Project description:Defining the functions of the small molecule to inhibit M. abscessus growth and comparitive studies examining the mechanisms of action in M. tuberculosis vs. M. abscessus.
Project description:Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major global health challenge, killing over 1.5 million people each year, and hence, there is a need to identify and develop novel treatments for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). The prevalence of infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is also increasing and has overtaken TB cases in the United States and much of the developed world. Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) is one of the most frequently encountered NTM and is difficult to treat. We describe the use of drug-disease association using a semantic knowledge graph approach combined with machine learning models that has enabled the identification of several molecules for testing anti-mycobacterial activity. We established that niclosamide (M. tuberculosis IC90 2.95 μM; M. abscessus IC90 59.1 μM) and tribromsalan (M. tuberculosis IC90 76.92 μM; M. abscessus IC90 147.4 μM) inhibit M. tuberculosis and M. abscessus in vitro. To investigate the mode of action, we determined the transcriptional response of M. tuberculosis and M. abscessus to both compounds in axenic log phase, demonstrating a broad effect on gene expression that differed from known M. tuberculosis inhibitors. Both compounds elicited transcriptional responses indicative of respiratory pathway stress and the dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism. Further testing against drug-resistant isolates and other NTM is warranted to clarify the usefulness of these repurposed drugs for mycobacteria.
Project description:We performed total quantitative proteomics on planktonic Mycobacterium abscessus ATCC19977 cells treated with 100 microM of florfenicol amine (FF-NH2 or FFA) treated or vehicle (DMSO) control for 30 minutes and 3 hours to detect unbiased FF-NH2-induced differences in the M. abscessus proteome.
Project description:Mycobacterium abscessus [M. abscessus (sensu lato) or M. abscessus group] comprises three closely related taxa with taxonomic status under revision: M. abscessus sensu stricto, M. bolletii and M. massiliense. We describe here a simple, robust and cost effective PCR-based method for distinguishing among M. abscessus, M. massiliense and bolletii. Based on the M. abscessus ATCC 19977T genome, discriminatory regions were identified between M. abscessus and M. massiliense from array-based comparative genomic hybridization. A typing scheme using PCR primers designed for four of these locations was applied to 46 well-characterized clinical isolates comprising 29 M. abscessus, 15 M. massiliense and 2 M. bolletii previously identified by multi-target sequencing. Interestingly, 2 isolates unequivocally identified as M. massiliense were shown to have a full length erm(41) instead of the expected gene deletion and showed inducible clarithromycin resistance after 14 days. We propose using this PCR-based typing scheme combined with erm(41) PCR for a straightforward identification of M. abscessus, M. massiliense and M. bolletii and assessment of inducible clarithromycin resistance. This method can be easily implemented into a routine workflow providing subspecies level identification within 24 hours of isolation of M. abscessus group. Two-color CGH with 4 independent Mycobacterium clinical isolates and the M massiliense type strain (CCUG 48898) labeled with Cy3 were cohybridized with the M abscessus type strain (ATCC 19977) labeled with Cy5 on a tiling array designed against the M abscessus type strain
Project description:Mycobacterium abscessus [M. abscessus (sensu lato) or M. abscessus group] comprises three closely related taxa with taxonomic status under revision: M. abscessus sensu stricto, M. bolletii and M. massiliense. We describe here a simple, robust and cost effective PCR-based method for distinguishing among M. abscessus, M. massiliense and bolletii. Based on the M. abscessus ATCC 19977T genome, discriminatory regions were identified between M. abscessus and M. massiliense from array-based comparative genomic hybridization. A typing scheme using PCR primers designed for four of these locations was applied to 46 well-characterized clinical isolates comprising 29 M. abscessus, 15 M. massiliense and 2 M. bolletii previously identified by multi-target sequencing. Interestingly, 2 isolates unequivocally identified as M. massiliense were shown to have a full length erm(41) instead of the expected gene deletion and showed inducible clarithromycin resistance after 14 days. We propose using this PCR-based typing scheme combined with erm(41) PCR for a straightforward identification of M. abscessus, M. massiliense and M. bolletii and assessment of inducible clarithromycin resistance. This method can be easily implemented into a routine workflow providing subspecies level identification within 24 hours of isolation of M. abscessus group.
