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Xu M, Liu M, Liu T, Pan X, Ren Q, Han T, Gou L. HigA2 (Rv2021c) Is a Transcriptional Regulator with Multiple Regulatory Targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microorganisms 2024; 12:1244. [PMID: 38930627 PMCID: PMC11205783 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061244] [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: 05/25/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are the major mechanism for persister formation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Previous studies found that HigBA2 (Rv2022c-Rv2021c), a predicted type II TA system of Mtb, could be activated for transcription in response to multiple stresses such as anti-tuberculosis drugs, nutrient starvation, endure hypoxia, acidic pH, etc. In this study, we determined the binding site of HigA2 (Rv2021c), which is located in the coding region of the upstream gene higB2 (Rv2022c), and the conserved recognition motif of HigA2 was characterized via oligonucleotide mutation. Eight binding sites of HigA2 were further found in the Mtb genome according to the conserved motif. RT-PCR showed that HigA2 can regulate the transcription level of all eight of these genes and three adjacent downstream genes. DNA pull-down experiments showed that twelve functional regulators sense external regulatory signals and may regulate the transcription of the HigBA2 system. Of these, Rv0903c, Rv0744c, Rv0474, Rv3124, Rv2603c, and Rv3583c may be involved in the regulation of external stress signals. In general, we identified the downstream target genes and possible upstream regulatory genes of HigA2, which paved the way for the illustration of the persistence establishment mechanism in Mtb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyan Xu
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Meikun Liu
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Tong Liu
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Xuemei Pan
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Qi Ren
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Tiesheng Han
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Lixia Gou
- School of Life Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
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Stanley S, Wang X, Liu Q, Kwon YY, Frey AM, Hicks ND, Vickers AJ, Hui S, Fortune SM. Ongoing evolution of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis lactate dehydrogenase reveals the pleiotropic effects of bacterial adaption to host pressure. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012050. [PMID: 38422159 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The bacterial determinants that facilitate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) adaptation to the human host environment are poorly characterized. We have sought to decipher the pressures facing the bacterium in vivo by assessing Mtb genes that are under positive selection in clinical isolates. One of the strongest targets of selection in the Mtb genome is lldD2, which encodes a quinone-dependent L-lactate dehydrogenase (LldD2) that catalyzes the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate. Lactate accumulation is a salient feature of the intracellular environment during infection and lldD2 is essential for Mtb growth in macrophages. We determined the extent of lldD2 variation across a set of global clinical isolates and defined how prevalent mutations modulate Mtb fitness. We show the stepwise nature of lldD2 evolution that occurs as a result of ongoing lldD2 selection in the background of ancestral lineage-defining mutations and demonstrate that the genetic evolution of lldD2 additively augments Mtb growth in lactate. Using quinone-dependent antibiotic susceptibility as a functional reporter, we also find that the evolved lldD2 mutations functionally increase the quinone-dependent activity of LldD2. Using 13C-lactate metabolic flux tracing, we find that lldD2 is necessary for robust incorporation of lactate into central carbon metabolism. In the absence of lldD2, label preferentially accumulates in dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) and is associated with a discernible growth defect, providing experimental evidence for accrued lactate toxicity via the deleterious buildup of sugar phosphates. The evolved lldD2 variants increase lactate incorporation to pyruvate while altering triose phosphate flux, suggesting both an anaplerotic and detoxification benefit to lldD2 evolution. We further show that the mycobacterial cell is transcriptionally sensitive to the changes associated with altered lldD2 activity which affect the expression of genes involved in cell wall lipid metabolism and the ESX- 1 virulence system. Together, these data illustrate a multifunctional role of LldD2 that provides context for the selective advantage of lldD2 mutations in adapting to host stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydney Stanley
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Qingyun Liu
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Young Yon Kwon
- Department of Molecular Metabolism, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Abigail M Frey
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nathan D Hicks
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Andrew J Vickers
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sheng Hui
- Department of Molecular Metabolism, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sarah M Fortune
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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3
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Mosquera-Rendón J, Moreno-Herrera CX, Robledo J, Hurtado-Páez U. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) Approaches for the Detection of Genetic Variants Associated with Antibiotic Resistance: A Systematic Review. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2866. [PMID: 38138010 PMCID: PMC10745584 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11122866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a significant threat to public health worldwide. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have emerged as a powerful tool to identify genetic variants associated with this antibiotic resistance. By analyzing large datasets of bacterial genomes, GWAS can provide valuable insights into the resistance mechanisms and facilitate the discovery of new drug targets. The present study aimed to undertake a systematic review of different GWAS approaches used for detecting genetic variants associated with antibiotic resistance. We comprehensively searched the PubMed and Scopus databases to identify relevant studies published from 2013 to February 2023. A total of 40 studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies explored a wide range of bacterial species, antibiotics, and study designs. Notably, most of the studies were centered around human pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Escherichia coli, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Staphylococcus aureus. The review seeks to explore the several GWAS approaches utilized to investigate the genetic mechanisms associated with antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, it examines the contributions of GWAS approaches in identifying resistance-associated genetic variants through binary and continuous phenotypes. Overall, GWAS holds great potential to enhance our understanding of bacterial resistance and improve strategies to combat infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanneth Mosquera-Rendón
- Bacteriology and Mycobacteria Unit, Corporation for Biological Research (CIB), Medellín 050034, Colombia; (J.M.-R.); (J.R.)
