Conformational stability of OXA-51 β-lactamase explains its role in carbapenem resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii, an important nosocomial pathogen, is increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics including recent β-lactam like imipenem. Production of different types of β-lactamases is one of the major resistance mechanisms which bacteria adapt. We recently reported the presence of a β-lactamase, OXA-51, in clinical strains of A. baumannii in ICUs of our hospital. This study is an attempt to understand the structure–function relationship of purified OXA-51 in carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii. The OXA-51 was cloned, expressed in E. coli Bl-21(DE3) and further purified. The in vitro enzyme activity of purified OXA-51 was confirmed by two independent techniques; in-gel assay and spectrophotometric method using nitrocefin. Further in vivo effect of OXA-51 was followed by transmission electron microscopy of bacterium. Biophysical and biochemical investigations of OXA-51 were done using LC-MS/MS, UV–Vis absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroic spectroscopy and isothermal calorimetry. Native OXA-51 was characterized as 30.6?kDa, pI 8.43 with no disulphide bonds and comprising of 30% α-helix, 27% β-sheet. Secondary structure of OXA-51 was significantly unchanged in broad pH (4–10) and temperature (30–60?°C) range with only local alterations at tertiary structural level. Interestingly, enzymatic activity up to 75% was retained under above conditions. Hydrolysis of imipenem by OXA-51 (k_m,1?μM) was found to be thermodynamically favourable. In the presence of imipenem, morphology of sensitive strain of A. baumannii was drastically changed, while OXA-51-transformed sensitive strain retained the stable coccobacillus shape, which demonstrates that imipenem is able to kill sensitive strain but is unable to do so in OXA-51-transformed strain. Hence the production of pH- and temperature-stable OXA-51 appears to be a major determinant in the resistance mechanisms adopted by A. baumannii in order to evade even the latest β-lactams, imipenem. It can be concluded from the study that OXA-51 plays a vital role in the survival of the pathogen under stress conditions and thus poses a major threat.     

Hydrolytic mechanism of OXA-58 enzyme, a carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamase from Acinetobacter baumannii

Carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases (CHDLs) represent an emerging antibiotic resistance mechanism encountered among the most opportunistic Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. We report here the substrate kinetics and mechanistic characterization of a prominent CHDL, the OXA-58 enzyme, from Acinetobacter baumannii. OXA-58 uses a carbamylated lysine to activate the nucleophilic serine used for β-lactam hydrolysis. The deacylating water molecule approaches the acyl-enzyme species, anchored at this serine (Ser-83), from the α-face. Our data show that OXA-58 retains the catalytic machinery found in class D β-lactamases, of which OXA-10 is representative. Comparison of the homology model of OXA-58 and the recently solved crystal structures of OXA-24 and OXA-48 with the OXA-10 crystal structure suggests that these CHDLs have evolved the ability to hydrolyze imipenem, an important carbapenem in clinical use, by subtle structural changes in the active site. These changes may contribute to tighter binding of imipenem to the active site and removal of steric hindrances from the path of the deacylating water molecule.     

Discovery of novel lipophilic inhibitors of OXA-10 enzyme (class D β-lactamase) by screening amino analogs and homologs of citrate and isocitrate

Aminocitrate (and homolog) derivatives have been prepared by bis-alkylation of glycinate Schiff bases with bromoacetates (and ethyl acrylate), followed by N-acylation and esters (partial or complete) deprotection. Aminoisocitrate was similarly obtained by mono-alkylation with diethyl fumarate. Evaluation against representative β-lactamases revealed that the free acid derivatives are modest inhibitors of class A enzymes, whilst their benzyl esters showed a good inhibition of OXA-10 (class D enzyme). A docking experiment featured hydrophobic interactions in the active site.     

