The three-dimensional structure of trypsin-treated Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin

Trypsin treatment of staphylococcal α-toxin cleaves the molecule into two roughly equally sized parts, which ] results in inactivation of the toxin. Tetragonal arrays of oligomers, closely resembling the native ones, can however be formed on lipid layers. From tilted views of negatively stained crystals a 31) structure to 23 Å resolution has been determined by electron microscopy and image processing. On comparison with the 31) structure of the native ot-toxin (Olofsson et al., J. Mol. Biol. 214, 299–306, 1990) the subdomains are more separated, confirming the differences found when comparing the projection maps (Olofsson et al., J. Struct. Biol. 106, 199–204, 1991). The tryptic cleavage takes place in a postulated hinge region. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the conformational change required for inducing the membrane permeabilizing property takes place in this region. Furthermore, we present a refined projection map at approximately 10 Å resolution based on the analysis of a large number of crystals using unbending methods.     

Regulation of phospholipase D activity in synaptosomes permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin

In order to investigate the regulation of presynaptic phospholipase D (PLD) activity by calcium and G proteins, we established a permeabilization procedure for rat cortical synaptosomes using Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin (30–100 μg/ml). In permeabilized synaptosomes, PLD activity was significantly stimulated when the concentration of free calcium was increased from 0.1 μM to 1 μM. This activation was inhibited in the presence of KN-62 (1 μM), an inhibitor of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), but not by the protein kinase C inhibitor, Ro 31-8220 (1–10 μM). Synaptosomal PLD activity was also stimulated in the presence of 1 μM GTPγS. When Rho proteins were inhibited by pretreatment of the synaptosomes with Clostridium difficile toxin B (TcdB; 1–10 ng/ml), the effect of GTPγS was significantly reduced; in contrast, brefeldin A (10–100 μM), an inhibitor of ARF activation, was ineffective. Calcium stimulation of PLD was inhibited by TcdB, but GTPγS-dependent activation was insensitive to KN-62. We conclude that synaptosomal PLD is activated in a pathway which sequentially involves CaMKII and Rho proteins.     

The effect of α-MSH on fever caused by Staphylococcus aureus cell walls in rabbits

The role of endogenous pyrogens induced by gram-positive bacterial pyrogens is not known. Intravenous alpha-MSH (2.5 micrograms) significantly reduced only the first phase of the biphasic thermal response to IV S. aureus cell walls (5 x 10(7)). Intracerebroventricular alpha-MSH (200 ng) had no effect on the fever response. The fall in serum iron concentration was significantly attenuated by the IV alpha-MSH but was not affected by the ICV alpha-MSH. Intravenous alpha-MSH had no effect on fever or the serum iron response caused by muramyl dipeptide (MDP). We conclude that the first phase of the thermal response to S. aureus cell walls is mediated by an endogenous pyrogen (EP) and the second phase of the response by a mechanism not involving EP, but possibly a muramyl peptide.     

金黄色葡萄球菌tst-1基因敲除菌株的构建

抽提金黄色葡萄球菌834菌株的基因组DNA,PCR克隆扩增tst-1及tst-1的上、下游基因,通过将tst-1上、下游基因分别重组到载体质粒pAULA中,形成同源重组质粒pAULA Δtst-1,将pAULA-Δtst-1电转入细菌内,进行同源重组,以PCR、Western blot鉴定tst-1基因敲除菌株无tst-1基因片段,且无TSST-1蛋白表达,表明已成功构建金黄色葡萄球菌tst-1基因的敲除菌株。     

The “erythromycin-resistance” methylated sequence of Staphylococcus aureus ribosomal RNA

We have determined the sequence of an oligonucleotide from the large ribosomal subunit RNA of Staphylococcus aureus whose methylation renders the organism resistant to erythromycin and other antibiotics (the “MLS” phenotype). Analysis of RNase A digests of [³H]methyl-, ³²P-labeled RNA yielded the sequence GG · m₂⁶A · AAGACp, where m₂⁶A is an N⁶-dimethylated adenosine residue that in sensitive cells is unmethylated. Comparison with homologous sequences recently reported for Saccharomyces cerevesiae mitochondria indicates that an A to G mutation in this latter system mimics dimethylation in St. aureus with regard to functional consequences.     

