Modulation of glycosidase and protease activities by chemostat growth conditions in an endocarditis strain of Streptococcus sanguis

Apigenin reduce lipoteichoic acid-induced inflammatory response in rat cardiomyoblast cells

Infective endocarditis is caused by Streptococcus sanguinis present in dental plaque, which can induce inflammatory responses in the endocardium. The present study depicts research on the properties of apigenin in embryonic mouse heart cells (H9c2) treated with lipoteichoic acid (LTA) obtained from S. sanguinis. Interleukin-1β and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In addition, western blot assays and immuno-fluorescence staining were used to assess translocation of nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB), degradation of IκB, as well as activity of the mitogen activated protein kinases: extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2, p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Effect of apigenin on cell viability was equally assessed in other experimental series. Our results showed that apigenin blocked activation of ERK, JNK, and p38 in cardiomyocytes treated with LTA in a dose-dependent fashion. Moreover, apigenin showed no cytotoxic effects; it blocked NF-κB translocation and IκB degradation. Our findings suggested that apigenin possessed potential value in the treatment of infectious endocarditis.

Characterization of an extracellular dipeptidase from Streptococcus gordonii FSS2

PepV, a dipeptidase found in culture fluids of Streptococcus gordonii FSS2, was purified and characterized, and its gene was cloned. PepV is a monomeric metalloenzyme of approximately 55 kDa that preferentially degrades hydrophobic dipeptides. The gene encodes a polypeptide of 467 amino acids, with a theoretical molecular mass of 51,114 Da and a calculated pI of 4.8. The S. gordonii PepV gene is homologous to the PepV gene family from Lactobacillus and Lactococcus spp.

Characterisation of a novel homodimeric N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase from Streptococcus gordonii

An N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (GcnA) from Streptococcus gordonii FSS2 was cloned and sequenced. GcnA had a deduced molecular mass of 72,120 Da. The molecular weight after gel-filtration chromatography was 140,000 Da and by SDS-PAGE was 70,000 Da, indicating that the native protein was a homodimer. The deduced amino acid sequence had significant homology to a glycosyl hydrolase from Streptococcus pneumoniae and the conserved catalytic domain of the Family 20 glycosyl hydrolases. GcnA catalysed the hydrolysis of the synthetic substrates, 4-methylumbelliferyl (4MU)-N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide, 4MU-N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminide, 4-MU-beta-D-N,N'-diacetylchitobioside, and 4-MU-beta-D-N,N',N''-chitotrioside as well as the respective chito-oligosaccharides. GcnA was optimally active at pH 6.6 and 42 degrees C. The Km for 4-MU-beta-D-N,N',N''-chitotrioside, 45 microM, was the lowest for all the substrates tested. Hg2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, and Zn2+ completely inhibited while Co2+, Mn2+, and Ni2+ partially inhibited activity. S. gordonii FSS2 and a GcnA negative mutant grew equally well on chito-oligosaccharides as substrates. The S. gordonii sequencing projects indicate two further N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activities.

Extracellular arginine aminopeptidase from Streptococcus gordonii FSS2

Streptococcus gordonii is a primary etiological agent in the development of subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE), producing thrombus formation and tissue damage on the surfaces of heart valves. This is ironic, considering its normal role as a benign inhabitant of the oral microflora. However, strain FSS2 of S. gordonii has been found to produce several extracellular aminopeptidase- and fibrinogen-degrading activities during growth in a pH-controlled batch culture. In this report, we describe the purification, characterization, and partial cloning of a predicted serine class arginine aminopeptidase (RAP) with some cysteine class characteristics. Isolation of this enzyme by anion-exchange, gel filtration, and isoelectric focusing chromatography yielded a protein monomer of approximately 70 kDa, as shown by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization, gel filtration, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Nested-PCR cloning enabled the isolation of a 324-bp-long DNA fragment encoding the 108-amino-acid N terminus of RAP. Culture activity profiles and N-terminal sequence analysis indicated the export of this protein from the cell surface. Homology was found with a putative dipeptidase from Streptococcus pyogenes and nonspecific dipeptidases from Lactobacillus helveticus and Lactococcus lactis. We believe that RAP may serve as a critical factor for arginine acquisition during nutrient stress in vivo and also in the proteolysis of host proteins and peptides during SBE pathology.

