Detection of broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotics through fluorescence-labeling aminoglycoside acetyltransferase(6')-Ii

Aminoglycosides are among the most commonly used antibiotics. The intensive use of aminoglycoside antibiotics has led to the problem of food contamination and the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the present study, we developed an effective method for easy sensitive detection of broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotics. Aminoglycoside 6′-N-acetyltransferase family catalyzes the transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) to the 6′ amino group of the aminoglycoside, which is one of the most widespread determinants of aminoglycoside resistance. Because acetyl-CoA is naturally present only in living organisms, it is expected that the enzyme can bind with aminoglycoside antibiotics without catalysis in vitro. The enzyme was mutated for the introduction of a cysteine residue to flexible loops close to the binding site, which was then labeled with thio-labeling reagent fluorescein-5-maleimide. The labeled enzymes were characterized with kinetic and binding studies of various known aminoglycoside antibiotics. The binding of the labeled enzyme with aminoglycoside antibiotics causes a conformational change of the enzyme, which subsequently changes the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity environment of fluorescent labeling reagent resulting in emission of fluorescence. This study provides a sensitive detection method for residual aminoglycoside antibiotics and strategies to screen and discover new effective aminoglycoside antibiotics.     

细菌对氨基糖苷类抗生素产生抗性的机理及其控制策略

氨基糖苷类抗生素在治疗感染性疾病尤其是革兰氏阴性菌引起的严重感染方面起着重要作用 ,但是耐药菌株的出现较大地限制了此类抗生素的发展 ,因此 ,如何控制耐药性已经成为一项迫切需要解决的任务。细菌对氨基糖苷类抗生素产生抗性的机制很多 ,目前普遍接受的主要有三种 :1. 通过减少对氨基糖苷类抗生素的摄取或减少药物在体内的累积而产生抗性。 2. 通过改变核糖体结合位点而产生抗性。 3. 通过表达氨基糖苷类抗生素修饰酶而产生抗性。目前细菌耐药性的控制主要集中在对原有氨基糖苷类抗生素进行改造或合成新的抗生素 ,开发氨基糖苷类抗生素修饰酶抑制剂。     

3′-Phosphorylation of Aminoglycoside Antibiotics by Some Strains of Nocardia

Some strains of Nocardia were found to contain weak activities to phosphorylate aminoglycoside antibiotics in cell-free extracts. Properties of butirosin A resistant mutants derived from N. asteroides IFO 3423 were examined. An increase in their resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics and their aminoglycoside 3′-phosphotransferase [APh(3′)] contents were shown to be well closely comparable. The findings indicate that APh(3′) of N. asteroides can be a biochemical mechanism in resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics.

The mutant, BUR-38 with the largest increase in APh(3′) was examined for preparation of 3′-phosphate derivatives of aminoglycoside antibiotics. The derivatives were known to be useful intermediates in the chemical transformation of aminoglycoside antibiotics to more potent 3′-deoxy forms against resistant clinically-isolated bacteria. A nonionic detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate was found to be very effective on 3′-phosphorylation of xylostasin and butirosin A by intact cells.     

Aminoglycoside antibiotics block voltage-dependent calcium channels in intact vertebrate nerve terminals

Intrinsic and extrinsic optical signals recorded from the intact nerve terminals of vertebrate neurohypophyses were used to investigate the anatomical site and physiological mechanism of the antagonistic effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics on neurotransmission. Aminoglycoside antibiotics blocked the intrinsic light scattering signal closely associated with neurosecretion in the mouse neurohypophysis in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 of approximately 60 microM and the block was relieved by increasing [Ca2+]o. The rank order potency of different aminoglycoside antibiotics for blocking neurosecretion in this preparation was determined to be: neomycin greater than gentamicin = kanamycin greater than streptomycin. Optical recordings of rapid changes in membrane potential using voltage-sensitive dyes revealed that aminoglycoside antibiotics decreased the Ca(2+)-dependent after-hyperpolarization of the normal action potential and both the magnitude and after-hyperpolarization of the regenerative Ca2+ spike. The after-hyperpolarization results from a Ca-activated potassium conductance whose block by aminoglycoside antibiotics was also reversed by increased [Ca2+]o. These studies demonstrate that the capacity of aminoglycoside antibiotics to antagonize neurotransmission can be attributed to the block of Ca channels in the nerve terminal.     