- Microbiodiversity and Bioprospecting Group (Microbiop), Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, Colombia;
| | - Claudia Ximena Moreno-Herrera
- Microbiodiversity and Bioprospecting Group (Microbiop), Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, Colombia;
| | - Jaime Robledo
- Bacteriology and Mycobacteria Unit, Corporation for Biological Research (CIB), Medellín 050034, Colombia; (J.M.-R.); (J.R.)
| | - Uriel Hurtado-Páez
- Bacteriology and Mycobacteria Unit, Corporation for Biological Research (CIB), Medellín 050034, Colombia; (J.M.-R.); (J.R.)
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Stanley S, Wang X, Liu Q, Kwon YY, Frey AM, Hicks ND, Vickers AJ, Hui S, Fortune SM. Ongoing evolution of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis lactate dehydrogenase reveals the pleiotropic effects of bacterial adaption to host pressure. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.09.561592. [PMID: 37873410 PMCID: PMC10592758 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.09.561592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The bacterial determinants that facilitate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) adaptation to the human host environment are poorly characterized. We have sought to decipher the pressures facing the bacterium in vivo by assessing Mtb genes that are under positive selection in clinical isolates. One of the strongest targets of selection in the Mtb genome is lldD2 , which encodes a quinone-dependent L-lactate dehydrogenase (LldD2) that catalyzes the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate. Lactate accumulation is a salient feature of the intracellular environment during infection and lldD2 is essential for Mtb growth in macrophages. We determined the extent of lldD2 variation across a set of global clinical isolates and defined how prevalent mutations modulates Mtb fitness. We show the stepwise nature of lldD2 evolution that occurs as a result of ongoing lldD2 selection in the background of ancestral lineage defining mutations and demonstrate that the genetic evolution of lldD2 additively augments Mtb growth in lactate. Using quinone-dependent antibiotic susceptibility as a functional reporter, we also find that the evolved lldD2 mutations functionally increase the quinone-dependent activity of LldD2. Using 13 C-lactate metabolic flux tracing, we find that lldD2 is necessary for robust incorporation of lactate into central carbon metabolism. In the absence of lldD2 , label preferentially accumulates in methylglyoxal precursors dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) and is associated with a discernible growth defect, providing experimental evidence for accumulated lactate toxicity via a methylglyoxal pathway that has been proposed previously. The evolved lldD2 variants increase lactate incorporation to pyruvate but also alter flux in the methylglyoxal pathway, suggesting both an anaplerotic and detoxification benefit to lldD2 evolution. We further show that the mycobacterial cell is transcriptionally sensitive to the changes associated with altered lldD2 activity which affect the expression of genes involved in cell wall lipid metabolism and the ESX-1 virulence system. Together, these data illustrate a multifunctional role of LldD2 that provide context for the selective advantage of lldD2 mutations in adapting to host stress.
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Anthony R, Groenheit R, Mansjö M, de Zwaan R, Werngren J. The Relative Positioning of Genotyping and Phenotyping for Tuberculosis Resistance Screening in Two EU National Reference Laboratories in 2023. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1809. [PMID: 37512981 PMCID: PMC10383358 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The routine use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) as a reference typing technique for Mycobacterium tuberculosis epidemiology combined with the catalogued and extensive knowledge base of resistance-associated mutations means an initial susceptibility prediction can be derived from all cultured isolates in our laboratories based on WGS data alone. Preliminary work has confirmed, in our low-burden settings, these predictions are for first-line drugs, reproducible, robust with an accuracy similar to phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (pDST) and in many cases able to also predict the level of resistance (MIC). Routine screening for drug resistance by WGS results in approximately 80% of the isolates received being predicted as fully susceptible to the first-line drugs. Parallel testing with both WGS and pDST has demonstrated that routine pDST of genotypically fully susceptible isolates yields minimal additional information. Thus, rather than re-confirming all fully sensitive WGS-based predictions, we suggest that a more efficient use of available mycobacterial culture capacity in our setting is the development of a more extensive and detailed pDST targeted at any mono or multi-drug-resistant isolates identified by WGS screening. Phenotypic susceptibility retains a key role in the determination of an extended susceptibility profile for mono/multi-drugresistant isolates identified by WGS screening. The pDST information collected is also needed to support the development of future catalogues of resistance-associated mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Anthony
- National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), 3721BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Ramona Groenheit
- Supranational Reference Laboratory for Tuberculosis, Public Health Agency of Sweden, 171 82 Solna, Sweden
| | - Mikael Mansjö
- Supranational Reference Laboratory for Tuberculosis, Public Health Agency of Sweden, 171 82 Solna, Sweden
| | - Rina de Zwaan
- National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), 3721BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Jim Werngren
- Supranational Reference Laboratory for Tuberculosis, Public Health Agency of Sweden, 171 82 Solna, Sweden
