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Rao KU, Li P, Welinder C, Tenland E, Gourdon P, Sturegård E, Ho JCS, Godaly G. Mechanisms of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis Active Peptide. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15020540. [PMID: 36839864 PMCID: PMC9958537 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR) continues to pose a threat to public health. Previously, we identified a cationic host defense peptide with activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vivo and with a bactericidal effect against MDR M. tuberculosis at therapeutic concentrations. To understand the mechanisms of this peptide, we investigated its interactions with live M. tuberculosis and liposomes as a model. Peptide interactions with M. tuberculosis inner membranes induced tube-shaped membranous structures and massive vesicle formation, thus leading to bubbling cell death and ghost cell formation. Liposomal studies revealed that peptide insertion into inner membranes induced changes in the peptides' secondary structure and that the membranes were pulled such that they aggregated without permeabilization, suggesting that the peptide has a strong inner membrane affinity. Finally, the peptide targeted essential proteins in M. tuberculosis, such as 60 kDa chaperonins and elongation factor Tu, that are involved in mycolic acid synthesis and protein folding, which had an impact on bacterial proliferation. The observed multifaceted targeting provides additional support for the therapeutic potential of this peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Komal Umashankar Rao
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Charlotte Welinder
- Swedish National Infrastructure for Biological Mass Spectrometry, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Erik Tenland
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Pontus Gourdon
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Erik Sturegård
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Institution of Translational Medicine, Lund University, SE-21428 Malmö, Sweden
| | - James C. S. Ho
- Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637553, Singapore
| | - Gabriela Godaly
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
- Correspondence:
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Tenland E, Pochert A, Krishnan N, Umashankar Rao K, Kalsum S, Braun K, Glegola-Madejska I, Lerm M, Robertson BD, Lindén M, Godaly G. Effective delivery of the anti-mycobacterial peptide NZX in mesoporous silica nanoparticles. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0212858. [PMID: 30807612 PMCID: PMC6391042 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intracellular delivery of antimicrobial agents by nanoparticles, such as mesoporous silica particles (MSPs), offers an interesting strategy to treat intracellular infections. In tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium tuberculosis avoids components of the immune system by residing primarily inside alveolar macrophages, which are the desired target for TB therapy. METHODS AND FINDINGS We have previously identified a peptide, called NZX, capable of inhibiting both clinical and multi-drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis at therapeutic concentrations. In this study we analysed the potential of MSPs containing NZX for the treatment of tuberculosis. The MSPs released functional NZX gradually into simulated lung fluid and the peptide filled MSPs were easily taken up by primary macrophages. In an intracellular infection model, the peptide containing particles showed increased mycobacterial killing compared to free peptide. The therapeutic potential of peptide containing MSPs was investigated in a murine infection model, showing that MSPs preserved the effect to eliminate M. tuberculosis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS In this study we found that loading the antimicrobial peptide NZX into MSPs increased the inhibition of intracellular mycobacteria in primary macrophages and preserved the ability to eliminate M. tuberculosis in vivo in a murine model. Our studies provide evidence for the feasibility of using MSPs for treatment of tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Tenland
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Nitya Krishnan
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Komal Umashankar Rao
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Sadaf Kalsum
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Katharina Braun
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Izabela Glegola-Madejska
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Lerm
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Brian D. Robertson
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mika Lindén
- Inorganic Chemistry II, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Gabriela Godaly
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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Tenland E, Krishnan N, Rönnholm A, Kalsum S, Puthia M, Mörgelin M, Davoudi M, Otrocka M, Alaridah N, Glegola-Madejska I, Sturegård E, Schmidtchen A, Lerm M, Robertson BD, Godaly G. A novel derivative of the fungal antimicrobial peptide plectasin is active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2018; 113:231-238. [PMID: 30514507 PMCID: PMC6289163 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Tuberculosis has been reaffirmed as the infectious disease causing most deaths in the world. Co-infection with HIV and the increase in multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains complicate treatment and increases mortality rates, making the development of new drugs an urgent priority. In this study we have identified a promising candidate by screening antimicrobial peptides for their capacity to inhibit mycobacterial growth. This non-toxic peptide, NZX, is capable of inhibiting both clinical strains of M. tuberculosis and an MDR strain at therapeutic concentrations. The therapeutic potential of NZX is further supported in vivo where NZX significantly lowered the bacterial load with only five days of treatment, comparable to rifampicin treatment over the same period. NZX possesses intracellular inhibitory capacity and co-localizes with intracellular bacteria in infected murine lungs. In conclusion, the data presented strongly supports the therapeutic potential of NZX in future anti-TB treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Tenland
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Nitya Krishnan
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Anna Rönnholm
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Sadaf Kalsum
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Manoj Puthia
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Institution of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Mina Davoudi
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Institution of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Magdalena Otrocka
- Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nader Alaridah
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Izabela Glegola-Madejska
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Erik Sturegård
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Institution of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Artur Schmidtchen
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Institution of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Maria Lerm
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Brian D Robertson
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Gabriela Godaly
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Institution of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
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Alaridah N, Lutay N, Tenland E, Rönnholm A, Hallgren O, Puthia M, Westergren-Thorsson G, Godaly G. Mycobacteria Manipulate G-Protein-Coupled Receptors to Increase Mucosal Rac1 Expression in the Lungs. J Innate Immun 2016; 9:318-329. [PMID: 28013312 DOI: 10.1159/000453454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is currently the only approved vaccine against tuberculosis (TB). BCG mimics M. tuberculosis (Mtb) in its persistence in the body and is used as a benchmark to compare new vaccine candidates. BCG was originally designed for mucosal vaccination, but comprehensive knowledge about its interaction with epithelium is currently lacking. We used primary airway epithelial cells (AECs) and a murine model to investigate the initial events of mucosal BCG interactions. Furthermore, we analysed the impact of the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), CXCR1 and CXCR2, in this process, as these receptors were previously shown to be important during TB infection. BCG infection of AECs induced GPCR-dependent Rac1 up-regulation, resulting in actin redistribution. The altered distribution of the actin cytoskeleton involved the MAPK signalling pathway. Blocking of the CXCR1 or CXCR2 prior to infection decreased Rac1 expression, and increased epithelial transcriptional activity and epithelial cytokine production. BCG infection did not result in epithelial cell death as measured by p53 phosphorylation and annexin. This study demonstrated that BCG infection of AECs manipulated the GPCRs to suppress epithelial signalling pathways. Future vaccine strategies could thus be improved by targeting GPCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nader Alaridah
- Division of Laboratory Medicine, Department of MIG, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Tenland E, Hillman M. Adding calcium to EDTA plasma samples prior to analysis could solve the compatibility issue in commercially available ELISAs that are standardized for serum. Clin Chem Lab Med 2014; 51:e145-7. [PMID: 23314548 DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2012-0724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2012] [Accepted: 12/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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