Calcium reduces toxicity of aminoglycoside antibiotics in sugar beet explants in vitro

Aminoglycoside antibiotics are frequently used for the selection of transgenic plant cells. However, for a number of species aminoglycoside selection is inefficient. The objective of the present study was to elucidate factors affecting the phytoloxic effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics. Using non-transgenic sugar beet cotyledonary explants the interaction between three aminoglycoside antibiotics, kanamycin, neomycin and hygromycin. and Ca²⁺ was studied by monitoring the effects on growth and shoot formation. The phytotoxic effects of the aminoglycoside antibiotics were strongly dependent on the calcium concentration in the growth media. At comparable levels of the antibiotics (kanamycin 170 μ M , neomycin 220 μ M , hygromycin 9.5 μ M , an elevation of the calcium concentration from 1 to 10 m M resulted in growth increases of approximately 3-, 2.5- and 8-fold, respectively, and shoot formation was enhanced 1.5-, 2-and 6-fold, respectively. At lower concentrations of the antibiotics, the toxic effect was nearly abolished by increasing the calcium concentration. Additional magnesium, sodium and ammonium did not affect the phytotoxic effects of the aminoglycoside antibiotics. Moreover, the phytotoxic effects of the herbicides glyphosate and phosphinothricin were not decreased by additional calcium. These data suggest the existence of a specific interaction between calcium and aminoglycoside anfibiotics in plants. The implications of these results for the use of aminoglycosides as selective agents in plant transformation are discussed.     

Genetic reconstruction of protozoan rRNA decoding sites provides a rationale for paromomycin activity against Leishmania and Trypanosoma

Aminoglycoside antibiotics target the ribosomal decoding A-site and are active against a broad spectrum of bacteria. These compounds bind to a highly conserved stem-loop-stem structure in helix 44 of bacterial 16S rRNA. One particular aminoglycoside, paromomycin, also shows potent antiprotozoal activity and is used for the treatment of parasitic infections, e.g. by Leishmania spp. The precise drug target is, however, unclear; in particular whether aminoglycoside antibiotics target the cytosolic and/or the mitochondrial protozoan ribosome. To establish an experimental model for the study of protozoan decoding-site function, we constructed bacterial chimeric ribosomes where the central part of bacterial 16S rRNA helix 44 has been replaced by the corresponding Leishmania and Trypanosoma rRNA sequences. Relating the results from in-vitro ribosomal assays to that of in-vivo aminoglycoside activity against Trypanosoma brucei, as assessed in cell cultures and in a mouse model of infection, we conclude that aminoglycosides affect cytosolic translation while the mitochondrial ribosome of trypanosomes is not a target for aminoglycoside antibiotics.     

Interaction of aminoglycoside antibiotics with surface Asp and Glu residues of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C

The aminoglycoside antibiotics such as neomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin and streptomycin stimulated the purified enzyme phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipases C from Bacillus thuringiensis at pH 5.5. The involvement of net positive charge of aminoglycoside antibiotics (AA) on phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipases C activation was probed by modifying the carboxyl group of Asp and Glu present in the enzyme by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDAC). Intrinsic Trp fluorescence of EDAC modified and unmodified PI-PLC in the presence of AA confirmed the interaction of AA with side chain carboxyl group of aspartic and glutamic acid of the enzyme. Thus, the possible interaction of aminoglycoside antibiotics with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipases C is predicted to be mediated through the aspartic and glutamic acid residue(s) of the protein.     

Mechanism of antibiotic resistance in Mycobacterium intracellulare

The mechanism of resistance of Mycobacterium intracellulare strain 103 and other clinical isolates to a variety of drugs including aminoglycoside and peptide antibiotics was investigated. Enzymatic inactivation of aminoglycoside and peptide antibiotics could not be demonstrated. Ribosomes of the strain were found to be sensitive to the antibiotics. The levels of resistance of strain 103 and other clinical isolates decreased dramatically when the culture medium was changed from Dubos agar to Tween 80-containing agar. These results suggest that a permeability barrier is the reason for naturally occurring resistance in M. intracellulare.     