金黄色葡萄球菌病防治研究进展

金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus, SA)被认为是最常见的食源性致病菌之一,引起人畜的感染性疾病,导致皮肤、软组织和血液感染,引发脓毒症和中毒性休克综合征。随着抗生素的滥用,金黄色葡萄球菌的耐药性逐渐增强,导致耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA)的出现,并且在全球范围内散播,严重危害公共卫生安全。目前亟需有效控制SA感染的新疗法,因此本文对金黄色葡萄球菌防治技术的研究进展进行综述,并对其防治前景进行了分析,以期对金黄色葡萄球菌尤其是MRSA的控制提供理论指导。     

金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素中毒的免疫治疗策略

金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素（staphylococcal enterotoxins,SEs）是由金黄色葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus aureus）分泌的一类具有呕吐活性的细菌外毒素，可引起严重的炎症反应和食物中毒。SEs具有超抗原活性，可与T细胞受体的可变区和MHC II类分子形成三元复合物（TCR-SEs-MHC II），直接刺激T淋巴细胞大量产生肿瘤坏死因子-α (tumor necrosis factor α,TNF-α)、白介素（interleukin,IL）-2、IL-6和γ干扰素（interferon γ,IFN-γ）等细胞因子，从而导致中毒性休克综合征（toxicshocksyndrome, TSS）。在临床常见的SEs中，肠毒素A (staphylococcalenterotoxin A, SEA)和肠毒素B(staphylococcal enterotoxin B,SEB)是出现频率最高、毒性最大、危害最严重的两种。目前尚没有针对SEs中毒治疗策略的综述性研究。本文首先概述了SEs的分类、结构及毒性作用，重点围绕SEA和SEB，分析了TCR-SEs-MHC II类...     

金黄色葡萄球菌主要毒力因子对宿主固有免疫系统的影响

金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus),简称金葡菌,是重要的人类病原菌,是世界范围内细菌感染的主要原因。金葡菌通过产生多种毒素如p-v杀白细胞素(panton-valentine leukocidin,PVL),引起固有免疫细胞如巨噬细胞、中性粒细胞释放多种促炎因子导致机体炎症损伤,并诱导这些细胞发生凋亡坏死,而高效地逃避固有免疫系统的识别和消除,引起严重的感染性疾病。本文综述了金葡菌产生的alpha溶血素、PVL、可溶性调控蛋白（Phenol-soluble Modulin,PSM）和Staphopain的促炎机制及对宿主固有免疫细胞的杀伤作用,为临床治疗金葡菌引起的感染提供参考。     

Kinetics of the diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione reduction by diacetyl reductase (α-diketone reductase (NAD)) from Staphylococcus aureus

The kinetic mechanism of diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione reduction by diacetyl reductase from Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. The shape of the primary double reciprocal plots, the product inhibition pattern, and the features of the inhibition by a substrate analogue (acetone) show that diacetyl is reduced via an Ordered Bi-Bi mechanism, and 2,3-pentanedione by an Ordered Bi-Bi or Theorell-Chance mechanism. NADH is the leading substrate in both reactions.Affinity constants for the coenzyme and the substrates and inhibition constants for NAD, acetoin, and acetone were also calculated. This enzyme has a high affinity for NADH; K_m (31–50 μM) and K_s (20–27 μM) for this compound are around one-tenth of the NADH intracellular concentration. Therefore, it must operate in vivo saturated with the coenzyme. This condition is not adequate to play the role, formerly proposed for diacetyl reductases, of regulating the equilibrium between oxidized and reduced forms of pyridine-nucleotides.     

Transformation of Staphylococcus aureus by heterologous plasmids

Plasmids isolated from Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis were transformed into Staphylococcus aureus. Heterologous transformation was susceptible to restriction in S. aureus but could be performed in restriction-negative mutants or in heat-treated host bacteria. Three plasmids isolated from S. epidermidis were transformed into S. aureus with this technique and characterized. Two of them, pTE109 and pCE109, appear to be similar to two tet and cml plasmids previously isolated from S. aureus. The third, pPE109, carries penicillin and cadmium resistance and shows a restriction enzyme pattern which differs from known penicillinase plasmids in S. aureus.     

