Colicin M inhibits peptidoglycan biosynthesis by interfering with lipid carrier recycling

Colicin M is unique among the colicins in that it causes lysis of cells. Synthesis of peptidoglycan was inhibited before colicin-induced cell lysis occurred. This suggested that inhibition of peptidoglycan synthesis was the primary effect of the colicin which was followed by cell lysis. Following colicin M treatment, soluble peptidoglycan nucleotide precursors accumulated, and radioactivity associated with the membrane-bound carrier lipid almost disappeared. Further metabolism of radiolabeled intermediates bound to the lipid carrier (lipid intermediates) was not inhibited by colicin M. The two lipid intermediates decreased to a level where equal amounts of both were present. The data indicated that translocation of nucleotide precursors to the lipid carrier was not inhibited. In vitro peptidoglycan synthesis agreed with the in vivo results. It is concluded that colicin M inhibits peptidoglycan biosynthesis by preventing regeneration of the lipid carrier.     

The LuxS family of bacterial autoinducers: biosynthesis of a novel quorum-sensing signal molecule

Many bacteria control gene expression in response to cell population density, and this phenomenon is called quorum sensing. In Gram-negative bacteria, quorum sensing typically involves the production, release and detection of acylated homoserine lactone signalling molecules called autoinducers. Vibrio harveyi, a Gram-negative bioluminescent marine bacterium, regulates light production in response to two distinct autoinducers (AI-1 and AI-2). AI-1 is a homoserine lactone. The structure of AI-2 is not known. We have suggested previously that V. harveyi uses AI-1 for intraspecies communication and AI-2 for interspecies communication. Consistent with this idea, we have shown that many species of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria produce AI-2 and, in every case, production of AI-2 is dependent on the function encoded by the luxS gene. We show here that LuxS is the AI-2 synthase and that AI-2 is produced from S-adenosylmethionine in three enzymatic steps. The substrate for LuxS is S-ribosylhomocysteine, which is cleaved to form two products, one of which is homocysteine, and the other is AI-2. In this report, we also provide evidence that the biosynthetic pathway and biochemical intermediates in AI-2 biosynthesis are identical in Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, V. harveyi, Vibrio cholerae and Enterococcus faecalis. This result suggests that, unlike quorum sensing via the family of related homoserine lactone autoinducers, AI-2 is a unique, 'universal' signal that could be used by a variety of bacteria for communication among and between species.     

Chloroquine inhibits Paracoccidioides brasiliensis survival within human monocytes by limiting the availability of intracellular iron

The mechanisms used by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis(Pb 18) to survive into monocytes are not clear. Cellular iron metabolism is of critical importance to the growth of several intracellular pathogens, including P. brasiliensis, whose capacity to multiply in mononuclear phagocytes is dependent on the availability of intracellular iron. Chloroquine, by virtue of its basic properties, has been shown to prevent release of iron from holotransferrin by raising endocytic and lysosomal pH, and thereby interfering with normal iron metabolism. Then, in view of this, we have studied the effects of CHLOR on P. brasiliensis multiplication in human monocytes and its effect on the murine paracoccidioidomycosis. CHLOR induced human monocytes to kill P. brasiliensis. The effect of CHLOR was reversed by FeNTA, an iron compound that is soluble at neutral to alkaline pH, but not by holotransferrin, which releases iron only in an acidic environment. CHLOR treatment of Pb 18-infected BALB/c mice significantly reduced the viable fungi recovery from lungs, during three different periods of evaluation, in a dose-dependent manner. This study demonstrates that iron is of critical importance to the survival of P. brasiliensis yeasts within human monocytes and the CHLOR treatment in vitro induces Pb 18 yeast-killing by monocytes by restricting the availability of intracellular iron. Besides, the CHLOR treatment in vivo significantly reduces the number of organisms in the lungs of Pb-infected mice protecting them from several infections. Thus, CHLOR was effective in the treatment of murine paracoccidioidomycosis, suggesting the potential use of this drug in patients' treatment.     