Novel extracellular x-prolyl dipeptidyl-peptidase (DPP) from Streptococcus gordonii FSS2: an emerging subfamily of viridans Streptococcal x-prolyl DPPs

Streptococcus gordonii is generally considered a benign inhabitant of the oral microflora, and yet it is a primary etiological agent in the development of subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE), an inflammatory state that propagates thrombus formation and tissue damage on the surface of heart valves. Strain FSS2 produced several extracellular aminopeptidase and fibrinogen-degrading activities during growth in culture. In this report we describe the purification, characterization, and cloning of a serine class dipeptidyl-aminopeptidase, an x-prolyl dipeptidyl-peptidase (Sg-xPDPP, for S. gordonii x-prolyl dipeptidyl-peptidase), produced in a pH-controlled batch culture. Purification of this enzyme by anion exchange, gel filtration, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography yielded a protein monomer of approximately 85 kDa, as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) under denaturing conditions. However, under native conditions, the protein appeared to be a homodimer on the basis of gel filtration and PAGE. Kinetic studies indicated that purified enzyme had a unique and stringent x-prolyl specificity that is comparable to both the dipeptidyl-peptidase IV/CD26 and lactococcal x-prolyl dipeptidyl-peptidase families. Nested PCR cloning from an S. gordonii library enabled the isolation and sequence analysis of the full-length gene. A 759-amino-acid polypeptide with a theoretical molecular mass of 87,115 Da and a calculated pI of 5.6 was encoded by this open reading frame. Significant homology was found with the PepX gene family from Lactobacillus and Lactococcus spp. and putative x-prolyl dipeptidyl-peptidases from other streptococcal species. Sg-xPDPP may serve as a critical factor for the sustained bacterial growth in vivo and furthermore may aid in the proteolysis of host tissue that is commonly observed during SBE pathology.

pH-regulated secretion of a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus gordonii FSS2: purification, characterization, and cloning of the gene encoding this enzyme

Streptococcus gordonii and other viridans streptococci (VS) are primary etiologic agents of infective endocarditis, despite being part of the normal oral microflora. Recently, a surface-bound glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) has been found on the cells of all tested streptococcal species, where it has been implicated as a virulence factor. In contrast, we observed that a soluble extracellular GAPDH was the major secreted protein from S. gordonii FSS2, an endocarditis strain. The biochemical properties and gene sequence of S. gordonii GAPDH are almost identical to those of other streptococcal GAPDHs. Growth at defined pHs showed that secretion of GAPDH is regulated by environmental pH. GAPDH was primarily surface-associated at growth pH 6.5 and shifted to > 90% secreted at growth pH 7.5. Others have identified S. gordonii promoters that are up-regulated by a pH shift similar to that experienced by organisms entering the blood stream (neutral) from the oral cavity (slightly acid). Analysis of our results suggests that secretion of GAPDH may be a similar adaptation by S. gordonii.

Environmental regulation of glycosidase and peptidase production by Streptococcus gordonii FSS2