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Zhou Z, Yi H, Zhou Q, Wang L, Zhu Y, Wang W, Liu Z, Xiong H. Evolution and epidemic success of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in eastern China: evidence from a prospective study. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:241. [PMID: 37147590 PMCID: PMC10161668 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09312-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lineage distribution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) isolates is strongly associated with geographically distinct human populations, and its transmission can be further impacted by the bacterial genome. However, the epidemic success of Mtb isolates at an individual level was unknown in eastern China. Knowledge regarding the emergence and transmission of Mtb isolates as well as relevant factors may offer a new solution to curb the spread of the disease. Thus, this study aims to reveal the evolution and epidemic success of Mtb isolates in eastern China. RESULTS Of initial 1040 isolates, 997 were retained after removing duplicates and those with insufficient sequencing depth. Of the final samples, 733 (73.52%) were from Zhejiang Province, and 264 (26.48%) were from Shanghai City. Lineage 2 and lineage 4 accounted for 80.44% and 19.56%, with common ancestors dating around 7017 years ago and 6882 years ago, respectively. Sub-lineage L2.2 (80.34%) contributed the majority of total isolates, followed by L4.4 (8.93%) and L4.5 (8.43%). Additionally, 51 (5.12%) isolates were identified to be multidrug-resistant (MDR), of which 21 (29.17%) were pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR). One clade harboring katG S315T mutation may date back to 65 years ago and subsequently acquired mutations conferring resistance to another five antibiotic drugs. The prevalence of compensatory mutation was the highest in pre-XDR isolates (76.19%), followed by MDR isolates (47.06%) and other drug-resistant isolates (20.60%). Time-scaled haplotypic density analyses suggested comparable success indices between lineage 2 and lineage 4 (P = 0.306), and drug resistance did not significantly promote the transmission of Mtb isolates (P = 0.340). But for pre-XDR isolates, we found a higher success index in those with compensatory mutations (P = 0.025). Mutations under positive selection were found in genes associated with resistance to second-line injectables (whiB6) and drug tolerance (prpR) in both lineage 2 and lineage 4. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates the population expansion of lineage 2 and lineage 4 in eastern China, with comparable transmission capacity, while accumulation of resistance mutations does not necessarily facilitate the success of Mtb isolates. Compensatory mutations usually accompany drug resistance and significantly contribute to the epidemiological transmission of pre-XDR strains. Prospective molecular surveillance is required to further monitor the emergence and spread of pre-XDR/XDR strains in eastern China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zonglei Zhou
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Huaiming Yi
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Changshan County, 324200, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qingrong Zhou
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Jiangshan City, 324100, Zhejiang, China
| | - Luqi Wang
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yue Zhu
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Weibing Wang
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Zhengwe Liu
- Institute of Tuberculosis Control, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 310051, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Haiyan Xiong
- School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
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Stanley S, Spaulding CN, Liu Q, Chase MR, Ha DTM, Thai PVK, Lan NH, Thu DDA, Quang NL, Brown J, Hicks ND, Wang X, Marin M, Howard NC, Vickers AJ, Karpinski WM, Chao MC, Farhat MR, Caws M, Dunstan SJ, Thuong NTT, Fortune SM. High-throughput phenogenotyping of Mycobacteria tuberculosis clinical strains reveals bacterial determinants of treatment outcomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.09.536166. [PMID: 37090677 PMCID: PMC10120664 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.09.536166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Background Combatting the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) necessitates a better understanding of the factors contributing to patient clinical outcomes and transmission. While host and environmental factors have been evaluated, the impact of Mtb genetic background and phenotypic diversity is underexplored. Previous work has made associations between Mtb genetic lineages and some clinical and epidemiological features, but the bacterial traits underlying these connections are largely unknown. Methods We developed a high-throughput functional genomics platform for defining genotype-phenotype relationships across a panel of Mtb clinical isolates. These phenotypic fitness profiles function as intermediate traits which can be linked to Mtb genetic variants and associated with clinical and epidemiological outcomes. We applied this approach to a collection of 158 Mtb strains from a study of Mtb transmission in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Mtb strains were genetically tagged in multiplicate, which allowed us to pool the strains and assess in vitro competitive fitness using deep sequencing across a set of 14 host-relevant antibiotic and metabolic conditions. Phylogenetic and monogenic associations with these intermediate traits were identified and then associated with clinical outcomes. Findings Mtb clinical strains have a broad range of growth and drug response dynamics that can be clustered by their phylogenetic relationships. We identified novel monogenic associations with Mtb fitness in various metabolic and antibiotic conditions. Among these, we find that mutations in Rv1339 , a phosphodiesterase, which were identified through their association with slow growth in glycerol, are further associated with treatment failure. We also identify a previously uncharacterized subclade of Lineage 1 strains (L1.1.1.1) that