RESUMO
The outer mycomembrane of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and related pathogens is a robust permeability barrier that protects against antibiotic treatment. Here, we demonstrate that synthetic analogues of the mycomembrane biosynthetic precursor trehalose monomycolate bearing truncated lipid chains increase permeability of Mycobacterium smegmatis cells and sensitize them to treatment with the first-line anti-tubercular drug rifampicin. The reported strategy may be useful for enhancing entry of drugs and other molecules to mycobacterial cells, and represents a new way to study mycomembrane structure and function.
Assuntos
Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Rifampina , Rifampina/farmacologia , Membrana Celular/química , Parede Celular , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/química , Lipídeos/análiseRESUMO
Fatty acids are widespread naturally occurring compounds, and essential constituents for living organisms. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) appeared as physiologically relevant metabolites for their involvement with gut microbiota, immunology, obesity, and other pathophysiological functions. This has raised the demand for reliable analytical detection methods in a variety of biological matrices. Here, we describe an updated overview of sample pretreatment techniques and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based methods for quantitative analysis of SCFAs in blood, plasma, serum, urine, feces and bacterial cultures. The present review incorporates various procedures and their applications to help researchers in choosing crucial parameters, such as pretreatment for complex biological matrices, and variables for chromatographic separation and detection, to establish a simple, sensitive, and robust quantitative method to advance our understanding of the role of SCFAs in human health and disease as potential biomarkers.