scholarly journals Persistence Dynamics of Antimicrobial-Resistant Neisseria in the Pharynx of Rhesus Macaques

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliza Thapa ◽  
Hanna M. Knauss ◽  
Benjamin A. Colvin ◽  
Benjamin A. Fischer ◽  
Nathan J. Weyand

ABSTRACT Pharyngeal infections by Neisseria gonorrhoeae are often asymptomatic, making them difficult to treat. However, in vivo animal modeling of human pharyngeal infections by pathogenic Neisseria species is challenging due to numerous host tropism barriers. We have relied on rhesus macaques to investigate pharyngeal persistence of naturally occurring Neisseria species in response to antibiotics. These species include Neisseria mucosa, Neisseria oralis, and a species unique to macaques. Four animals previously treated intramuscularly with the fluoroquinolone enrofloxacin for 2 weeks were monitored for persistence of their preexisting Neisseria populations for a period of 10 weeks. Enrofloxacin exposure did not eliminate preexisting flora from two of the four animals. Characterization of a collection of macaque Neisseria isolates supported the hypothesis that pharyngeal persistence was linked to reduced enrofloxacin susceptibility conferred by mutations in either gyrA or parC. Interestingly, we observed a change in neisserial population dynamics for several weeks following enrofloxacin exposure. Enrofloxacin appeared to promote competition between strains for dominance in the pharyngeal niche. Specifically, following enrofloxacin treatment, strains bearing single gyrA mutations and low MICs persisted long-term. In contrast, strains with both gyrA and parC mutations and high MICs became culturally undetectable, consistent with the hypothesis that they were less fit. Our study has provided insight into pharyngeal persistence dynamics of Neisseria species bearing fluoroquinolone resistance determinants. The rhesus macaque provides a valuable host animal that may be used in the future to simulate treatment failures associated with the presence of antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria spp. in the human pharynx.

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Cerisy ◽  
Tiffany Souterre ◽  
Ismael Torres-Romero ◽  
Magali Boutard ◽  
Ivan Dubois ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Increasing the resistance of plant-fermenting bacteria to lignocellulosic inhibitors is useful to understand microbial adaptation and to develop candidate strains for consolidated bioprocessing. Here, we study and improve inhibitor resistance in Clostridium phytofermentans (also called Lachnoclostridium phytofermentans), a model anaerobe that ferments lignocellulosic biomass. We survey the resistance of this bacterium to a panel of biomass inhibitors and then evolve strains that grow in increasing concentrations of the lignin phenolic, ferulic acid, by automated, long-term growth selection in an anaerobic GM3 automat. Ultimately, strains resist multiple inhibitors and grow robustly at the solubility limit of ferulate while retaining the ability to ferment cellulose. We analyze genome-wide transcription patterns during ferulate stress and genomic variants that arose along the ferulate growth selection, revealing how cells adapt to inhibitors through changes in gene dosage and regulation, membrane fatty acid structure, and the surface layer. Collectively, this study demonstrates an automated framework for in vivo directed evolution of anaerobes and gives insight into the genetic mechanisms by which bacteria survive exposure to chemical inhibitors. IMPORTANCE Fermentation of plant biomass is a key part of carbon cycling in diverse ecosystems. Further, industrial biomass fermentation may provide a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Plants are primarily composed of lignocellulose, a matrix of polysaccharides and polyphenolic lignin. Thus, when microorganisms degrade lignocellulose to access sugars, they also release phenolic and acidic inhibitors. Here, we study how the plant-fermenting bacterium Clostridium phytofermentans resists plant inhibitors using the lignin phenolic, ferulic acid. We examine how the cell responds to abrupt ferulate stress by measuring changes in gene expression. We evolve increasingly resistant strains by automated, long-term cultivation at progressively higher ferulate concentrations and sequence their genomes to identify mutations associated with acquired ferulate resistance. Our study develops an inhibitor-resistant bacterium that ferments cellulose and provides insights into genomic evolution to resist chemical inhibitors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Arca-Suárez ◽  
Pablo Fraile-Ribot ◽  
Juan Carlos Vázquez-Ucha ◽  
Gabriel Cabot ◽  
Marta Martínez-Guitián ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Selection of extended-spectrum mutations in narrow-spectrum oxacillinases (e.g., OXA-2 and OXA-10) is an emerging mechanism for development of in vivo resistance to ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Detection of these challenging enzymes therefore seems essential to prevent clinical failure, but the complex phenotypic plasticity exhibited by this species may often lead to their underestimation. The underlying resistance mechanisms of two sequence type 175 (ST175) P. aeruginosa isolates showing multidrug-resistant phenotypes and recovered at early and late stages of a long-term nosocomial infection were evaluated. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was used to investigate resistance genomics, whereas molecular and biochemical methods were used for characterization of a novel extended-spectrum OXA-2 variant selected during therapy. The metallo-β-lactamase blaVIM-20 and the narrow-spectrum oxacillinase blaOXA-2 were present in both isolates, although they differed by an inactivating mutation in the mexB subunit, present only in the early isolate, and in a mutation in the blaOXA-2 β-lactamase, present only in the final isolate. The new OXA-2 variant, designated OXA-681, conferred elevated MICs of the novel cephalosporin–β-lactamase inhibitor combinations in a PAO1 background. Compared to OXA-2, kinetic parameters of the OXA-681 enzyme revealed a substantial increase in the hydrolysis of cephalosporins, including ceftolozane. We describe the emergence of the novel variant OXA-681 during treatment of a nosocomial infection caused by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa ST175 high-risk clone. The ability of OXA-681 to confer cross-resistance to ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam together with the complex antimicrobial resistance profiles exhibited by the clinical strains harboring this new enzyme argue for maintaining active surveillance on emerging broad-spectrum resistance in P. aeruginosa.