PCR fingerprinting for epidemiological studies of Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus isolates (n = 126), collected during two different periods from patients hospitalised in pediatric wards, were analysed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mediated genotyping. These isolates were compared with 29 isolates from individuals attending the out-patient clinic of the same hospital and 13 isolates from pediatric hospital personnel. Within a group of 99 isolates gathered from 48 individuals during surveillance period I, 22 distinct genotypes were identified by application of two PCR assays. Among the 58 isolates collected in surveillance period II from pediatric and out-clinic patients, 25 genotypes were detected by a single PCR assay only. Based on these results it was demonstrated that patients can be colonised with multiple strains that may persist in a certain anatomical location for prolonged periods of time. It is shown that persistence of a S. aureus strain in a pediatric ward can be deduced from the PCR genotyping studies. As such PCR can be used for longitudinal monitoring of bacterial infections in hospital departments, analysis of patient-to-patient and personnel-to-patient transmission and for detection of genetic variation in general in S. aureus. Also, isolate-specific DNA probes can be generated for S. aureus by PCR genotyping. The probes can be used for the recognition of re-emerging S. aureus epidemics.     

紫草素与依布硒啉对金黄色葡萄球菌的协同作用

[目的]探讨紫草素(shikonin,SKN)协同依布硒啉(ebselen,EbSe)抗金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus,S.aureus)的作用及机制.[方法]分光光度法测定紫草素-依布硒啉抗金黄色葡萄球菌活性;碘化丙啶(propidium iodide,PI)染色检测紫草素-依布硒啉杀菌效...     

吡唑啉酮铜配合物P-FAH-Cu-phen对金黄色葡萄球菌的转录组影响分析

【背景】金黄色葡萄球菌是目前食品和临床引起感染的重要病原菌,迫切需要开发新型抗菌药物。【目的】分析吡唑啉酮铜配合物P-FAH-Cu-phen对金黄色葡萄球菌的转录组影响和主要代谢信号通路。【方法】采用液体稀释法测定P-FAH-Cu-phen作用金黄色葡萄球菌的最低抑菌浓度(minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC)和最低杀菌浓度(minimum bactericidal concentration, MBC)。将终浓度2 μg/mL的配合物分别作用于对数生长期的金黄色葡萄球菌30 min和2 h,进行转录组测序及分析。【结果】 P-FAH-Cu-phen作用金黄色葡萄球菌的MIC和MBC分别为2 μg/mL和4 μg/mL。与空白对照相比,配合物处理细菌30 min后,其差异基因共有356个,其中上调表达180个、下调表达176个;配合物处理细菌2 h后,其差异基因共有23个,其中上调表达3个、下调表达20个。差异基因功能主要富集于膜的组成部分、细胞质、质膜、ATP结合、发病机制、金属离子结合、组氨酸生物合成过程、DNA结合、水解酶活性、跨膜转运蛋白活性、硝酸盐同化、硝酸盐代谢过程、硝酸还原酶复合物、硝酸还原酶活性等。差异基因涉及的信号通路主要有双组分系统、群体感应、氮代谢、三羧酸循环、氨基酸代谢等。【结论】影响细菌质膜组成、毒素生成、生物膜形成、细胞壁合成、能量代谢等可能是吡唑啉酮铜配合物P-FAH-Cu-phen对金黄色葡萄球菌的主要抑菌作用。研究为揭示吡唑啉酮铜配合物抑制金黄色葡萄球菌分子机制提供了理论依据。     

Penicillinase plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus: Structural and evolutionary relationships

A series of naturally occurring staphylococcal plasmids, all carrying resistance to cadmium ions, and belonging to three incompatibility sets, has been examined by restriction endonuclease digestion and electron microscopic analysis of heteroduplexes. The restriction patterns revealed the existence of four distinct families of plasmids plus several that seemed unrelated to the rest. Within each of the four families, there were overall similarities in restriction patterns coupled with specific, usually local differences that could often be accounted for by the insertion or deletion of specific DNA segments. These apparent insertions or deletions could often be correlated with differences in phenotypes displayed by the plasmids. On the basis of these results, a picture is beginning to emerge of the possible evolutionary pathways followed by these plasmids and of their epidemiological spread.     

