1
|
Hunfeld KP, Kraiczy P, Norris DE, Lohr B. The In Vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato: Shedding Light on the Known Unknowns. Pathogens 2023; 12:1204. [PMID: 37887720 PMCID: PMC10609913 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12101204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Human Lyme borreliosis (LB) represents a multisystem disorder that can progress in stages. The causative agents are transmitted by hard ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex that have been infected with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Today, LB is considered the most important human tick-borne illness in the Northern Hemisphere. The causative agent was identified and successfully isolated in 1982 and, shortly thereafter, antibiotic treatment was found to be safe and efficacious. Since then, various in vitro studies have been conducted in order to improve our knowledge of the activity of antimicrobial agents against B. burgdorferi s. l. The full spectrum of in vitro antibiotic susceptibility has still not been defined for some of the more recently developed compounds. Moreover, our current understanding of the in vitro interactions between B. burgdorferi s. l. and antimicrobial agents, and their possible mechanisms of resistance remains very limited and is largely based on in vitro susceptibility experiments on only a few isolates of Borrelia. Even less is known about the possible mechanisms of the in vitro persistence of spirochetes exposed to antimicrobial agents in the presence of human and animal cell lines. Only a relatively small number of laboratory studies and cell culture experiments have been conducted. This review summarizes what is and what is not known about the in vitro susceptibility of B. burgdorferi s. l. It aims to shed light on the known unknowns that continue to fuel current debates on possible treatment resistance and mechanisms of persistence of Lyme disease spirochetes in the presence of antimicrobial agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Klaus-Peter Hunfeld
- Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology & Infection Control, Northwest Medical Centre, Academic Teaching Hospital, Medical Faculty, Goethe University Frankfurt, Steinbacher Hohl 2-26, D-60488 Frankfurt am Main, Germany;
- INSTAND e.V., Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Qualitätssicherung in medizinischen Laboratorien e.V., Ubierstraße 20, D-40223 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Peter Kraiczy
- Institute for Medical Microbiology & Infection Control, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Paul-Ehrlich Str. 40, D-60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany;
| | - Douglas E. Norris
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA;
| | - Benedikt Lohr
- Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology & Infection Control, Northwest Medical Centre, Academic Teaching Hospital, Medical Faculty, Goethe University Frankfurt, Steinbacher Hohl 2-26, D-60488 Frankfurt am Main, Germany;
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
The spirochetes Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi and Borrelia hermsii, the etiologic agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever, respectively, cycle in nature between an arthropod vector and a vertebrate host. They have extraordinarily unusual genomes that are highly segmented and predominantly linear. The genetic analyses of Lyme disease spirochetes have become increasingly more sophisticated, while the age of genetic investigation in the relapsing fever spirochetes is just dawning. Molecular tools available for B. burgdorferi and related species range from simple selectable markers and gene reporters to state-of-the-art inducible gene expression systems that function in the animal model and high-throughput mutagenesis methodologies, despite nearly overwhelming experimental obstacles. This armamentarium has empowered borreliologists to build a formidable genetic understanding of the cellular physiology of the spirochete and the molecular pathogenesis of Lyme disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dan Drecktrah
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA.
| | - D Scott Samuels
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Antimicrobial Resistance in Leptospira, Brucella, and Other Rarely Investigated Veterinary and Zoonotic Pathogens. Microbiol Spectr 2019; 6. [PMID: 30027885 DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.arba-0029-2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Leptospira, Brucella, and Borrelia are major agents of zoonotic disease, causing high morbidity and, in some cases, significant mortality in humans. For all three genera, prompt diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial therapy are required to prevent the development of chronic, debilitating illness. Leptospira spp. are intrinsically resistant to several antimicrobial classes; however, there is little evidence in the literature for development of acquired resistance to antimicrobial agents used for clinical treatment of acute leptospirosis. For Brucella infections, there are numerous reports of relapses following therapy, but it is unclear whether this is due to sequestration within infected sites (e.g., bone) or the development of acquired resistance. Brucella have maintained their susceptibility to doxycycline and rifampicin, which in combination remain the most common treatments of brucellosis in humans. In vitro induced point mutations are described as imparting resistance to rifampicin (rpoB) and fluoroquinolones (gyrA). The clinical significance of these mutations is unclear. For Borrelia burgdorferi, although acquired resistance to some antimicrobial agents has been described, resistance due to bacterial persister cells surviving in the presence of antimicrobial, with no apparent increase in the MIC of the organism, have been recently described. Of the remaining veterinary fastidious pathogens, Lawsonia intracellularis is the most interesting from an antimicrobial resistance perspective because it can only be grown in cell culture, making in vitro susceptibility testing challenging. MIC testing has been undertaken on a small number of isolates, and some differences in susceptibility to macrolides have been demonstrated between isolates obtained from different regions.