1975 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Clark ◽  
Norman F. Capra ◽  
James H. Halsey

✓ The authors report a method for measuring total local brain tissue pressure (BTP) using a miniature catheter transducer stereotaxically introduced into the white matter of the cat's cerebrum. Quantitative rapid phasic pressure changes were satisfactorily demonstrated. Due to some drift of baseline of the transducers and inability to perform in vivo calibration, reliable long-term quantitative pressure measurements sometimes could not be studied. The BTP from each cerebral hemisphere and the cisternal pressure (CP) were monitored during alterations of pCO2 and systemic blood pressure, and distilled H2O injection prior to and after right middle cerebral artery (MCA) ligation. The catheter transducers functioned well on chronic implantation for up to 6 weeks. Compared to the chronically implanted catheters, acutely implanted catheters responded identically except for drift. The response of intracranial pressure and CP to MCA occlusion, alterations in pCO2, and systemic blood pressure were similar. No BTP gradients appeared in response to MCA ligation, hypercapnia, hypertension, or progressive swelling of the resulting infarction.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 2686-2686
Author(s):  
Andre Larochelle ◽  
Allen Krouse ◽  
Donald Orlic ◽  
Robert E. Donahue ◽  
Cynthia E. Dunbar ◽  
...  

Abstract AMD3100 (AMD) has recently been shown to rapidly mobilize primitive hematopoietic cells in mice and humans, but little is known about the properties of cells mobilized with this agent. We initiated a study to determine retroviral (RV) in vivo gene marking efficiency in AMD-mobilized CD34+ cells in rhesus macaques. CD34+ cells collected 3 hours after administration of AMD to 2 animals were transduced using RV vectors containing the NeoR gene. Animals were irradiated and cells reinfused immediately after transduction. By molecular analysis, the levels of PB MNC and granulocyte NeoR gene marking at steady-state (up to 12 months post-transplantation) was 1–2% in animal RC909 and 30–40% in RQ2851. In two additional rhesus macaques, CD34+ cells were collected from steady-state BM and from the PB after mobilization with AMD or G-CSF (G). The two PB populations from each animal were transduced with one of two distinguishable NeoR vectors and simultaneously reinfused into irradiated animals. In animal RQ3590, 2% in vivo gene marking at steady-state (up to 4 months post-transplantation) was derived from AMD-mobilized cells compared to 0.05% from the G-mobilized fraction. Animal RQ3636 showed 10% in vivo marking from the AMD-mobilized fraction and no detectable marking from the G-mobilized cells. We also compared phenotypic and functional characteristics of CD34+ cells from BM, AMD-PB and G-PB. An average of 31% of the AMD-mobilized cells were in the Go phase of the cell cycle, compared to 79% of G-mobilized cells (p=0.02), and 45% for the BM fraction (p=0.24). In contrast, 64% AMD-mobilized cells were in G1 compared to 17% of G-mobilized cells (p=0.03) and 44% for the BM fraction (p=0.15). Flow cytometry showed CXCR4 expression on 59% AMD-mobilized cells, in comparison to 11% G-mobilized cells (p=0.02) and 22% BM cells (p=0.07). Similar results were obtained when comparing VLA-4 expression. The increased expression of CXCR4 on AMD-mobilized CD34+ cells correlated with their increased ability to migrate towards SDF-1α in vitro (45%) compared to G-mobilized cells (8%, p=0.01) and BM cells (17%, p=0.08). Our data indicate efficient long-term in vivo gene marking in the rhesus macaque model, validating the ability of AMD to induce mobilization of true long-term repopulating HSCs. AMD-mobilized PB HSCs represent an alternative source of HSCs amenable to genetic manipulation with