Characteristics of the binding of aminoglycoside antibiotics to teichoic acids. A potential model system for interaction of aminoglycosides with polyanions

The binding of the aminoglycoside antibiotic dihydrostreptomycin to defined cell-wall teichoic acids and to lipoteichoic acid isolated from various gram-positive eubacteria was followed by equilibrium dialysis. Dihydrostreptomycin was used at a wide range of concentration under different conditions of ionic strength, concentration of teichoic acid, presence of cationic molecules like Mg2+, spermidine, other aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin, neomycin, paromomycin). Interaction of dihydrostreptomycin with teichoic acid was found to be a cooperative binding process. The binding characteristics seem to be dependent on structural features of teichoic acid and are influenced by cationic molecules. Mg2+, spermidine and other aminoglycosides antibiotics inhibit the binding of dihydrostreptomycin to teichoic acid competitively. The binding of aminoglycosides to teichoic acids is considered as a model system for the interaction of aminoglycoside antibiotics with cellular polyanions. Conclusions of physiological significance are drawn.     

Increase of sensitivity to aminoglycoside antibiotics by polyamine-induced protein (oligopeptide-binding protein) in Escherichia coli.

The sensitivity of Escherichia coli to several aminoglycoside antibiotics was examined with E. coli DR112 transformed by the gene for polyamine-induced protein (oligopeptide-binding [OppA] protein) or polyamine transport proteins. The results clearly showed that sensitivity to aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin, isepamicin, kanamycin, neomycin, paromomycin, and streptomycin) increased due to the highly expressed OppA protein. When the gene for OppA protein was deleted, sensitivity to aminoglycoside antibiotics was greatly decreased. It was also shown that isepamicin could bind to OppA protein with a binding affinity constant of 8.5 x 10(3) M-1 under the ionic conditions of 50 mM K+ and 1 mM Mg2+ at pH 7.5, and isepamicin uptake into cells was greatly stimulated by the OppA protein. These results, taken together, show that the OppA protein increases the uptake of aminoglycoside antibiotics. In addition, the OppA protein increased the transport of spermidine and an oligopeptide (Gly-Leu-Tyr). The uptake of isepamicin into cells was partially inhibited by spermidine, suggesting that the binding site for isepamicin overlaps that for spermidine on the OppA protein. Spermidine uptake activity by the OppA protein was less than 1% of that of the ordinary spermidine uptake system. Aminoglycoside antibiotics neither stimulated the synthesis of OppA protein nor increased spermidine uptake.     

Involvement of menaquinone in the active accumulation of aminoglycosides by Bacillus subtilis

Accumulation of aminoglycoside antibiotics by bacteria requires energy, and it appears that this must be derived from electron transport occurring within the cytoplasmic membrane. Dependence of aminoglycoside accumulation on cellular menaquinone content was examined using a menaquinone auxotroph of bacillus subtilis. This dependence manifested itself only when the menaquinone concentration was decreased to less than 10% of normal. The restricted aminoglycoside accumulation observed under these conditions was closely correlated with susceptibility to growth inhibition by the antibiotics. Evidence of saturation of the accumulation system was observed at low menaquinone concentrations, an effect not seen when menaquinone deficiency was relieved by supplying adequate shikimic acid (a menaquinone precursor) to the auxotroph. Lipophilic quinones may play two roles in aminoglycoside accumulation by bacteria: (i) as a binding site or part of a carrier complex: and (ii) as a crucial component of the electron transport system in maintaining the proton electrochemical gradient.     