The synthesis of cell-associated and secreted proteins by Streptococcus gordonii FSS2, an infective endocarditis (IE) isolate, was influenced by both environmental pH and carbon source. Controlling the pH at 7.5 in stirred batch cultures showed that cell-associated and secreted protein concentrations were increased during late exponential and stationary phase by 68% and 125%, respectively, compared with similar cultures without pH control. The expression of five glycosidase and eight peptidase activities were examined using fluorogen-labelled synthetic substrates. Enzyme activities were significantly down-regulated during exponential growth, increasing during stationary phase (P<0.01) whether the culture pH was controlled at pH 7.5 or allowed to fall naturally to pH 4.4. Culture-supernatant activities were significantly increased (P<0.05) when the pH was maintained at 6.0 or 7.5, indicating modulation of enzyme activity by pH. Growth under nitrogen-limitation/glucose-excess conditions resulted in a significant repression of cell-associated glycosidase activities (P<0.01), whilst in the supernatant, activities were generally reduced. The expression of peptidase activities in the culture supernatant did not significantly change. The results suggest a possible role for catabolite repression by glucose in regulating enzyme expression. When S. gordonii FSS2 was cultured with 50% (v/v) added heat-inactivated foetal bovine serum, several cell-associated enzyme activities increased initially but were then reduced as the culture time was extended to 116 h. Culture-supernatant enzyme activities (N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminidase, thrombin, Hageman factor, collagenase and chymotrypsin), however, were significantly increased (P<0.01) over the same time period. The findings indicated that most of the important glycosidases synthesized by S. gordonii FSS2 were down-regulated by acid growth conditions and may also be subject to catabolite repression by glucose but conversely may be up-regulated by growth in serum. These results may have implications for streptococcal growth in an IE vegetation and in the mouth between meals or during sleep.

Growth-rate-independent production of recombinant glucoamylase by Fusarium venenatum JeRS 325

Most recombinant proteins generated in filamentous fungi are produced in fed-batch cultures, in which specific growth rate normally decreases progressively with time. Because of this, such cultures are more suited to the production of products that are produced efficiently at low-growth rates (e.g., penicillin) than to products which are produced more efficiently at high-growth rates (e. g., glucoamylase). Fusarium venenatum A3/5 has been transformed (JeRS 325) to produce Aspergillus niger glucoamylase (GAM) under the control of the Fusarium oxysporum trypsin-like protease promoter. No glucoamylase was detected in the culture supernatant during exponential growth of F. venenatum JeRS 325 in batch culture. In glucose-limited chemostat cultures, GAM concentration increased with decrease in dilution rate, but the specific production rate of GAM (g GAM [g biomass](-1) h(-1)) remained approximately constant over the dilution-rate range 0.05 h to 0.19 h(-1), i.e., the recombinant protein was produced in a growth-rate-independent manner. The specific production rate decreased at dilution rates of 0.04 h(-1) and below. Specific production rates of 5.8 mg and 4.0 mg GAM [g biomass](-1) h(-1) were observed in glucose-limited chemostat cultures in the presence and absence of 1 g mycological peptone L(-1). Compared to production in batch culture, and for the same final volume of medium, there was no increase in glucoamylase production when cultures were grown in fed-batch culture. The results suggested that a chemostat operated at a slow dilution rate would be the most productive culture system for enzyme production under this trypsin-like promoter.

A shift from oral to blood pH is a stimulus for adaptive gene expression of Streptococcus gordonii CH1 and induces protection against oxidative stress and enhanced bacterial growth by expression of msrA

Viridans group streptococci (VS) from the oral cavity entering the bloodstream may initiate infective endocarditis (IE). We aimed to identify genes expressed in response to a pH increase from slightly acidic (pH 6.2) to neutral (pH 7.3) as encountered by VS entering the bloodstream from the oral cavity. Using a recently developed promoter-screening vector, we isolated five promoter fragments from the genomic DNA of Streptococcus gordonii CH1 responding to this stimulus. No common regulatory sequences were identified in these promoter fragments that could account for the coordinate expression of the corresponding genes. One of the isolated fragments contained the promoter region and 5' end of a gene highly homologous to the methionine sulfoxide reductase gene (msrA) of various bacterial and eukaryotic species. This gene has been found to be activated in S. gordonii strain V288 in a rabbit model of IE (A. O. Kiliç, M. C. Herzberg, M. W. Meyer, X. Zhao, and L. Tao, Plasmid 42:67-72, 1999). We isolated and characterized the msrA gene of S. gordonii CH1 and constructed a chromosomal insertion mutant. This mutant was more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide, suggesting a role for the streptococcal MsrA in protecting against oxidative stress. Moreover, MsrA appeared to be important for the growth of S. gordonii CH1 under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Both these properties of MsrA may contribute to the ability of S. gordonii to cause IE.

