Biology subjects

Biju, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Biju, B..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Deciphering the role of the non-active site ancillary residues in maintaining the activity and substrate specificity of OXA-232 beta-lactamase

OXA-232, an OXA-48 like carbapenemase stands amongst newly identified beta-lactamases that causes of the extensive of beta-lactam resistance. While active-site residues are well characterised, the contributions of conserved non-active-site residues in exerting enzymatic activity remain unexplored, limiting our understanding about the roles of these residues in the overall OXA-232 function. To address these gaps, the conserved residues S118, V120, L158, and D159 of OXA-232 positioned adjacent to the active-site motifs and within the omega-like loop were substituted with alanine. Substitutions of S118A and D159A rendered the expressing cells susceptible to penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems, whereas the cells harbouring OXA-232V120A and OXA-232L158A proteins exhibited substrate-selective susceptibility changes. Kinetic analysis with purified proteins revealed the reduction in catalytic efficiency of all the mutants compared to wild-type protein. Though the L158A and D159A mutated proteins become deacylation-deficient, the mutations S118A and V120A exhibited selective acylation defects without trapping intermediates. It is evident from circular dichroism spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations that OXA-232S118A, OXA-232V120A, and OXA-232L158A nearly retained their secondary structures and compactness, except for OXA-232D159A, which presumably triggered a misfolding leading to destabilisation of the omega-loop. Interestingly, bicarbonate supplementation partially rescued the lost activities in soluble mutants, underscoring the carbamylation dependence. Taken together, these findings establish S118 and D159 as essential for core catalysis and structural integrity, with V120 and L158 modulating substrate-specific turnover and orientation. The current study reappraised the mechanistic insights of OXA-48-like carbapenemases, providing significant resources in rationally designing future therapeutics to combat carbapenem resistance.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Placentrex disrupts the biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa through multi-target transcriptional reprogramming.

AimsPseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm-associated infections pose a significant clinical challenge due to their inherent antibiotic tolerance. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of Placentrex, a standardised aqueous placental extract, against P. aeruginosa and to elucidate its molecular mechanism of action using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Methods and ResultsPlacentrex exhibited potent bactericidal activity against P. aeruginosa at 50 {micro}g/mL. Biofilm formation was significantly inhibited by [~]87% at 50 {micro}g/mL after 72 hours. Preformed biofilms were eradicated by [~]93% and [~]89% at 50 and 25 {micro}g/mL, respectively. Interestingly, biofilm viability was reduced by [~]93% and [~]87% upon treatment with 50 {micro}g/mL and 25 {micro}g/mL of Placentrex, respectively. EPS characterisation revealed that the EPS contain a single large polysaccharide, and chromatography data suggested that it is made up of glucose as a monomer. RNA-seq identified coordinated downregulation of seven key genes, namely, flp major pilin (surface attachment), extracellular solute binding protein (ABC transporter-mediated nutrient sensing and biofilm maintenance), gntP permease (carbon metabolism), AraC family transcriptional regulator (quorum sensing and polysaccharide biosynthesis), ureE (urease nickel metallochaperone), aromatic amino acid permease (pyoverdine and PQS biosynthesis), and MFS transporter (efflux and autoinducer export). ConclusionsPlacentrex exerts comprehensive antibiofilm and antibacterial activity through simultaneous disruption of surface attachment, nutrient-sensing-driven biofilm maintenance, quorum sensing, carbon metabolism, urease virulence maturation, and efflux-mediated persistence. This polypharmacological mechanism supports Placentrex as a promising multi-target antibacterial agent against P. aeruginosa biofilm-associated infections. Impact statementPlacentrex is a potential anti-biofilm agent against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

A magnesium transporter CorA of Mycobacterium smegmatis enhances the tolerance of structurally unrelated antibiotics in the host cells

