Azido Inositol Probes Enable Metabolic Labeling of Inositol-Containing Glycans and Reveal an Inositol Importer in Mycobacteria.

Bacteria from the genus Mycobacterium include pathogens that cause serious diseases in humans and remain as difficult infectious agents to treat. Central to these challenges are the composition and organization of the mycobacterial cell envelope, which includes unique and complex glycans. Inositol is an essential metabolite for mycobacteria due to its presence in the structural core of the immunomodulatory cell envelope glycolipids phosphatidylinositol mannoside (PIM) and PIM-anchored lipomannan (LM) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM). Despite their importance to mycobacterial physiology and pathogenesis, many aspects of PIM, LM, and LAM construction and dynamics remain poorly understood. Recently, probes that allow metabolic labeling and detection of specific mycobacterial glycans have been developed to investigate cell envelope assembly and dynamics. However, these tools have been limited to peptidoglycan, arabinogalactan, and mycolic acid-containing glycolipids. Herein, we report the development of synthetic azido inositol (InoAz) analogues as probes that can metabolically label PIMs, LM, and LAM in intact mycobacteria. Additionally, we leverage an InoAz probe to discover an inositol importer and catabolic pathway in Mycobacterium smegmatis. We anticipate that in the future, InoAz probes, in combination with bioorthogonal chemistry, will provide a valuable tool for investigating PIM, LM, and LAM biosynthesis, transport, and dynamics in diverse mycobacterial organisms.

Identification of Nocardia and non-tuberculous Mycobacterium species by MALDI-TOF MS using the VITEK MS coupled to IVD and RUO databases.

Identification of Nocardia and Mycobacterium species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is still a challenging task that requires both suitable protein extraction procedures and extensive databases. This study aimed to evaluate the VITEK MS Plus system coupled with updated RUO (v4.17) and IVD (v3.2) databases for the identification of Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium spp. clinical isolates. Sample preparation was carried out using the VITEK MS Mycobacterium/Nocardia kit for protein extraction. From 90 Nocardia spp. isolates analysed, 86 (95.6%) were correctly identified at species or complex level using IVD and 78 (86.7%) using RUO. Only two strains were misidentified as other species pertaining to the same complex. Among the 106 non-tuberculous Mycobacterium clinical isolates tested from a liquid culture medium, VITEK MS identified correctly at species or complex level 96 (90.6%) isolates in the IVD mode and 89 (84.0%) isolates in the RUO mode. No misidentifications were detected. Although the IVD mode was unable to differentiate members of the M. fortuitum complex, the RUO mode correctly discriminated M. peregrinum and M. septicum. The robustness and accuracy showed by this system allow its implementation for routine identification of these microorganisms in clinical laboratories.

Analysis of the oligomeric state of mycobacterial membrane protein large 3 and its interaction with SQ109 with native cell membrane nanoparticles system.

Mycobacterial membrane protein large 3 (Mmpl3) as a trehalose monomycolate lipid transporter contributes to cell wall biosynthesis. Inhibition of Mmpl3 can suppress cell growth and lead to mycobacterial death. SQ109 is a hydrophobic inhibitor of Mmpl3. We have devised a detergent-free strategy to characterize the SQ109/Mmpl3 interaction using the Native Cell Membrane Nanoparticles (NCMN) system, a new method for extracting membrane proteins that better retains native lipids. The homogeneity of the Mmpl3 NCMN particles was confirmed with electron microscopy. The hydrophobic protein-ligand interaction analysis shown for Mmpl3 using the NCMN system may broadly apply to other membrane proteins.

Investigating Bacterial Volatilome for the Classification and Identification of Mycobacterial Species by HS-SPME-GC-MS and Machine Learning.

Species of Mycobacteriaceae cause disease in animals and humans, including tuberculosis and leprosy. Individuals infected with organisms in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) or non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) may present identical symptoms, however the treatment for each can be different. Although the NTM infection is considered less vital due to the chronicity of the disease and the infrequency of occurrence in healthy populations, diagnosis and differentiation among Mycobacterium species currently require culture isolation, which can take several weeks. The use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a promising approach for species identification and in recent years has shown promise for use in the rapid analysis of both in vitro cultures as well as ex vivo diagnosis using breath or sputum. The aim of this contribution is to analyze VOCs in the culture headspace of seven different species of mycobacteria and to define the volatilome profiles that are discriminant for each species. For the pre-concentration of VOCs, solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) was employed and samples were subsequently analyzed using gas chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-qMS). A machine learning approach was applied for the selection of the 13 discriminatory features, which might represent clinically translatable bacterial biomarkers.

