Investigations on the outer membrane proteins of Salmonella typhimurium.

The number, nature and organization of the outer membrane proteins of Salmonella typhimurium have not yet been resolved. Therefore these proteins were isolated using a concentrated solution of guanidine hydrochloride and studied using different analytical techniques. Upon chromatography on Sephadex G-200 four fractions were obtained. Only the fraction containing a protein of molecular weight 13,000 produced immunoprecipitation reactions with the antisera raised against the whole bacteria. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate, 7 major proteins were found, with molecular weights between 13,000 and 43,000. Isoelectric focusing on 4.6% polyacrylamide gels resolved the outer membrane proteins into 10 bands with apparent isoelectric points between 5.0 and 8.4. Finally these proteins could be further resolved into as many as 50 spots where a two-dimensional electrophoresis was carried out with isoelectric focusing in the first dimension, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate in the second dimension. These results demonstrated that the outer membrane proteins of S. typhimurium are extremely heterogeneous. To investigate the mode of organization of lipopolysaccharides in the outer membrane, the membrane proteins were separated by the liquid isoelectric focusing technique. Lipopolysaccharides were primarily found to be associated with a protein of isoelectric point 7.8.     

BX-795 inhibits neuroblastoma growth and enhances sensitivity towards chemotherapy

High-risk neuroblastoma (NB) represents a major clinical challenge in pediatric oncology due to relapse of metastatic, drug-resistant disease, and treatment-related toxicities. An analysis of 1235 primary NB patient dataset revealed significant increase in AKT1 and AKT2 gene expression with cancer stage progression. Additionally, Both AKT1 and AKT2 expression inversely correlate with poor overall survival of NB patients. AKT1 and AKT2 genes code for AKT that drive a major oncogenic cell signaling pathway known in many cancers, including NB. To inhibit AKT pathway, we repurposed an antiviral inhibitor BX-795 that inhibits PDK1, an upstream activator of AKT. BX-795 potently inhibits NB cell proliferation and colony growth in a dose-dependent manner. BX-795 significantly enhances apoptosis and blocks cell cycle progression at mitosis phase in NB. Additionally, BX-795 potently inhibits tumor formation and growth in a NB spheroid tumor model. We further tested dual therapeutic approaches by combining BX-795 with either doxorubicin or crizotinib and found synergistic and significant inhibition of NB growth, in contrast to either drug alone. Overall, our data demonstrate that BX-795 inhibits AKT pathway to inhibit NB growth, and combining BX-795 with current therapies is an effective and clinically tractable therapeutic approach for NB.     

Genetic diversity of Salmonella Paratyphi A isolated from enteric fever patients in Bangladesh from 2008 to 2018

BackgroundThe proportion of enteric fever cases caused by Salmonella Paratyphi A is increasing and may increase further as we begin to introduce typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs). While numerous epidemiological and genomic studies have been conducted for S. Typhi, there are limited data describing the genomic epidemiology of S. Paratyphi A in especially in endemic settings, such as Bangladesh.Principal findingsWe conducted whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 67 S. Paratyphi A isolated between 2008 and 2018 from eight enteric disease surveillance sites across Bangladesh. We performed a detailed phylogenetic analysis of these sequence data incorporating sequences from 242 previously sequenced S. Paratyphi A isolates from a global collection and provided evidence of lineage migration from neighboring countries in South Asia. The data revealed that the majority of the Bangladeshi S. Paratyphi A isolates belonged to the dominant global lineage A (67.2%), while the remainder were either lineage C (19.4%) or F (13.4%). The population structure was relatively homogenous across the country as we did not find any significant lineage distributions between study sites inside or outside Dhaka. Our genomic data showed presence of single point mutations in gyrA gene either at codon 83 or 87 associated with decreased fluoroquinolone susceptibility in all Bangladeshi S. Paratyphi A isolates. Notably, we identified the pHCM2- like cryptic plasmid which was highly similar to S. Typhi plasmids circulating in Bangladesh and has not been previously identified in S. Paratyphi A organisms.SignificanceThis study demonstrates the utility of WGS to monitor the ongoing evolution of this emerging enteric pathogen. Novel insights into the genetic structure of S. Paratyphi A will aid the understanding of both regional and global circulation patterns of this emerging pathogen and provide a framework for future genomic surveillance studies.     