In-silico modeling of a novel OXA-51 from β-lactam-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and its interaction with various antibiotics

Acinetobacter baumannii, one of the major Gram negative bacteria, causes nosocomial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, meningitis, etc. β-lactam-based antibiotics like penicillin are used conventionally to treat infections of A. baumannii; however, they are becoming progressively less effective as the bacterium produces diverse types of β-lactamases to inactivate the antibiotics. We have recently identified a novel β-lactamase, OXA-51 from clinical strains of A. baumannii from our hospital. In the present study, we generated the structure of OXA-51 using MODELLER9v7 and studied the interaction of OXA-51 with a number of β-lactams (penicillin, oxacillin, ceftazidime, aztreonam and imipenem) using two independent programs: GLIDE and GOLD. Based on the results of different binding parameters and number of hydrogen bonds, interaction of OXA-51 was found to be maximum with ceftazidime and lowest with imipenem. Further, molecular dynamics simulation results also support this fact. The lowest binding affinity of imipenem to OXA-51 indicates clearly that it is not efficiently cleaved by OXA-51, thus explaining its high potency against resistant A. baumannii. This finding is supported by experimental results from minimum inhibitory concentration analysis and transmission electron microscopy. It can be concluded that carbapenems (imipenem) are presently effective β-lactam antibiotics against resistant strains of A. baumannii harbouring OXA-51. The results presented here could be useful in designing more effective derivatives of carbapenem.     

Site-saturation mutagenesis of position V117 in OXA-1 β-lactamase: effect of side chain polarity on enzyme carboxylation and substrate turnover

Class D β-lactamases pose an emerging threat to the efficacy of β-lactam therapy for bacterial infections. Class D enzymes differ mechanistically from other β-lactamases by the presence of an active-site N-carboxylated lysine that serves as a general base to activate the serine nucleophile for attack. We have used site-saturation mutagenesis at position V117 in the class D β-lactamase OXA-1 to investigate how alterations in the environment around N-carboxylated K70 affect the ability of that modified residue to carry out its normal function. Minimum inhibitory concentration analysis of the 20 position 117 variants demonstrates a clear pattern of charge and polarity effects on the level of ampicillin resistance imparted on Escherichia coli (E. coli). Substitutions that introduce a negative charge (D, E) at position 117 reduce resistance to near background levels, while the positively charged K and R residues maintain the highest resistance levels of all mutants. Treatment of the acidic variants with the fluorescent penicillin BOCILLIN FL followed by SDS-PAGE shows that they are active for acylation by substrate but deacylation-deficient. We used a novel fluorescence anisotropy assay to show that the specific charge and hydrogen-bonding potential of the residue at position 117 affect CO(2) binding to K70, which in turn correlates to deacylation activity. These conclusions are discussed in light of the mechanisms proposed for both class D β-lactamases and BlaR β-lactam sensor proteins and suggest a reason for the preponderance of asparagine at the V117-homologous position in the sensors.     

耐碳青霉烯类鲍曼不动杆菌OXA-23-like基因的克隆和表达

扩增耐碳青霉烯类鲍曼不动杆菌(Acinetobacter baumannii) OXA-23-like基因,并表达纯化该蛋白,为深入研究鲍曼不动杆菌亚单位蛋白疫苗提供理论基础。从60份样品中分离并扩增出OXA-23-like基因,构建于p GEX-6p-1表达载体中,用BL21表达宿主细胞诱导表达并纯化蛋白;免疫印迹试验(Western blotting)验证OXA-23-like蛋白保守性。结果显示,成功构建pGEX-6p-1-OXA-23-like质粒,表达并纯化蛋白;Western blotting实验表明临床菌株OXA-23-like蛋白表达阳性。OXA-23-like基因和蛋白表达保守性高,具有免疫原性,是鲍曼不动杆菌疫苗良好的抗原靶点。     

426株鲍曼不动杆菌的耐药性分析与OXA-23型碳青霉烯酶检测

目的 了解暨南大学附属第一医院2009年至2011年鲍曼不动杆菌的分布特点和耐药状况,为临床合理使用抗生素提供依据,同时研究广州地区亚胺培南耐药鲍曼不动杆菌中OXA-23型碳青霉烯酶的分子流行病学特征.方法 利用梅里埃VITEK-2 Compact微生物分析仪鉴定细菌,K-B法进行药敏试验,采用WHONET 5.6软件统计分析药敏结果,PCR检测OXA-23型碳青霉烯酶的编码基因.结果 2009年至2011年临床分离出426株鲍曼不动杆菌,主要分离自呼吸科病房(119株,占27.9％)和ICU病房(107株,占25.1％),标本类型以痰液为主(361株,占84.7％),鲍曼不动杆菌对12种抗生素的耐药率总体呈逐年上升趋势,对亚胺培南的耐药率从13.2％上升到39.3％,在124株亚胺培南耐药鲍曼不动杆菌中PCR检出98株OXA-23型碳青霉烯酶阳性菌株.结论 鲍曼不动杆菌对各种抗菌药物的耐药性逐年增强,产OXA-23型碳青霉烯酶是其对亚胺培南耐药的主要机制之一.     