HLA-DR-Positive NK Cells Expand in Response to Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Antigens and Mediate Mycobacteria-Induced T Cell Activation.

NK cells play an important role in the control of tuberculosis infection: they are not only able to kill the infected cells, but also control the activity of macrophages and development of the adaptive immune response. Still, there is little information on the role of specific NK cell subsets in this network. In this study, we focused on the mycobacteria-driven responses of the NK cells expressing HLA-DR - a type of MHC class II. We have revealed that this subset is increased in the peripheral blood of patients with primary diagnosed tuberculosis, and expands in response to in vitro stimulation with ultrasonically destroyed Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells (sonicate). The expanded HLA-DR+ NK cells had less differentiated phenotype, higher proliferative activity and increased expression of NKp30 and NKp46 receptors. HLA-DR+CD56dim NK cells showed higher IFNγ production and degranulation level than the respective HLA-DR- NK cells in response to both 24 h and 7 day stimulation with sonicate, while HLA-DR+CD56bright NK cells mostly demonstarted similar high responsiveness to the same stimulating conditions as their HLA-DR-CD56bright counterparts. After preliminary incubation with destroyed mycobacteria, cytokine-activated HLA-DR-expressing NK cells were able to mediate mycobacteria-induced and HLA-DR-dependent cytokine production in autologous CD4+ T cells. Thus, functionally active HLA-DR+ cells seem to be one of the NK cell subsets providing an important link to the adaptive immunity.

Rapid identification of non-tuberculous mycobacteria with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Rapid and accurate identification of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is important for a prompt start to antibiotic therapy. The aim of this study was to obtain accurate identification of NTM quickly by analyzing the performance of the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) system VITEK® MS in identifying various NTM species from solid medium and MGIT 960 liquid medium. The study was performed in two phases: preliminary and perspective. Overall, 41/42 species and 33/34 species were correctly identified from the MGIT medium in the preliminary and perspective phases, respectively. The VITEK® MS system includes in its database part of the mycobacteria from the Mycobacterium fortuitum complex but is unable to discriminate among the various species belonging to the complex. Although the VITEK® MS system does not have the protein spectrum of Mycobacterium chimaera, it is not able to distinguish between Mycobacterium chimaera and Mycobacterium intracellulare. Since the VITEK® MS includes the separate protein spectrum of both M. chelonae and M. abscessus, it can discriminate between the two microorganisms. Thanks to these studies we show that the VITEK® MS system is a reliable method for identification of NTMs directly from MGIT liquid medium, instead of the use of solid media.

Mass Spectrometry-Based Analysis of Mycobacterial Single-Colony Proteome.

Mass spectrometry-based single-cell proteomic analysis has recently gained momentum and is now an emerging area with established protocols and promising results. Traditional proteomic studies, especially involving bacteria, have been limited to suspension cultures with large protein yields. Such studies, however, remain population centered with the uniqueness of individual responses to environmental challenges becoming diluted. To enable bacterial single-colony proteomics, we describe a quantitative mass spectrometry-based protocol to isolate and analyze the proteome of a single mycobacterial colony from 7H10 media, with growth supplements for optimal growth. Following protein purification and digestion, tryptic peptides are analyzed by UHPLC coupled to a hybrid Q Exactive mass spectrometer. Raw data were analyzed using the MaxQuant Suite, and downstream statistical analysis was performed using Perseus software. A total of 7805 unique peptides and 1387 proteins were identified. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD018168. In this chapter, we identify steps most prone to sample loss and describe measures of alleviation that allows the preservation of protein yield and boosts quantitative power while increasing reproducibility, of "very limiting samples."

Metabolic labeling probes for interrogation of the host-pathogen interaction.

Bacterial infections are still one of the leading causes of death worldwide; despite the near-ubiquitous availability of antibiotics. With antibiotic resistance on the rise, there is an urgent need for novel classes of antibiotic drugs. One particularly troublesome class of bacteria are those that have evolved highly efficacious mechanisms for surviving inside the host. These contribute to their virulence by immune evasion, and make them harder to treat with antibiotics due to their residence inside intracellular membrane-limited compartments. This has sparked the development of new chemical reporter molecules and bioorthogonal probes that can be metabolically incorporated into bacteria to provide insights into their activity status. In this review, we provide an overview of several classes of metabolic labeling probes capable of targeting either the peptidoglycan cell wall, the mycomembrane of mycobacteria and corynebacteria, or specific bacterial proteins. In addition, we highlight several important insights that have been made using these metabolic labeling probes.