is phenotypically distinguished by slow growth under most antibiotic and metabolic stress conditions in vitro . This clade is associated with cavitary disease, treatment failure, and demonstrates increased transmission potential. Interpretation High-throughput phenogenotyping of Mtb clinical strains enabled bacterial intermediate trait identification that can provide a mechanistic link between Mtb genetic variation and patient clinical outcomes. Mtb strains associated with cavitary disease, treatment failure, and transmission potential display intermediate phenotypes distinguished by slow growth under various antibiotic and metabolic conditions. These data suggest that Mtb growth regulation is an adaptive advantage for host bacterial success in human populations, in at least some circumstances. These data further suggest markers for the underlying bacterial processes that govern these clinical outcomes. Funding National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: P01 AI132130 (SS, SMF); P01 AI143575 (XW, SMF); U19 AI142793 (QL, SMF); 5T32AI132120-03 (SS); 5T32AI132120-04 (SS); 5T32AI049928-17 (SS) Wellcome Trust Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine: 097124/Z/11/Z (NTTT) National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/A*STAR joint call: APP1056689 (SJD) The funding sources had no involvement in study methodology, data collection, analysis, and interpretation nor in the writing or submission of the manuscript. Research in context Evidence before this study: We used different combinations of the words mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis, clinical strains, intermediate phenotypes, genetic barcoding, phenogenomics, cavitary disease, treatment failure, and transmission to search the PubMed database for all studies published up until January 20 th , 2022. We only considered English language publications, which biases our search. Previous work linking Mtb determinants to clinical or epidemiological data has made associations between bacterial lineage, or less frequently, genetic polymorphisms to in vitro or in vivo models of pathogenesis, transmission, and clinical outcomes such as cavitary disease, treatment failure, delayed culture conversion, and severity. Many of these studies focus on the global pandemic Lineage 2 and Lineage 4 Mtb strains due in part to a deletion in a polyketide synthase implicated in host-pathogen interactions. There are a number of Mtb GWAS studies that have led to novel genetic determinants of in vitro drug resistance and tolerance. Previous Mtb GWAS analyses with clinical outcomes did not experimentally test any predicted phenotypes of the clinical strains. Published laboratory-based studies of Mtb clinical strains involve relatively small numbers of strains, do not identify the genetic basis of relevant phenotypes, or link findings to the corresponding clinical outcomes. There are two recent studies of other pathogens that describe phenogenomic analyses. One study of 331 M. abscessus clinical strains performed one-by-one phenotyping to identify bacterial features associated with clearance of infection and another details a competition experiment utilizing three barcoded Plasmodium falciparum clinical isolates to assay antimalarial fitness and resistance. Added value of this study: We developed a functional genomics platform to perform high-throughput phenotyping of Mtb clinical strains. We then used these phenotypes as intermediate traits to identify novel bacterial genetic features associated with clinical outcomes. We leveraged this platform with a sample of 158 Mtb clinical strains from a cross sectional study of Mtb transmission in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. To enable high-throughput phenotyping of large numbers of Mtb clinical isolates, we applied a DNA barcoding approach that has not been previously utilized for the high-throughput analysis of Mtb clinical strains. This approach allowed us to perform pooled competitive fitness assays, tracking strain fitness using deep sequencing. We measured the replicative fitness of the clinical strains in multiplicate under 14 metabolic and antibiotic stress condition. To our knowledge, this is the largest phenotypic screen of Mtb clinical isolates to date. We performed bacterial GWAS to delineate the Mtb genetic variants associated with each fitness phenotype, identifying monogenic associations with several conditions. We then defined Mtb phenotypic and genetic features associated with clinical outcomes. We find that a subclade of Mtb strains, defined by variants largely involved in fatty acid metabolic pathways, share a universal slow growth phenotype that is associated with cavitary disease, treatment failure and increased transmission potential in Vietnam. We also find that mutations in Rv1339 , a poorly characterized phosphodiesterase, also associate with slow growth in vitro and with treatment failure in patients. Implications of all the available evidence: Phenogenomic profiling demonstrates that Mtb strains exhibit distinct growth characteristics under metabolic and antibiotic stress conditions. These fitness profiles can serve as intermediate traits for GWAS and association with clinical outcomes. Intermediate phenotyping allows us to examine potential processes by which bacterial strain differences contribute to clinical outcomes. Our study identifies clinical strains with slow growth phenotypes under in vitro models of antibiotic and host-like metabolic conditions that are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. It is possible that the bacterial intermediate phenotypes we identified are directly related to the mechanisms of these outcomes, or they may serve as markers for the causal yet unidentified bacterial determinants. Via the intermediate phenotyping, we also discovered a surprising diversity in Mtb responses to the new anti-mycobacterial drugs that target central metabolic processes, which will be important in considering roll-out of these new agents. Our study and others that have identified Mtb determinants of TB clinical and epidemiological phenotypes should inform efforts to improve diagnostics and drug regimen design.
