Amphipathic dendritic poly-peptides carrier to deliver antisense oligonucleotides against multi-drug resistant bacteria in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Outbreaks of infection due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, especially Gram-negative bacteria, have become a global health issue in both hospitals and communities. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) based therapeutics hold a great promise for treating infections caused by MDR bacteria. However, ASOs therapeutics are strangled because of its low cell penetration efficiency caused by the high molecular weight and hydrophilicity. RESULTS: Here, we designed a series of dendritic poly-peptides (DPP1 to DPP12) to encapsulate ASOs to form DSPE-mPEG2000 decorated ASOs/DPP nanoparticles (DP-AD1 to DP-AD12) and observed that amphipathic DP-AD2, 3, 7 or 8 with a positive charge ≥ 8 showed great efficiency to deliver ASOs into bacteria, but only the two histidine residues contained DP-AD7 and DP-AD8 significantly inhibited the bacterial growth and the targeted gene expression of tested bacteria in vitro. DP-AD7anti-acpP remarkably increased the survival rate of septic mice infected by ESBLs-E. coli, exhibiting strong antibacterial effects in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we designed DPP as a potent carrier to deliver ASOs for combating MDR bacteria and demonstrated the essential features, namely, amphipathicity, 8-10 positive charges, and 2 histidine residues, that are required for efficient DPP based delivery, and provide a novel approach for the development and research of the antisense antibacterial strategy.

PAMP protects intestine from Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection through destroying cell membrane and inhibiting inflammatory response.

Proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) is elevated in sepsis, but the function and possible mechanism of PAMP in bacterial infection is elusive. This study is aim to evaluate the role of PAMP in the interaction between the Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and the host barrier. Our results showed that PAMP alleviated the EHEC-induced disruption of goblet cells and mucosal damage in the intestine, increased the expression of occludin in the colon of EHEC-infected mice, and reduced the proinflammatory cytokines level in serum significantly compared with the control group. Meanwhile, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation could dose-dependently induce the expression of preproADM, the precursor of PAMP, in human intestinal epithelial cell (HIEC) and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC). In addition, PAMP inhibited the growth of EHEC O157:H7 and destroyed the inner and outer membrane. At low concentration, PAMP attenuated the EHEC virulence genes including hlyA and eaeA, which was also confirmed from reduced hemolysis to red cells and adhesion to HIEC. These results indicated that EHEC infection would modulate the expression of PAMP in intestinal epithelium or vascular endothelium, and in turn exerted a protective effect in EHEC induced infection by rupturing the bacterial cell membrane and attenuating the bacterial virulence.

Regulation of cytokinesis: FtsZ and its accessory proteins.

Bacterial cell division is a highly controlled process regulated accurately by a diverse array of proteins spatially and temporally working together. Among these proteins, FtsZ is recognized as a cytoskeleton protein because it can assemble into a ring-like structure called Z-ring at midcell. Z-ring recruits downstream proteins, thus forming a multiprotein complex termed the divisome. When the Z-ring scaffold is established and the divisome matures, peptidoglycan (PG) biosynthesis and chromosome segregation are triggered. In this review, we focus on multiple interactions between FtsZ and its accessory proteins in bacterial cell cytokinesis, including FtsZ localization, Z-ring formation and stabilization, PG biosynthesis, and chromosome segregation. Understanding the interactions among these proteins may help discover superior targets on treating bacterial infectious diseases.

Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) as a potential therapeutic target for Acinetobacter baumannii infection.

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is an important opportunistic pathogen causing serious nosocomial infections, which is considered as the most threatening Gram-negative bacteria (GNB). Outer membrane protein A (OmpA), a major component of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) in GNB, is a key virulence factor which mediates bacterial biofilm formation, eukaryotic cell infection, antibiotic resistance and immunomodulation. The characteristics of OmpA in Escherichia coli (E. coli) have been extensively studied since 1974, but only in recent years researchers started to clarify the functions of OmpA in A. baumannii. In this review, we summarized the structure and functions of OmpA in A. baumannii (AbOmpA), collected novel therapeutic strategies against it for treating A. baumannii infection, and emphasized the feasibility of using AbOmpA as a potential therapeutic target.

