Biology subjects

Larrouy-Maumus, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Larrouy-Maumus, G..

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Colistin resistance in Escherichia coli confers protection of the cytoplasmic but not outer membrane from the polymyxin antibiotic

Colistin is a polymyxin antibiotic of last resort for the treatment of infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria. By targeting lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the antibiotic disrupts both the outer and cytoplasmic membranes, leading to lysis and bacterial death. Colistin resistance in Escherichia coli occurs via mutations in the chromosome or the acquisition of mobilised colistin resistance (mcr) genes. Both these colistin resistance mechanisms result in chemical modifications to the LPS, with positively charged moieties added at the cytoplasmic membrane before the LPS is transported to the outer membrane. We have previously shown that MCR-1-mediated LPS modification protects the cytoplasmic but not the outer membrane from damage caused by colistin, enabling bacterial survival. However, it remains unclear whether this observation extends to colistin resistance conferred by other mcr genes, or resistance due to chromosomal mutations. Using a panel of clinical E. coli that had acquired mcr -1, -1.5, -2, -3, -3.2 or -5, or had acquired polymyxin resistance independently of mcr genes, we found that almost all isolates were susceptible to colistin-mediated permeabilisation of the outer, but not cytoplasmic, membrane. Furthermore, we showed that permeabilisation of the outer membrane of colistin resistant isolates by the polymyxin is in turn sufficient to sensitise bacteria to the antibiotic rifampicin, which normally cannot cross the LPS monolayer. These findings demonstrate that colistin resistance in E. coli is typically due to protection of the cytoplasmic but not outer membrane from colistin-mediated damage, regardless of the mechanism of resistance.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Metabolic flux partitioning between the TCA cycle and glyoxylate shunt combined with a reversible methyl citrate cycle provide nutritional flexibility for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The utilisation of multiple host-derived carbon substrates is required by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to successfully sustain a tuberculosis infection thereby identifying the Mtb specific metabolic pathways and enzymes required for carbon co-metabolism as potential drug targets. Metabolic flux represents the final integrative outcome of many different levels of cellular regulation that contribute to the flow of metabolites through the metabolic network. It is therefore critical that we have an in-depth understanding of the rewiring of metabolic fluxes in different conditions. Here, we employed 13C-metabolic flux analysis using stable isotope tracers (13C and 2H) and lipid fingerprinting to investigate the metabolic network of Mtb growing slowly on physiologically relevant carbon sources in a steady state chemostat. We demonstrate that Mtb is able to efficiently co-metabolise combinations of either cholesterol or glycerol along with C2 generating carbon substrates. The uniform assimilation of the carbon sources by Mtb throughout the network indicated no compartmentalization of metabolism in these conditions however there were substrate specific differences in metabolic fluxes. This work identified that partitioning of flux between the TCA cycle and the glyoxylate shunt combined with a reversible methyl citrate cycle as the critical metabolic nodes which underlie the nutritional flexibility of Mtb. These findings provide new insights into the metabolic architecture that affords adaptability of Mtb to divergent carbon substrates. ImportanceEach year more than 1 million people die of tuberculosis (TB). Many more are infected but successfully diagnosed and treated with antibiotics, however antibiotic-resistant TB isolates are becoming ever more prevalent and so novel therapies are urgently needed that can effectively kill the causative agent. Mtb specific metabolic pathways have been identified as an important drug target in TB. However the apparent metabolic plasticity of this pathogen presents a major obstacle to efficient targeting of Mtb specific vulnerabilities and therefore it is critical to define the metabolic fluxes that Mtb utilises in different conditions. Here, we used 13C-metabolic flux analysis to measure the metabolic fluxes that Mtb uses whilst growing on potential in vivo nutrients. Our analysis identified selective use of the metabolic network that included the TCA cycle, glyoxylate shunt and methyl citrate cycle. The metabolic flux phenotypes determined in this study improves our understanding about the co-metabolism of multiple carbon substrates by Mtb identifying a reversible methyl citrate cycle and the glyoxylate shunt as the critical metabolic nodes which underlie the nutritional flexibility of Mtb.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Bacillus subtilis YngB is a UTP-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase contributing to wall teichoic acid modification and glycolipid formation during anaerobic growth