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Liu Q, Zhu J, Dulberger CL, Stanley S, Wilson S, Chung ES, Wang X, Culviner P, Liu YJ, Hicks ND, Babunovic GH, Giffen SR, Aldridge BB, Garner EC, Rubin EJ, Chao MC, Fortune SM. Tuberculosis treatment failure associated with evolution of antibiotic resilience. Science 2022; 378:1111-1118. [PMID: 36480634 PMCID: PMC9968493 DOI: 10.1126/science.abq2787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The widespread use of antibiotics has placed bacterial pathogens under intense pressure to evolve new survival mechanisms. Genomic analysis of 51,229 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)clinical isolates has identified an essential transcriptional regulator, Rv1830, herein called resR for resilience regulator, as a frequent target of positive (adaptive) selection. resR mutants do not show canonical drug resistance or drug tolerance but instead shorten the post-antibiotic effect, meaning that they enable Mtb to resume growth after drug exposure substantially faster than wild-type strains. We refer to this phenotype as antibiotic resilience. ResR acts in a regulatory cascade with other transcription factors controlling cell growth and division, which are also under positive selection in clinical isolates of Mtb. Mutations of these genes are associated with treatment failure and the acquisition of canonical drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyun Liu
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Junhao Zhu
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Charles L. Dulberger
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sydney Stanley
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sean Wilson
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eun Seon Chung
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Peter Culviner
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Yue J. Liu
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Nathan D. Hicks
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gregory H. Babunovic
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Samantha R. Giffen
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Bree B. Aldridge
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ethan C. Garner
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eric J. Rubin
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Michael C. Chao
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sarah M. Fortune
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA,Corresponding author.
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Poulton NC, Rock JM. Unraveling the mechanisms of intrinsic drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:997283. [PMID: 36325467 PMCID: PMC9618640 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.997283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is among the most difficult infections to treat, requiring several months of multidrug therapy to produce a durable cure. The reasons necessitating long treatment times are complex and multifactorial. However, one major difficulty of treating TB is the resistance of the infecting bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), to many distinct classes of antimicrobials. This review will focus on the major gaps in our understanding of intrinsic drug resistance in Mtb and how functional and chemical-genetics can help close those gaps. A better understanding of intrinsic drug resistance will help lay the foundation for strategies to disarm and circumvent these mechanisms to develop more potent antitubercular therapies.
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10
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Jones RM, Adams KN, Eldesouky HE, Sherman DR. The evolving biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1027394. [PMID: 36275024 PMCID: PMC9579286 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1027394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an ancient disease that has remained a leading cause of infectious death. Mtb has evolved drug resistance to every antibiotic regimen ever introduced, greatly complicating treatment, lowering rates of cure and menacing TB control in parts of the world. As technology has advanced, our understanding of antimicrobial resistance has improved, and our models of the phenomenon have evolved. In this review, we focus on recent research progress that supports an updated model for the evolution of drug resistance in Mtb. We highlight the contribution of drug tolerance on the path to resistance, and the influence of heterogeneity on tolerance. Resistance is likely to remain an issue for as long as drugs are needed to treat TB. However, with technology driving new insights and careful management of newly developed resources, antimicrobial resistance need not continue to threaten global progress against TB, as it has done for decades.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - David R. Sherman
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
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11
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Stanley S, Liu Q, Fortune SM. Mycobacterium tuberculosis functional genetic diversity, altered drug sensitivity, and precision medicine. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1007958. [PMID: 36262182 PMCID: PMC9574059 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1007958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In the face of the unrelenting global burden of tuberculosis (TB), antibiotics remain our most effective tools to save lives and control the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, we confront a dual challenge in our use of antibiotics: simplifying and shortening the TB drug regimen while also limiting the emergence and propagation of antibiotic resistance. This task is now more feasible due to the increasing availability of bacterial genomic data at or near the point of care. These resources create an opportunity to envision how integration of bacterial genetic determinants of antibiotic response into treatment algorithms might transform TB care. Historically, Mtb drug resistance studies focused on mutations in genes encoding antibiotic targets and the resulting increases in the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) above a breakpoint value. But recent progress in elucidating the effects of functional genetic diversity in Mtb has revealed various genetic loci that are associated with drug phenotypes such as low-level MIC increases and tolerance which predict the development of resistance and treatment failure. As a result, we are now poised to advance precision medicine approaches in TB treatment. By incorporating information regarding Mtb genetic characteristics into the development of drug regimens, clinical care which tailors antibiotic treatment to maximize the likelihood of success has come into reach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydney Stanley
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Qingyun Liu
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