Loop-armed DNA tetrahedron nanoparticles for delivering antisense oligos into bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) based technology is considered a potential strategy against antibiotic-resistant bacteria; however, a major obstacle to the application of ASOs is how to deliver them into bacteria effectively. DNA tetrahedra (Td) is an emerging carrier for delivering ASOs into eukaryotes, but there is limited information about Td used for bacteria. In this research, we investigated the uptake features of Td and the impact of linkage modes between ASOs and Td on gene-inhibition efficiency in bacteria. RESULTS: Td was more likely to adhere to bacterial membranes, with moderate ability to penetrate into the bacteria. Strikingly, Td could penetrate into bacteria more effectively with the help of Lipofectamine 2000 (LP2000) at a 0.125 µL/µg ratio to Td, but the same concentration of LP2000 had no apparent effect on linear DNA. Furthermore, linkage modes between ASOs and Td influenced gene-knockdown efficiency. Looped structure of ASOs linked to one side of the Td exhibited better gene-knockdown efficiency than the overhung structure. CONCLUSIONS: This study established an effective antisense delivery system based on loop-armed Td, which opens opportunities for developing antisense antibiotics.

Influence of Magnesium Ions on the Preparation and Storage of DNA Tetrahedrons in Micromolar Ranges.

The DNA tetrahedron (Td), as one of the novel DNA-based nanoscale biomaterials, has been extensively studied because of its excellent biocompatibility and increased possibilities for decorating precisely. Although the use of Td in laboratories is well established, knowledge surrounding the factors influencing its preparation and storage is lacking. In this research, we investigated the role of the magnesium ions, which greatly affect the structure and stability of DNA. We assembled 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 µM Td in buffers containing different Mg2+ concentrations, demonstrating that 2 and 5 mM Mg2+ is optimal in these conditions, and that yields decrease dramatically once the DNA concentration reaches 20 µM or the Mg2+ concentration is lower than 0.5 mM. We also verified that the Td structure is retained better through freeze-thawing than lyophilization. Furthermore, a lower initial Mg2+ (≤2 mM) benefited the maintenance of Td structure in the process of lyophilization. Hence, our research sheds light on the influence of Mg2+ in the process of preparing and storing Td, and also provides some enlightenment on improving yields of other DNA nanostructures.

Advances in the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides for combating bacterial infectious diseases.

Discovery and development of new antibacterial drugs against multidrug resistant bacterial strains have become more and more urgent. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) show immense potential to control the spread of resistant microbes due to its high specificity of action, little risk to human gene expression, and easy design and synthesis to target any possible gene. However, efficient delivery of ASOs to their action sites with enough concentration remains a major obstacle, which greatly hampers their clinical application. In this study, we reviewed current progress on delivery strategies of ASOs into bacteria, focused on various non-virus gene vectors, including cell penetrating peptides, lipid nanoparticles, bolaamphiphile-based nanoparticles, DNA nanostructures and Vitamin B12. The current review provided comprehensive understanding and novel perspective for the future application of ASOs in combating bacterial infections.

Exendin-4 Induces Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Migration Through Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages Polarization via PKA-STAT3 Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The synthesis and degradation processes involved in bone remodeling are critically regulated by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The GLP-1 receptor agonist Exendin-4 is beneficial for osteoblast differentiation and increases the number of osteoblasts. METHODS: We constructed an ovariectomized model to evaluate the impact of Exendin-4 on bone formation in osteoporosis. A macrophage-depleted model was also created to investigate the effect of macrophages on bone formation. Thirty-two female WT C57BL/6 mice (aged 3 months) were randomly assigned to a normal control group and four ovariectomized (OVX) subgroups: OVX + vehicle group, OVX + Exendin-4 (4.2 µg/kg/day) group, OVX + chloride phosphate liposome group and OVX + chloride phosphate liposome + Exendin-4 group. RESULTS: In this study, we found that Exendin-4 not only increased the number of osteoblasts and decreased the number of osteoclasts, but also increased the number of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) at the bone surface. Moreover, we found that OVX mice treated with Exendin-4 increased TGF-ß1 levels at the bone surface compared with that in OVX mice. Besides, Exendin-4 promoted the polarization of bone marrow-derived macrophages into M2 subtype and increased TGF-ß1 secretion by the M2 subtype. Finally, we found that Exendin-4 induced macrophage polarization via the cAMP-PKA-STAT3 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Exendin-4 promotes bone marrow-derived macrophage polarization to the M2 subtype and induces BMSC migration to the bone surface via PKA-STAT3 signaling.

The Disulfide Bond of the Peptide Thanatin Is Dispensible for Its Antimicrobial Activity In Vivo and In Vitro.

