabolic profiling may provide more relevant information by measuring a wider range of metabolic parameters in serum. Here we present the accuracy of a MIR-FEWS based predictive model for the prognosis of 6 months survival in patients with ascites and cirrhosis.

Methods

Patients with ascites were prospectively included and followed up for 6 months. MIR-FEWS spectra were measured in serum samples. The most informative spectral variables obtained by MIR-FEWS were selected by FADA algorithm and then used to build the MIR model. Accuracy of this model was assessed by ROC curves and 90%/10% Monte Carlo cross-validation. MIR model accuracy for 6 months survival was compared to that of the Child-Pugh and MELD scores.

Results

119 patients were included. The mean age was 57.36±13.70, the MELD score was 16.32±6.26, and the Child-Pugh score was 9.5±1.83. During follow-up, 23 patients died (20%). The MIR model had an AUROC for 6 months mortality of 0.90 (CI95: 0.88–0.91), the MELD 0.77 (CI95: 0.66–0.89) and Child-Pugh 0.76 (CI95: 0.66–0.88). MELD and Child-Pugh AUROCs were significantly lower than that of the MIR model (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02 respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that MELD (p<0.05, OR:0.86;CI95:0.76–0.97), Beta blockers (p = 0.036;OR:0.20;CI95:0.04–0.90), and the MIR model (p<0.001; OR:0.50; CI95:0.37–0.66), were significantly associated with 6 months mortality.

Conclusions

In this pilot study MIR-FEWS more accurately assess the 6-month prognosis of patients with ascites and cirrhosis than the MELD or Child-Pugh scores. These promising results, if confirmed by a larger study, suggest that mid infrared spectroscopy could be helpful in the management of these patients.

Mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy of serum allows fingerprinting of the hepatic metabolic status in mice

Infrared spectroscopy from mice unveils a transition in the time course of steatosis.

A novel method for a fast diagnosis of septic arthritis using mid infrared and deported spectroscopy

OBJECTIVE

To assess the ability of mid infrared deported spectroscopy to discriminate synovial fluids samples of septic arthritis patients from other causes of joint effusion.

METHODS

Synovial fluids obtained from patients with clinically suspected arthritis were collected, analysed and classified according to standard diagnostic procedures as septic or non-septic. A spectroscopic analysis on synovial fluid samples was then performed using a coiled optical fiber made with chalcogenide glass. After a factorial analysis of the normalized spectra and the computation of a Fisher test used to select the most relevant components, a logistic regression model was fitted, allowing to attribute a score between 0 - non-septic -, and 1 - septic.

RESULTS

In a first phase, we analysed the synovial fluids from 122 different synovial fluids including 6 septic arthritis among arthritis of various origins. Septic synovial fluids were identified with a sensitivity of 95.8% and a specificity of 93.9% and an AUROC of 0.977. The analysis of an independent set of samples (n=42, including two septic arthritis) gave similar values.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data strongly supports the interest of mid infrared deported spectroscopy, which could be used potentially at point of care, for a rapid and easy diagnosis of septic arthritis. Now, the precision of the diagnosis must be evaluated through a multicentric study on a larger panel of patients.

Shaping of looped miniaturized chalcogenide fiber sensing heads for mid-infrared sensing

Chalcogenide glass fibers are promising photonic tools to develop Fiber Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy (FEWS) optical sensors working in the mid-infrared region. Numerous pioneering works have already been carried out showing their efficiency, especially for bio-medical applications. Nevertheless, this technology remains confined to academic studies at the laboratory scale because chalcogenide glass fibers are difficult to shape to produce reliable, sensitive and compact sensors. In this paper, a new method for designing and fabricating a compact and robust sensing head with a selenide glass fiber is described. Compact looped sensing heads with diameter equal to 2 mm were thus shaped. This represents an outstanding achievement considering the brittleness of such uncoated fibers. FEWS experiments were implemented using alcoholic solutions as target samples showing that the sensitivity is higher than with the routinely used classical fiber. It is also shown that the best compromise in term of sensitivity is to fabricate a sensing head including two full loops. From a mechanical point of view, the breaking loads of the loop shaped head are also much higher than with classical fiber. Finally, this achievement paves the way for the use of mid-infrared technology during in situ and even in vivo medical operations. Indeed, is is now possible to slide a chalcogenide glass fiber in the operating channel of a standard 2.8 mm diameter catheter.

A multi-scale approach of the mechanisms underlying exopolysaccharide auto-organization in the Proteus mirabilis extracellular matrix

Supramolecular organization within the extracellular matrix triggers the swarming/consolidation alternation in response to a periodic variation of water activity.

Forming glasses from Se and Te

Despite being close neighbors on the Periodic Table, selenium and tellurium present a totally different abilities to form glasses. Se is a very good glass former, and gives rise to numerous glass compositions which are popular for their transparency in the infrared range and their stability against crystallization. These glasses can be shaped into sophisticated optical devices such as optical fibers, planar guides or lenses. Nevertheless, their transparencies are limited at about 12 µm (depending on the thickness of the optical systems) due to the relatively small mass of the Se element. On the other hand, tellurium is heavier and its use in substitution for Se permits to shift the IR cutoff beyond 20 µm. However, the semimetallic nature of Te limits its glass formation ability and this glass family is known to be unstable and consequently has found application as phase change material in the Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) technology. In this paper, after a review of selenide glasses and their applications, it will be shown how, in a recent past, it has been possible to stabilize tellurium glasses by introducing new elements like Ga or I in their compositions.

