Project description:Acinetobacter baumannii is an ESKAPE pathogen that rapidly develops resistance to antibiotics and persists for extended periods in the host or on abiotic surfaces. Survival in environmental stress such as phosphate scarcity, represents a clinically significant challenge for nosocomial pathogens. In the face of phosphate starvation, certain bacteria encode adaptive strategies, including the substitution of glycerophospholipids with phosphorus-free lipids. In bacteria, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and cardiolipin are conserved glycerophospholipids that can form lipid bilayers, particularly in the presence of other lipids. Here, we demonstrate that in response to phosphate limitation, conserved regulatory mechanisms induce alternative lipid production in A. baumannii. Specifically, phosphate limitation induces formation of three lipids, including amine-containing ornithine and lysine aminolipids. Mutations that inactivate aminolipid biosynthesis exhibit fitness defects relative to wild type in colistin growth and killing assays. Furthermore, we show that other Gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens accumulate aminolipids under phosphate limiting growth conditions, suggesting aminolipid biosynthesis may represent a broad strategy to overcome cationic antimicrobial peptide-mediated killing.
Project description:Traditional vaccines are difficult to deploy against the diverse antibiotic-resistant, nosocomial pathogens that cause Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs). We developed a unique, protein-free vaccine to present antibiotic-resistant HAIs. This vaccine protected mice from invasive infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Rhizopus delemar, and Candida albicans. Protection persisted even in neutropenic mice infected with A. baumannii or R. delemar. Protection was already apparent after 24 hours and lasted for up to 21 days after a single dose, with a second dose restoring efficacy. Protection persisted without lymphocytes but was abrogated with macrophages depletion. This vaccine induced trained immunity by altering the macrophage epigenetic landscape and the inflammatory response to infection.
Project description:Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the microbiological characteristics of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) to understand their mechanisms of inhibition of Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) in vitro. Methods: We assessed the inhibitory effects of P. aeruginosa on A. baumannii using a modified cross-streak assay. Subsequently, OMVs were extracted from P. aeruginosa strains using high-speed centrifugation, tangential flow filtration, ultrafiltration, and ultracentrifugation. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nanoparticle tracking assays (NTAs) were performed to confirm the presence of the extracted OMVs. P. aeruginosa-derived OMVs’ inhibitory activity against A. baumannii was tested using a modified time-kill assay. The proteomic analysis of OMVs revealed potential antibacterial protein clusters with diverse functions. Results: P. aeruginosa 022 (PA022) demonstrated inhibition of A. baumannii in the cross-streak assay. The protein levels of OMVs for PA022 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (PA ATCC 27853) were 1665 and 428.6 μg/mL, respectively. Additionally, PA 022 and PA ATCC 27853 exhibited variable patterns and sizes in the SDS-PAGE, TEM, and NTA. Furthermore, the growth inhibitory effect of PA022 OMVs on A. baumannii was evaluated using a modified time-kill assay. The proteomic analysis of OMVs revealed potential antibacterial protein clusters in PA 022 associated with virulence, motility, and post-translational modifications. Conclusion: Our study contributes to the understanding of P. aeruginosa OMVs characteristics and their inhibitory effect against A. baumannii, providing insights into the development of alternative therapeutic approaches against multi-drug resistance.
Project description:Preventing the adhesion of pathogens to host cells provides an innovative approach to tackling multidrug-resistant bacteria. In this regard, the identification of outer membrane protein A (OmpA) as a key bacterial virulence factor has been a major breakthrough. The use of virtual screening helped us to identify a cyclic hexapeptide AOA-2 that inhibits the adhesion of Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli to host cells and the formation of biofilm, thereby preventing the development of infection in vitro and in a murine sepsis peritoneal model. Inhibition of OmpA offers a strategy as monotherapy to address the urgent need for treatments for infections caused by Gram-negative bacilli.
Project description:We developed a rapid high-throughput PCR test and evaluated highly antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates of Escherichia coli (n = 2,919), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 1,974), Proteus mirabilis (n = 1,150), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 1,484) for several antibiotic resistance genes for comparison with phenotypic resistance across penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fluoroquinolones, and macrolides. The isolates originated from hospitals in North America (34%), Europe (23%), Asia (13%), South America (12%), Africa (7%), or Oceania (1%) or were of unknown origin (9%). We developed statistical methods to predict phenotypic resistance from resistance genes for 49 antibiotic-organism combinations, including gentamicin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ertapenem, imipenem, cefazolin, cefepime, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, ampicillin, and aztreonam. Average positive predictive values for genotypic prediction of phenotypic resistance were 91% for E. coli, 93% for K. pneumoniae, 87% for P. mirabilis, and 92% for P. aeruginosa across the various antibiotics for this highly resistant cohort of bacterial isolates.