Thanatin (THA) displays potent antibiotic activity, especially against extended-spectrum-ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli both in vitro and in vivo, with minimal hemolytic toxicity and satisfactory stability in plasma. However, the high cost of thanatin significantly limits its development and clinical application. To reduce the cost of peptide synthesis, a formulation of cyclic thanatin (C-thanatin) called linear thanatin (L-thanatin) was synthesized and its activity was evaluated in vivo and in vitro Results showed that C-thanatin and L-thanatin MICs did not differ against eight Gram-negative and two Gram-positive bacterial strains. Furthermore, the survival rates of ESBL-producing-E. coli-infected mice were consistent after C-thanatin or L-thanatin treatment at 5 or 10 mg/kg of body weight. Neither C-thanatin nor L-thanatin showed toxicity for human red blood cells (hRBCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at a concentration as high as 256 µg/ml. Results of circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the secondary structure of L-thanatin is extremely similar to that of C-thanatin. Membrane permeabilization and depolarization assays showed that C-thanatin and L-thanatin have similar abilities to permeabilize the outer and inner membranes and to induce membrane depolarization in ESBL-producing E. coli However, neither of them caused significant HUVEC membrane permeability. These findings indicate that the two peptides have similar effects on bacterial cell membranes and that the disulfide bond in thanatin is not essential for its antimicrobial activities in vivo and in vitro L-thanatin is thus a promising low-cost peptide candidate for treating ESBL-producing E. coli infections.

Antisense growth inhibition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by locked nucleic acid conjugated with cell-penetrating peptide as a novel FtsZ inhibitor.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat, owing to acquired antibiotic resistance. The emergence and spread of MRSA limit therapeutic options and require new therapeutic strategies, including novel MRSA-active antibiotics. Filamentous temperature-sensitive protein Z (FtsZ) is a highly conserved bacterial tubulin homologue that is essential for controlling the bacterial cell division process in different species of S. aureus. We conjugated a locked nucleic acid (LNA) that targeted ftsZ mRNA with the peptide (KFF)3K, to generate peptide-LNA (PLNA). The present study aimed to investigate whether PLNA could be used as a novel antibacterial agent. PLNA787, the most active agent synthesized, exhibited promising inhibitory effects on four pathogenic S. aureus strains in vitro. PLNA787 inhibited bacterial growth and resolved lethal Mu50 infections in epithelial cell cultures. PLNA787 also improved the survival rates of Mu50-infected mice and was associated with reductions of bacterial titers in several tissue types. The inhibitory effects on ftsZ mRNA and FtsZ protein expression and inhibition of the bacterial cell division process are considered to be the major mechanisms of PLNA. PLNA787 demonstrated activity against MRSA infections in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that ftsZ mRNA is a promising new target for developing novel antisense antibiotics.

A potent and selective antimicrobial poly(amidoamine) dendrimer conjugate with LED209 targeting QseC receptor to inhibit the virulence genes of gram negative bacteria.

The pandemic of multidrug-resistant Gram negative bacteria (GNB) is a worldwide healthcare concern, and very few antibiotics are being explored to match the clinical challenge. Recently, amino-terminated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers have shown potential to function as broad antimicrobial agents. However, PAMAM displays a generation dependent cytotoxicity to mammalian cells and low selectivity on bacterial cells, which limits PAMAM to be developed as an antibacterial agent for systemic administration. We conjugated G3 PAMAM with LED209, a specific inhibitor of quorum sensor QseC of GNB, to generate a multifunctional agent PAMAM-LED209. Intriguingly, PAMAM-LED209 showed higher selectivity on GNB and lower cytotoxicity to mammalian cells, yet remained strong antibacterial activity. PAMAM-LED209 also inhibited virulence gene expression of GNB, and did not induce antibiotic-resistance. The present work firstly demonstrated that PAMAM-LED209 conjugate had a highly selective anti-GNB activity and low cytotoxicity, which offered a feasible strategy for combating multidrug-resistant GNB infections. FROM THE CLINICAL EDITOR: This research team demonstrated that a novel PAMAM-LED209 conjugate had highly selective activity against Gram-negative bacteria, coupled with low cytotoxicity, offering a potential strategy for combating multidrug-resistant infections.

A novel pregnane-type alkaloid from Pachysandra terminalis inhibits methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and in vivo.