Detection of Escherichia coli and Associated β-Lactamases Genes from Diabetic Foot Ulcers by Multiplex PCR and Molecular Modeling and Docking of SHV-1, TEM-1, and OXA-1 β-Lactamases with Clindamycin and Piperacillin-Tazobactam

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a common and devastating complication in diabetes. Antimicrobial resistance mediated by extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) production by bacteria is considered to be a major threat for foot amputation. The present study deals with the detection of Escherichia coli and the prevalence of bla _TEM, bla _SHV and bla _OXA genes directly from biopsy and swab of foot ulcers of diabetic patients. In total, 116 DFU patients were screened, of which 42 suffering with severe DFUs were selected for this study. Altogether 16 E. coli strains were successfully isolated from biopsy and/or swab samples of 15 (35.71%) patients. ESBL production was noted in 12 (75%) strains. Amplification of β-lactamase genes by multiplex PCR showed the presence of bla _CTX-M like genes in 10 strains, bla _TEM and bla _OXA in 9 strains each, and bla _SHV in 8 of the total 16 strains of E. coli. Out of the ten antibiotics tested, E. coli strains were found to be resistant to ampicillin (75%), cefoxitin (56.25%), cefazolin (50%), meropenem (37.5%), cefoperazone (25%), cefepime (31.25%), ceftazidime (56.25%), and cefotaxime (68.75%) but all showed sensitivity (100%) to clindamycin and piperacillin-tazobactam. 3D models of the most prevalent variants of β-lactamases namely TEM-1, SHV-1, OXA-1, and ESBL namely CTX-M-15 were predicted and docking was performed with clindamycin and piperacillin-tazobactam to reveal the molecular basis of drug sensitivity. Docking showed the best docking score with significant interactions, forming hydrogen bond, Van der Waals and polar level interaction with active site residues. Findings of the present study may provide useful insights for the development of new antibiotic drugs and may also prevent ESBLs-mediated resistance problem in DFU. The novel multiplex PCR assay designed in this study may be routinely used in clinical diagnostics of E. coli and associated bla _TEM, bla _SHV, and bla _OXA like genes.     

A comparative analysis of karyotypes of three species of Macleaya—producers of a complex of isoquinoline alkaloids

Using a set of methods (C-banding, DAPI-staining, fluorescence hybridization in situ (FISH) with probes of 26S and 5S rDNA, and analysis of meiosis), the first comparative cytogenetic study of three species of Macleaya, producers of complex isoquinoline alkaloids, cordate Macleaya cordata (Willd.) R. Br. (2n = 20), small-fruited Macleaya microcarpa (Maxim.) Fedde (2n = 20) and Macleaya kewensis Turrill (2n = 20), was first carried out. On the basis of morphometric analysis, formulas of karyotypes were made for each species. Species ideograms for M. cordata, M. microcarpa, and M. kewensis were constructed taking into account the polymorphic variants of the C-banding patterns and indicating the location of 26S and 5S rDNA sites. A comparative study revealed that the karyotypes of M. microcarpa and M. kewensis have more in common with each other than with M. cordata. Analysis of meiotic chromosomes suggests of genetic stability of Macleaya genomes. The results of chromosome analysis were used to confirm the close relationship of Macleaya and to clarify their phylogenetic relationships.     

Effect of γ-Irradiation on Development of Lachrymator of Onion

A thermosensitive uracil requiring mutant of Bacillus subtilis Marburg 168 thy trp₂ ts42 was examined as to the colony forming ability at the permissive and nonpermissive temperatures. The viability of the mutant cells decreased rapidly at the restrictive temperature in the modified Woese’s (MW) medium. However, the cells retained viability when sodium succinate or potassium chloride was added to the medium at that temperature although uracil deficiency was unchanged. A little but significant incorporation of adenine-8-¹⁴C into RNA still continued even after the incorporation of N-acetyl-³H-d-glucosamine into acid insoluble fraction of the cells terminated in the MW medium at 48°C. Both incorporations as well as increase of absorbance were slowed down in the presence of sodium succinate at 48°C. This mutant, ts42, was more sensitive to deoxycholate (DOC) than the parent strain. The restoration of colony forming ability after the temperature shift back from 48 to 37°C was suppressed by the addition of DOC to the medium. However, the cell became resistant to DOC when uracil was added to the medium prior to the temperature shift.     

