The mutagenicity of a new multicomponent vaccine made from the antigens of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris and Escherichia coli

Inactivated bacterial vaccine, containing K. pneumoniae, S. aureus, P. vulgaris and E. coli antigenic complexes were tested for mutagenicity in the test described by Ames et al. and in vivo, in experiments on mice. In Salmonella typhimurium cells, strain TA-98 and TA-100, the preparation (5-75 mg/ml) did not increase the frequency of reversions and histidine-independence either in direct experiments or after metabolic activation with rat liver homogenate. In experiments on mice the vaccine (3.3 mg/kg and 33 mg/kg) did not induce chromosomal anomalies in spermatogonia. In all experiments the mutagens used for positive control produced a mutagenic effect.     

Experimental study of the immunogenicity of a monopreparation of Klebsiella pneumoniae antigen complex and its association with Staphylococcus, Proteus and Escherichia coli antigens

The study carried out in mice with experimental Klebsiella sepsis has revealed that Staphylococcus, Proteus and E. coli antigenic complexes used as monovaccines ensure the protection of a definite percentage of the animals from K. pneumoniae infection. The mixture of these 3 preparations possesses a higher protective potency. The immunogenic potency of K. pneumoniae antigenic complex used as a component of combined vaccines with 2 or 4 components has proved to be sufficiently high and not inferior to the potency of K. pneumoniae monovaccine.     

The formation of germtubes by candida albicans,when grown with Staphylococcus pyogene,Escherichia coli,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Lactobacilius acidophilus and Proteus vulgaris

The formation of germtubes by twelve clinical isolates of C. albicans was studied in human serum containing per millilitre 10³ to 10⁹ organisms as: Staphylococcus pyegene, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Proteus vulgaris. All the five bacteria inhibited formation of germtubes by C. albicans at all concentrations and the percent germtube formed diminished with increasing concentration of the bacteria. Lactobacillus acidophilus inhibited the formation of germtubes maximally followed by Staphylococcus pyogene, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Proteus vulgaris in the concentrations of 10³ to 10⁷ bacteria per millilitre produced only insignificant inhibition of formation of germtubes by C. albicans. Since germtubes of C. albicans are invasive, it is suggested that inhibition of blastospo-regermtube transformation may be significantly responsible for prevention of infection by C. albicans by coexisting bacterial flora.     

社区与医院感染中肺炎克雷伯杆菌和大肠埃希菌耐药性分析

目的探讨社区和医院感染中肺炎克雷伯杆菌和大肠埃希菌产ESBLs的情况及耐药特性。方法采用体外扩散确证试验检测ESBLs,同时用Micro scan wat RA way-40系统全自动细菌鉴定/药敏分析仪及K-B琼脂扩散法进行细菌鉴定和体外药敏试验。结果社区感染标本中分离出肺炎克雷伯杆菌79株,产ESBLs20株,阳性率为25.3%,大肠埃希菌177株,产ESBLs27株,阳性率为15.3%;医院感染标本中分离出肺炎克雷伯杆菌82株,产ES-BLs33株,阳性率为40.2%,大肠埃希菌135株,产ESBLs42株,阳性率为31.1%,社区与医院感染菌株产ESBLs比较差异均有统计学意义(P均<0.05);ESBLs阳性菌株对多种抗生素耐药,其耐药性明显高于ESBLs阴性菌株。结论肺炎克雷伯杆菌和大肠埃希菌产ESBLs菌株在临床分离率较高,医院感染标本要显著高于社区感染标本,并且对多种抗生素具有高度耐药性,产ESBLs菌株耐药性显著高于不产ESBLs菌株,临床上应加强对ESBLs的控制,以防感染流行。     

Microcin-mediated interactions between Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli strains

Amensal indirect interactions between a Klebsiella pneumoniae microcin-producing strain and several Escherichia coli strains, all of intestinal origin, were studied. Mixed batch cultures of both microcin-producing and microcin-sensitive strains showed that microcin production and excretion into the medium allowed the producer strain to prevail over sensitive strains, even when initial competition conditions were highly unfavourable for the producer. Mixed cultures also showed the production of a microcin-antagonist by the same microcin-producing strain when the nutrients in the medium had been depleted. The antagonist apparently promoted the viability of sensitive cells already damaged by microcin. These results have likely ecological implications.     

