Anti-biofilm activity of garlic extract loaded nanoparticles.

The emergence and widespread distribution of multi-drug resistant bacteria are considered as a major public health concern. The inabilities to curb severe infections due to antibiotic resistance have increased healthcare costs as well as patient morbidity and mortality. Bacterial biofilms formed by drug-resistant bacteria add additional challenges to treatment. This study describes a solgel based nanoparticle system loaded with garlic extract (GE-np) that exhibits: i) slow and sustained release of garlic components; ii) stabilization of the active components; and iii) significant enhancement of antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity relative to the free garlic extract. Also, GE-np were efficient in penetrating and disrupting the well-established methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms. Overall, the study suggests that GE-np might be a promising candidate for the treatment of chronic infections due to biofilm forming drug-resistant bacteria.

Nitric oxide-releasing microparticles as a potent antimicrobial therapeutic against chronic rhinosinusitis bacterial isolates.

BACKGROUND: Bacteria, particularly in the biofilm state, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and enhance antibiotic resistance. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous immunomodulator with antimicrobial activity and a short half-life, complicating achievement of therapeutic concentrations. We hypothesized that a novel microparticle-based delivery platform, which allows for adjustable release of NO, could exhibit potent antibacterial effects. METHODS: Porous organosilica microparticles (SNO-MP) containing nitrosylated thiol groups were formulated. Dissociation of the nitrosothiol groups generates NO at body temperature. The susceptibility of bacterial isolates from CRS patients to SNO-MP was evaluated through a colony forming unit (CFU) assay. Serial dilutions of SNO-MP in triplicate were incubated with isolates in suspension for 6 hours followed by plating on tryptic soy agar and overnight incubation followed by CFU quantification. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS using one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: SNO-MP displayed antibacterial activity against gram-positive (methicillin-resistant and -sensitive Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Proteus mirabilis) isolates. SNO-MP induced dose-dependent reductions in CFU across all strains. Compared with controls and blank nanoparticles, SNO-MP (10 mg/mL) induced a 99.99%-100% reduction in CFU across all isolates, equivalent to a 5-9 log kill (p < 0.005). There was no statistically significant difference in CFU concentration between controls and blank microparticles. CONCLUSION: SNO-MP demonstrates potent bactericidal effect against antibiotic-resistant CRS bacterial strains.

Thermostable exoshells fold and stabilize recombinant proteins.

The expression and stabilization of recombinant proteins is fundamental to basic and applied biology. Here we have engineered a thermostable protein nanoparticle (tES) to improve both expression and stabilization of recombinant proteins using this technology. tES provides steric accommodation and charge complementation to green fluorescent protein (GFPuv), horseradish peroxidase (HRPc), and Renilla luciferase (rLuc), improving the yields of functional in vitro folding by ~100-fold. Encapsulated enzymes retain the ability to metabolize small-molecule substrates, presumably via four 4.5-nm pores present in the tES shell. GFPuv exhibits no spectral shifts in fluorescence compared to a nonencapsulated control. Thermolabile proteins internalized by tES are resistant to thermal, organic, chaotropic, and proteolytic denaturation and can be released from the tES assembly with mild pH titration followed by proteolysis.

Exactin: A specific inhibitor of Factor X activation by extrinsic tenase complex from the venom of Hemachatus haemachatus.

Unwanted clots lead to heart attack and stroke that result in a large number of deaths. Currently available anticoagulants have some drawbacks including their non-specific actions. Therefore novel anticoagulants that target specific steps in the coagulation pathway are being sought. Here we describe the identification and characterization of a novel anticoagulant protein from the venom of Hemachatus haemachatus (African Ringhals cobra) that specifically inhibits factor X (FX) activation by the extrinsic tenase complex (ETC) and thus named as exactin. Exactin belongs to the three-finger toxin (3FTx) family, with high sequence identity to neurotoxins and low identity to the well-characterized 3FTx anticoagulants-hemextin and naniproin. It is a mixed-type inhibitor of ETC with the kinetic constants, Ki' and Ki determined as 30.62 ± 7.73 nM and 153.75 ± 17.96 nM, respectively. Exactin does not bind to the active site of factor VIIa and factor Xa based on its weak inhibition (IC50 ≫ 300 µM) to the amidolytic activities of these proteases. Exactin shows exquisite macromolecular specificity to FX activation as compared to factor IX activation by ETC. Exactin thus displays a distinct mechanism when compared to other anticoagulants targeting ETC, with its selective preference to ETC-FX [ES] complex.

Ringhalexin from Hemachatus haemachatus: A novel inhibitor of extrinsic tenase complex.

Anticoagulant therapy is used for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disorders. Blood coagulation is initiated by the interaction of factor VIIa (FVIIa) with membrane-bound tissue factor (TF) to form the extrinsic tenase complex which activates FX to FXa. Thus, it is an important target for the development of novel anticoagulants. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a novel anticoagulant ringhalexin from the venom of Hemachatus haemachatus (African Ringhals Cobra). Amino acid sequence of the protein indicates that it belongs to the three-finger toxin family and exhibits 94% identity to an uncharacterized Neurotoxin-like protein NTL2 from Naja atra. Ringhalexin inhibited FX activation by extrinsic tenase complex with an IC50 of 123.8 ± 9.54 nM. It is a mixed-type inhibitor with the kinetic constants, Ki and Ki' of 84.25 ± 3.53 nM and 152.5 ± 11.32 nM, respectively. Ringhalexin also exhibits a weak, irreversible neurotoxicity on chick biventer cervicis muscle preparations. Subsequently, the three-dimensional structure of ringhalexin was determined at 2.95 Å resolution. This study for the first time reports the structure of an anticoagulant three-finger toxin. Thus, ringhalexin is a potent inhibitor of the FX activation by extrinsic tenase complex and a weak, irreversible neurotoxin.

Identification and structural characterization of a new three-finger toxin hemachatoxin from Hemachatus haemachatus venom.

Snake venoms are rich sources of biologically active proteins and polypeptides. Three-finger toxins are non-enzymatic proteins present in elapid (cobras, kraits, mambas and sea snakes) and colubrid venoms. These proteins contain four conserved disulfide bonds in the core to maintain the three-finger folds. Although all three-finger toxins have similar fold, their biological activities are different. A new three-finger toxin (hemachatoxin) was isolated from Hemachatus haemachatus (Ringhals cobra) venom. Its amino acid sequence was elucidated, and crystal structure was determined at 2.43 Å resolution. The overall fold is similar to other three-finger toxins. The structure and sequence analysis revealed that the fold is maintained by four highly conserved disulfide bonds. It exhibited highest similarity to particularly P-type cardiotoxins that are known to associate and perturb the membrane surface with their lipid binding sites. Also, the increased B value of hemachotoxin loop II suggests that loop II is flexible and may remain flexible until its interaction with membrane phospholipids. Based on the analysis, we predict hemachatoxin to be cardiotoxic/cytotoxic and our future experiments will be directed to characterize the activity of hemachatoxin.