scholarly journals Detection and Quantification of eDNA-Associated Bacterial Membrane Vesicles by Flow Cytometry

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 5307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Puca ◽  
Eva Ercolino ◽  
Christian Celia ◽  
Giuseppina Bologna ◽  
Luisa Di Marzio ◽  
...  

Bacteria generate membrane vesicles, which are structures known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), reported to be involved in different pathogenic mechanisms, as it has been demonstrated that EVs participate in biofilm formation, cell-to-cell communication, bacteria–host interactions, and nutrients supply. EVs deliver nucleic acids, proteins, and polysaccharides. It has been reported that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), of both planktonic and biofilm phenotypes, produce EVs carrying extracellular DNA (eDNA). Here, we used polychromatic flow cytometry (PFC) to identify, enumerate, and characterize EVs as well as the eDNA-delivering EV compartment in the biofilm and planktonic phenotypes of H.pylori ATCC 43629 and L. reuteri DSM 17938. Biofilm formation was demonstrated and analyzed by fluorescence microscopy, using a classical live/dead staining protocol. The enumeration of EVs and the detection of eDNA-associated EVs were performed by PFC, analyzing both whole samples (cells plus vesicles) and EVs isolated by ultracentrifugation confirm EVs isolated by ultracentrifugation. PFC analysis was performed relying on a known-size beaded system and a mix of three different fluorescent tracers. In detail, the whole EV compartment was stained by a lipophilic cationic dye (LCD), which was combined to PKH26 and PicoGreen that selectively stain lipids and DNA, respectively. Fluorescence microscopy results displayed that both H. pylori and L. reuteri produced well-structured biofilms. PFC data highlighted that, in both detected bacterial species, biofilms produced higher EVs counts when paralleled to the related planktonic phenotypes. Furthermore, the staining with PicoGreen showed that most of the generated vesicles were associated with eDNA. These data suggest that the use of PFC, set according to the parameters here described, allows for the study of the production of eDNA-associated EVs in different microbial species in the same or several phases of growth, thus opening new perspectives in the study of microbial derived EVs in clinical samples.

Author(s):  
Joana Maia ◽  
Silvia Batista ◽  
Nuno Couto ◽  
Ana C. Gregório ◽  
Cristian Bodo ◽  
...  

AbstractExtracellular Vesicles (EVs), membrane vesicles released by all cells, are emerging mediators of cell-cell communication. By carrying biomolecules from tissues to biofluids, EVs have attracted attention as non-invasive sources of clinical biomarkers in liquid biopsies. Although frequently employed for content characterization of EVs, the study of bulk preparations lacks information on sub-populations and the intrinsic heterogeneity of vesicles. Importantly, these strategies also difficult the characterization of EVs from small quantities of samples. We here present a Flow Cytometry strategy that enables detailed population analysis of EVs, at the same time decreasing sample volume requirements and accelerating the overall processing time. We show its unique application for quality control of isolates of EVs by comparing the proportion of vesicular and non-vesicular particles in samples prepared by different protocols. In addition, we demonstrate its suitability for the study of populations of EVs from samples characterized by challenging small volumes. To illustrate that, we perform longitudinal non-lethal analysis of EVs in mouse plasma and in single-animal collections of murine vitreous humor. By allowing for the analysis of EVs from minimal amounts of sample, our Flow Cytometry strategy has an unexplored potential in the study of EVs in clinical samples with intrinsically limited volumes. When compared to conventional methods, it also multiplies by several times the number of different analytes that can be studied from a single collection of biofluid.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2308
Author(s):  
Yusuke Iwabuchi ◽  
Tomoyo Nakamura ◽  
Yasuka Kusumoto ◽  
Ryoma Nakao ◽  
Tsutomu Iwamoto ◽  
...  

Streptococcus mutans releases membrane vesicles (MVs) and induces MV-dependent biofilm formation. Glucosyltransferases (Gtfs) are bound to MVs and contribute to the adhesion and glucans-dependent biofilm formation of early adherent bacteria on the tooth surface. The biofilm formation of S. mutans may be controlled depending on whether the initial pH tends to be acidic or alkaline. In this study, the characteristics and effects of MVs extracted from various conditions {(initial pH 6.0 and 8.0 media prepared with lactic acid (LA) and acetic acid (AA), and with NaOH (NO), respectively)} on the biofilm formation of S. mutans and early adherent bacteria were investigated. The quantitative changes in glucans between primary pH 6.0 and 8.0 conditions were observed, associated with different activities affecting MV-dependent biofilm formation. The decreased amount of Gtfs on MVs under the initial pH 6.0 conditions strongly guided low levels of MV-dependent biofilm formation. However, in the initial pH 6.0 and 8.0 solutions prepared with AA and NO, the MVs in the biofilm appeared to be formed by the expression of glucans and/or extracellular DNA. These results suggest that the environmental pH conditions established by acid and alkaline factors determine the differences in the local pathogenic activities of biofilm development in the oral cavity.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1165
Author(s):  
Elad Milrot ◽  
Efi Makdasi ◽  
Boaz Politi ◽  
Tomer Israely ◽  
Orly Laskar

