Molecular typing of Mycobacterium leprae strains from northern India using short tandem repeats.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Due to the inability to cultivate Mycobacterium leprae in vitro and most cases being paucibacillary, it has been difficult to apply classical genotyping methods to this organism. The objective of this study was therefore, to analyze the diversity among M. leprae strains from Uttar Pradesh, north India, by targeting ten short tandem repeats (STRs) as molecular markers. METHODS: Ninety specimens including 20 biopsies and 70 slit scrappings were collected in TE buffer from leprosy patients, who attended the OPD of National JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Tajganj, Agra, and from villages of Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU) at Ghatampur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. DNA was extracted from these specimens and ten STRs loci were amplified by using published and in-house designed primers. The copy numbers were determined by electrophoretic mobility as well as sequence analysis. Phylogenetic analysis was done on variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) data sets using start software. RESULTS: Diversity was observed in the cross-sectional survey of isolates obtained from 90 patients. Allelic index for different loci was found to vary from 0.7 to 0.8 except for rpoT for which allelic index was 0.186. Similarity in fingerprinting profiles observed in specimens from the cases from same house or nearby locations indicated a possible common source of infection. Such analysis was also found to be useful in discriminating the relapse from possible reinfection. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: This study led to identification of STRs eliciting polymorphism in north Indian strains of M. leprae. The data suggest that these STRs can be used to study the sources and transmission chain in leprosy, which could be very important in monitoring of the disease dynamics in high endemic foci.

jefA (Rv2459), a drug efflux gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis confers resistance to isoniazid & ethambutol.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Drug efflux pumps have been contributing factor(s) in the development of multidrug resistance in various clinically relevant bacteria. During efflux pump gene expression studies on mycobacteria, we have found a previously uncharacterized open reading frame (ORF) Rv2459 to be overexpressed in drug stressed conditions. The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of this ORF as a drug efflux pump, which might add new information in our understanding about the alternative mechanisms of drug resistance in mycobacteria. METHODS: The open reading frame Rv2459 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis encoding a probable drug efflux protein has been cloned using pSD5 E.coli-Mycobacterium shuttle vector and overexpressed in M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv. This ORF was named as jefA. Overexpression of this gene in clones has been verified by real-time reverse transcription PCR. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of recombinant as well as non-recombinant clones were determined by resazurin microtitre assay plate method (REMA) with and without efflux pump inhibitors carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) and verapamil. RESULTS: In recombinant strains of M. tuberculosis, the overexpression of this gene led to an increase in MIC of anti-tubercular drugs isoniazid and ethambutol when tested by REMA. In the presence of CCCP and verapamil, the recombinant strains showed decrease in MIC for these drugs. Bioinformatic analysis has shown a close relation of JefA protein with drug efflux pumps of other clinically relevant bacteria. In homology derived structure prepared from nearest available model, it was observed that amino acids forming TMH 1, 8 and 11 participated in ethambutol specificity and those forming TMH 2, 7 and 10 participated in isoniazid specificity in JefA. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The increased transcription of jefA leads to increased resistance to ethambutol and isoniazid in M. tuberculosis via efflux pump like mechanism and contributes in the development of resistance to these drugs. JefA amino acid sequence is well conserved among clinically important bacterial genera, which further provides evidence of being a potent drug efflux pump. The involvement in drug resistance and very little homology with any of the human proteins makes JefA important to be included in the list of potential drug targets.

Detection of viable Mycobacterium leprae in soil samples: insights into possible sources of transmission of leprosy.

Leprosy has ceased to be a public health problem world wide, after the successful implementation of effective chemotherapy (MDT) and use of control measures. However, new cases of leprosy continue to occur. Mycobacterium leprae cannot be grown in any acceptable culture medium and besides the wild armadillos, there is no known animal reservoir for leprosy. The transmission of leprosy is believed to be due to a large extent by droplet discharge of bacilli through nose and mouth and to a lesser extent by direct contact of susceptible host with a patient for long duration. The exact role of the environment in the transmission dynamics is still speculative. In the present study, we have tried to detect viable M. leprae from soil samples in endemic areas by using molecular methods. Eighty soil samples were collected from villages of this area, DNA and RNA of M. leprae extracted and identified using specific M. leprae primers. PCR amplification was done and real-time RT-PCR was used to detect viable M. leprae. DNA targeting the 16S region of M. leprae was detected in 37.5%, whereas M. leprae RNA targeting the same region was detected in 35% of these samples. Of the total 80 samples, 40 were collected from residential areas of leprosy patients whereas 40 samples were from no-patient areas. Fifty-five percent positivity for 16S rRNA of M. leprae was observed from the "patient" area in comparison to 15% positivity from the "no-patient" area (p < 0.001). This study thus provides valuable information of presence of viable M. leprae in soil specimens, which would be of use in investigating the transmission dynamics in leprosy.