integrating RV vectors, with potential applications in gene therapy approaches for patients with sickle cell anemia; documented complications have precluded mobilization using G or G/SCF in these patients. Also, cell cycle status and surface phenotype of AMD-mobilized CD34+ cells are more comparable to steady-state BM cells than G-mobilized PB HSCs. AMD-mobilized CD34+ cells are more actively cycling than G-mobilized CD34+ cells, correlating with the increased efficiency of replication-dependent retrovirus-mediated gene transduction. The increased expression of the adhesion receptors CXCR4 and VLA-4 on primitive AMD-mobilized cells compared to G-mobilized cells suggests fundamental differences in the mechanisms of AMD-mediated and cytokine-mediated stem cell mobilization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junjie Feng ◽  
Arthur Wickenhagen ◽  
Matthew L. Turnbull ◽  
Veronica V. Rezelj ◽  
Felix Kreher ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Bunyaviruses pose a significant threat to human health, prosperity, and food security. In response to viral infections, interferons (IFNs) upregulate the expression of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), whose cumulative action can potently inhibit the replication of bunyaviruses. We used a flow cytometry-based method to screen the ability of ∼500 unique ISGs from humans and rhesus macaques to inhibit the replication of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus (BUNV), the prototype of both the Peribunyaviridae family and the Bunyavirales order. Candidates possessing antibunyaviral activity were further examined using a panel of divergent bunyaviruses. Interestingly, one candidate, ISG20, exhibited potent antibunyaviral activity against most viruses examined from the Peribunyaviridae , Hantaviridae , and Nairoviridae families, whereas phleboviruses ( Phenuiviridae ) largely escaped inhibition. Similar to the case against other viruses known to be targeted by ISG20, the antibunyaviral activity of ISG20 is dependent upon its functional RNase activity. Through use of an infectious virus-like particle (VLP) assay (based on the BUNV minigenome system), we confirmed that gene expression from all 3 viral segments is strongly inhibited by ISG20. Using in vitro evolution, we generated a substantially ISG20-resistant BUNV and mapped the determinants of ISG20 sensitivity/resistance. Taking all the data together, we report that ISG20 is a broad and potent antibunyaviral factor but that some bunyaviruses are remarkably ISG20 resistant. Thus, ISG20 sensitivity/resistance may influence the pathogenesis of bunyaviruses, many of which are emerging viruses of clinical or veterinary significance. IMPORTANCE There are hundreds of bunyaviruses, many of which cause life-threatening acute diseases in humans and livestock. The interferon (IFN) system is a key component of innate immunity, and type I IFNs limit bunyaviral propagation both in vitro and in vivo . Type I IFN signaling results in the upregulation of hundreds of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), whose concerted action generates an “antiviral state.” Although IFNs are critical in limiting bunyaviral replication and pathogenesis, much is still unknown about which ISGs inhibit bunyaviruses. Using ISG-expression screening, we examined the ability of ∼500 unique ISGs to inhibit Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus (BUNV), the prototypical bunyavirus. Using this approach, we identified ISG20, an interferon-stimulated exonuclease, as a potent inhibitor of BUNV. Interestingly, ISG20 possesses highly selective antibunyaviral activity, with multiple bunyaviruses being potently inhibited while some largely escape inhibition. We speculate that the ability of some bunyaviruses to escape ISG20 may influence their pathogenesis.


mSphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane T. Jones ◽  
Ko-Wei Liu ◽  
Xi Wang ◽  
Caitlin H. Kowalski ◽  
Brandon S. Ross ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Aspergillus fumigatus is a filamentous fungus which can cause multiple diseases in humans. Allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a disease diagnosed primarily in cystic fibrosis patients caused by a severe allergic response often to long-term A. fumigatus colonization in the lungs. Mice develop an allergic response to repeated inhalation of A. fumigatus spores; however, no strains have been identified that can survive long-term in the mouse lung and cause ABPA-like disease. We characterized A. fumigatus strain W72310, which was isolated from the expectorated sputum of an ABPA patient, by whole-genome sequencing and in vitro and in vivo viability assays in comparison to a common reference strain, CEA10. W72310 was resistant to leukocyte-mediated killing and persisted in the mouse lung longer than CEA10, a phenotype that correlated with greater resistance to oxidative stressors, hydrogen peroxide, and menadione, in vitro. In animals both sensitized and challenged with W72310, conidia, but not hyphae, were viable in the lungs for up to 21 days in association with eosinophilic airway inflammation, airway leakage, serum IgE, and mucus production. W72310-sensitized mice that were recall challenged with conidia had increased inflammation, Th1 and Th2 cytokines, and airway leakage compared to controls. Collectively, our studies demonstrate that a unique strain of A. fumigatus resistant to leukocyte killing can persist in the mouse lung in conidial form and elicit features of ABPA-like disease. IMPORTANCE Allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) patients often present with long-term colonization of Aspergillus fumigatus. Current understanding of ABPA pathogenesis has been complicated by a lack of long-term in vivo fungal persistence models. We have identified a clinical isolate of A. fumigatus, W72310, which persists in the murine lung and causes an ABPA-like disease phenotype. Surprisingly, while viable, W72310 showed little to no growth beyond the conidial stage in the lung. This indicates that it is possible that A. fumigatus can cause allergic disease in the lung without any significant hyphal growth. The identification of this strain of A. fumigatus can be used not only to better understand disease pathogenesis of ABPA and potential antifungal treatments but also to identify features of fungal strains that drive long-term fungal persistence in the lung. Consequently, these observations are a step toward helping resolve the long-standing question of when to utilize antifungal therapies in patients with ABPA and fungal allergic-type diseases.


2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 3384-3387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen England ◽  
Helena I. M. Boshoff ◽  
Kriti Arora ◽  
Danielle Weiner ◽  
Emmanuel Dayao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe carbapenems imipenem and meropenem in combination with clavulanic acid reduced the bacterial burden inMycobacterium tuberculosis-infected macrophages by 2 logs over 6 days. Despite poor stability in solution and a short half-life in rodents, treatment of chronically infected mice revealed significant reductions of bacterial burden in the lungs and spleens. Our results show that meropenem has activity in twoin vivosystems, but stability and pharmacokinetics of long-term administration will offer significant challenges to clinical evaluation.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruggero La Rosa ◽  
Helle Krogh Johansen ◽  
Søren Molin