Routine methods for virus detection in clinical specimens rely on a variety of sensitive methods, such as genetic, cell culture and immuno-based assays. It is imperative that the detection assays would be reliable, reproducible, sensitive and rapid. Isolation of viruses from clinical samples is crucial for deeper virus identification and analysis. Here we introduce a rapid cell-based assay for isolation and detection of viruses. As a proof of concept several model viruses including West Nile Virus (WNV), Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) and Adenovirus were chosen. Suspended Vero cells were employed to capture the viruses following specific antibody labeling which enables their detection by flow cytometry and immuno-fluorescence microscopy assays. Using flow cytometry, a dose response analysis was performed in which 3.6e4 pfu/mL and 1e6 pfu/mL of MVA and WNV could be detected within two hours, respectively. When spiked to commercial pooled human serum, detection sensitivity was slightly reduced to 3e6 pfu/mL for WNV, but remained essentially the same for MVA. In conclusion, the study demonstrates a robust and rapid methodology for virus detection using flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. We propose that this proof of concept may prove useful in identifying future pathogens.


2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1681-1689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ane Mohn Bjelland ◽  
Henning Sørum ◽  
Daget Ayana Tegegne ◽  
Hanne C. Winther-Larsen ◽  
Nils Peder Willassen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTVibrio(Aliivibrio)salmonicidais the causal agent of cold-water vibriosis, a fatal bacterial septicemia primarily of farmed salmonid fish. The molecular mechanisms of invasion, colonization, and growth ofV. salmonicidain the host are still largely unknown, and few virulence factors have been identified. Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication system known to regulate virulence and other activities in several bacterial species. The genome ofV. salmonicidaLFI1238 encodes products presumably involved in several QS systems. In this study, the gene encoding LitR, a homolog of the master regulator of QS inV. fischeri, was deleted. Compared to the parental strain, thelitRmutant showed increased motility, adhesion, cell-to-cell aggregation, and biofilm formation. Furthermore, thelitRmutant produced less cryptic bioluminescence, whereas production of acylhomoserine lactones was unaffected. Our results also indicate a salinity-sensitive regulation of LitR. Finally, reduced mortality was observed in Atlantic salmon infected with thelitRmutant, implying that the fish were more susceptible to infection with the wild type than with the mutant strain. We hypothesize that LitR inhibits biofilm formation and favors planktonic growth, with the latter being more adapted for pathogenesis in the fish host.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen K. Sahu ◽  
Pavithra S. Iyer ◽  
Amrita M. Oak ◽  
Karishma R. Pardesi ◽  
Balu A. Chopade

Release of extracellular DNA (eDNA) was observed duringin vitrogrowth of a clinical strain ofAcinetobacter baumannii. Membrane vesicles (MV) of varying diameter (20–200 nm) containing DNA were found to be released by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). An assessment of the characteristics of the eDNA with respect to size, digestion pattern by DNase I/restriction enzymes, and PCR-sequencing, indicates a high similarity with genomic DNA. Role of eDNA in static biofilm formed on polystyrene surface was evaluated by biofilm augmentation assay using eDNA available in different preparations, for example, whole cell lysate, cell-free supernatant, MV suspension, and purified eDNA. Biofilm augmentation was seen up to 224.64%, whereas biofilm inhibition was 59.41% after DNase I treatment: confirming that eDNA facilitates biofilm formation inA. baumannii. This is the first paper elucidating the characteristics and role of eDNA inA. baumanniibiofilm, which may provide new insights into its pathogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa F. Dawson ◽  
Johann Peltier ◽  
Catherine L. Hall ◽  
Mark A. Harrison ◽  
Maria Derakhshan ◽  
...  

AbstractClostridioides difficile is the leading cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhoea worldwide, yet there is little insight into intestinal tract colonisation and relapse. In many bacterial species, the secondary messenger cyclic-di-GMP mediates switching between planktonic phase, sessile growth and biofilm formation. We demonstrate that c-di-GMP promotes early biofilm formation in C. difficile and that four cell surface proteins contribute to biofilm formation, including two c-di-GMP regulated; CD2831 and CD3246, and two c-di-GMP-independent; CD3392 and CD0183. We demonstrate that C. difficile biofilms are composed of extracellular DNA (eDNA), cell surface and intracellular proteins, which form a protective matrix around C. difficile vegetative cells and spores, as shown by a protective effect against the antibiotic vancomycin. We demonstrate a positive correlation between biofilm biomass, sporulation frequency and eDNA abundance in all five C. difficile lineages. Strains 630 (RT012), CD305 (RT023) and M120 (RT078) contain significantly more eDNA in their biofilm matrix than strains R20291 (RT027) and M68 (RT017). DNase has a profound effect on biofilm integrity, resulting in complete disassembly of the biofilm matrix, inhibition of biofilm formation and reduced spore germination. The addition of exogenous DNase could be exploited in treatment of C. difficile infection and relapse, to improve antibiotic efficacy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 83 (12) ◽  
pp. 4682-4692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nithya Babu Rajendran ◽  
Julian Eikmeier ◽  
Karsten Becker ◽  
Muzaffar Hussain ◽  
Georg Peters ◽  
...  