Project description:Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of emerging bacterial pathogens that have been identified in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with microbial lung infections. The treatment of NTM infection in CF patients is challenging due to the natural resistance of NTM species to many antibiotics. Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) is one of the most common NTM strains found in the airway of CF patients. In our current study, we characterized the extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by drug-sensitive M. abscessus untreated or treated with clarithromycin, one of the well-known anti-NTM drugs. Our data show that clarithromycin treatment increases mycobacterial protein trafficking into EVs as well as the secretion of EVs in M. abscessus culture. Additionally, EVs released by clarithromycin-treated M. abscessus increase M. abscessus resistance to clarithromycin when compared to EVs from untreated M. abscessus. EV proteomic analysis further indicates that EVs released by clarithromycin-treated M. abscessus carry an increased level of 50S ribosomal subunits, the target of clarithromycin. Taken together, our results suggest that mycobacterial EVs play an important role in increasing M. abscessus resistance to clarithromycin treatment.
Project description:Human macrophages are a natural host of many mycobacterium species, including Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus), an emerging pathogen affecting patients with lung diseases and immunocompromised individuals. There are few available treatments and the search for effective antibiotics against M. abscessus has been hindered by the lack of a tractable in vitro intracellular model of infection. Here, we established a reliable model for M. abscessus infection using human pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages (hPSC-macrophages). hPSC differentiation permitted a reproducible generation of functional human macrophages that were highly susceptible to M. abscessus infection. Electron microscopy demonstrated that M. abscessus was present in the vacuoles of hPSC-macrophages. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed a time dependent host cell response to M. abscessus, with differing gene and protein expression patterns observed at 3-hours, 24-hours and 48-hours post-infection. Culture of engineered tdTOMATO-expressing hPSC-macrophages with GFP-expressing M. abscessus enabled rapid and image-based high-throughput analysis of intracellular infection and quantitative assessment of antibiotic resistance and efficacy. Our study describes the first hPSC-based model for M. abscessus infection, which represents a novel platform for studying M. abscessus-host interaction and an accessible tool for drug discovery.
Project description:The response of human neutrophils to the emerging pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus has not been described. However, M. abscessus infections are frequently associated with neutrophil-rich abscesses. To better understand the reponse of neutrophils to M. abscessus we performed gene expression analysis using Affymetrix HG-U133A Plus 2.0 microarrays. Human neutrophils from healthy donors were stimulated with isogenic rough and smooth morphotypes of M. abscessus. Staphylococcus aureus was used as a control. Gene expression was compared to neutrophils left unstimulated. Neutrophils from four individual donors were isolated on separate days and stimulated with freshly prepared bacteria. Neutrophils (stimulated and control) were left for 2 hours before total RNA was isolated, and biotinylated cRNA was prepared by standard methods. Analysis indicates that M. abscessus morphotypes induce a limited number of genes, when compared to S. aureus, which are enriched in genes for cytokines and chemokines, including neutrophil-specific chemokines. These data suggest that neutrophils have a limited response to M. abscessus, which may contribute to neutrophil-rich abscess formation.!Series_overall_design = Human neutrophils from healthy donors were exposed to rough Mab (ATCC 19977T), smooth Mab (ATCC 19977T) and S. aureus (CF clinical strain) for two hours; control cells were exposed to saline.
Project description:Mycobacterium abscessus is an opportunistic pathogen notorious for its resistance to most classes of antibiotics and low cure rates. In addition to the highly impermeable mycomembrane, M. abscessus carries an array of shared and species-specific defence mechanisms. However, it remains unknown whether M. abscessus’ antibiotic stress response is fine-tuned or an all-or-nothing response. A deeper understanding of underlying resistance and tolerance mechanisms is pivotal in development of targeted therapeutic regimens. We elucidate the transcriptomic response of M. abscessus to antibiotics recommended in treatment guidelines. The M. abscessus ATCC 19977 strain was used. Bacteria were subjected to sub-inhibitory concentrations of drugs for 4- and 24-hours, followed by RNA sequencing. In addition, time-kill kinetic analysis was performed using bacteria after pre-exposure to clarithromycin, amikacin or tigecycline for 24-hours. Lastly, Pan-genome analysis of 35 strains from all three subspecies was performed. Mycobacterium abscessus shows both drug-specific and communal transcriptomic responses to antibiotic exposure. Key features of its tolerance to antibiotics are drug-specific converting enzymes, target protection and shifts in its respiratory chain and metabolic state. The observed transcriptomic responses are likely not strain-specific, as genes involved in tolerance are found in all included strains, with the exception of erm(41) in M. abscessus subspecies massiliense. Due to the communal response elicited by ribosomal-targeting antibiotics, exposure to any of these drugs rapidly induces tolerance mechanisms that decrease susceptibility to ribosome-targeting drugs from multiple classes. Screening high-risk patients (e.g. those with bronchiectasis) for M. abscessus infection prior to starting macrolide or aminoglycoside maintenance therapy is warranted.