A new kind of pregnane-type alkaloid, 20α-dimethylamino-3ß-senecioylamino-16ß-hydroxy-pregn-5-ene (K-6), was isolated from Pachysandra terminalis Sieb. et Zucc., and its antibacterial activity against MRSA and MRSE was evaluated. We found that K-6 showed antibacterial effects against MRSA and MRSE with minimum inhibitory concentration values (25 mg/L), but did not induce antibiotic resistance in bacteria easily. The administration of K-6 dose-dependently improved the animal survival rate of mice infected with MRSA, with survival rates of 36.34% and 66.67% in the low-dose and high-dose groups, respectively. The protective effects were associated with the reduction of the bacterial titers in the blood and with the morphological amelioration of infected tissues. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy analyses indicated that the cytoplasm shrink of bacterial cells led to noticeable gaps between the cell membrane and cell cytoplasm, and the severely damaged cell membrane resulted in leakage of intracellular content, which ultimately caused the lethal effect of K-6 on bacteria. These findings demonstrated that K-6 is a potential agent against MRSA and MRSE.

Synthesis of Biscoumarin and Dihydropyran Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Activity.

In an attempt to find a new class antibacterial agents, a series of biscoumarins (1-4) and dihydropyrans (5-13) were successfully prepared. The molecular structures of four representative compounds, that is, 4, 5, 8 and 12 were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. These synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial activity in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus ATCC 29213), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA XJ 75302), vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (Mu50 ATCC 700699), USA 300 (Los Angeles County clone, LAC), Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis ATCC 14990), methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE XJ 75284) and Escherichia coli (E. coli ATCC 25922). Additionally, there are two classical intramolecular O-H···O hydrogen bonds (HBs) in biscoumarins 1-4 and the corresponding HB energies were further performed with the density functional theory (DFT) [B3LYP/6-31G*] method.

RIP-V improves murine survival in a sepsis model by down-regulating RNAIII expression and α-hemolysin release of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus is associated with serious invasive infections and high mortality rates due to a large number of toxins released. The persistent increasing resistance of S. aureus has driven the need for new anti-infection agents and innovative therapeutic strategies. RNAIII-inhibiting peptide (RIP) has been reported to reduce bacterial virulence by interfering with S. aureus quorum sensing system. The present study aimed to investigate whether two new RIP derivatives (RIP-V and RIP-L) could improve the survival rate of mice in a MRSA sepsis model. We found that neither anti-bacterial nor cell toxicity were displayed by all RIPs in vitro. In vivo protective effects were observed using a MRSA-induced mice sepsis model. Among RIPs, RIP-V exhibited the strongest protection function on mice survival and inhibition of pathological damages. Our studies firstly verified that RIPs could inhibited the RNAIII expression of S. aurues isolated from liver tissue of BALB/c mice. Moreover, RIP-V exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on RNAIII and can decrease markedly the secretion of o-hemolysin in liver. These findings indicate that RIP-V might be considered as a potential and specific drug candidate for treating S. aureus infections, especially for MRSA.

Synthesis, antibacterial activities, and theoretical studies of dicoumarols.

Four dicoumarols (DC, 2-PyDC, 3-PyDC and 4-PyDC) were synthesized and characterized via IR, (1)H NMR, HRMS, and single crystal X-ray crystallography. Two classical intramolecular O-H···O hydrogen bonds (HBs) stabilized their structures. The total HB energies in DC, 2-PyDC, 3-PyDC and 4-PyDC were calculated with the density functional theory (DFT) [B3LYP/6-31G*] method. The in vitro antibacterial activity of DC, 2-PyDC, 3-PyDC and 4-PyDC against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus ATCC 29213), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA XJ 75302), vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (Mu50 ATCC 700699), and USA 300 (Los Angeles County clone, LAC) was evaluated by observing the minimum inhibitory concentration and time-kill curves. The results showed that among all the compounds, 2-PyDC exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity.

New biscoumarin derivatives: synthesis, crystal structure, theoretical study and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

Five novel biscoumarins 1-5 were synthesized and characterized. In these compounds, two classical asymmetrical intramolecular O-H···O hydrogen bonds were used to stabilize the whole structures and the HB energies were performed with the density functional theory (DFT) [B3LYP/6-31G*] method. The five compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus ATCC 29213), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA XJ 75302), vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (Mu50 ATCC 700699), and USA 300 (Los Angeles County clone, LAC) by the means of minimum inhibitory concentration and time-kill curves.