In vitro biosynthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum-sensing signal molecule N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa , synthesis of the quorum-sensing signal molecules N -butanoyl- L -homoserine lactone (BHL) and N -hexanoyl- L -homoserine lactone (HHL) requires the LuxI homologue RhlI(VsmI). By using thin-layer chromatography in conjunction with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry, we show that purified RhlI can catalyse the biosynthesis of BHL and HHL using either S -adenosylmethionine (SAM) or homoserine lactone (HSL) but not homoserine as the source of the homoserine lactone moiety. As we were unable to detect homoserine lactone in cytoplasmic extracts of Escherichia coli , we conclude that SAM is the natural substrate for RhlI-directed N -acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) biosynthesis. The N -acyl chain of BHL and HHL can be supplied by the appropriately charged coenzyme A derivative (either n -butanoyl-CoA or n -hexanoyl-CoA). The specificity of RhlI for charged CoA derivatives is demonstrated as RhlI was unable to generate AHLs detectable in our bioassays from acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA, n -octanoyl-CoA, n -decanoyl-CoA, DL-β-hydroxybutanoyl-CoA or crotonoyl-CoA. RhlI was also unable to use N -acetyl- S -3-oxobutanoylcysteamine, a chemical mimic for 3-oxobutanoyl-CoA. Furthermore, the RhlI-catalysed synthesis of BHL and HHL was most efficiently driven when NADPH was included in the reaction mixture.     

Pirfenidone inhibits motility of NSCLC cells by interfering with the urokinase system

Pirfenidone (PFD) is an orally available synthetic drug which has been approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In addition to its anti-fibrotic properties, PFD also exerts anti-tumor effects in cancer models by inducing alterations in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we demonstrate that PFD reduces proliferation, 2D- and 3D-migration as well as colony formation of the non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cells. On a molecular level, we show that PFD on the one hand interacts with plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1; K_d of 46.2 ± 11.3 nM) and affects its inhibitory potency, but on the other hand it also increases PAI-1 expression; in both cases consequently leading to the reduction of urokinase (uPA) activity. Finally, we report that the effect of PFD on 2D-migration of NSCLC cells depends on PAI-1 expression and thus on the activity of the uPA system whereas the PFD-induced changes in cancer cell proliferation, 3D-migration and colony formation are PAI-1 independent. To conclude, a direct interference of PFD with the uPA-PAI-1 system may deregulate pericellular proteolytic activity and thereby influence the stability of the tumor blood vessels and the matrix architecture within tumor stroma.     

The effect of glucose and glutamine on the intracellular nucleotide pool and oxygen uptake rate of a murine hybridoma

The effects of media concentrations of glucose andglutamine on the intracellular nucleotide pools andoxygen uptake rates of a murine antibody-secretinghybridoma cell line were investigated. Cells takenfrom mid-exponential phase of growth were incubated inmedium containing varying concentrations of glucose(0–25 mM) and glutamine (0–9 mM). The intracellularconcentrations of ATP, GTP, UTP and CTP, and theadenylate energy charge increased concomitantly withthe medium glucose concentration. The total adenylatenucleotide concentration did not change over a glucose concentration range of 1–25 mM but therelative levels of AMP, ADP and ATP changed as theenergy charge increased from 0.36 to 0.96. Themaximum oxygen uptake rate (OUR) was obtained in thepresence of 0.1–1 mM glucose. However at glucoseconcentrations >1 mM the OUR decreased suggestinga lower level of aerobic metabolism as a result of theCrabtree effect.A low concentration of glutamine (0.5 mM) caused asignificant increase (45–128%) in the ATP, GTP,CTP, UTP, UDP-GNac, and NAD pools and a doubling ofthe OUR compared to glutamine-free cultures. Theminimal concentration of glutamine also caused anincrease in the total adenylate pool indicating thatthe amino acid may stimulate thede novosynthesis of nucleotides. However, all nucleotidepools and the OUR remained unchanged within the rangeof 0.5–9 mM glutamine.Glucose was shown to be the major substrate forenergy metabolism. It was estimated that in thepresence of high concentrations of glucose (10–25 mM),glutamine provided the energy for the maintenance ofup to 28% of the intracellular ATP pool, whereas theremainder was provided by glucose metabolism.(Author for correspondence; E-mail:     

N Glycolylation of the nucleotide precursors of peptidoglycan biosynthesis of Mycobacterium spp. is altered by drug treatment