Purification of recombinant human thyroid peroxidase (hTPO) from AD293 mammalian cells.

Human thyroid peroxidase (hTPO) has been secretory expressed in AD293 mammalian cells. cDNA sequence of 'Gluc' (Gaussia luciferase) protein from Gaussia princeps was incorporated at the amino terminal of hTPO gene for secretion of targeted protein outside the mammalian cells. Augmentation of TPO clone in serum free mediums was investigated and a simplified purification procedure of hTPO has been reported here. Purified hTPO was further analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting (western blotting). The relative molecular mass of hTPO was found to be 105kDa. This is the first report with respect to cost effective and simplified purification approach to get highest yield and purity of recombinant hTPO.

Enriched whole genome sequencing identified compensatory mutations in the RNA polymerase gene of rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium leprae strains.

Despite more than three decades of multidrug therapy (MDT), leprosy remains a major public health issue in several endemic countries, including India. The emergence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) is a cause of concern and poses a threat to the leprosy-control program, which might ultimately dampen the achievement of the elimination program of the country. Rifampicin resistance in clinical strains of M. leprae are supposed to arise from harboring bacterial strains with mutations in the 81-bp rifampicin resistance determining region (RRDR) of the rpoB gene. However, complete dynamics of rifampicin resistance are not explained only by this mutation in leprosy strains. To understand the role of other compensatory mutations and transmission dynamics of drug-resistant leprosy, a genome-wide sequencing of 11 M. leprae strains - comprising five rifampicin-resistant strains, five sensitive strains, and one reference strain - was done in this study. We observed the presence of compensatory mutations in two rifampicin-resistant strains in rpoC and mmpL7 genes, along with rpoB, that may additionally be responsible for conferring resistance in those strains. Our findings support the role for compensatory mutation(s) in RNA polymerase gene(s), resulting in rifampicin resistance in relapsed leprosy patients.

Predominance of three copies of tandem repeats in rpoT gene of Mycobacterium leprae from Northern India.

This study has been carried out to get understanding of the origin among the strains of Mycobacterium leprae in patients from Northern India by using number of tandem repeats in rpoT gene as marker. Biopsies were collected from hundred leprosy cases (paucibacillary (PB) as well as multibacillary (MB)) across the spectrum from patients attending clinic at JALMA or diagnosed in Field Unit at Ghatampur (Kanpur). These biopsies were homogenized and DNA was extracted by a physiochemical procedure. rpoT region was amplified by using the primers and conditions earlier published. Among 100 strains from Northern Indian patients, 89% exhibited the presence of three copies of the 6bp tandem repeat in the rpoT gene, while 11% contained four copies. These profiles along with other genotyping data may help in studying the historical spread of leprosy by strains of M. leprae disseminated by various human races that migrated to Northern India from other places of Asian continent.

Development of Monoclonal Antibodies against CMP-N-Acetylneuraminate-beta-galactosamide-alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase 1 (ST3Gal-I) Recombinant Protein Expressed in E. coli.

Aberrant glycosylation is one of the major hallmarks of cancer with altered gene expression signatures of sialyltransferases. ST3Gal-I, a sialyltransferase, is known to play a crucial role in sialylation of T antigen in bladder cancer and it has reported elevated expression in breast carcinogenesis with increased tumor progression stages. The aim of the current study is to develop new monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human ST3Gal-I and evaluate their diagnostic potential. We developed a repertoire of stable hybridoma cell lines producing high-affinity IgG antibodies against recombinant human ST3Gal-I, expressed in E. coli BL21-DE3 strain. In order to demonstrate the diagnostic value of the mAbs, various clones were employed for the immunohistochemistry analysis of ST3Gal-I expression in cancerous tissues. Antibodies generated by 7E51C83A10 clone demonstrated a strong and specific fluorescence staining in breast cancer tissue sections and did not exhibit significant background in fibroadenoma sections. In conclusion, the mAbs raised against recombinant ST3Gal-I recognize cellular ST3Gal-I and represent a promising diagnostic tool for the immunodetection of ST3Gal-I expressing cells. Specific-reactivity of clone 7E51C83A10 mAbs towards ST3Gal-I was also confirmed by immunoblotting. Therefore, our observations warrant evaluation of ST3Gal-I as a potential marker for cancer diagnosis at larger scale.

Potential of Mycobacterium vanbaalenii as a model organism to study drug transporters of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium marinum and Mycobacterium ulcerans: homology analysis of M. tuberculosis drug transporters among mycobacterial species.