Construction and characterization of plasmid vectors for cloning in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus carnosus

Several plasmid vectors for cloning in Staphylococcus aureus and S. carnosus have been constructed and characterized. The chimeric plasmids are composed of parts of the following parental plasmids: The chloramphenicol-resistance plasmid, pC194, the tetracycline-resistance plasmid, pMK148, and the erythromycin-resistance plasmid, pE12. All the chimeric plasmids confer two selectable antibiotic-resistance markers on host cells. Insertional inactivation of the various antibiotic-resistance markers occurred at the BclI site of pE12, and the Sau96- or AvaII-site of pMK148; only a slight inactivation of the chloramphenicol-resistance marker occurred at the HaeIII-site of pC194. The chimeric plasmids pCT20 and pCE10 are both stable in S. aureus and S. carnosus. In addition, the hybrid plasmids of pCT20 and pCE10, containing lambda-DNA fragments in various restriction sites between 0.4 and 1.2 kb, are stably maintained. The inserted lambda-DNA fragments appear unchanged.     

15β-hydroxysteroids (Part IV). Steroids of the human perinatal period: The synthesis of 3α,15β,17α-trihydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one and its A/B-ring configurational isomers

In recent years several 15β-hydroxysteroids have emerged pathognomonic of adrenal disorders in human neonates of which 3α,15β,17α-trihydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one (2) was the first to be identified in the urine of newborn infants affected with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In this investigation we report the synthesis of the three remaining 3ξ,5ξ-isomers, namely 3α,15β,17α-trihydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (3), 3β,15β,17α-trihydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (7) and 3β,15β,17α-trihydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one (8) for their definitive identification in pathological conditions in human neonates. 3β,15β-Diacetoxy-17α-hydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one (11), a product of chemical synthesis was converted to the isomeric 3 and 7, while conversion of 15β,17α-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3,20-dione (4), a product of microbiological transformation, resulted in the preparation of 8. In brief, selective acetate hydrolysis of 11 gave 15β-acetoxy-3β,17α-dihydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one (12) which on catalytic hydrogenation gave 15β-acetoxy-3β,17α-dihydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (13) a common intermediate for the synthesis of the 3β(and α),5α-isomers. Hydrolysis of the 15β-acetate gave 7, whereas oxidation with pyridinium chlorochromate gave 15β-acetoxy-17α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-3,20-dione (14) which on reduction with -Selectride and hydrolysis of the 15β-acetate gave 3. Finally, hydrogenation of 4 gave 15β,17α-dihydroxy-5β-pregnan-3,20-dione (10) which on reduction with -Selectride gave 8.     

金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体vB_Sau_P68的基因组分析和裂解酶

【背景】金黄色葡萄球菌是常见的人畜共患条件致病菌,随着多耐药菌株分离率的增长,研发与抗生素作用模式不同的抗菌剂迫在眉睫。【目的】分离高效且特异性强的金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体,对其进行功能注释,并对其编码的裂解酶进行功能验证。【方法】通过对噬菌体全基因组序列进行分析找到裂解酶基因,利用原核表达系统对其编码的2个裂解酶蛋白进行克隆,用SDS-PAGE与蛋白免疫印迹法(Western blotting)鉴定目的蛋白是否表达,并采用单斑法验证其裂解活性。【结果】本研究的噬菌体为一株新的金黄色葡萄球菌噬菌体,命名为vB＿Sau＿P68,该基因组全长为139 409 bp,GC含量为31.0%,编码220个开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF),透射电镜观察具有正二十面体头部和收缩性尾部,形态学分类属于肌尾噬菌体。该噬菌体编码2个裂解酶基因,分别具有CHAP催化结构域与SH3＿5结合结构域,SDS-PAGE与Western blotting表明Lys161能够表达且有裂解活性,Lys163则无法外源表达。对Lys161序列进行分析,该裂解酶无信号肽,无跨膜区域,以无规则卷曲为主。【...