三种头霉素类抗生素对大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌的抗菌活性评价

目的 评价头孢美唑(CMZ)、头孢西丁(FOX)及头孢替坦(CTT)三种头霉素类抗生素对大肠埃希菌(ECO)和肺炎克雷伯菌(KPN)的体外抗菌活性.方法 对510株ECO和472株KPN,采用K-B琼脂扩散法进行CMZ、FOX及CTT的体外药敏试验,并用表型确证试验检测超广谱β-内酰胺酶(ESBLs).结果 ECO和KPN ESBLs的检出率分别为61.8％和41.3％;CMZ、FOX和CTT对ECO和KPN ESBLs阴性菌株敏感率均在96％以上;对于产ESBLs的ECO,CMZ、FOX和CTT的敏感率分别为95.6、85.7％和97.8％,经比较CMZ和CTT的敏感率均明显高于FOX的敏感率(P＜0.05);对于产ESBLs的KPN,CMZ、FOX和CTT的敏感率分别为81.0％、80.0％和100.0％,经比较CMZ和FOX的敏感率均明显低于CTT的敏感率(P＜0.05).结论 作为治疗产ESBLs菌株引起的感染头霉素类抗生素可代替三代头孢菌素作为经验治疗药物,但仍应参考药敏试验结果.CTT对产ESBLs的ECO和KPN菌株的体外抗菌活性优于CMZ和FOX.     

Cloning of Klebsiella pneumoniae pqq genes and PQQ biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

We have cloned genes from Klebsiella pneumoniae which are required for pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) biosynthesis. The cloned 6.7 kb fragment can complement several chromosomal pqq mutants. Escherichia coli strains are unable to synthesize PQQ but E. coli strains containing the cloned 6.7 kb K. pneumoniae fragment can synthesize PQQ in large amounts and E. coli pts mutants can be complemented on minimal glucose medium by this clone.     

P1 bacteriophage and tellurite sensitivity in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli

Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli respond inversely toward P1 bacteriophage or TeO3(-2). Klebsiella pneumoniae is resistant to both antagonists and E. coli is sensitive. However, P1 cmts lysogens (P1 cmts resistant) of K. pneumoniae became sensitive to tellurite and when cured from P1 cmts regained resistance. Escherichia coli spontaneous mutants selected for resistance to either P1 or TeO3(-2) were collaterally resistant to the other. As well, TeO3(-3) enhanced the adsorption of P1 vir to both E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Several outer membrane proteins were enhanced in the K. pneumoniae lysogens and were reduced in E. coli lysogens; one of which was the same molecular weight (77 000) in both bacteria. When partially purified it enhanced the plaque efficiency of P1 vir. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. coli C600 inactivated P1 vir, but neither the P1 lysogens nor LPS derived from the lysogens inactivated P1 vir. Escherichia coli P1 lysogens produced only heptose-deficient LPS. It is suggested that both LPS and outer membrane protein(s) comprise the P1 receptor. TeO3(-2) may interact with one or both components.     

Chromosome transfer and R-prime formation by an RP4::mini-Mu derivative in Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis

We have introduced into the wide host range conjugative plasmid RP4, a mini-Mu derivative which was known to be able to transpose spontaneously in E. coli K-12, and to induce in such a host several kinds of chromosomal rearrangements including replicon fusions. Unlike RP4, RP4::mini-Mu can mediate the transfer of the host chromosome to a recipient bacterium and generate R primes at high frequencies (10^?4 for the transfer of a given marker, 10^?5 for the formation of R primes carrying a given marker). Two such RP4::mini-Mu plasmids were introduced into one Salmonella typhimurium strain, one Klebsiella pneumoniae strain, and one Proteus mirabilis strain. Each of these three strains were mated with an E. coli K-12 recipient and transconjugants carrying R primes were recovered in all three cases at frequencies ranging from 5 × 10^?6 to 10^?7.     

The dependence on iron availability of allocation of iron to nitrogenase components in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli.

Nitrogenase contains approximately 38 iron ions/complete unit. Therefore, we sought to identify steps and genes involved in nitrogenase production that are responsive to iron availability. We have characterized nitrogenase production in Klebsiella pneumoniae grown in a range of different iron concentrations. We find significant accumulation (50-75%) and normal synthesis rates of the structural polypeptides, even under conditions in which the observed nitrogenase activities are only 14-28% of those observed in iron-sufficient conditions. Thus, maturation instead of synthesis of the structural polypeptides is primarily responsible for the iron dependence of nitrogenase activity. We have also used a binary plasmid system in Escherichia coli to investigate the contributions of various nitrogen fixation (nif) genes to the iron dependence of nitrogenase production. At least one of the nif genes DKTYENXUSVW can modulate synthesis of the structural polypeptide NIF H in response to iron availability. We speculate that an iron-deficient complex of the product(s) of at least one of these genes may repress structural polypeptide synthesis in iron-depleted K. pneumoniae. Such a system would compensate for the inactivity of NIF L in iron-depleted cultures and ensure balanced production of the structural polypeptides of nitrogenase in accordance with the iron available for their maturation.     