Drug efflux pumps have been one of the important mechanisms of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There is a prerequisite to study the behavior and mechanisms of these drug efflux pumps in detail for being considered in future anti-TB drug designing. The need of a rapid grower non-pathogenic mycobacterium with significant genomic homology for such type of studies is often being felt. During microarray and Real-Time PCR analysis of drug efflux pump genes of M. tuberculosis, we found 10 genes to be over-expressed during stress induced by common anti-TB drugs. In the present study homology analysis of these genes was done in order to know its phylogenetic relationship among other bacteria/mycobacteria. It was found that amino acid sequences of 7 out of 10 genes were significantly (>40%) identical to a non-pathogenic rapid grower environmental mycobacterium, Mycobacterium vanbaalenii. The protein sequences of M. vanbaalenii share important sequence motifs with M. tuberculosis useful for drug efflux mechanism based study across species. Like Mycobacterium smegmatis, it can be used as a model organism to study drug efflux pumps of M. tuberculosis and also other pathogenic mycobacteria such as Mycobacterium ulcerans and Mycobacterium marinum.

Microarray analysis of efflux pump genes in multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis during stress induced by common anti-tuberculous drugs.

Treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has become one of the major problems in public health. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance has been central to tuberculosis research in recent times. DNA microarray technology provides the platform to study the genomic variations related to these mechanisms on a comprehensive level. To investigate the role of efflux pumps in drug resistance, we have constructed a custom DNA microarray containing 25 drug efflux pump genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Indian Patent file no. 2071/DEL/2007) and monitored changes in the expression of these genes on exposure of common anti-tuberculous drugs. Expression profiling of efflux pump genes in multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates showed overexpression of 10 genes following exposure to various anti-tuberculous drugs. Although two of these genes (Rv3065 and Rv2938) have already been reported to be active drug efflux pumps in M. tuberculosis in earlier studies, the increased activities of other eight efflux pump genes (Rv1819, Rv2209, Rv2459, Rv2477c, Rv2688, Rv2846, Rv2994, and Rv3728) have been demonstrated in multidrug-resistant isolates by us for the first time. After confirmation of differential expressions of these genes by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, it was observed that a simultaneous overexpression of efflux pump genes Rv2459, Rv3728, and Rv3065 was associated with resistance to the combination of isoniazid and ethambutol, and these drugs, along with streptomycin, were identified to group together, where efflux-mediated drug resistance appears to be important in M. tuberculosis and follows a constant pattern of induction in multidrug-resistant isolates. Isoniazid and ethambutol combination was also found to be affected in 10% (6/60) of the clinical isolates in the presence of carbonyl cyanide m-chloro phenylhydrazone in resazurin microtitre plate assay, supporting the role of efflux pumps in the resistance to these drugs. Overexpression of two of the genes (Rv2477 and Rv2209) has also been observed with ofloxacin stress in M. tuberculosis.

Co-expression of recombinant human CYP2C9 with human cytochrome P450 reductase in protease deficient S. cerevisiae strain at a higher scale yields an enzyme of higher specific activity.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isozymes play an important role in the study of drug metabolism and drug discovery. A number of reports are available that describe recombinant expression of CYP450 isozymes. In this paper, human CYP2C9 and human cytochrome P450 reductase cDNAs were cloned and expressed in Premas proprietary yeast episomal and integrative vectors respectively under the influence of GAL1 promoter. Yeast cells were grown and induced at optimal parameters to make microsomal membranes. Isolated microsomal membranes were analyzed for CYP2C9 and cytochrome P450 reductase activity, CYP2C9 content and inhibition properties. We report heterologous expression of human CYP2C9 along with human cytochrome P450 reductase in protease deficient S. cerevisiae at a 5 litre scale resulting in high yields (8-10 nmols/litre) of enzyme with higher specific activity (2-3 fold higher). This yields a superior enzyme and makes it amenable to miniaturization of screening assays with concomitant lowering of costs.

Determination of ethambutol MICs for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium isolates by resazurin microtitre assay.

OBJECTIVES: To test susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates to ethambutol by the Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) proportion method and resazurin microtitre assay (REMA) and to evaluate REMA for the determination of ethambutol MICs for MTB and Mycobacterium avium isolates. METHODS: A total of 50 MTB and 20 M. avium isolates were tested to determine the MICs of ethambutol by REMA and agar dilution method. MTB isolates were also tested by the LJ proportion method. RESULTS: REMA provided ethambutol susceptibility results for all the isolates within 8-9 days. For MTB isolates, REMA showed 96.7% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity and 98.0% accuracy when LJ proportion results were taken as 'gold standard'. For both MTB and M. avium isolates, the MICs determined by REMA were lower than those determined in agar medium, indicating that MIC values determined by REMA are closer to the actual MICs for the isolates. CONCLUSIONS: REMA can be used as a rapid and inexpensive method for mycobacterial drug susceptibility testing against ethambutol. In comparison with the agar method, the MICs determined by REMA can more accurately be correlated with achievable plasma concentrations of antimycobacterial agents.