Biochemical mechanisms of aminoglycoside cell toxicity. II. Accumulation of phospholipids during myeloid body formation and histological studies on myeloid bodies using twelve aminoglycoside antibiotics

Cultured human skin fibroblasts take up aminoglycoside antibiotics into lysosomes to form myeloid bodies. Gentamicin (GM), one such antibiotic, was taken up until the cellular concentration reached an estimated 64 mM on the 3rd day when cells were incubated with 2 mM gentamicin. The rate of release of intracellular GM was high on the first day of incubation and gradually slowed down over the next 4 d. About 50% of the GM remained in the cells even on longer incubation in GM-free medium, suggesting it may irreversibly bind to cellular components. With myeloid body formation, the cellular phospholipid content increased 1.5 times. Bis(monoacyl-glyceryl)phosphate, which is known as a marker of lysosomal phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine showed 250, 162, and 153% increases, respectively. Sphingomyelin was not accumulated, while lysosomal sphingomyelinase was dramatically inhibited. Of 12 different aminoglycoside antibiotics, paromomycin is the most prominent myeloid body-forming antibiotic. The myeloid body-formation is not directly correlated to human nephrotoxicity. On the other hand, the number of myeloid bodies is well correlated to the affinity to the brush border membrane, suggesting that such aminoglycoside antibiotics are taken up easily through cellular endocytosis. The cytotoxic effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics may be due to by their binding to cellular organelles other than lysosomes.     

An aminoglycoside sensing riboswitch controls the expression of aminoglycoside resistance acetyltransferase and adenyltransferases

The emergence of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens is an increasing threat to public health. The fundamental mechanisms that control the high levels of expression of antibiotic resistance genes are not yet completely understood. The aminoglycosides are one of the earliest classes of antibiotics that were introduced in the 1940s. In the clinic aminoglycoside resistance is conferred most commonly through enzymatic modification of the drug although resistance through enzymatic modification of the target rRNA through methylation or the overexpression of efflux pumps is also appearing. An aminoglycoside sensing riboswitch has been identified that controls expression of the aminoglycoside resistance genes that encode the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (AAC) and aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase (ANT) (adenyltransferase (AAD)) enzymes. AAC and ANT cause resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics through modification of the drugs. Expression of the AAC and ANT resistance genes is regulated by aminoglycoside binding to the 5′ leader RNA of the aac/aad genes. The aminoglycoside sensing RNA is also associated with the integron cassette system that captures antibiotic resistance genes. Specific aminoglycoside binding to the leader RNA induces a structural transition in the leader RNA, and consequently induction of resistance protein expression. Reporter gene expression, direct measurements of drug RNA binding, chemical probing and UV cross-linking combined with mutational analysis demonstrated that the leader RNA functioned as an aminoglycoside sensing riboswitch in which drug binding to the leader RNA leads to the induction of aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Riboswitches.     

Isolation of streptothricin resistant mutants from E coli K12, strain A19

Mutants with various levels of resistance to streptothricin were isolated from Escherichia coli K12, strain A19 after mutagenesis with N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitroso-guanidine and ethylmethane-sulfonate. Nourseothricin, a mixture of streptothricin F and D was the selection agent. Spontaneous resistant mutants could not be found. The streptothricin-resistant mutant E. coli A19 Stcr 2/2/1 shows cross-resistance to some of the aminoglycoside antibiotics investigated, but no cross-resistance to chloramphenicol and chlortetracyclin. These results indicate similar mechanisms of action of streptothricin and aminoglycoside antibiotics.     

Polyamine-like effects of aminoglycosides on various messenger-independent protein kinase reactions

Gentamicin and several other aminoglycoside antibiotics in millimolar concentrations directly stimulate the phosphorylation of casein by purified preparations of cAMP- and Ca2+-independent protein kinases PK-C2 (equivalent to cytosolic casein kinase II) and its nuclear counterpart PK-N2 from rat liver and ventral prostate. These stimulatory effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics were similar to those exerted by the aliphatic polyamine spermine. Phosphorylation of casein by purified preparations of messenger-independent protein kinases PK-C1 (equivalent to cytosolic casein kinase I) and its nuclear counterpart PK-N1 was much less enhanced by spermine and the aminoglycoside antibiotics tested. Stimulations of PK-N2 reactions evoked by gentamicin or spermine (at 0.5 and 1.0 mM) were not additive. Several amino sugars tested were without effect on these protein kinases. Methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) which is known to block the stimulatory effects of polyamines on certain other enzymes did not alter spermine-stimulated phosphorylation of casein catalyzed by PK-N2 preparations.     