Mechanisms of action of the α-amylase of Micromonospora melanosporea

The -amylase of Micromonospora melanosporea was produced extracellularly during batch fermentation in a 5.0-1 fermentor. The absence of an organic nitrogen source in its growth medium facilitated subsequent purification of the enzyme by ammonium sulphate fractionation and two consecutive Superose-12 gel-filtration steps. The enzyme exhibited maxima for activity at pH 7.0 and 55° C and was 72% stable at pH 6.0–12.0 for 30 min at 40° C. It had a relative molecular mass of 45 000 and an isoelectric point at pH 7.6. The enzyme catalyses the conversion of starch to maltose (53%, w/w) as the predominant final end-product. Initial hydrolysis of this substrate, however, gave rise to the formation of maltooligosaccharides in the range maltotriose to maltohexaose. Maximum yields of these intermediate sugars accumulated to between 31 and 42% (w/w) as the reaction proceeded. The action of the M. melanosporea amylase on high concentrations of saccharides larger than maltotriose resulted in the formation of mainly maltose and maltotriose without concomitant glucose production. A combination of hydrolytic and transfer events is postulated to be responsible for this phenomenon and for the high maltose levels achieved. Correspondence to: C. T. Kelly     

Selection of optimal variants of Gō-like models of proteins through studies of stretching

The Gō-like models of proteins are constructed based on the knowledge of the native conformation. However, there are many possible choices of a Hamiltonian for which the ground state coincides with the native state. Here, we propose to use experimental data on protein stretching to determine what choices are most adequate physically. This criterion is motivated by the fact that stretching processes usually start with the native structure, in the vicinity of which the Gō-like models should work the best. Our selection procedure is applied to 62 different versions of the Gō model and is based on 28 proteins. We consider different potentials, contact maps, local stiffness energies, and energy scales—uniform and nonuniform. In the latter case, the strength of the nonuniformity was governed either by specificity or by properties related to positioning of the side groups. Among them is the simplest variant: uniform couplings with no i, i + 2 contacts. This choice also leads to good folding properties in most cases. We elucidate relationship between the local stiffness described by a potential which involves local chirality and the one which involves dihedral and bond angles. The latter stiffness improves folding but there is little difference between them when it comes to stretching.     

Mechanism of action of α-galactosidase

The effect ofpH on K_m and V_max values of coconut α-galactosidase indicates the involvement of two ionizing groups with pK_a values of 3.5 and 6.5 in catalysis. Chemical modification has indicated the presence of two carboxyl groups, a tryptophan and a tyrosine, at or near the active site of α-galactosidase. Based on these facts a new mechanism of action for α-galactosidase is proposed in which the ionizing group with a pK_a of 3.5 is a carboxyl group involved in stabilizing a carbonium ion intermediate and the ionizing group with a pK_a of 6.5 is a carboxyl group perturbed due to the presence of a hydrophobic residues in its vicinity which donates a H⁺ ion in catalysis.     

Chemistry of the “molecular trap” of protease-catalyzed splicing reaction of complementary segments of α-subunit of hemoglobin A