UTP-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferases (UGPases) are enzymes that produce UDP-glucose from UTP and glucose-1-phosphate. In Bacillus subtilis 168, UDP-glucose is required for the decoration of wall teichoic acid (WTA) with glucose residues and the formation of glucolipids. The B. subtilis UGPase GtaB is essential for UDP-glucose production under standard aerobic growth conditions, and gtaB mutants display severe growth and morphological defects. However, bioinformatics predictions indicate that two other UGPases, are present in B. subtilis. Here, we investigated the function of one of them named YngB. The crystal structure of YngB revealed that the protein has the typical fold and all necessary active site features of a functional UGPase. Furthermore, UGPase activity could be demonstrated in vitro using UTP and glucose-1-phosphate as substrates. Expression of YngB from a synthetic promoter in a B. subtilis gtaB mutant resulted in the reintroduction of glucose residues on WTA and production of glycolipids, demonstrating that the enzyme can function as UGPase in vivo. When wild-type and mutant B. subtilis strains were grown under anaerobic conditions, YngB-dependent glycolipid production and glucose decorations on WTA could be detected, revealing that YngB is expressed from its native promoter under anaerobic condition. Based on these findings, along with the structure of the operon containing yngB and the transcription factor thought to be required for its expression, we propose that besides WTA, potentially other cell wall components might be decorated with glucose residues during oxygen limited growth condition.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Modulation of the cAMP levels with a conserved actinobacteria phosphodiesterase enzyme reduces antimicrobial tolerance in mycobacteria

Antimicrobial tolerance (AMT) is the gateway to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is therefore a major issue that needs to be addressed. The second messenger cyclic-AMP (cAMP), which is conserved across all taxa, is involved in propagating signals from environmental stimuli and converting these into a response. In bacteria, such as M. tuberculosis, P. aeruginosa, V. cholerae and B. pertussis, cAMP has been implicated in virulence, metabolic regulation and gene expression. However, cAMP signalling in mycobacteria is particularly complex due to the redundancy of adenylate cyclases, which are enzymes that catalyse the formation of cAMP from ATP, and the poor activity of the only known phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzyme, which degrades cAMP into 5- AMP. Based on these two features, the modulation of this system with the aim of investigating cAMP signalling and its involvement in AMT in mycobacteria id difficult. To address this pressing need, we identified a new cAMP-degrading phosphodiesterase enzyme (Rv1339) and used it to significantly decrease the intrabacterial levels of cAMP in mycobacteria. This analysis revealed that this enzyme increased the antimicrobial susceptibility of M. smegmatis mc2155. Using a combination of metabolomics, RNA-sequencing, antimicrobial susceptibility assays and bioenergetics analysis, we were able to characterize the molecular mechanism underlying this increased susceptibility. This work represents an important milestone showing that the targeting of cAMP signalling is a promising new avenue for antimicrobial development and expands our understanding of cAMP signalling in mycobacteria.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Phosphatidylinositol Acyl Chains Configure TLR-Dependent Priming and Activation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome

Imbalance in lipid homeostasis is associated with discrepancies in immune signalling and is tightly linked to metabolic disorders. The diverse ways in which lipids impact immune signalling, however, remain ambiguous. The phospholipid phosphatidylinositol (PI), which is implicated in numerous immune disorders, is chiefly defined by its phosphorylation status. By contrast, the significance of the two fatty acid chains attached to the PI remains unknown. Here, by employing a mass-spectrometry-based assay, we demonstrate a role for PI acyl group chains in regulating both the priming and activation steps of the NLRP3 inflammasome in mouse macrophages. In response to NLRP3 stimuli, cells deficient in ABC transporter ABCB1, which effluxes lipid derivatives, revealed defective inflammasome activation. Mechanistically, Abcb1-deficiency shifted the total PI configuration exhibiting a reduced ratio of short-chain to long-chain PI-acyl lipids. Consequently, Abcb1-deficiency resulted in rapid degradation of TIRAP, the TLR adaptor protein which binds PI(4,5)-phosphate. Moreover, this accompanied increased NLRP3 phosphorylation at the Ser293 position and blunted inflammasome activation. Exogenously supplementing WT cells with linoleic acid, but not arachidonic acid, reconfigured PI acyl chains. Accordingly, linoleic acid supplementation increased TIRAP degradation, elevated NLRP3 phosphorylation, and abrogated inflammasome activation. Altogether, our study reveals a novel metabolic-inflammatory circuit which contributes to calibrating immune responses.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2019