Inhibition of cholinephosphotransferase activity in lung injury induced by 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide, a mustard analog

Exposure to mustard gas causes inflammatory lung diseases including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A defect in the lung surfactant system has been implicated as a cause of ARDS. A major component of lung surfactant is dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and the major pathway for its synthesis is the cytidine diphosphocholine (CDP-choline) pathway. It is not known whether the ARDS induced by mustard gas is mediated by its direct effects on some of the enzymes in the CDP-choline pathway. In the present study we investigated whether mustard gas exposure modulates the activity of cholinephosphotransferase (CPT) the terminal enzyme by CDP-choline pathway. Adult guinea pigs were intratracheally infused with single doses of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) (0.5 mg/kg b.wt. in ethanol). Control animals were injected with vehicles only. The animals were sacrificed at different time and the lungs were removed after perfusion with physiological saline. CPT activity increased steadily up to 4 h and then decreased at 6 h and stabilized at 7 days in both mitochondria and microsomes. To determine the dose-dependent effect of CEES on CPT activity we varied the doses of CEES (0.5-6.0 mg/kg b.wt.) and sacrificed the animals at 1 h and 4 h. CPT activity showed a dose-dependent increase of up to 2.0 mg/kg b.wt. of CEES in both mitochondria and microsomes then decreased at 4.0 mg/kg b.wt. For further studies we used a fixed single dose of CEES (2.0 mg/kg b.wt.) and fixed exposure time (7 days). Lung injury was determined by measuring the leakage of iodinated-bovine serum albumin into lung tissue and expressed as the permeability index. CEES exposure (2.0 mg/kg b.wt. for 7 days) caused a significant decrease of both CPT gene expression (approximately 1.7-fold) and activity (approximately 1.5-fold) in the lung. This decrease in CPT activity was not associated with any mutation of the CPT gene. Previously we reported that CEES infusion increased the production of ceramides which are known to modulate PC synthesis. To determine whether ceramides affect microsomal CPT activity the lung microsomal fraction was incubated with different concentrations of C(2)-ceramide prior to CPT assay. CPT activity decreased significantly with increasing dose and time. The present study indicates that CEES causes lung injury and significantly decreases CPT gene expression and activity. This decrease in CPT activity was not associated with any mutation of the CPT gene is probably mediated by accumulation of ceramides. CEES induced ceramide accumulation may thus play an important role in the development of ARDS by modulating CPT enzyme.     

Effect of sigmaS on sigmaE-directed cell lysis in Escherichia coli early stationary phase

The sigmaE regulon has been shown to perform a novel function that causes dead-cell lysis specific to the early stationary phase in addition to its well-known role in the extracytoplasmic stress response in Escherichia coli. Here, the effect of sigmaS as a general stress-responsive sigma factor on sigmaE-directed cell lysis was investigated. The lysis phenomena were observed in both rpoS mutant and parental strains constitutively expressing active sigmaE, but the former lysis occurred at a relatively early stage compared to the latter. Based on these results and experiments with hydrogen peroxide, we propose that some stresses generate living but non-culturable cells, which are subject to sigmaE-directed cell lysis.     

Role of G proteins and modulation of p38 MAPK activation in the protection by nitric oxide against ischemia-reoxygenation injury

Protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) may play a role in the protection afforded by ischemic preconditioning (PC). Nitric oxide (NO) can influence MAPK activation via interaction with PKC or farnesylation of low-molecular-weight (LMWT) G proteins. However, we have recently reported the mechanism of NO-induced cardioprotection to be a PKC-independent process. Therefore, we investigated the role of LMWT G proteins and MAPK signaling in NO-induced cardioprotection against simulated ischemia-reoxygenation (SI-R) injury. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes treated for 90 min with the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-l,l-penicillamine (SNAP) 1 mM were protected against 6 h of SI (hypoxic conditions at 37 degrees C with 20 mM lactate, 16 mM KCl at pH 6.2) and 24 h reoxygenation under normal culture conditions. NO-induced protection was blocked by the G protein inhibitor alpha-hydroxyfarnesylphosphonic acid (alphaHFP) 10 microM. We studied the time course of p42/44 and p38 MAPK dual-phosphorylation hourly during SI using phospho-specific antibodies. p38 was phosphorylated during SI and the peak phosphorylation was significantly delayed by SNAP pretreatment. The p38 inhibitor SB203580 1 microM, given during SI, protected against injury. Thus the delay in peak p38 activation may contribute to, rather than be the effect of, NO-induced cardioprotection. We have shown that p38beta does not contribute to the total p38 signal in our extracts. Thus there is no detectable beta isoform. We conclude that the main isoform present in these cells and thought to be responsible for the observed phenomenon, is the alpha isoform.     