Collapse
|
4
|
Anacker ML, Drecktrah D, LeCoultre RD, Lybecker M, Samuels DS. RNase III Processing of rRNA in the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. J Bacteriol 2018; 200:e00035-18. [PMID: 29632096 PMCID: PMC5996687 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00035-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The rRNA genes of Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi are unusually organized; the spirochete has a single 16S rRNA gene that is more than 3 kb from a tandem pair of 23S-5S rRNA operons. We generated an rnc null mutant in B. burgdorferi that exhibits a pleiotropic phenotype, including decreased growth rate and increased cell length. Here, we demonstrate that endoribonuclease III (RNase III) is, as expected, involved in processing the 23S rRNA in B. burgdorferi The 5' and 3' ends of the three rRNAs were determined in the wild type and rncBb mutants; the results suggest that RNase III in B. burgdorferi is required for the full maturation of the 23S rRNA but not for the 5S rRNA nor, curiously, for the 16S rRNA.IMPORTANCE Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne zoonosis in the Northern Hemisphere, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi, a member of the deeply branching spirochete phylum. B. burgdorferi carries a limited suite of ribonucleases, enzymes that cleave RNA during processing and degradation. Several ribonucleases, including RNase III, are involved in the production of ribosomes, which catalyze translation and are a major target of antibiotics. This is the first study to dissect the role of an RNase in any spirochete. We demonstrate that an RNase III mutant is viable but has altered processing of rRNA.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Bacterial Proteins/genetics
- Bacterial Proteins/metabolism
- Borrelia burgdorferi/enzymology
- Borrelia burgdorferi/genetics
- Borrelia burgdorferi/metabolism
- Humans
- Lyme Disease/microbiology
- Operon
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Bacterial/metabolism
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/metabolism
- RNA, Ribosomal, 23S/genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 23S/metabolism
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/metabolism
- Ribonuclease III/genetics
- Ribonuclease III/metabolism
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Anacker
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Dan Drecktrah
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Richard D LeCoultre
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Meghan Lybecker
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
| | - D Scott Samuels
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
- Center for Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
The spirochetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies group cycle in nature between tick vectors and vertebrate hosts. The current assemblage of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, of which three species cause Lyme disease in humans, originated from a rapid species radiation that occurred near the origin of the clade. All of these species share a unique genome structure that is highly segmented and predominantly composed of linear replicons. One of the circular plasmids is a prophage that exists as several isoforms in each cell and can be transduced to other cells, likely contributing to an otherwise relatively anemic level of horizontal gene transfer, which nevertheless appears to be adequate to permit strong natural selection and adaptation in populations of B. burgdorferi. Although the molecular genetic toolbox is meager, several antibiotic-resistant mutants have been isolated, and the resistance alleles, as well as some exogenous genes, have been fashioned into markers to dissect gene function. Genetic studies have probed the role of the outer membrane lipoprotein OspC, which is maintained in nature by multiple niche polymorphisms and negative frequency-dependent selection. One of the most intriguing genetic systems in B. burgdorferi is vls recombination, which generates antigenic variation during infection of mammalian hosts.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Alleles
- Animals
- Antigenic Variation
- Antigens, Bacterial/genetics
- Antigens, Bacterial/immunology
- Antigens, Bacterial/metabolism
- Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins/genetics
- Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins/metabolism
- Bacterial Proteins/genetics
- Bacterial Proteins/immunology
- Bacterial Proteins/metabolism
- Bacteriophages/genetics
- Bacteriophages/metabolism
- Bacteriophages/pathogenicity
- Borrelia burgdorferi/genetics
- Borrelia burgdorferi/immunology
- Borrelia burgdorferi/pathogenicity
- Borrelia burgdorferi/virology
- DNA, Bacterial/genetics
- DNA, Bacterial/metabolism
- Electroporation
- Evolution, Molecular
- Genes, Bacterial
- Genetic Variation
- Humans
- Ixodes/microbiology
- Linkage Disequilibrium
- Lipoproteins/genetics
- Lipoproteins/immunology
- Lipoproteins/metabolism
- Lyme Disease/microbiology
- Plasmids/genetics
- Plasmids/metabolism
- Prophages/genetics
- Prophages/metabolism
- Recombination, Genetic
- Selection, Genetic
- Species Specificity
- Transduction, Genetic
- Transformation, Genetic
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dustin Brisson
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Dan Drecktrah
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812
| | - Christian H. Eggers
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut 06518
| | - D. Scott Samuels
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812
- Center for Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Sarkar A, Tilly K, Stewart P, Bestor A, Battisti JM, Rosa PA. Borrelia burgdorferi resistance to a major skin antimicrobial peptide is independent of outer surface lipoprotein content. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2009; 53:4490-4. [PMID: 19651916 PMCID: PMC2764146 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00558-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2009] [Revised: 06/19/2009] [Accepted: 07/23/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We hypothesize a potential role for Borrelia burgdorferi OspC in innate immune evasion at the initial stage of mammalian infection. We demonstrate that B. burgdorferi is resistant to high levels (>200 microg/ml) of cathelicidin and that this antimicrobial peptide exhibits limited binding to the spirochetal outer membrane, irrespective of OspC or other abundant surface lipoproteins. We conclude that the essential role of OspC is unrelated to resistance to this component of innate immunity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amit Sarkar
