1株多重耐药肺炎克雷伯菌耐药基因和整合子、转座子遗传标记研究

目的 了解多重耐药肺炎克雷伯菌的耐药基因存在状况和遗传学背景。方法 聚合酶链反应(RCR)法对多重耐药的肺炎克雷伯菌进行β-内酰胺酶基因、氨基糖苷类修饰酶基因、质粒AmpC酶基因、qacEΔ1-sull耐消毒剂和磺胺基因、整合子遗传标记(整合酶基因)、Tn21/Tn501转座子遗传标记(汞离子还原酶基因)检测。结果 TEM、SHV型β-内酰胺酶基因, DHA型质粒AmpC酶基因,aac(6′)-1型氮基糖苷类修饰酶基因,qacEΔ1-sul1耐消毒剂和磺胺基因,整合子遗传标记(intI1整合酶基因),Tn21/Tn501转座子遗传标记(merA汞离子还原酶基因)检测阳性。结论 多重耐药肺炎克雷伯菌存在多种耐药基因和Ⅰ类整合子、Tn21/Tn501转座子。     

1,3-丙二醇产生菌的诱变育种及培养基优化

以实验室自然筛选的克雷伯氏杆菌(Klebsiella sp.)为出发株,采用紫外诱变及亚硝基胍和超声波协同处理获得一株1,3-丙二醇高产突变株。在摇瓶发酵中,其产1,3-丙二醇产量由17.39 g/L提高到24.11 g/L,提高38.64%。变异株经10次传代培养,发酵能力稳定。对发酵培养基成分进行了优化,优化后1,3-丙二醇产量为30.05g/L,为优化前的1.25倍。     

肺炎克雷伯菌生物膜对小鼠巨噬细胞免疫功能的影响

目的研究肺炎克雷伯菌生物膜(BF)对小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞TLRs mRNA和细胞因子表达的影响,探索机体抗BF感染免疫的特点。方法将雄性昆明种小鼠40只随机分成2组,一组腹腔植入体外形成肺炎克雷伯菌BF的硅胶片,建立留置性医疗装置BF感染模型实验组,另一组植入与实验组同等量的浮游菌作为对照组。实时定量PCR分析2组巨噬细胞TLRs mRNA的表达水平,双抗体夹心ELISA法测定细胞因子的含量。结果实验BF组巨噬细胞TLR2、TLR4 mRNA表达量是对照浮游菌组的0.23和0.24倍;而TLR5、TLR9两组表达差异无显著性。实验BF组刺激前后IL-1、IL-2的差值明显低于对照浮游菌组,而IL-4则相反(P0.01)。结论与浮游菌相比,BF能下调小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞TLR2、TLR4的表达,机体的免疫应答朝着Th2型免疫反应发展,这可能是BF相对浮游菌更容易逃脱机体免疫防御系统、引起慢性感染的机制之一。     

产超广谱β-内酰胺酶细菌耐药性基因型分析

检测我院产超广谱β-内酰胺酶(ESBLs)大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌的耐药性和基因型。表型确定临床分离产ESBLs的大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌56株,应用PCR基因扩增技术及双脱氧DNA测序方法,分别对TEM、SHV、CTX-M-1、CTX-M-2和CTX-M-9编码基因进行分析。产酶菌株对亚胺培南、美洛培南、阿米卡星、头孢吡肟耐药性较低,对其他16种抗生素耐药性较高。在56株菌株中有50株为CTX-M型,占89%,34株为TEM型(60.7%),20株SHV型(35.7%);其中CTX-M-9型共计39株占78%,CTX-M-1型19株占38%,CTX-M-2型16株占32%。产ESBLs大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌的耐药性值得关注,主要临床流行基因型是CTX-M型。     

Evidence for a synergistic salt-protein interaction -- complex patterns of activation vs. inhibition of nitrogenase by salt

The molybdenum nitrogenase enzyme system, comprised of the MoFe protein and the Fe protein, catalyzes the reduction of atmospheric N(2) to NH(3). Interactions between these two proteins and between Fe protein and nucleotides (MgADP and MgATP) are crucial to catalysis. It is well established that salts are inhibitors of nitrogenase catalysis that target these interactions. However, the implications of salt effects are often overlooked. We have reexamined salt effects in light of a comprehensive framework for nitrogenase interactions to offer an in-depth analysis of the sources of salt inhibition and underlying apparent cooperativity. More importantly, we have identified patterns of salt activation of nitrogenase that correspond to at least two mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is that charge screening of MoFe protein-Fe protein interactions in the nitrogenase complex accelerates the rate of nitrogenase complex dissociation, which is the rate-limiting step of catalysis. This kind of salt activation operates under conditions of high catalytic activity and low salt concentrations that may resemble those found in vivo. While simple kinetic arguments are strong evidence for this kind of salt activation, further confirmation was sought by demonstrating that tight complexes that have previously displayed little or no activity due to the inability of Fe protein to dissociate from the complex are activated by the presence of salt. This occurs for the combination Azotobacter vinelandii MoFe protein with: (a) the L127Delta Fe protein; and (b) Clostridium pasteurianum Fe protein. The curvature of activation vs. salt implies a synergistic salt-protein interaction.     

