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Gontijo M, Pereira Teles M, Martins Correia H, Pérez Jorge G, Rodrigues Santos Goes IC, Fasabi Flores AJ, Braz M, de Moraes Ceseti L, Zonzini Ramos P, Rosa e Silva I, Pereira Vidigal PM, Kobarg J, Miguez Couñago R, Alvarez-Martinez CE, Pereira C, Freire CSR, Almeida A, Brocchi M. Combined effect of SAR-endolysin LysKpV475 with polymyxin B and Salmonella bacteriophage phSE-5. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2024; 170:001462. [PMID: 38739436 PMCID: PMC11170124 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Endolysins are bacteriophage (or phage)-encoded enzymes that catalyse the peptidoglycan breakdown in the bacterial cell wall. The exogenous action of recombinant phage endolysins against Gram-positive organisms has been extensively studied. However, the outer membrane acts as a physical barrier when considering the use of recombinant endolysins to combat Gram-negative bacteria. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the SAR-endolysin LysKpV475 against Gram-negative bacteria as single or combined therapies, using an outer membrane permeabilizer (polymyxin B) and a phage, free or immobilized in a pullulan matrix. In the first step, the endolysin LysKpV475 in solution, alone and combined with polymyxin B, was tested in vitro and in vivo against ten Gram-negative bacteria, including highly virulent strains and multidrug-resistant isolates. In the second step, the lyophilized LysKpV475 endolysin was combined with the phage phSE-5 and investigated, free or immobilized in a pullulan matrix, against Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 13311. The bacteriostatic action of purified LysKpV475 varied between 8.125 μg ml-1 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, 16.25 μg ml-1 against S. enterica Typhimurium ATCC 13311, and 32.50 μg ml-1 against Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC BAA-2146 and Enterobacter cloacae P2224. LysKpV475 showed bactericidal activity only for P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (32.50 μg ml-1) and P. aeruginosa P2307 (65.00 μg ml-1) at the tested concentrations. The effect of the LysKpV475 combined with polymyxin B increased against K. pneumoniae ATCC BAA-2146 [fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) 0.34; a value lower than 1.0 indicates an additive/combined effect] and S. enterica Typhimurium ATCC 13311 (FICI 0.93). A synergistic effect against S. enterica Typhimurium was also observed when the lyophilized LysKpV475 at ⅔ MIC was combined with the phage phSE-5 (m.o.i. of 100). The lyophilized LysKpV475 immobilized in a pullulan matrix maintained a significant Salmonella reduction of 2 logs after 6 h of treatment. These results demonstrate the potential of SAR-endolysins, alone or in combination with other treatments, in the free form or immobilized in solid matrices, which paves the way for their application in different areas, such as in biocontrol at the food processing stage, biosanitation of food contact surfaces and biopreservation of processed food in active food packing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Gontijo
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Mateus Pereira Teles
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
- Laboratório Nacional de Biociências (LNBio), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM), Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil
- Department of Biology, and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Hugo Martins Correia
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Genesy Pérez Jorge
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
- Research Group Statistics and Mathematical Modeling Applied to Educational Quality (GEMMA), University of Sucre, Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia
| | - Isabella Carolina Rodrigues Santos Goes
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Anthony Jhoao Fasabi Flores
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Márcia Braz
- Department of Biology, and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Lucas de Moraes Ceseti
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Priscila Zonzini Ramos
- Centro de Química Medicinal, Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Ivan Rosa e Silva
- Laboratório Nacional de Biociências (LNBio), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM), Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-871, Brazil
| | - Pedro Marcus Pereira Vidigal
- Núcleo de Análise de Biomoléculas (NuBioMol), Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, MG 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Jörg Kobarg
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-871, Brazil
| | - Rafael Miguez Couñago
- Centro de Química Medicinal, Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil
| | - Cristina Elisa Alvarez-Martinez
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
| | - Carla Pereira
- Department of Biology, and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Carmen S. R. Freire
- CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Adelaide Almeida
- Department of Biology, and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Marcelo Brocchi
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução, Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-862, Brazil
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Borrelia burgdorferi DnaA and the Nucleoid-Associated Protein EbfC Coordinate Expression of the dnaX-ebfC Operon. J Bacteriol 2023; 205:e0039622. [PMID: 36533911 PMCID: PMC9879097 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00396-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete agent of Lyme disease, has evolved within a consistent infectious cycle between tick and vertebrate hosts. The transmission of the pathogen from tick to vertebrate is characterized by rapid replication and a change in the outer surface protein profile. EbfC, a highly conserved nucleoid-associated protein, binds throughout the borrelial genome, affecting expression of many genes, including the Erp outer surface proteins. In B. burgdorferi, like many other bacterial species, ebfC is cotranscribed with dnaX, an essential component of the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, which facilitates chromosomal replication. The expression of the dnaX-ebfC operon is tied to the spirochete's replication rate, but the underlying mechanism for this connection was unknown. In this work, we provide evidence that the expression of dnaX-ebfC is controlled by direct interactions of DnaA, the chromosomal replication initiator, and EbfC at the unusually long dnaX-ebfC 5' untranslated region (UTR). Both proteins bind to the 5' UTR DNA, with EbfC also binding to the RNA. The DNA binding of DnaA to this region was similarly impacted by ATP and ADP. In vitro studies characterized DnaA as an activator of dnaX-ebfC and EbfC as an antiactivator. We further found evidence that DnaA may regulate other genes essential for replication. IMPORTANCE The dual life cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is characterized by periods of rapid and slowed replication. The expression patterns of many of the spirochete's virulence factors are impacted by these changes in replication rates. The connection between replication and virulence can be understood at the dnaX-ebfC operon. DnaX is an essential component of the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, which replicates the chromosome. EbfC is a nucleoid-associated protein that regulates the infection-associated outer surface Erp proteins, as well as other transcripts. The expression of dnaX-ebfC is tied to replication rate, which we demonstrate is mediated by DnaA, the master chromosomal initiator protein and transcription factor, and EbfC.
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