The peptidoglycan of Mycobacterium spp. reportedly has some unique features, including the occurrence of N-glycolylmuramic rather than N-acetylmuramic acid. However, very little is known of the actual biosynthesis of mycobacterial peptidoglycan, including the extent and origin of N glycolylation. In the present work, we have isolated and analyzed muramic acid residues located in peptidoglycan and UDP-linked precursors of peptidoglycan from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis. The muramic acid residues isolated from the mature peptidoglycan of both species were shown to be a mixture of the N-acetyl and N-glycolyl derivatives, not solely the N-glycolylated product as generally reported. The isolated UDP-linked N-acylmuramyl-pentapeptide precursor molecules also contain a mixture of N-acetyl and N-glycolyl muramyl residues in apparent contrast to previous observations in which the precursors isolated after treatment with d-cycloserine consisted entirely of N-glycolyl muropeptides. However, nucleotide-linked peptidoglycan precursors isolated from M. tuberculosis treated with d-cycloserine contained only N-glycolylmuramyl-tripeptide precursors, whereas those from similarly treated M. smegmatis consisted of a mixture of N-glycolylated and N-acetylated residues. The full pentapeptide intermediate, isolated following vancomycin treatment of M. smegmatis, consisted of the N-glycolyl derivative only, whereas the corresponding M. tuberculosis intermediate was a mixture of both the N-glycolyl and N-acetyl products. Thus, treatment with vancomycin and d-cylcoserine not only caused an accumulation of nucleotide-linked intermediate compounds but also altered their glycolylation status, possibly by altering the normal equilibrium maintained by de novo biosynthesis and peptidoglycan recycling.     

Discovery of nucleotide polymorphisms in the Musa gene pool by Ecotilling

Musa (banana and plantain) is an important genus for the global export market and in local markets where it provides staple food for approximately 400 million people. Hybridization and polyploidization of several (sub)species, combined with vegetative propagation and human selection have produced a complex genetic history. We describe the application of the Ecotilling method for the discovery and characterization of nucleotide polymorphisms in diploid and polyploid accessions of Musa. We discovered over 800 novel alleles in 80 accessions. Sequencing and band evaluation shows Ecotilling to be a robust and accurate platform for the discovery of polymorphisms in homologous and homeologous gene targets. In the process of validating the method, we identified two single nucleotide polymorphisms that may be deleterious for the function of a gene putatively important for phototropism. Evaluation of heterozygous polymorphism and haplotype blocks revealed a high level of nucleotide diversity in Musa accessions. We further applied a strategy for the simultaneous discovery of heterozygous and homozygous polymorphisms in diploid accessions to rapidly evaluate nucleotide diversity in accessions of the same genome type. This strategy can be used to develop hypotheses for inheritance patterns of nucleotide polymorphisms within and between genome types. We conclude that Ecotilling is suitable for diversity studies in Musa, that it can be considered for functional genomics studies and as tool in selecting germplasm for traditional and mutation breeding approaches.     

Down-regulation of TSG101 by small interfering RNA inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells through the MAPK/ERK signal pathway

We designed to investigate the effects of down-regulating the tumor susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101) on the proliferation and apoptosis of the human breast cancer MCF-7 cell line, and the role of the MAPK/ERK signal pathway in this process. The siRNA against TSG101 was transfected into the breast cancer MCF-7 cell line using Lipofectamine 2000. After TSG101 knockdown, the proliferation of MCF-7 cells was measured by the MTT assay. The cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were examined by using flow cytometry while cell migration was measured using a transwell assay. The protein level of p-ERK was further assessed by immunofluorescence and western blotting. Our results are as following, the MCF-7 cells transfected with TSG101 siRNA proliferated significantly slower and exhibited significantly increased rates of apoptosis compared to the control cells. In the TSG101 siRNA transfected cells, the percentage of cells in the G?/G? and S phase of the cell cycle was significantly higher and lower, respectively, compared to the control cells. Moreover, the migration ability of TSG101 siRNA transfected cells was lower than the control groups. Lastly, the level of p-ERK protein in TSG101 siRNA transfected cells was significantly decreased compared with the control cells. In conclusion, TSG101 knockdown in breast cancer cells induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation. The TSG101 depleted cells are arrested at the G?/S transition of the cell cycle. The migration of breast cancer cells is also impaired by TSG101 siRNA. TSG101 may play a biological role through modulation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in breast cancer.     

