Project description:ContextImbalance of the skin microbial community could impair skin immune homeostasis and thus trigger skin lesions. Dysbiosis of skin microbiome may be involved in the early pathogenesis of diabetic foot (DF). However, the potential mechanism remains unclear.ObjectiveTo investigate the dynamic composition and function of the foot skin microbiome with risk stratification for DF and assess whether dysbiosis of the skin microbiome induces diabetic skin lesions.MethodsWe enrolled 90 consecutive subjects who were divided into 5 groups based on DF risk stratification: very low, low, moderate, and high risk for ulcers and a healthy control group. Integrated analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA and metagenomic sequencing of cotton swab samples was applied to identify the foot skin microbiome composition and functions in subjects. Then a mouse model of microbiota transplantation was used to evaluate the effects of the skin microbiome on diabetic skin lesions.ResultsThe results demonstrated that, with the progression of diabetic complications, the proportion of gram-negative bacteria in plantar skin increased. At the species level, metagenome sequencing analyses showed Moraxella osloensis to be a representative core strain in the high-risk group. The major microbial metabolites affecting diabetic skin lesions were increased amino acid metabolites, and antibiotic resistance genes in microorganisms were abundant. Skin microbiota from high-risk patients induced more inflammatory cell infiltration, similar to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated response, which was inhibited by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) antagonists.ConclusionsThe skin microbiome in patients with diabetes undergoes dynamic changes at taxonomic and functional levels with the progression of diabetic complications. The increase in gram-negative bacteria on the skin surface through LPS-TLR4 signal transduction could induce inflammatory response in early diabetic skin lesions.
Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most serious age-related neurodegenerative disease and causes destructive and irreversible cognitive decline. Failures in the development of therapeutics targeting amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau, principal proteins inducing pathology in AD, suggest a paradigm shift towards the development of new therapeutic targets. The gram-negative bacteria and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are attractive new targets for AD treatment. Surprisingly, an altered distribution of gram-negative bacteria and their LPS has been reported in AD patients. Moreover, gram-negative bacteria and their LPS have been shown to affect a variety of AD-related pathologies, such as Aβ homeostasis, tau pathology, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration. Moreover, therapeutic approaches targeting gram-negative bacteria or gram-negative bacterial molecules have significantly alleviated AD-related pathology and cognitive dysfunction. Despite multiple evidence showing that the gram-negative bacteria and their LPS play a crucial role in AD pathogenesis, the pathogenic mechanisms of gram-negative bacteria and their LPS have not been clarified. Here, we summarize the roles and pathomechanisms of gram-negative bacteria and LPS in AD. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility of using gram-negative bacteria and gram-negative bacterial molecules as novel therapeutic targets and new pathological characteristics for AD.
Project description:Bacteria use quorum sensing to orchestrate gene expression programmes that underlie collective behaviours. Quorum sensing relies on the production, release, detection and group-level response to extracellular signalling molecules, which are called autoinducers. Recent work has discovered new autoinducers in Gram-negative bacteria, shown how these molecules are recognized by cognate receptors, revealed new regulatory components that are embedded in canonical signalling circuits and identified novel regulatory network designs. In this Review we examine how, together, these features of quorum sensing signal-response systems combine to control collective behaviours in Gram-negative bacteria and we discuss the implications for host-microbial associations and antibacterial therapy.
Project description:Dissecting the complexities of branched peptide-lipopolysaccharides (LPS) interactions provide rationale for the development of non-cytotoxic antibiotic adjuvants. Using various biophysical methods, we show that the branched peptide, B2088, binds to lipid A and disrupts the supramolecular organization of LPS. The disruption of outer membrane in an intact bacterium was demonstrated by fluorescence spectroscopy and checkerboard assays, the latter confirming strong to moderate synergism between B2088 and various classes of antibiotics. The potency of synergistic combinations of B2088 and antibiotics was further established by time-kill kinetics, mammalian cell culture infections model and in vivo model of bacterial keratitis. Importantly, B2088 did not show any cytotoxicity to corneal epithelial cells for at least 96 h continuous exposure or hemolytic activity even at 20 mg/ml. Peptide congeners containing norvaline, phenylalanine and tyrosine (instead of valine in B2088) displayed better synergism compared to other substitutions. We propose that high affinity and subsequent disruption of the supramolecular assembly of LPS by the branched peptides are vital for the development of non-cytotoxic antibiotic adjuvants that can enhance the accessibility of conventional antibiotics to the intracellular targets, decrease the antibiotic consumption and holds promise in averting antibiotic resistance.
Project description:Multi-drug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria is often associated with low permeability of the outer membrane. To investigate the role of membrane channels in the uptake of antibiotics, we present an approach using fusion of native outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) into a planar lipid bilayer, allowing characterization of membrane protein channels in their native environment. Two major membrane channels from E. coli, OmpF and OmpC, were overexpressed from the host and the corresponding OMVs were collected. Each OMV fusion surprisingly revealed only single or few channel activities. The asymmetry of the OMVs translates after fusion into the lipid membrane with the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) dominantly present at the side of OMV addition. Compared to the conventional reconstitution method, the channels fused from OMVs containing LPS have similar conductance but a much broader distribution and significantly lower permeation. We suggest using outer membrane vesicles for functional and structural studies of membrane channels in the native membrane.
Project description:Bacteria of the phylum Bacteroidetes, including commensal organisms and opportunistic pathogens, harbor abundant surface-exposed multiprotein membrane complexes (Sus-like systems) involved in carbohydrate acquisition. These complexes have been mostly linked to commensalism, and in some instances, they have also been shown to play a role in pathogenesis. Sus-like systems are mainly composed of lipoproteins anchored to the outer membrane and facing the external milieu. This lipoprotein localization is uncommon in most studied Gram-negative bacteria, while it is widespread in Bacteroidetes Little is known about how these complexes assemble and particularly about how lipoproteins reach the bacterial surface. Here, by bioinformatic analyses, we identify a lipoprotein export signal (LES) at the N termini of surface-exposed lipoproteins of the human pathogen Capnocytophaga canimorsus corresponding to K-(D/E)2 or Q-A-(D/E)2 We show that, when introduced in sialidase SiaC, an intracellular lipoprotein, this signal is sufficient to target the protein to the cell surface. Mutational analysis of the LES in this reporter system showed that the amino acid composition, position of the signal sequence, and global charge are critical for lipoprotein surface transport. These findings were further confirmed by the analysis of the LES of mucinase MucG, a naturally surface-exposed C. canimorsus lipoprotein. Furthermore, we identify a LES in Bacteroides fragilis and Flavobacterium johnsoniae surface lipoproteins that allow C. canimorsus surface protein exposure, thus suggesting that Bacteroidetes share a new bacterial lipoprotein export pathway that flips lipoproteins across the outer membrane. Bacteria of the phylum Bacteroidetes are important human commensals and pathogens. Understanding their biology is therefore a key question for human health. A main feature of these bacteria is the presence of abundant lipoproteins at their surface that play a role in nutrient acquisition. To date, the underlying mechanism of lipoprotein transport is unknown. We show for the first time that Bacteroidetes surface lipoproteins share an N-terminal signal that drives surface localization. The localization and overall negative charge of the lipoprotein export signal (LES) are crucial for its role. Overall, our findings provide the first evidence that Bacteroidetes are endowed with a new bacterial lipoprotein export pathway that flips lipoproteins across the outer membrane.
Project description:This deposit is composed of paired-end reads from 90 isolates of four different gram-negative bacterial species. The raw reads were used to generate predictions of antimicrobial resistance. Raw sequence reads