克雷伯氏菌甘油脱水酶基因在大肠杆菌中的克隆与表达

利用PCR技术从克雷伯氏菌(Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC49790)总DNA中扩增得到甘油脱水酶(glycerol dehydratase,DHAB)基因的DNA片段,并将其连接到表达质粒pSE380,携带有重组质粒pSE-dhaB的大肠杆菌JM109实现了dhaB基因的表达;对含有dhaB工程菌进行表达研究,表明工程菌在37℃,以1．0mmol／L IPTG诱导5h酶活力即达到1164．14u／L,比野生菌酶活力(168．69U／L)提高了6．9倍。     

产超广谱β-内酰胺酶大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌blaCTX-M基因的检测

目的了解产CTX-M型超广谱β-内酰胺酶 (ESBLs) 大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌在深圳市人民医院的分布情况.方法应用美国国家临床实验室标准化委员会(NCCLS)推荐的表型确证试验,从2000年6月～2003年8月该院临床标本分离株中筛选出不重复的产ESBLs菌株215株,其中大肠埃希菌151株,肺炎克雷伯菌64株,应用聚合酶链反应(PCR)检测所有产ESBLs株的bla(CTX-M)基因.结果 PCR结果显示,大肠埃希菌bla(CTX-M)基因阳性率为92.1%(139/151),肺炎克雷伯菌的阳性率为65.6%(42/64).bla(CTX-M)基因阳性菌株主要来源于临床送检尿和痰标本,并广泛分布于20多个临床科室.结论该院临床分离的大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌产生的ESBL大多数为CTX-M型,该类酶广泛分布于各临床科室,需引起重视.     

Distinct Promoters Affect Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Production in Recombinant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a versatile quinone cofactor participating in numerous biological processes. Klebsiella pneumoniae can naturally synthesize PQQ for harboring intact PQQ synthesis genes. Previous metabolic engineering of K. pneumoniae failed to overproduce PQQ due to the employment of strong promoter in expression vector. Here we report that a moderate rather than strong promoter is efficient for PQQ production. To screen an appropriate promoter, a total of four distinct promoters—lac promoter, pk promoter of glycerol dehydratase gene (dhaB1), promoter of kanamycin resistance gene, and T7 promoter (as the control)—were individually used for overexpressing the endogenous PQQ genes in K. pneumoniae along with heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. We found that all recombinant K. pneumoniae strains produced more PQQ than recombinant E. coli strains that carried corresponding vectors, indicating that K. pneumoniae is superior to E. coli for the production of PQQ. Particularly, the recombinant K. pneumoniae recruiting the promoter of kanamycin resistance gene produced the highest PQQ (1,700 nmol), revealing that a moderate rather than strong promoter is efficient for PQQ production. Furthermore, PQQ production was roughly proportional to glucose concentration increasing from 0.5 to 1.5 g/L, implying the synergism between PQQ biosynthesis and glucose utilization. This study not only provides a feasible strategy for production of PQQ in K. pneumoniae, but also reveals the exquisite synchronization among PQQ biosynthesis, glucose metabolism, and cell proliferation.     

Hemolytic activity of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca

We demonstrated that Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca possess a selective haemolytic activity on rabbit erythrocytes. Thirty one Klebsiella strains (18 strains of K. pneumoniae and 13 strains of K. oxytoca) were isolated from hospitalized patients. The liquid (Trypcase-soy broth--TSB) and solid (Trypcase-soy agar--TSA) medium, containing the red cells were used for the tests. All the screened strains showed a haemolytic effect on rabbit erythrocytes, provided that the supernatants of the cultures were preincubated with beta-mercaptoethanol or calcium chloride. There was no human and sheep erythrocyte lysis.     

Glycogen from Klebsiella pneumoniae M 5 al and Escherichia coli K 12

Summary 1. A continuous two stage cultivation method for two strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli yielding high cell mass and relatively high glycogen contents is described. The stage 1 cells (carbon-limited) were fed with the nitrogen source ammonia (which also neutralized simultaneously) soly via the pH-stat. In stage 2, the cells grew nitrogen-limited, a small excess of the carbon source was maintained by continuous addition of a glucose solution.2. Through the action of lysozyme, the glycogen could be quantitatively solubilized from the alkali-insoluble cell material obtained through alkaline hydrolysis of the cells in dimethylsulfoxide-3M aqueous potassium hydroxide. The possibility that the glycogen is in part covalently linked to the peptidoglycan and localized in the periplasm is discussed. 3. Analytical data for the glycogens isolated from the two bacterial strains is given.     