The antibiotic bedaquiline activates host macrophage innate immune resistance to bacterial infection

Antibiotics are widely used in the treatment of bacterial infections. Although known for their microbicidal activity, antibiotics may also interfere with the hosts immune system. Here we analyzed the effects of bedaquiline (BDQ), an inhibitor of the mycobacterial ATP synthase, on human macrophages. Genome-wide gene expression analysis revealed that BDQ reprogramed macrophages into potent bactericidal phagocytes. We found that 1,495 genes were differentially expressed in M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages incubated with the drug, with an over-representation of genes involved in metabolism, lysosome biogenesis and activation. BDQ treatment triggered a variety of antimicrobial defense mechanisms, including nitric oxide production, phagosome-lysosome fusion, and autophagy. These effects were associated with activation of transcription factor EB (TFEB), involved in the transcription of lysosomal genes, resulting in enhanced intracellular killing of different bacterial species that were naturally insensitive to BDQ. Thus, BDQ could be used as a host-directed therapy against a wide range of bacterial infections.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2019

Fast and robust detection of colistin resistance in Escherichia coli using the MALDI Biotyper Sirius mass spectrometry system

Polymyxin antibiotics are a last-line treatment for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. However, the emergence of colistin resistance, including the spread of mobile mcr genes, necessitates the development of improved diagnostics for the detection of colistin-resistant organisms in hospital settings. The recently developed MALDIxin test enables detection of colistin resistance by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in less than 15 minutes but is not optimized for the mass spectrometers commonly found in clinical microbiology laboratories. In this study, we adapted the MALDIxin test for the MALDI Biotyper Sirius MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry system (Bruker Daltonics). We optimized the sample preparation protocol using a set of 6 MCR-expressing Escherichia coli clones and validated the assay with a collection of 40 E. coli clinical isolates, including 19 MCR producers, 12 chromosomally-resistant isolates and 9 polymyxin-susceptible isolates. We calculated Polymyxin resistance ratio (PRR) values from the acquired spectra; a PRR value of zero, indicating polymyxin susceptibility, was obtained for all colistin-susceptible E. coli isolates, whereas positive PRR values, indicating resistance to polymyxins, were obtained for all resistant strains independent of the genetic basis of resistance. Thus, we report a preliminary feasibility study showing that an optimized version of the MALDIxin test, adapted for the routine MALDI Biotyper Sirius, provides an unbiased, fast, reliable, cost-effective and high-throughput way of detecting colistin resistance in clinical E. coli isolates.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Ohm’s Law for emergent gene expression under fitness pressure

Natural selection relies on genotypic and phenotypic adaptation in response to fluctuating environmental conditions and is the key to predicting and preventing drug resistance. Whereas classic persistence is all-or-nothing, here we show for the first time that an antibiotic resistance gene displays linear dose-responsive selection for increased expression in proportion to rising antibiotic concentration in E. coli. Furthermore, we observe the general nature of an instantaneous phenotypic selection process upon bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotic treatment, as well as an amino acid synthesis pathway enzyme under a range of auxotrophic conditions. To explain this phenomenon, we propose an analogy to Ohms law in electricity (V=IR) where fitness pressure acts similarly to voltage (V), gene expression to current (I), and resistance (R) to cellular machinery constraints. Lastly, mathematical modelling approaches reveal that the emergent gene expression mechanism requires variation in mRNA and protein production within an isogenic population, and cell memory from positive feedbacks between growth and expression of any fitness-inducing gene.

systems biology↗