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12
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Miotto P, Sorrentino R, De Giorgi S, Provvedi R, Cirillo DM, Manganelli R. Transcriptional regulation and drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:990312. [PMID: 36118045 PMCID: PMC9480834 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.990312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial drug resistance is one of the major challenges to present and future human health, as the continuous selection of multidrug resistant bacteria poses at serious risk the possibility to treat infectious diseases in the near future. One of the infection at higher risk to become incurable is tuberculosis, due to the few drugs available in the market against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Drug resistance in this species is usually due to point mutations in the drug target or in proteins required to activate prodrugs. However, another interesting and underexplored aspect of bacterial physiology with important impact on drug susceptibility is represented by the changes in transcriptional regulation following drug exposure. The main regulators involved in this phenomenon in M. tuberculosis are the sigma factors, and regulators belonging to the WhiB, GntR, XRE, Mar and TetR families. Better understanding the impact of these regulators in survival to drug treatment might contribute to identify new drug targets and/or to design new strategies of intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Miotto
- Emerging Bacterial Pathogens Unit, Div. of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Emerging Bacterial Pathogens Unit, Div. of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy
| | - Stefano De Giorgi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Daniela Maria Cirillo
- Emerging Bacterial Pathogens Unit, Div. of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy
| | - Riccardo Manganelli
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- *Correspondence: Riccardo Manganelli,
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13
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Merker M, Rasigade JP, Barbier M, Cox H, Feuerriegel S, Kohl TA, Shitikov E, Klaos K, Gaudin C, Antoine R, Diel R, Borrell S, Gagneux S, Nikolayevskyy V, Andres S, Crudu V, Supply P, Niemann S, Wirth T. Transcontinental spread and evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis W148 European/Russian clade toward extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5105. [PMID: 36042200 PMCID: PMC9426364 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32455-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmission-driven multi-/extensively drug resistant (M/XDR) tuberculosis (TB) is the largest single contributor to human mortality due to antimicrobial resistance. A few major clades of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex belonging to lineage 2, responsible for high prevalence of MDR-TB in Eurasia, show outstanding transnational distributions. Here, we determined factors underlying the emergence and epidemic spread of the W148 clade by genome sequencing and Bayesian demogenetic analyses of 720 isolates from 23 countries. We dated a common ancestor around 1963 and identified two successive epidemic expansions in the late 1980s and late 1990s, coinciding with major socio-economic changes in the post-Soviet Era. These population expansions favored accumulation of resistance mutations to up to 11 anti-TB drugs, with MDR evolving toward additional resistances to fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs within 20 years on average. Timescaled haplotypic density analysis revealed that widespread acquisition of compensatory mutations was associated with transmission success of XDR strains. Virtually all W148 strains harbored a hypervirulence-associated ppe38 gene locus, and incipient recurrent emergence of prpR mutation-mediated drug tolerance was detected. The outstanding genetic arsenal of this geographically widespread M/XDR strain clade represents a “perfect storm” that jeopardizes the successful introduction of new anti-M/XDR-TB antibiotic regimens. An outbreak of the multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage W148 has spread widely across Russia, Central Asia and Europe. Here, the authors use whole genome sequences of ~700 isolates of this lineage collected over ~20 years to analyze its spread, evolution of drug resistance, and impact of compensatory mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Merker
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research, Partner site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany.,Evolution of the Resistome, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
| | - Jean-Philippe Rasigade
- EPHE, PSL University, Paris, France.,Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France.,Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, INSERM U1111, CNRS UMR5308, Université Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Maxime Barbier
- EPHE, PSL University, Paris, France.,Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Helen Cox
- Division of Medical Microbiology and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Silke Feuerriegel
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research, Partner site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany
| | - Thomas A Kohl
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research, Partner site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany
| | - Egor Shitikov
- Federal Research and Clinical Centre of Physical-Chemical Medicine, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Kadri Klaos
- SA TUH United Laboratories, Mycobacteriology, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Rudy Antoine
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 9017 - CIIL - Centre d'Infection et d'Immunité de Lille, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Roland Diel
- Institute for Epidemiology, Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital, Kiel, Germany.,Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf, German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Airway Research Center North (ARCN), 22927, Großhansdorf, Germany
| | - Sonia Borrell
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sebastien Gagneux
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Sönke Andres
- National and WHO Supranational Reference Center for Mycobacteria, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
| | - Valeriu Crudu
- National TB Reference Laboratory, Institute of Phthisiopneumology, Chisinau, Moldova
| | - Philip Supply
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 9017 - CIIL - Centre d'Infection et d'Immunité de Lille, F-59000, Lille, France.
| | - Stefan Niemann
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany. .,German Center for Infection Research, Partner site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Borstel, Germany.
| | - Thierry Wirth
- EPHE, PSL University, Paris, France. .,Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France.