The modulation of host cell apoptosis by intracellular bacterial pathogens

Recent years have witnessed significant advances in unraveling the elegant mechanisms by which intracellular bacterial pathogens induce and/or block apoptosis, which can influence disease progression. This intriguing aspect of the host-pathogen interaction adds another fascinating dimension to our understanding of the exploitation of host cell biology by intracellular bacterial pathogens.     

The inter‐kingdom volatile signal indole promotes root development by interfering with auxin signalling

Recently, emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has emerged as a mode of communication between bacteria and plants. Although some bacterial VOCs that promote plant growth have been identified, their underlying mechanism of action is unknown. Here we demonstrate that indole, which was identified using a screen for Arabidopsis growth promotion by VOCs from soil‐borne bacteria, is a potent plant‐growth modulator. Its prominent role in increasing the plant secondary root network is mediated by interfering with the auxin‐signalling machinery. Using auxin reporter lines and classic auxin physiological and transport assays we show that the indole signal invades the plant body, reaches zones of auxin activity and acts in a polar auxin transport‐dependent bimodal mechanism to trigger differential cellular auxin responses. Our results suggest that indole, beyond its importance as a bacterial signal molecule, can serve as a remote messenger to manipulate plant growth and development.     

Possible involvement of a novel STAM-associated molecule "AMSH" in intracellular signal transduction mediated by cytokines.

STAM containing an SH3 (Src homology 3) domain and an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif was previously revealed to be implicated in signaling pathways immediately downstream of Jak2 and Jak3 tyrosine kinases associated with cytokine receptors. We molecularly cloned a novel molecule interacting with the SH3 domain of STAM, which was named AMSH (associated molecule with the SH3 domain of STAM). AMSH contains a putative bipartite nuclear localization signal and a homologous region of a c-Jun activation domain-binding protein 1 (JAB1) subdomain in addition to a binding site for the SH3 domain of STAM. AMSH mutant deleted of the C-terminal half conferred dominant negative effects on signaling for DNA synthesis and c-myc induction mediated by interleukin 2 and granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor. These results suggest that AMSH plays a critical role in the cytokine-mediated intracellular signal transduction downstream of the Jak2/Jak3.STAM complex.     

The mechanism of action of the immunosuppressive drug FK-506

The novel immunosuppressive drug FK-506 inhibits the induction of lymphocyte proliferation in vitro by mitogenic combinations of phorbol esters and calcium ionophores. Early events inducible by phorbol esters alone are unaffected, while changes induced by calcium ionophores alone are completely suppressed by as little as 0.1 nM FK-506. The event in lymphocyte activation inhibited by FK-506 is completed early in the response. Its completion requires the provision of a Ca2+ signal and concurrent activation of protein kinase C and is accelerated as a function of the strength of protein kinase C activation.     

The cyclic keto-enol insecticide spirotetramat inhibits insect and spider mite acetyl-CoA carboxylases by interfering with the carboxyltransferase partial reaction

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) catalyzes the committed and rate-limiting step in fatty acid biosynthesis. The two partial reactions, carboxylation of biotin followed by carboxyl transfer to the acceptor acetyl-CoA, are performed by two separate domains in animal ACCs.The cyclic keto-enol insecticides and acaricides have been proposed to inhibit insect ACCs. In this communication, we show that the enol derivative of the cylic keto-enol insecticide spirotetramat inhibited ACCs partially purified from the insect species Myzus persicae and Spodoptera frugiperda, as well as the spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) ACC which was expressed in insect cells using a recombinant baculovirus. Steady-state kinetic analysis revealed competitive inhibition with respect to the carboxyl acceptor, acetyl-CoA, indicating that spirotetramat-enol bound to the carboxyltransferase domain of ACC. Interestingly, inhibition with respect to the biotin carboxylase substrate ATP was uncompetitive.Amino acid residues in the carboxyltransferase domains of plant ACCs are important for binding of established herbicidal inhibitors. Mutating the spider mite ACC at the homologous positions, for example L1736 to either isoleucine or alanine, and A1739 to either valine or serine, did not affect the inhibition of the spider mite ACC by spirotetramat-enol. These results indicated different binding modes of the keto-enols and the herbicidal chemical families.