Ion transporters or channels are involved in maintaining metal homeostasis in bacterial cells by aiding the movement of metal ions across the cell, which might also facilitate the export of antimicrobials. Ubiquitous magnesium transporter, CorA of Mycobacterium smegmatis is well known for its role in maintaining magnesium homeostasis. However, little is known about its involvement in exerting antimicrobial resistance. Here, with the help of molecular genetics, in vivo and in silico studies we tried to envisage the role of CorA of M. smegmatis in antimicrobial resistance of M. smegmatis and E. coli. Expression of corA in M. smegmatis and E. coli increased the tolerance of the host cells towards various structurally unrelated antibiotics and anti-tubercular drugs. In addition, a significantly lower accumulation of norfloxacin and ofloxacin by the host cells expressing corA further indicated its role in enhancing the efflux pump activity. Moreover, the presence of a sub-inhibitory concentration of Mg2+ resulted in increased low-level tolerance towards the tested drugs. Furthermore, CorA enhanced the biofilm-forming ability of cells expressing it. Overall, we speculate that magnesium transporter CorA facilitates multi-drug efflux activity of the host cells where Mg2+ might act as a facilitator in the process. IMPORTANCEMagnesium acts as a co-factor for various biochemical and physiological reactions, such as protein synthesis, cell membrane integrity, nucleic acid synthesis, etc. Metal transporters maintain metal homeostasis by regulating the uptake, efflux, or transportation of metals in certain necessary cellular compartments. In bacteria, magnesium ion (Mg2+) is mainly supplied by the CorA protein which is a ubiquitous family of transport proteins and extensively studied in E. coli and Salmonella sp. However, little is known about the functional relationship of metal transporters of Mycobacterium sp with extrusion of antibiotics, and their involvement in stress tolerance. Here, we report CorA (MSMEG_5056), a magnesium transporter of Mycobacterium smegmatis in influencing the extrusion of multiple structurally unrelated classes of drugs and enhancing the biofilm formation of E. coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=74 SRC="FIGDIR/small/602764v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (26K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@11a5f5corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6ac8f9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b083dcorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a0fb8a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOGraphical Abstract:C_FLOATNO Hypothetical model of Antibiotic export by CorA. Antibiotics bind to the closed state of the protein (left). During the transition to the open state (right), the to-and-fro motion between multiple open states drives the efflux of the antibiotic while facilitating the import of Mg2+. The colors of the models correspond to the chain ID. The bottom views of both the closed and open states are shown in the rectangular box, with the color indicated by their respective chain IDs. C_FIG

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

NMDA receptors regulate neural progenitor cell proliferation and maturation in the zebrafish forebrain.

Developmental neurogenesis is a tightly regulated spatiotemporal process with its dysregulation implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. NMDA receptors are glutamate-gated ion channels that are widely expressed in the early nervous system, yet their contribution to neurogenesis is poorly understood. Notably, a variety of mutations in genes encoding NMDA receptor subunits are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. To rigorously define the role of NMDA receptors in developmental neurogenesis, we used a mutant zebrafish line (grin1-/-) that lacks all NMDA receptors yet survives to 10 days post-fertilization, offering the opportunity to study post-embryonic neurodevelopment in the absence of NMDA receptors. Focusing on the forebrain, we find that these fish have a progressive supernumerary neuron phenotype confined to the telencephalon at the end of embryonic neurogenesis, but which extends to all forebrain regions during postembryonic neurogenesis. This enhanced neuron population does not arise directly from increased numbers or mitotic activity of radial glia cells, the principal neural stem cells. Rather, it stems from a lack of timely maturation of transit-amplifying neuroblasts into post-mitotic neurons, as indicated by a decrease in expression of the ontogenetically-expressed chloride transporter, KCC2. Pharmacological blockade with MK-801 recapitulates the grin1-/- supernumerary neuron phenotype, indicating a requirement for ionotropic signaling. Thus, NMDA receptors are required for suppression of indirect, transit amplifying cell-driven neurogenesis by promoting maturational termination of mitosis. Loss of suppression results in neuronal overpopulation that can fundamentally change brain circuitry and may be a key factor in pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders caused by NMDA receptor dysfunction.

neuroscience↗