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14
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Martini MC, Hicks ND, Xiao J, Alonso MN, Barbier T, Sixsmith J, Fortune SM, Shell SS. Loss of RNase J leads to multi-drug tolerance and accumulation of highly structured mRNA fragments in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010705. [PMID: 35830479 PMCID: PMC9312406 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the existence of well-characterized, canonical mutations that confer high-level drug resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), there is evidence that drug resistance mechanisms are more complex than simple acquisition of such mutations. Recent studies have shown that Mtb can acquire non-canonical resistance-associated mutations that confer survival advantages in the presence of certain drugs, likely acting as stepping-stones for acquisition of high-level resistance. Rv2752c/rnj, encoding RNase J, is disproportionately mutated in drug-resistant clinical Mtb isolates. Here we show that deletion of rnj confers increased tolerance to lethal concentrations of several drugs. RNAseq revealed that RNase J affects expression of a subset of genes enriched for PE/PPE genes and stable RNAs and is key for proper 23S rRNA maturation. Gene expression differences implicated two sRNAs and ppe50-ppe51 as important contributors to the drug tolerance phenotype. In addition, we found that in the absence of RNase J, many short RNA fragments accumulate because they are degraded at slower rates. We show that the accumulated transcript fragments are targets of RNase J and are characterized by strong secondary structure and high G+C content, indicating that RNase J has a rate-limiting role in degradation of highly structured RNAs. Taken together, our results demonstrate that RNase J indirectly affects drug tolerance, as well as reveal the endogenous roles of RNase J in mycobacterial RNA metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Carla Martini
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nathan D. Hicks
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Junpei Xiao
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Maria Natalia Alonso
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Thibault Barbier
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jaimie Sixsmith
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sarah M. Fortune
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (SMF); (SSS)
| | - Scarlet S. Shell
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (SMF); (SSS)
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15
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Li S, Poulton NC, Chang JS, Azadian ZA, DeJesus MA, Ruecker N, Zimmerman MD, Eckartt KA, Bosch B, Engelhart CA, Sullivan DF, Gengenbacher M, Dartois VA, Schnappinger D, Rock JM. CRISPRi chemical genetics and comparative genomics identify genes mediating drug potency in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nat Microbiol 2022; 7:766-779. [PMID: 35637331 PMCID: PMC9159947 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01130-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is notoriously difficult to treat. Treatment efficacy is limited by Mtb's intrinsic drug resistance, as well as its ability to evolve acquired resistance to all antituberculars in clinical use. A deeper understanding of the bacterial pathways that influence drug efficacy could facilitate the development of more effective therapies, identify new mechanisms of acquired resistance, and reveal overlooked therapeutic opportunities. Here we developed a CRISPR interference chemical-genetics platform to titrate the expression of Mtb genes and quantify bacterial fitness in the presence of different drugs. We discovered diverse mechanisms of intrinsic drug resistance, unveiling hundreds of potential targets for synergistic drug combinations. Combining chemical genetics with comparative genomics of Mtb clinical isolates, we further identified several previously unknown mechanisms of acquired drug resistance, one of which is associated with a multidrug-resistant tuberculosis outbreak in South America. Lastly, we found that the intrinsic resistance factor whiB7 was inactivated in an entire Mtb sublineage endemic to Southeast Asia, presenting an opportunity to potentially repurpose the macrolide antibiotic clarithromycin to treat tuberculosis. This chemical-genetic map provides a rich resource to understand drug efficacy in Mtb and guide future tuberculosis drug development and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuqi Li
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nicholas C Poulton
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jesseon S Chang
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zachary A Azadian
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael A DeJesus
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nadine Ruecker
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matthew D Zimmerman
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Kathryn A Eckartt
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Barbara Bosch
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Curtis A Engelhart
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniel F Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Martin Gengenbacher
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
- Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Véronique A Dartois
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
- Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Dirk Schnappinger
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jeremy M Rock
- Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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16
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Phosphoproteomics of Mycobacterium-host interaction and inspirations for novel measures against tuberculosis. Cell Signal 2022; 91:110238. [PMID: 34986388 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2021.110238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains a tremendous global public health concern. Deciphering the biology of the pathogen and its interaction with host can inspire new measures against tuberculosis. Phosphorylation plays versatile and important role in the pathogen and host physiology, such as virulence, signaling and immune response. Proteome-wide phosphorylation of Mtb and its infected host cells, namely phosphoproteome, can inform the post-translational modification of the interaction network between the pathogen and the host, key targets for novel antibiotics. We summarized the phosphoproteome of Mtb, as well as the host, focusing on potential application for new measures against tuberculosis.
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17
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Furió V, Moreno-Molina M, Chiner-Oms Á, Villamayor LM, Torres-Puente M, Comas I. An evolutionary functional genomics approach identifies novel candidate regions involved in isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1322. [PMID: 34819627 PMCID: PMC8613195 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02846-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Efforts to eradicate tuberculosis are hampered by the rise and spread of antibiotic resistance. Several large-scale projects have aimed to specifically link clinical mutations to resistance phenotypes, but they were limited in both their explanatory and predictive powers. Here, we combine functional genomics and phylogenetic associations using clinical strain genomes to decipher the architecture of isoniazid resistance and search for new resistance determinants. This approach has allowed us to confirm the main target route of the antibiotic, determine the clinical relevance of redox metabolism as an isoniazid resistance mechanism and identify novel candidate genes harboring resistance mutations in strains with previously unexplained isoniazid resistance. This approach can be useful for characterizing how the tuberculosis bacilli acquire resistance to new antibiotics and how to forestall them. Victoria Furió et al. apply functional genomics and evolutionary analyses to the study of antibiotic resistance in tuberculosis. Focusing on isoniazid resistance and using genomic data from clinical strains, they identify novel candidate genes with resistance mutations and further uncover the mechanisms underlying drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Furió
- Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (IBV-CSIC), Valencia, 46020, Spain.