ABSTRACTEvolution by natural selection under complex and dynamic environmental conditions occurs through intricate and often counterintuitive trajectories affecting many genes and metabolic solutions. To study short- and long-term evolution of bacteriain vivo, we used the natural model system of cystic fibrosis (CF) infection. In this work, we investigated how and through which trajectories evolution ofPseudomonas aeruginosaoccurs when migrating from the environment to the airways of CF patients, and specifically, we determined reduction of growth rate and metabolic specialization as signatures of adaptive evolution. We show that central metabolic pathways of three distinctPseudomonas aeruginosalineages coevolving within the same environment become restructured at the cost of versatility during long-term colonization. Cell physiology changes from naive to adapted phenotypes resulted in (i) alteration of growth potential that particularly converged to a slow-growth phenotype, (ii) alteration of nutritional requirements due to auxotrophy, (iii) tailored preference for carbon source assimilation from CF sputum, (iv) reduced arginine and pyruvate fermentation processes, and (v) increased oxygen requirements. Interestingly, although convergence was evidenced at the phenotypic level of metabolic specialization, comparative genomics disclosed diverse mutational patterns underlying the different evolutionary trajectories. Therefore, distinct combinations of genetic and regulatory changes converge to common metabolic adaptive trajectories leading to within-host metabolic specialization. This study gives new insight into bacterial metabolic evolution during long-term colonization of a new environmental niche.IMPORTANCEOnly a few examples of real-time evolutionary investigations in environments outside the laboratory are described in the scientific literature. Remembering that biological evolution, as it has progressed in nature, has not taken place in test tubes, it is not surprising that conclusions from our investigations of bacterial evolution in the CF model system are different from what has been concluded from laboratory experiments. The analysis presented here of the metabolic and regulatory driving forces leading to successful adaptation to a new environment provides an important insight into the role of metabolism and its regulatory mechanisms for successful adaptation of microorganisms in dynamic and complex environments. Understanding the trajectories of adaptation, as well as the mechanisms behind slow growth and rewiring of regulatory and metabolic networks, is a key element to understand the adaptive robustness and evolvability of bacteria in the process of increasing theirin vivofitness when conquering new territories.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Verreault ◽  
Jane Ennis ◽  
Kevin Whaley ◽  
Stephanie Z. Killeen ◽  
Hatice Karauzum ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTStaphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is a protein exotoxin found on the cell surface ofStaphylococcus aureusthat is the source for multiple pathologies in humans. When purified and concentrated in aerosol form, SEB can cause an acute and often fatal intoxication and thus is considered a biological threat agent. There are currently no vaccines or treatments approved for human use. Studies with rodent models of SEB intoxication show that antibody therapy may be a promising treatment strategy; however, many have used antibodies only prophylactically or well before any clinical signs of intoxication are apparent. We assessed and compared the protective efficacies of two monoclonal antibodies, Ig121 and c19F1, when administered after aerosol exposure in a uniformly lethal nonhuman primate model of SEB intoxication. Rhesus macaques were challenged using small-particle aerosols of SEB and then were infused intravenously with a single dose of either Ig121 or c19F1 (10 mg/kg of body weight) at either 0.5, 2, or 4 h postexposure. Onset of clinical signs and hematological and cytokine response in untreated controls confirmed the acute onset and potency of the toxin used in the challenge. All animals administered either Ig121 or c19F1 survived SEB challenge, whereas the untreated controls succumbed to SEB intoxication 30 to 48 h postexposure. These results represent the successful therapeuticin vivoprotection by two investigational drugs against SEB in a severe nonhuman primate disease model and punctuate the therapeutic value of monoclonal antibodies when faced with treatment options for SEB-induced toxicity in a postexposure setting.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 2858-2863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Zeeman ◽  
Suresh B. Lakshminarayana ◽  
Nicole van der Werff ◽  
Els J. Klooster ◽  
Annemarie Voorberg-van der Wel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTwoPlasmodiumPI4 kinase (PI4K) inhibitors, KDU691 and LMV599, were selected forin vivotesting as causal prophylactic and radical-cure agents forPlasmodium cynomolgisporozoite-infected rhesus macaques, based on theirin vitroactivity against liver stages. Animals were infected withP. cynomolgisporozoites, and compounds were dosed orally. Both the KDU691 and LMV599 compounds were fully protective when administered prophylactically, and the more potent compound LMV599 achieved protection as a single oral dose of 25 mg/kg of body weight. In contrast, when tested for radical cure, five daily doses of 20 mg/kg of KDU691 or 25 mg/kg of LMV599 did not prevent relapse, as all animals experienced a secondary infection due to the reactivation of hypnozoites in the liver. Pharmacokinetic data show that LMV599 achieved plasma exposure that was sufficient to achieve efficacy based on ourin vitrodata. These findings indicate thatPlasmodiumPI4K is a potential drug target for malaria prophylaxis but not radical cure. Longerin vitroculture systems will be required to assess these compounds' activity on established hypnozoites and predict radical curein vivo.


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