Comparative Structure-Function Analysis of Mannose-Specific FimH Adhesins from Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli

FimH, the adhesive subunit of type 1 fimbriae expressed by many enterobacteria, mediates mannose-sensitive binding to target host cells. At the same time, fine receptor-structural specificities of FimH from different species can be substantially different, affecting bacterial tissue tropism and, as a result, the role of the particular fimbriae in pathogenesis. In this study, we compared functional properties of the FimH proteins from Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are both 279 amino acids in length but differ by some ∼15% of residues. We show that K. pneumoniae FimH is unable to mediate adhesion in a monomannose-specific manner via terminally exposed Manα(1-2) residues in N-linked oligosaccharides, which are the structural basis of the tropism of E. coli FimH for uroepithelial cells. However, K. pneumoniae FimH can bind to the terminally exposed Manα(1-3)Manβ(1-4)GlcNAcβ1 trisaccharide, though only in a shear-dependent manner, wherein the binding is marginal at low shear force but enhanced sevenfold under increased shear. A single mutation in the K. pneumoniae FimH, S62A, converts the mode of binding from shear dependent to shear independent. This mutation has occurred naturally in the course of endemic circulation of a nosocomial uropathogenic clone and is identical to a pathogenicity-adaptive mutation found in highly virulent uropathogenic strains of E. coli, in which it also eliminates the dependence of E. coli binding on shear. The shear-dependent binding properties of the K. pneumoniae and E. coli FimH proteins are mediated via an allosteric catch bond mechanism. Thus, despite differences in FimH structure and fine receptor specificity, the shear-dependent nature of FimH-mediated adhesion is highly conserved between bacterial species, supporting its remarkable physiological significance.The most common type of adhesive organelle in the Enterobacteriaceae is the type 1 fimbria, which has been most extensively studied in Escherichia coli. The corresponding structures of Klebsiella pneumoniae are similar to those of E. coli with regard to genetic composition and regulation (15). Type 1 fimbriae are composed primarily of the structural subunit FimA, with minor amounts of three ancillary subunits, FimF, FimG, and the mannose-specific adhesin FimH. The FimH adhesin is an allosteric protein that mediates the catch bond mechanism of adhesion where the binding is increased under increased shear stress (48).It has been demonstrated in E. coli that FimH has two domains, the mannose-binding lectin domain (from amino acid [aa] 1 through 156) and the fimbria-incorporating pilin domain (from aa 160 through 279), connected via a 3-aa-long linker chain (6). A mannose-binding site is located at the top of the lectin domain, at the opposite end from the interdomain linker (17).Several studies have demonstrated that type 1 fimbriae play an important role in E. coli urinary tract infection (UTI) (7, 21, 23, 35). In addition, in urinary E. coli isolates, the FimH adhesin accumulates amino acid replacements which increase tropism for the uroepithelium and various components of basement membranes (21, 30, 35, 37, 49). Most of the replacements increase the monomannose binding capability of FimH under low shear, by altering allosteric catch bond properties of the protein (48). The mutated FimH variants were shown to provide an advantage in colonization of the urinary tract in the mouse model (35) and correlate with the overall extraintestinal virulence of E. coli (16). Thus, FimH mutations are pathoadaptive in nature.Klebsiella pneumoniae is recognized as an important opportunistic pathogen frequently causing UTIs, septicemia, or pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals (29). It is responsible for up to 10% of all nosocomial bacterial infections (18, 41). K. pneumoniae is ubiquitous in nature, and it has been shown that environmental isolates are phenotypically indistinguishable from clinical isolates (22, 26, 27, 29, 33). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that environmental isolates of K. pneumoniae are as virulent as clinical isolates (28, 45).K. pneumoniae possesses a number of known virulence factors, including a pronounced capsule, type 3 fimbriae, and type 1 fimbriae (29, 44). Type 1 fimbriae produced by K. pneumoniae are described as functionally and structurally similar to type 1 fimbriae from E. coli (25) and have been shown to play a significant role in K. pneumoniae UTI (32, 43).We have previously shown that mature FimH from 54 isolates of K. pneumoniae (isolated from urine, blood, liver, and the environment) is represented by seven protein variants due to point amino acid replacements. (42) When K. pneumoniae FimH was aligned with the FimH of E. coli, they showed ∼85% similarity at the amino acid level. Furthermore, a majority (14 out of 21 isolates) of the K. pneumoniae strains isolated from patients with UTI grouped into a single clonal group based on multilocus sequence typing, but fimH in one isolate in the group differed from the others by a single nucleotide mutation resulting in an amino acid change, serine to alanine, in position 62 (42). The same mutation has been found in FimH of a highly uropathogenic clone of E. coli and significantly increases the adhesin''s ability to adhere to monomannose under low or no shear (19, 39, 50).In this study, we describe the extent and pattern of structural variability of the FimH protein from K. pneumoniae and perform comparative analyses of the functional properties of FimH from both K. pneumonae and E. coli.