| | | | - Álvaro Chiner-Oms
- Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (IBV-CSIC), Valencia, 46020, Spain
| | | | | | - Iñaki Comas
- Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (IBV-CSIC), Valencia, 46020, Spain.,CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health, Madrid, 28029, Spain
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18
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Patel V, Matange N. Adaptation and compensation in a bacterial gene regulatory network evolving under antibiotic selection. eLife 2021; 10:70931. [PMID: 34591012 PMCID: PMC8483737 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene regulatory networks allow organisms to generate coordinated responses to environmental challenges. In bacteria, regulatory networks are re-wired and re-purposed during evolution, though the relationship between selection pressures and evolutionary change is poorly understood. In this study, we discover that the early evolutionary response of Escherichia coli to the antibiotic trimethoprim involves derepression of PhoPQ signaling, an Mg2+-sensitive two-component system, by inactivation of the MgrB feedback-regulatory protein. We report that derepression of PhoPQ confers trimethoprim-tolerance to E. coli by hitherto unrecognized transcriptional upregulation of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), target of trimethoprim. As a result, mutations in mgrB precede and facilitate the evolution of drug resistance. Using laboratory evolution, genome sequencing, and mutation re-construction, we show that populations of E. coli challenged with trimethoprim are faced with the evolutionary ‘choice’ of transitioning from tolerant to resistant by mutations in DHFR, or compensating for the fitness costs of PhoPQ derepression by inactivating the RpoS sigma factor, itself a PhoPQ-target. Outcomes at this evolutionary branch-point are determined by the strength of antibiotic selection, such that high pressures favor resistance, while low pressures favor cost compensation. Our results relate evolutionary changes in bacterial gene regulatory networks to strength of selection and provide mechanistic evidence to substantiate this link.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishwa Patel
- Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, India.,Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Nishad Matange
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India
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19
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Muzondiwa D, Hlanze H, Reva ON. The Epistatic Landscape of Antibiotic Resistance of Different Clades of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021; 10:857. [PMID: 34356778 PMCID: PMC8300818 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10070857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug resistance (DR) remains a global challenge in tuberculosis (TB) control. In order to develop molecular-based diagnostic methods to replace the traditional culture-based diagnostics, there is a need for a thorough understanding of the processes that govern TB drug resistance. The use of whole-genome sequencing coupled with statistical and computational methods has shown great potential in unraveling the complexity of the evolution of DR-TB. In this study, we took an innovative approach that sought to determine nonrandom associations between polymorphic sites in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) genomes. Attributable risk statistics were applied to identify the epistatic determinants of DR in different clades of Mtb and the possible evolutionary pathways of DR development. It was found that different lineages of Mtb exploited different evolutionary trajectories towards multidrug resistance and compensatory evolution to reduce the DR-associated fitness cost. Epistasis of DR acquisition is a new area of research that will aid in the better understanding of evolutionary biological processes and allow predicting upcoming multidrug-resistant pathogens before a new outbreak strikes humanity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Oleg N. Reva
- Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (D.M.); (H.H.)
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20
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Namboori PKK, Balasubramaniam V. Development of Hif1α pharmacogenomic mutation models to study individual variations in drug action for tumor hypoxia: An in silico approach. JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND BIOALLIED SCIENCES 2021; 13:387-393. [PMID: 35399804 PMCID: PMC8985835 DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_766_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: Tumor hypoxia, a predominant feature of solid tumor produces drug resistance that significantly impacts a patient's clinical outcomes. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1α) is the major mutation involved in establishing the microenvironment. As a consequence of its involvement in pathways that enable rapid tumor growth, it creates resistance to chemotherapeutic treatments. The propensity of medications to demonstrate drug action often diverges according to the genetic composition. The aim of this study is therefore to examine the effect of population-dependent drug response variations using mutation models. Methods: Genetic variations distinctive to major super-populations were identified, and the mutated gene was acquired as a result of incorporating the variants. The mutated gene sequence was transcribed and translated to obtain the target amino acid sequence. To investigate the effects of mutations, protein models were developed using homology modeling. The target templates for the backbone structure were identified by characterization of primary and secondary protein structures. The modeled proteins were then validated for structural confirmation and flexibility. Potential models were used for interaction studies with hypoxia-specific molecules (tirapazamine, apaziquone, and ENMD) using docking analysis. To verify their stability under pre-defined dynamic conditions, the complexes were subjected to molecular dynamics simulation. Results: The current research models demonstrate with the pharmacogenomic-based mutation of HIF1α the impact of individual variants in altering the person-specific drug response under tumor hypoxic conditions. It also elucidates that the therapeutic effect is altered concerning population-dependent genetic changes in the individual. Conclusion: The study, therefore, asserts the need to set up a personalized drug design approach to enhance tumor hypoxia treatment efficacy.
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