Seeing and Touching the Mycomembrane at the Nanoscale.

Mycobacteria have unique cell envelopes, surface properties, and growth dynamics, which all play a part in the ability of these important pathogens to infect, evade host immunity, disseminate, and resist antibiotic challenges. Recent atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies have brought new insights into the nanometer-scale ultrastructural, adhesive, and mechanical properties of mycobacteria. The molecular forces with which mycobacterial adhesins bind to host factors, like heparin and fibronectin, and the hydrophobic properties of the mycomembrane have been unraveled by AFM force spectroscopy studies. Real-time correlative AFM and fluorescence imaging have delineated a complex interplay between surface ultrastructure, tensile stresses within the cell envelope, and cellular processes leading to division. The unique capabilities of AFM, which include subdiffraction-limit topographic imaging and piconewton force sensitivity, have great potential to resolve important questions that remain unanswered on the molecular interactions, surface properties, and growth dynamics of this important class of pathogens.

Use of Synthetic Glycolipids to Probe the Number and Position of Arabinan Chains on Mycobacterial Arabinogalactan.

The arabinogalactan of Corynebacterianeae is a critical heteropolysaccharide that tethers outer membrane mycolic acids to peptidoglycan thus forming the characteristic cell wall core of these prokaryotes. An essential α-(1→5)-arabinosyltransferase, AftA, is responsible for the transfer of the first arabinofuranosyl (Araf) unit of the arabinan domain to the galactan backbone of arabinogalactan, but the number and precise position at which Araf residue(s) is/are added in mycobacteria remain ill-defined. Using membrane preparations from Mycobacterium smegmatis overexpressing aftA, farnesyl-phospho-arabinose as an Araf donor, and a series of synthetic galactan acceptors of various lengths, we here show that a single priming arabinosyl residue substitutes the C-5 position of a precisely positioned internal 6-linked galactofuranosyl residue of the galactan acceptors, irrespective of their length. This unexpected result suggests that, like the structurally related mycobacterial lipoarabinomannans, the arabinogalactan of mycobacteria may in fact harbor a single arabinan chain.

Transporters Involved in the Biogenesis and Functionalization of the Mycobacterial Cell Envelope.

The biology of mycobacteria is dominated by a complex cell envelope of unique composition and structure and of exceptionally low permeability. This cell envelope is the basis of many of the pathogenic features of mycobacteria and the site of susceptibility and resistance to many antibiotics and host defense mechanisms. This review is focused on the transporters that assemble and functionalize this complex structure. It highlights both the progress and the limits of our understanding of how (lipo)polysaccharides, (glyco)lipids, and other bacterial secretion products are translocated across the different layers of the cell envelope to their final extra-cytoplasmic location. It further describes some of the unique strategies evolved by mycobacteria to import nutrients and other products through this highly impermeable barrier.

The ambruticins and jerangolids - chemistry, biology and chemoenzymatic synthesis of potent antifungal drug candidates.

Covering: 1977 to 2020The ambruticins and jerangolids are myxobacterial reduced polyketides, which are produced via highly unusual biosynthetic pathways containing a plethora of non-canonical enzymatic transformations. Since the discovery of the first congeners in the late 1970s, they have been in the focus of drug development due to their good antifungal activity and low toxicity in mammals, which result from interaction with an unusual innercellular target in fungi. Despite significant efforts, which have led to the development of various total syntheses, their structural complexity has yet avoided full exploitation of their pharmacological potential. This article summarises biological, total and semisynthetic as well as biosynthetic studies on both compounds. An outlook on the biosynthesis-based approaches to them and their derivatives is presented. Due to the structural and biosynthetic characteristics of the ambruticins and jerangolids, chemoenzymatic processes that make use of their biosynthetic pathway enzymes are particularly promising to gain efficient access to derivative libraries for structure activity relationship studies.

Structural and Functional Characterization of Phosphatidylinositol-Phosphate Biosynthesis in Mycobacteria.