Evolutionary Analysis and Classification of OATs,OCTs, OCTNs,and Other SLC22 Transporters: Structure-Function Implications and Analysis of Sequence Motifs

The SLC22 family includes organic anion transporters (OATs), organic cation transporters (OCTs) and organic carnitine and zwitterion transporters (OCTNs). These are often referred to as drug transporters even though they interact with many endogenous metabolites and signaling molecules (Nigam, S.K., Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 14:29–44, 2015). Phylogenetic analysis of SLC22 supports the view that these transporters may have evolved over 450 million years ago. Many OAT members were found to appear after a major expansion of the SLC22 family in mammals, suggesting a physiological and/or toxicological role during the mammalian radiation. Putative SLC22 orthologs exist in worms, sea urchins, flies, and ciona. At least six groups of SLC22 exist. OATs and OCTs form two Major clades of SLC22, within which (apart from Oat and Oct subclades), there are also clear Oat-like, Octn, and Oct-related subclades, as well as a distantly related group we term “Oat-related” (which may have different functions). Based on available data, it is arguable whether SLC22A18, which is related to bacterial drug-proton antiporters, should be assigned to SLC22. Disease-causing mutations, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other functionally analyzed mutations in OAT1, OAT3, URAT1, OCT1, OCT2, OCTN1, and OCTN2 map to the first extracellular domain, the large central intracellular domain, and transmembrane domains 9 and 10. These regions are highly conserved within subclades, but not between subclades, and may be necessary for SLC22 transporter function and functional diversification. Our results not only link function to evolutionarily conserved motifs but indicate the need for a revised sub-classification of SLC22.     

Lack of host specificity leads to independent assortment of dipterocarps and ectomycorrhizal fungi across a soil fertility gradient

Plants interact with a diversity of microorganisms, and there is often concordance in their community structures. Because most community‐level studies are observational, it is unclear if such concordance arises because of host specificity, in which microorganisms or plants limit each other's occurrence. Using a reciprocal transplant experiment, we tested the hypothesis that host specificity between trees and ectomycorrhizal fungi determines patterns of tree and fungal soil specialisation. Seedlings of 13 dipterocarp species with contrasting soil specialisations were seeded into plots crossing soil type and canopy openness. Ectomycorrhizal colonists were identified by DNA sequencing. After 2.5 years, we found no evidence of host specificity. Rather, soil environment was the primary determinant of ectomycorrhizal diversity and composition on seedlings. Despite their close symbiosis, our results show that ectomycorrhizal fungi and tree communities in this Bornean rain forest assemble independently of host‐specific interactions, raising questions about how mutualism shapes the realised niche.     

Phenotypic screening and molecular analysis of blast resistance in fragrant rice for marker assisted selection

Experiments were conducted to identify blast-resistant fragrant genotypes for the development of a durable blast-resistant rice variety during years 2012–2013. The results indicate that out of 140 test materials including 114 fragrant germplasms, 25 differential varieties (DVs) harbouring 23 blast-resistant genes, only 16 fragrant rice germplasms showed comparatively better performance against a virulent isolate of blast disease. The reaction pattern of single-spore isolate of Magnaporthe oryzae to differential varieties showed that Pish, Pi9, Pita-2 and Pita are the effective blast-resistant genes against the tested blast isolates in Bangladesh. The DNA markers profiles of selected 16 rice germplasms indicated that genotype Chinigura contained Pish, Pi9 and Pita genes; on the other hand, both BRRI dhan50 and Bawaibhog contained Pish and Pita genes in their genetic background. Genotypes Jirakatari, BR5, and Gopalbhog possessed Pish gene, while Uknimodhu, Deshikatari, Radhunipagol, Kalijira (3), Chinikanai each contained the Pita gene only. There are some materials that did not contain any target gene(s) in their genetic background, but proved resistant in pathogenicity tests. This information provided valuable genetic information for breeders to develop durable blast-resistant fragrant or aromatic rice varieties in Bangladesh.