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, 903 S. 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Stricker RB. Counterpoint: long-term antibiotic therapy improves persistent symptoms associated with lyme disease. Clin Infect Dis 2007; 45:149-57. [PMID: 17578772 DOI: 10.1086/518853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2007] [Accepted: 02/21/2007] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Controversy exists regarding the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. Patients with persistent symptoms after standard (2-4-week) antibiotic therapy for this tickborne illness have been denied further antibiotic treatment as a result of the perception that long-term infection with the Lyme spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, and associated tickborne pathogens is rare or nonexistent. METHODS I review the pathophysiology of B. burgdorferi infection and the peer-reviewed literature on diagnostic Lyme disease testing, standard treatment results, and coinfection with tickborne agents, such as Babesia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Bartonella species. I also examine uncontrolled and controlled trials of prolonged antibiotic therapy in patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease. RESULTS The complex "stealth" pathology of B. burgdorferi allows the spirochete to invade diverse tissues, elude the immune response, and establish long-term infection. Commercial testing for Lyme disease is highly specific but relatively insensitive, especially during the later stages of disease. Numerous studies have documented the failure of standard antibiotic therapy in patients with Lyme disease. Previous uncontrolled trials and recent placebo-controlled trials suggest that prolonged antibiotic therapy (duration, >4 weeks) may be beneficial for patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms. Tickborne coinfections may increase the severity and duration of infection with B. burgdorferi. CONCLUSIONS Prolonged antibiotic therapy may be useful and justifiable in patients with persistent symptoms of Lyme disease and coinfection with tickborne agents.
Collapse
|
8
|
Hunfeld KP, Brade V. Antimicrobial susceptibility of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato: what we know, what we don't know, and what we need to know. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2007; 118:659-68. [PMID: 17160604 DOI: 10.1007/s00508-006-0693-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Human Lyme borreliosis is a multisystem disorder that can progress in stages and is transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex infected with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Today, Lyme borreliosis is regarded as the most important human tickborne illness in the northern hemisphere. Soon after the causative agent was correctly identified and successfully isolated in 1982, antibiotic treatment was shown to be effective and since then a variety of in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed to further characterize the activity of antimicrobial agents against B. burgdorferi s.l. Although many antimicrobial agents have been tested for their in vitro activity against borreliae, the full spectrum of antibiotic susceptibility in B. burgdorferi s.l. has not been defined for many compounds. Moreover, our current understanding of possible antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in B. burgdorferi s.l. is limited and is largely founded on in vitro experiments on relatively few borrelial isolates. This review will summarize what is and what is not known about antimicrobial resistance in B. burgdorferi s.l. and will discuss open questions that continue to fuel the current debate on treatment-resistant Lyme borreliosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Klaus-Peter Hunfeld
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital of Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Criswell D, Tobiason VL, Lodmell JS, Samuels DS. Mutations conferring aminoglycoside and spectinomycin resistance in Borrelia burgdorferi. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2006; 50:445-52. [PMID: 16436695 PMCID: PMC1366916 DOI: 10.1128/aac.50.2.445-452.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We have isolated and characterized in vitro mutants of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi that are resistant to spectinomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, or streptomycin, antibiotics that target the small subunit of the ribosome. 16S rRNA mutations A1185G and C1186U, homologous to Escherichia coli nucleotides A1191 and C1192, conferred >2,200-fold and 1,300-fold resistance to spectinomycin, respectively. A 16S rRNA A1402G mutation, homologous to E. coli A1408, conferred >90-fold resistance to kanamycin and >240-fold resistance to gentamicin. Two mutations were identified in the gene for ribosomal protein S12, at a site homologous to E. coli residue Lys-87, in mutants selected in streptomycin. Substitutions at codon 88, K88R and K88E, conferred 7-fold resistance and 10-fold resistance, respectively, to streptomycin on B. burgdorferi. The 16S rRNA A1185G and C1186U mutations, associated with spectinomycin resistance, appeared in a population of B. burgdorferi parental strain B31 at a high frequency of 6 x 10(-6). These spectinomycin-resistant mutants successfully competed with the wild-type strain during 100 generations of coculture in vitro. The aminoglycoside-resistant mutants appeared at a frequency of 3 x 10(-9) to 1 x10(-7) in a population and were unable to compete with wild-type strain B31 after 100 generations. This is the first description of mutations in the B. burgdorferi ribosome that confer resistance to antibiotics. These results have implications for the evolution of antibiotic resistance, because the 16S rRNA mutations conferring spectinomycin resistance have no significant fitness cost in vitro, and for the development of new selectable markers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Criswell
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812-4824, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|