In mycobacteria, phosphatidylinositol (PI) acts as a common lipid anchor for key components of the cell wall, including the glycolipids phosphatidylinositol mannoside, lipomannan, and lipoarabinomannan. Glycolipids in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, are important virulence factors that modulate the host immune response. The identity-defining step in PI biosynthesis in prokaryotes, unique to mycobacteria and few other bacterial species, is the reaction between cytidine diphosphate-diacylglycerol and inositol-phosphate to yield phosphatidylinositol-phosphate, the immediate precursor to PI. This reaction is catalyzed by the cytidine diphosphate-alcohol phosphotransferase phosphatidylinositol-phosphate synthase (PIPS), an essential enzyme for mycobacterial viability. Here we present structures of PIPS from Mycobacterium kansasii with and without evidence of donor and acceptor substrate binding obtained using a crystal engineering approach. PIPS from Mycobacterium kansasii is 86% identical to the ortholog from M. tuberculosis and catalytically active. Functional experiments guided by our structural results allowed us to further characterize the molecular determinants of substrate specificity and catalysis in a new mycobacterial species. This work provides a framework to strengthen our understanding of phosphatidylinositol-phosphate biosynthesis in the context of mycobacterial pathogens.

Immune Recognition of Pathogen-Derived Glycolipids Through Mincle.

Mincle (macrophage inducible C-type lectin, Clec4e, Clecsf9) was originally identified as a member of the C-type lectin receptor family in 1999. Then, the function of Mincle to control antifungal immunity by binding to Candida albicans was reported in 2008. Around the same time, it was reported that Mincle recognized damaged cells and induced sterile inflammation by coupling with the ITAM-adaptor molecule FcRγ. In the following year, a breakthrough discovery reported that Mincle was an essential receptor for mycobacterial cord factor (trehalose-6,6'-dimycolate, TDM). Mincle gained increasing attention immediately after this critical finding. Although our understanding of the recognition of Mycobacteria has been advanced significantly, it was also revealed that Mincle interacts with pathogens other than Mycobacteria. In addition, endogenous ligands of Mincle were identified recently. Therefore, Mincle is now considered a danger receptor both for self and non-self ligands, so-called damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). This chapter will give an overview of the accumulated knowledge of the multi-task danger receptor Mincle from its discovery to the latest findings.

Availability of culture filtrate protein-10 (CFP-10) secreted from Mycobacterium pseudoshottsii for mycobacteriosis diagnosis in ginbuna crucian carp Carrasius auratus langsdorfii.

Mycobacteriosis in cultured fish is a challenge for the aquaculture industry worldwide. Treatment by chemical administration is difficult and no effective vaccine has been developed. Therefore, detection and isolation by early diagnosis are important for prevention of the spread of the disease. In mammals, interferon gamma release assays have been established for detection of tuberculosis; these tests are based on the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response against culture filtrate protein-10 (CFP-10) and the 6-kDa early secreted antigen target (ESAT-6) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. On the other hand, little is known about the fish immune response against the ESAT-6 and CFP-10 proteins of mycobacteria, although these responses should find application in the diagnosis of mycobacteriosis in fish. In the present study, we identified ESAT-6 and CFP-10 from Mycobacterium pseudoshottsii and cloned the corresponding genes. Intraperitoneal injection of the corresponding DNA plasmid constructs in ginbuna crucian carp yielded increased expression of the fish interferon-γ1-1-encoding gene (IFN-γ1-1). In contrast, IFN-γ1-1 expression accompanied by DTH response was observed only in the CFP-10-DNA plasmid-injected fish. Furthermore, fish that had been prophylactically injected with CFP-10-DNA plasmid exhibited increased survival of M. pseudoshottsii infection. Taken together, these results suggested that CFP-10 may facilitate diagnosis of mycobacteriosis.

Structural diversity in the Mycobacteria DUF3349 superfamily.