Rational ligand design for RNA: the role of static structure and conformational flexibility in target recognition

The role of static structure and conformational flexibility in the recognition of RNA targets by small molecule ligands is discussed with emphasis on the natural aminoglycoside antibiotics and their promiscuity in RNA target binding. A brief overview is given of previous efforts to design simplified aminoglycoside derivatives targeted at the bacterial decoding site RNA.     

H107, a new aminoglycoside anti-Pseudomonas antibiotic produced by a new strain of Spirillospora

Spirillospora spp. (strain 719) has been the source of several antibiotics. One of these designated H107 is produced as a trace. Compared with other antibiotics produced by the same strain, it was obtained only from the broth filtrate after precipitation with acetic acid followed by extraction with n-butanol. It was a water soluble metabolite active against Gram-negative bacteria and especially Pseudomonas spp., and was identified as an aminoglycoside compound. This is the first report of aminoglycoside anti-Pseudomonas production by Spirillospora.     

Crystal structure and kinetic mechanism of aminoglycoside phosphotransferase-2��-IVa

Acquired resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics primarily results from deactivation by three families of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. Here, we report the kinetic mechanism and structure of the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase 2″-IVa (APH(2″)-IVa), an enzyme responsible for resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics in clinical enterococcal and staphylococcal isolates. The enzyme operates via a Bi-Bi sequential mechanism in which the two substrates (ATP or GTP and an aminoglycoside) bind in a random manner. The APH(2″)-IVa enzyme phosphorylates various 4,6-disubstituted aminoglycoside antibiotics with catalytic efficiencies (k_cat/K_m) of 1.5 × 10³ to 1.2 × 10⁶ (M⁻¹ s⁻¹). The enzyme uses both ATP and GTP as the phosphate source, an extremely rare occurrence in the phosphotransferase and protein kinase enzymes. Based on an analysis of the APH(2″)-IVa structure, two overlapping binding templates specifically tuned for hydrogen bonding to either ATP or GTP have been identified and described. A detailed understanding of the structure and mechanism of the GTP-utilizing phosphotransferases is crucial for the development of either novel aminoglycosides or, more importantly, GTP-based enzyme inhibitors which would not be expected to interfere with crucial ATP-dependent enzymes.     

Silver potentiates aminoglycoside toxicity by enhancing their uptake

The predicted shortage in new antibiotics has prompted research for chemicals that could act as adjuvant and enhance efficacy of available antibiotics. In this study, we tested the effects of combining metals with aminoglycosides on Escherichia coli survival. The best synergizing combination resulted from mixing aminoglycosides with silver. Using genetic and aminoglycoside uptake assays, we showed that silver potentiates aminoglycoside action in by‐passing the PMF‐dependent step, but depended upon protein translation. We showed that oxidative stress or Fe–S cluster destabilization were not mandatory factors for silver potentiating action. Last, we showed that silver allows aminoglycosides to kill an E. coli gentamicin resistant mutant as well as the highly recalcitrant anaerobic pathogen Clostridium difficile. Overall this study delineates the molecular basis of silver's potentiating action on aminoglycoside toxicity and shows that use of metals might offer solutions for battling against increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics.     

Aminoglycoside-3'-phosphotransferase I from aminoglycoside-polyresistant strain E. coli 182]

An aminoglycoside-3'-phosphotransferase I catalyzing phosphorylation of some aminoglycoside antibiotics with the 3'-hydroxyl group has been purified from the cells of aminoglycoside resistant strain E. coli 182 by competitive affinity chromatography on neomycin-Sepharose and gel-filtration on Sephadex G-100. The product of enzymatic phosphorylation of kanamycin A was isolated and identified as kanamycin-3'-phosphate by NMR, thin-layer chromatography and chemical characterization. The kinetic properties of the enzyme were studied. The pH-optimum was between 7,8--8,0; the [S]0.5 values for kanamycin, neomycin and paromomycin were 2.10(-5) M, the energy of activation was 15,9 kcal/mol. The bivalent cations were required for activity of the enzyme, Mg2+ was the most effecient. The relative aminoglycoside antibiotics containing no 3'-hydroxyl group were competitive inhibitors of the enzyme activity with Ki values close to [S]0.5.