Host-pathogen interactions in bacterial endocarditis: streptococcal virulence in the host

To identify streptococcal genes that are expressed during experimental endocarditis, we developed a promoter-less dual reporter gene-fusion (amy, cat) plasmid, pAK36. Chromosomal DNA from S. gordonii V288 was digested with Sau3A1. The resulting fragments were ligated into pAK36. Following transformation into S. gordonii, the library of random gene fusion clones was inoculated into a rabbit to induce experimental endocarditis. Chloramphenicol treatment effected positive selection. Upon euthanization of the rabbits, the valvular vegetations were excised in a sterile field. Surviving clones were isolated and screened in vitro for chloramphenicol sensitivity and negative amylase activity. From the 48 randomly picked, double-negative clones, DNA was isolated and analyzed by Southern hybridization with labeled pAK36 probe. Different insertion patterns were identified, suggesting that no fewer than 13 S. gordonii genes were induced. Therefore, S. gordonii genes are induced during experimental endocarditis, which may contribute to virulence.

Bacterial metabolism in dental biofilms

Dental biofilms could have a structure which, in sections, looks like tissue. The internal structure of the dental biofilm could be the result of interbacterial adhesion mechanisms in combination with nutritional conditions characterized by multiple nutrient starvation. The preservation of the structure of the biofilm over time may also involve the ability of the bacteria to withstand environmental stresses such as starvation, reactive oxygen products, and acid. The present review will describe, first, the regulation of the metabolic defense against environmental stresses and then focus mainly on the energy metabolism of dental biofilms.

Platelet-streptococcal interactions in endocarditis

Infective endocarditis is characterized by the formation of septic masses of platelets on the surfaces of heart valves and is most commonly caused by viridans streptococci. Streptococcal virulence in endocarditis involves factors that promote infectivity and pathogenicity. Adhesins and exopolysaccharide (glycocalyx) contribute to infectivity. Although many factors may contribute to pathogenicity, the platelet aggregation-associated protein (PAAP) of Streptococcus sanguis contributes directly to the development of experimental endocarditis. PAAP is synthesized as a rhamnose-rich glycoprotein of 115 kDa and contains a collagen-like platelet-interactive domain, pro-gly-glu-gln-gly-pro-lys. Expressed on the cell wall of platelet aggregation-inducing strains (Agg+) of S. sanguis, PAAP apparently interacts with a signal-transducing receptor complex on platelets, which includes a novel 175-kDa alpha 2-integrin-associated protein and a 65-kDa collagen-binding component. From available data, the role of PAAP in the pathogenesis of experimental endocarditis may be explained by a proposed mechanistic model. On injured heart valves, PAAP first enhances platelet accumulation into a fibrin-enmeshed thrombus (vegetation), within which S. sanguis colonizes. Colonizing bacteria must resist platelet microbicidal protein (PMPR). The aggregation of platelets on the heart valve may be potentiated by an ectoATPase expressed on the surface of the S. sanguis and platelet alpha-adrenoreceptors that respond to endogenous catecholamines. The expression of PAAP may be modified during infection. Collagen is exposed on damaged heart valves; fever (heat shock) occurs during endocarditis. In response to heat shock or collagen in vitro, PAAP expression is altered. After colonization, streptococcal exotoxin(s) may cause fever. Proteases and other enzymes from streptococci and host sources may directly destroy the heart valves. When PAAP is unexpressed or neutralized with specific antibodies, experimental endocarditis runs a milder course and vegetations are smaller. The data suggest strongly, therefore, that the role of PAAP may overlap the colonization function of putative adhesins such as FimA or SsaB. Finally, PAAP also contributes to the development of the characteristic septic mural thrombus (vegetation) of infective endocarditis and the signs of valvular pathology.