R-thanatin inhibits growth and biofilm formation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in vivo and in vitro.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of the most frequent causes of device-associated infections, because it is known to cause biofilms that grow on catheters or other surgical implants. The persistent increasing resistance of S. epidermidis and other coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) has driven the need for newer antibacterial agents with innovative therapeutic strategies. Thanatin is reported to display potent antibiotic activities, especially against extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli. The present study aimed to investigate whether a shorter derivative peptide (R-thanatin) could be used as a novel antibacterial agent. We found that R-thanatin was highly potent in vitro against coagulase-negative staphylococci, such as S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, and S. hominis, and inhibited biofilm formation at subinhibitory concentrations. Properties of little toxicity to human red blood cells (hRBCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells, a low incidence of resistance, and relatively high stability in plasma were confirmed. Excellent in vivo protective effects were also observed using a methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE)-induced urinary tract infection rat model. Electron microscopy and confocal laser-scanning microscopy analyses suggested that R-thanatin disturbed cell division of MRSE severely, which might be the reason for inhibition of MRSE growth. These findings indicate that R-thanatin is active against the growth and biofilm formation of MRSE in vitro and in vivo. R-thanatin might be considered as a specific drug candidate for treating CoNS infections.

[Auditory event-related potentials in children with functional articulation disorders].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the central auditory processing function in children with functional articulation disorders (FAD), and possible causes of FAD. METHODS: Twenty-seven children with FAD were selected as the case group and 50 age-matched normal children were selected as the control group. The two groups were compared with respect to the following factors: percentage of individuals with a positive history of language development disorder, and the form, peak latency and peak amplitude of mismatch negativity (MMN) on auditory event-related potentials. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the case group had a significantly higher percentage of individuals with a positive history of language development disorder (70% vs 8%; P<0.01), a significantly prolonged peak latency of MMN (209 ± 31 ms vs 175 ± 32 ms; P<0.01), and an insignificantly lower peak amplitude of MMN (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged central auditory processing may be one of the causes of FAD in children.

Arrhythmogenic effect of sympathetic histamine in mouse hearts subjected to acute ischemia.

The role of histamine as a newly recognized sympathetic neurotransmitter has been presented previously, and its postsynaptic effects greatly depended on the activities of sympathetic nerves. Cardiac sympathetic nerves become overactivated under acute myocardial ischemic conditions and release neurotransmitters in large amounts, inducing ventricular arrhythmia. Therefore, it is proposed that cardiac sympathetic histamine, in addition to norepinephrine, may have a significant arrhythmogenic effect. To test this hypothesis, we observed the release of cardiac sympathetic histamine and associated ventricular arrhythmogenesis that was induced by acute ischemia in isolated mouse hearts. Mast cell-deficient mice (MCDM) and histidine decarboxylase knockout (HDC(-/-)) mice were used to exclude the potential involvement of mast cells. Electrical field stimulation and acute ischemia-reperfusion evoked chemical sympathectomy-sensitive histamine release from the hearts of both MCDM and wild-type (WT) mice but not from HDC(-/-) mice. The release of histamine from the hearts of MCDM and WT mice was associated with the development of acute ischemia-induced ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. The incidence and duration of induced ventricular arrhythmias were found to decrease in the presence of the selective histamine H(2) receptor antagonist famotidine. Additionally, the released histamine facilitated the arrhythmogenic effect of simultaneously released norepinephrine. We conclude that, under acute ischemic conditions, cardiac sympathetic histamine released by overactive sympathetic nerve terminals plays a certain arrhythmogenic role via H(2) receptors. These findings provided novel insight into the pathophysiological roles of sympathetic histamine, which may be a new therapeutic target for acute ischemia-induced arrhythmias.

High cell density cultivation of recombinant Escherichia coli for prodrug of recombinant human GLPs production.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)(2) has been attracting increasing interest on account of its prominent benefits in type 2 diabetes. However, its clinical applications are limited by the short half-life in vivo. To overcome this limitation, a new polymer of GLP-1 was developed by prodrug strategy. In this study a recombinant protein, rhGLPs, was successfully constructed, cloned into plasmid pET30a (+) and expressed in Escherichia coli ArcticExpress(DE3)RP in the form of inclusion body. The recombinant fusion protein productivity could be enhanced by high cell density culture of the recombinant strain. As a result, about 40 g wet weight cells per liter were obtained. The protein was purified by size-exclusion chromatography on a Superdex 75 column and refolded using reverse dilution and dialysis methods. SDS-PAGE, HPLC and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry were undertaken to determine the purity and molecular weight of rhGLPs. Bioactivity assay revealed that it had glucose-lowering and insulin-releasing action in vivo.