Production of 1,3-propanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae from glycerol broth

Broth containing 152 g glycerol l⁻¹ from Candida krusei culture was converted to 1,3-propanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Residual glucose in the broth promoted growth of K. pneumoniae while acetate was inhibitory. After desalination treatment of glycerol broth by electrodialysis, the acetate in the broth was removed. A fed-batch culture with electrodialytically pretreated broth as␣substrate was developed giving 53 g 1,3- propanediol l⁻¹ with a yield of 0.41 g g⁻¹ glycerol and a productivity of 0.94 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹.     

Human and Pneumococcal Cell Surface Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) Proteins Are Both Ligands of Human C1q Protein

C1q, a key component of the classical complement pathway, is a major player in the response to microbial infection and has been shown to detect noxious altered-self substances such as apoptotic cells. In this work, using complementary experimental approaches, we identified the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as a C1q partner when exposed at the surface of human pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae and human apoptotic cells. The membrane-associated GAPDH on HeLa cells bound the globular regions of C1q as demonstrated by pulldown and cell surface co-localization experiments. Pneumococcal strains deficient in surface-exposed GAPDH harbored a decreased level of C1q recognition when compared with the wild-type strains. Both recombinant human and pneumococcal GAPDHs interacted avidly with C1q as measured by surface plasmon resonance experiments (K_D = 0.34–2.17 nm). In addition, GAPDH-C1q complexes were observed by transmission electron microscopy after cross-linking. The purified pneumococcal GAPDH protein activated C1 in an in vitro assay unlike the human form. Deposition of C1q, C3b, and C4b from human serum at the surface of pneumococcal cells was dependent on the presence of surface-exposed GAPDH. This ability of C1q to sense both human and bacterial GAPDHs sheds new insights on the role of this important defense collagen molecule in modulating the immune response.     

Key role of two terminal domains in the bidirectional polymerization of FtsA protein

The effect of two different truncations involving either the 1C domain or the simultaneous absence of the S12-13 β-strands of the FtsA protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae, located at opposite terminal sides in the molecular structure, suggests that they are essential for ATP-dependent polymerization. These two truncated proteins are not able to polymerize themselves but can be incorporated to some extent into the FtsA(+) polymers during the assembling process. Consequently, they block the growth of the FtsA(+) polymers and slow down the polymerization rate. The combined action of the two truncated proteins produces an additive effect on the inhibition of FtsA(+) polymerization, indicating that each truncation affects a different interaction site within the FtsA molecule.     

The HtrA Protease from Streptococcus pneumoniae Digests Both Denatured Proteins and the Competence-stimulating Peptide

The HtrA protease of Streptococcus pneumoniae functions both in a general stress response role and as an error sensor that specifically represses genetic competence when the overall level of biosynthetic errors in cellular proteins is low. However, the mechanism through which HtrA inhibits development of competence has been unknown. We found that HtrA digested the pneumococcal competence-stimulating peptide (CSP) and constituted the primary extracytoplasmic CSP-degrading activity in cultures of S. pneumoniae. Mass spectrometry demonstrated that cleavage predominantly followed residue Phe-8 of the CSP-1 isoform of the peptide within its central hydrophobic patch, and in competition assays, both CSP-1 and CSP-2 interacted with HtrA with similar efficiencies. More generally, analysis of β-casein digestion and of digestion within HtrA itself revealed a preference for substrates with non-polar residues at the P1 site. Consistent with a specificity for exposed hydrophobic residues, competition from native BSA only weakly inhibited digestion of CSP, but denaturation converted BSA into a strong competitive inhibitor of such proteolysis. Together these findings support a model in which digestion of CSP by HtrA is reduced in the presence of other unfolded proteins that serve as alternative targets for degradation. Such competition may provide a mechanism by which HtrA functions in a quality control capacity to monitor the frequency of biosynthetic errors that result in protein misfolding.