A protein superfamily with a "Domain of Unknown Function,", DUF3349 (PF11829), is present predominately in Mycobacterium and Rhodococcus bacterial species suggesting that these proteins may have a biological function unique to these bacteria. We previously reported the inaugural structure of a DUF3349 superfamily member, Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv0543c. Here, we report the structures determined for three additional DUF3349 proteins: Mycobacterium smegmatis MSMEG_1063 and MSMEG_1066 and Mycobacterium abscessus MAB_3403c. Like Rv0543c, the NMR solution structure of MSMEG_1063 revealed a monomeric five α-helix bundle with a similar overall topology. Conversely, the crystal structure of MSMEG_1066 revealed a five α-helix protein with a strikingly different topology and a tetrameric quaternary structure that was confirmed by size exclusion chromatography. The NMR solution structure of a fourth member of the DUF3349 superfamily, MAB_3403c, with 18 residues missing at the N-terminus, revealed a monomeric α-helical protein with a folding topology similar to the three C-terminal helices in the protomer of the MSMEG_1066 tetramer. These structures, together with a GREMLIN-based bioinformatics analysis of the DUF3349 primary amino acid sequences, suggest two subfamilies within the DUF3349 family. The division of the DUF3349 into two distinct subfamilies would have been lost if structure solution had stopped with the first structure in the DUF3349 family, highlighting the insights generated by solving multiple structures within a protein superfamily. Future studies will determine if the structural diversity at the tertiary and quaternary levels in the DUF3349 protein superfamily have functional roles in Mycobacteria and Rhodococcus species with potential implications for structure-based drug discovery.

Revisiting intrinsic transcription termination in mycobacteria: U-tract downstream of secondary structure is dispensable for termination.

In Escherichia coli, G/C-rich hairpin structure followed by a U-tract in the 3' region of the nascent RNA are crucial determinants for intrinsic or factor independent transcription termination. In mycobacteria, there is a scarcity of such intrinsic terminators. However, secondary structures having G/C-rich stem devoid of any U's or with suboptimal U-tracts were identified earlier as terminators and found to be functional both in vitro and in vivo. Two different observations - that a mycobacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) does not function at intrinsic terminators devoid of U-tracts and the identification of an altogether new motif for termination in mycobacteria necessitated re-examining a number of putative terminators for their function as terminators. When these in silico identified non-canonical terminators were subjected to experimental validation, they were found to dissociate RNA from the elongating RNAP. Termination is observed when the U-tracts were reduced, or totally absent both in vitro and in vivo. Our results, thus indicate that the presence of U-tract following the G/C-rich stem in an intrinsic terminator may not be an essential determinant for transcription termination in mycobacteria.

Synthesis of a Di-Mycoloyl Tri-Arabinofuranosyl Glycerol Fragment of the Mycobacterial Cell Wall, Based on Synthetic Mycolic Acids.

Fragments of mycobacterial cell walls such as arabinoglycerol mycolate and dimycoloyl diarabinoglycerol, comprising complex mixtures of mycolic acids, have immunostimulatory and antigenic properties. A related di-mycoloyl tri-arabinofuranosyl glycerol fragment has been isolated from cell wall hydrolysates. An effective stereoselective synthesis of tri-arabinofuranosyl glycerol, followed by coupling with stereochemically defined mycolic acids of different structural classes, to provide unique di-mycoloyl tri-arabinofuranosyl glycerols is now described.

Induction of tumor-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes from naïve human T cells by using Mycobacterium-derived mycolic acid and lipoarabinomannan-stimulated dendritic cells.

The main effectors in tumor control are the class I MHC molecule-restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Tumor-specific CTL induction can be regulated by dendritic cells (DCs) expressing both tumor-derived epitopes and co-stimulatory molecules. Immunosuppressive tolerogenic DCs, having down-regulated co-stimulatory molecules, are seen within the tumor mass and can suppress tumor-specific CTL induction. The tolerogenic DCs expressing down-regulated XCR1+CD141+ appear to be induced by tumor-derived soluble factors or dexamethasone, while the immunogenic DCs usually express XCR1+CD141+ molecules with a cross-presentation function in humans. Thus, if tolerogenic DCs can be reactivated into immunogenic DCs with sufficient co-stimulatory molecules, tumor-specific CD8+ CTLs can be primed and activated in vivo. In the present study, we converted human tolerogenic CD141+ DCs with enhanced co-stimulatory molecule expression of CD40, CD80, and CD86 through stimulation with non-toxic mycobacterial lipids such as mycolic acid (MA) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM), which synergistically enhanced both co-stimulatory molecule expression and interleukin (IL)-12 secretion by XCR1+CD141+ DCs. Moreover, MA and LAM-stimulated DCs captured tumor antigens and presented tumor epitope(s) in association with class I MHCs and sufficient upregulated co-stimulatory molecules to prime naïve CD3+ T cells to become CD8+ tumor-specific CTLs. Repeat CD141+ DC stimulation with MA and LAM augmented the secretion of IL-12. These findings provide us a new method for altering the tumor environment by converting tolerogenic DCs to immunogenic DCs with MA and LAM from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.