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Poyatos-Racionero E, Guarí-Borràs G, Ruiz-Rico M, Morellá-Aucejo Á, Aznar E, Barat JM, Martínez-Máñez R, Marcos MD, Bernardos A. Towards the Enhancement of Essential Oil Components' Antimicrobial Activity Using New Zein Protein-Gated Mesoporous Silica Microdevices. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:3795. [PMID: 33917595 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of new food preservatives is essential to prevent foodborne outbreaks or food spoilage due to microbial growth, enzymatic activity or oxidation. Furthermore, new compounds that substitute the commonly used synthetic food preservatives are needed to stifle the rising problem of microbial resistance. In this scenario, we report herein, as far as we know, for the first time the use of the zein protein as a gating moiety and its application for the controlled release of essential oil components (EOCs). The design of microdevices consist of mesoporous silica particles loaded with essential oils components (thymol, carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde) and functionalized with the zein (prolamin) protein found in corn as a molecular gate. The zein protein grafted on the synthesized microdevices is degraded by the proteolytic action of bacterial enzymatic secretions with the consequent release of the loaded essential oil components efficiently inhibiting bacterial growth. The results allow us to conclude that the new microdevice presented here loaded with the essential oil component cinnamaldehyde improved the antimicrobial properties of the free compound by decreasing volatility and increasing local concentration.
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Shemesh E, Hanf B, Hagag S, Attias S, Shadkchan Y, Fichtman B, Harel A, Krüger T, Brakhage AA, Kniemeyer O, Osherov N. Phenotypic and Proteomic Analysis of the Aspergillus fumigatus Δ PrtT, Δ XprG and Δ XprG/Δ PrtT Protease-Deficient Mutants. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:2490. [PMID: 29312198 PMCID: PMC5732999 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is the most common mold species to cause disease in immunocompromised patients. Infection usually begins when its spores (conidia) are inhaled into the airways, where they germinate, forming hyphae that penetrate and destroy the lungs and disseminate to other organs, leading to high mortality. The ability of hyphae to penetrate the pulmonary epithelium is a key step in the infectious process. A. fumigatus produces extracellular proteases that are thought to enhance penetration by degrading host structural barriers. This study explores the role of the A. fumigatus transcription factor XprG in controlling secreted proteolytic activity and fungal virulence. We deleted xprG, alone and in combination with prtT, a transcription factor previously shown to regulate extracellular proteolysis. xprG deletion resulted in abnormal conidiogenesis and formation of lighter colored, more fragile conidia and a moderate reduction in the ability of culture filtrates (CFs) to degrade substrate proteins. Deletion of both xprG and prtT resulted in an additive reduction, generating a mutant strain producing CF with almost no ability to degrade substrate proteins. Detailed proteomic analysis identified numerous secreted proteases regulated by XprG and PrtT, alone and in combination. Interestingly, proteomics also identified reduced levels of secreted cell wall modifying enzymes (glucanases, chitinases) and allergens following deletion of these genes, suggesting they target additional cellular processes. Surprisingly, despite the major alteration in the secretome of the xprG/prtT null mutant, including two to fivefold reductions in the level of 24 proteases, 18 glucanases, 6 chitinases, and 19 allergens, it retained wild-type virulence in murine systemic and pulmonary models of infection. This study highlights the extreme adaptability of A. fumigatus during infection based on extensive gene redundancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Einav Shemesh
- Aspergillus and Antifungal Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Benjamin Hanf
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Shelly Hagag
- Aspergillus and Antifungal Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Shani Attias
- Aspergillus and Antifungal Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yana Shadkchan
- Aspergillus and Antifungal Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Boris Fichtman
- Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Amnon Harel
- Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Thomas Krüger
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Axel A Brakhage
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Olaf Kniemeyer
- Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Nir Osherov
- Aspergillus and Antifungal Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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