The complementary fragments of human Hb α, α_1–30, and α_31–141 are spliced together by V8 protease in the presence of 30%n-propanol to generate the full-length molecule (Hb α-semisynthetic reaction). Unlike the other protease-catalyzed protein/peptide splicing reactions of fragment complementing systems, the enzymic condensation of nonassociating segments of Hb α is facilitated by the organic cosolvent induced α-helical conformation of product acting as the “molecular trap” of the splicing reaction. The segments α_24–30 and α_31–40 are the shortest complementary segments that can be spliced by V8 protease. In the present study, the chemistry of the contiguous segment (product) α_24–40 has been manipulated by engineering the amino acid replacements to the positions α²⁷ and α³¹ to delineate the structural basis of the molecular trap. The location of Glu²⁷ and Arg³¹ residues in the contiguous segment α_24–40 (as well as in other larger segments) is ideal to generate (i, i+4) side-chain carboxylate-guanidino interaction in its α-helical conformation. The amino acid residue replacement studies have confirmed that the side chains at α²⁷ and α³¹ facilitate the semisynthetic reaction. The relative influence of the substitute at these sites on the splicing reaction depends on the chemical nature of the side chain and the location. The γ-carboxylate guanidino side-chain interaction appears to contribute up to a maximum of 85% of the thermodynamic stability of the molecular trap. The studies also demonstrate that the thermodynamic stability of the molecular trap is determined by two interdependent conformational aspects of the peptide. One is an amino acid-sequence-specific event that facilitates the induction of an α-helical conformation to the contiguous segment in the presence of organic cosolvent that imparts some amount of protease resistance to Glu³⁰-Arg³¹ peptide bond. The second structural aspect is a site-specific event, ani, i+4 side-chain interaction in the α-helical conformation of the peptide which imparts an additional thermodynamic stability to the molecular trap. The results suggest that conformationally driven “molecular traps” of protease-mediated ligation reactions of peptides could be designed into products to facilitate the modular assembly of peptides/proteins.     

Association of the subunits of the calcium-independent receptor of α-latrotoxin

CIRL-1 also called latrophilin 1 or CL belongs to the family of adhesion G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). As all members of adhesion GPSR family CIRL-1 consists of two heterologous subunits, extracellular hydrophilic p120 and heptahelical membrane protein p85. Both CIRL-1 subunits are encoded by one gene but as a result of intracellular proteolysis of precursor, mature receptor has two-subunit structure. It was also shown that a minor portion of the CIRL-1 receptor complexes dissociates, producing the soluble receptor ectodomain, and this dissociation is due to the second cleavage at the site between the site of primary proteolysis and the first transmembrane domain. Recently model of independent localization p120 and p85 on the cell surface was proposed. In this article we evaluated the amount of p120-p85 complex still presented on the cellular membrane and confirmed that on cell surface major amount of mature CIRL-1 presented as a p120-p85 subunit complex.     

Kinetics of renaturation and self-assembly of intermediates on the pathway of folding of the β2-subunit of Escherichia coli tryptophan-synthetase

The kinetics of renaturation of the β₂-subunit of Escherichia coli tryptophan-synthetase (l-serine hydrolyase (adding indole) E.C. 4.2.1.20) and those of its two proteolytic fragments F₁ and F₂ are studied and compared. Steps corresponding to the refolding of F₁, to the association of the folded F₁ and F₂ fragments, and to an isomerization of the associated protein are identified. These steps are ordered on the pathway of renaturation and some of their kinetic parameters are determined. This leads to a tentative kinetic model for the renaturation of nicked-β₂ starting from the denatured F₁ and F₂ fragments.The step corresponding to the refolding of the F₁ domain, as well as that corresponding to the last rate-limiting isomerization leading to the native protein, is shown to be the same in the refolding of the entire, uncleaved β₂-protein. It is concluded that the refolded F₁ fragment corresponds to a folding intermediate on the pathway of renaturation of the β₂-subunit.     

Determination of the number of degrees of freedom of the trapeziometacarpal joint–An in vitro study

ObjectiveMost of the studies about trapeziometacarpal joint assume that it exhibits only two independent degrees of freedom, but the experimental or theoretical support for considering a two-degrees of freedom model is not always clear.Materials and methodsTherefore, an in vitro kinematic study has been designed to demonstrate, from experimental data, that only two of the trapeziometacarpal degrees of freedom (i.e., flexion/extension and adduction/abduction) are non-null and independent. Several movements of maximal amplitude in flexion, abduction and circumduction have been realized and the relative position and orientation of the segment coordinate system embedded on the first metacarpal with respect to that embedded on the trapezium have been collected using electromagnetic sensors. The trapeziometacarpal rotations have been described using a joint coordinate system and the joint displacements have been evaluated on the axes of this coordinate system.ResultsThe root mean square (RMS) values of the joint displacement components have been found small enough to assume that the trapeziometacarpal joint has no translation degrees of freedom. A paraboloid coupling equation has been found between the internal/external rotation angle and the two other, flexion/extension and adduction/abduction, angles.ConclusionThus, this study demonstrates that the trapeziometacarpal joint has only two independent rotational degrees of freedom, and further, the described methodology could also be used to determine the coupling laws between degrees of freedom of various joints.