Fiber evanescent wave spectroscopy using the mid-infrared provides useful fingerprints for metabolic profiling in humans

Fiber evanescent wave spectroscopy (FEWS) explores the mid-infrared domain, providing information on functional chemical groups represented in the sample. Our goal is to evaluate whether spectral fingerprints obtained by FEWS might orientate clinical diagnosis. Serum samples from normal volunteers and from four groups of patients with metabolic abnormalities are analyzed by FEWS. These groups consist of iron overloaded genetic hemochromatosis (GH), iron depleted GH, cirrhosis, and dysmetabolic hepatosiderosis (DYSH). A partial least squares (PLS) logistic method is used in a training group to create a classification algorithm, thereafter applied to a test group. Patients with cirrhosis or DYSH, two groups exhibiting important metabolic disturbances, are clearly discriminated from control groups with AUROC values of 0.94+/-0.05 and 0.90+/-0.06, and sensibility/specificity of 8684% and 8787%, respectively. When pooling all groups, the PLS method contributes to discriminate controls, cirrhotic, and dysmetabolic patients. Our data demonstrate that metabolic profiling using infrared FEWS is a possible way to investigate metabolic alterations in patients.

An explanatory model to validate the way water activity rules periodic terrace generation in Proteus mirabilis swarm

This paper explains the biophysical principles which, according to us, govern the Proteus mirabilis swarm phenomenon. Then, this explanation is translated into a mathematical model, essentially based on partial differential equations. This model is then implemented using numerical methods of the finite volume type in order to make simulations. The simulations show most of the characteristics which are observed in situ and in particular the terrace generation.

Glasses for seeing beyond visible

Conventional glasses based on oxides have a transparency limited by phonon absorption in the near IR region and have a limited interest for analyzing information located far beyond the visible. The IR spectral domain is nevertheless of prime interest, since it covers fundamental wavelength ranges used for thermal imaging as well as molecular vibrational signatures. Besides spectacular advances in the field of IR detectors, the main significant progresses are related to the development of IR glass optics, such as lenses or IR optical fibres. The field of IR glasses is almost totally dominated by glasses formed from heavy atoms such as the chalcogens S, Se and Te. Their transparency extends up to 12, 16 and 28 microm for sulfide-, selenide- and the new generation of telluride-based glasses, respectively. They cover the atmospheric transparency domains, 3-5 and 8-13 microm, respectively, at which the IR radiation can propagate allowing thermal imaging and night-vision operations through thick layers of atmosphere. The development of new glass compositions will be discussed on the basis of structural consideration with the objective of moulding low-cost lenses for IR cameras used, for instance, in car-driving assistance. Additionally, multimode, single-index, optical fibres operating in the 3 to 12 microm window developed for in situ remote evanescent-wave IR spectroscopy will also be mentioned. The detection of molecular IR signatures is applied to environmental monitoring for investigating the pollution of underground water with toxic molecules. The extension of this technique to the investigation of biomolecules in three different studies devoted to liver tissues analysis, bio-film formation, and cell metabolism will also be discussed. Finally we will mention the developments in the field of single-mode fibres operating around 10 mum for the Darwin space mission, which is aiming at discovering, signs of biological life in telluric earth-like exoplanets throughout the universe.

Does water activity rule P. mirabilis periodic swarming? II. Viscoelasticity and water balance during swarming

Following the analysis of the biochemical and functional properties of the P. mirabilis extra cellular matrix performed in the first part of this study, the viscoelasticity of an actively growing colony was investigated in relation to water activity. The results demonstrate that the P. mirabilis colony exhibits a marked viscoelastic character likely due to both cell rafts and exoproduct H-bond networks. Besides, the water loss by evaporation during migration has been measured, whereas the experimental determination of the water diffusion coefficient in agar has allowed us to estimate the net water influx at the agar/colony interface. These data drive us to propose that a periodic increase of the water activity at the colony's periphery, mainly due to the drastic surface to volume ratio increase associated with swarming, causes the periodic and synchronous cessation of migration through the dissociation of exoproduct networks, which in turn strongly alters the matrix viscoelasticity.

Does Water Activity Rule P. mirabilis Periodic Swarming? I. Biochemical and Functional Properties of the Extracellular Matrix

The dynamics of bacterial colonies is complex in nature because it correlates the behavior of numerous individual cells in space and time and is characterized by emergent properties such as virulence or antibiotics resistance. Because there is no clear-cut evidence that periodic swarming of P. mirabilis colonies is ruled by chemical triggers responsible for cell-to-cell signaling in most of the biofilms, we propose that the observed periodicity relies on the colony's global properties. Hence, the biochemical and functional properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of P. mirabilis colonies were investigated. A binary exopolysaccharide mixture (1 and 300 kDa), glycinebetaine, and a phenoglycolipid were identified. Rheology, calorimetry, and water sorption experiments performed on purified EPS bring evidence that these exoproducts exhibit marked viscoelasticity, which likely relies on large scale H bond networks. Such behavior is discussed in terms of water activity because the mechanical ECM properties were found to depend on hydration.