The coagulase-negative speciesStaphylococcus lugdunensisis an emerging cause of serious and potentially life-threatening infections, such as infective endocarditis. The pathogenesis of these infections is characterized by the ability ofS. lugdunensisto form biofilms on either biotic or abiotic surfaces. To elucidate the genetic basis of biofilm formation inS. lugdunensis, we performed transposon (Tn917) mutagenesis. One mutant had a significantly reduced biofilm-forming capacity and carried a Tn917insertion within the competence genecomEB. Site-directed mutagenesis and subsequent complementation with a functional copy ofcomEBverified the importance ofcomEBin biofilm formation. In several bacterial species, natural competence stimulates DNA release via lysis-dependent or -independent mechanisms. Extracellular DNA (eDNA) has been demonstrated to be an important structural component of many bacterial biofilms. Therefore, we quantified the eDNA in the biofilms and found diminished eDNA amounts in thecomEBmutant biofilm. High-resolution images and three-dimensional data obtained via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CSLM) visualized the impact of thecomEBmutation on biofilm integrity. ThecomEBmutant did not show reduced expression of autolysin genes, decreased autolytic activities, or increased cell viability, suggesting a cell lysis-independent mechanism of DNA release. Furthermore, reduced amounts of eDNA in thecomEBmutant biofilms did not result from elevated levels or activity of theS. lugdunensisthermonuclease NucI. In conclusion, we defined here, for the first time, a role for the competence genecomEBin staphylococcal biofilm formation. Our findings indicate thatcomEBstimulates biofilm formation via a lysis-independent mechanism of DNA release.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1156-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazlurrahman Khan ◽  
Sandra Folarin Oloketuyi ◽  
Young-Mog Kim

The increase in antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria has led to the development of new therapeutic approaches to inhibit biofilm formation as well as interfere quorum sensing (QS) signaling systems. The QS system is a phenomenon in which pathogenic bacteria produce signaling molecules that are involved in cell to cell communication, production of virulence factors, biofilm maturation, and several other functions. In the natural environment, several non-pathogenic bacteria are present as mixed population along with pathogenic bacteria and they control the behavior of microbial community by producing secondary metabolites. Similarly, non-pathogenic bacteria also take advantages of the QS signaling molecule as a sole carbon source for their growth through catabolism with enzymes. Several enzymes are produced by bacteria which disrupt the biofilm architecture by degrading the composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) such as exopolysaccharide, extracellular- DNA and protein. Thus, the interference of QS system by bacterial metabolic products and enzymatic catalysis, modification of the QS signaling molecules as well as enzymatic disruption of biofilm architecture have been considered as the alternative therapeutic approaches. This review article elaborates on the diversity of different bacterial species with respect to their metabolic products as well as enzymes and their molecular modes of action. The bacterial enzymes and metabolic products will open new and promising perspectives for the development of strategies against the pathogenic bacterial infections.


Microbiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 166 (8) ◽  
pp. 751-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Oliver Murray ◽  
Robin Andrew Dawson ◽  
Lolwah Mohammad Alsharaf ◽  
Jody Anne Winter

Outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) produced by Helicobacter pylori deliver bacterial components to host cells, provide a mechanism for stabilization of secreted components and may allow the bacteria to exert ‘long-range’ effects in the gastric niche, promoting persistence. In addition to their well-characterized host cell interactions, membrane vesicles improve stress survival in other bacterial species, and are constitutively produced by both pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. We aimed to determine whether OMVs could improve H. pylori survival of a range of stressors. The effects of purified OMVs on the resistance of H. pylori to a range of environmental and antimicrobial stresses were determined using growth curves and survival assays. Addition of purified OMVs to H. pylori cultures provided dose-dependent protection against hydrogen peroxide-mediated killing. Supplementation with OMVs also partially protected H. pylori against the bactericidal effects of the antibiotics clarithromycin and levofloxacin, but not against amoxicillin nor metronidazole. Addition of purified OMVs allowed H. pylori to grow in the presence of inhibitory concentrations of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37. In the presence of 50 µg OMVs ml−1, significantly enhanced H. pylori growth was observed at higher LL-37 concentrations compared with lower LL-37 concentrations, suggesting that OMV–LL-37 interactions might facilitate release of growth-promoting nutrients. Taken together, these data indicate that production of membrane vesicles could help H. pylori to survive exposure to antibiotics and host antimicrobial defences during infection.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (17) ◽  
pp. 3131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidenobu Senpuku ◽  
Tomoyo Nakamura ◽  
Yusuke Iwabuchi ◽  
Satoru Hirayama ◽  
Ryoma Nakao ◽  
...  

Streptococcus mutans is one of the principal pathogens for the development of dental caries. Oral biofilms formed by S. mutans are constructed of insoluble glucan formation induced by the principal enzymes, GTF-I and GTF-SI, in sucrose-containing conditions. However, as another means of biofilm formation, extracellular DNA (eDNA) and membrane vesicles (MVs) are also contributors. To explore the roles of eDNA and MVs for biofilm formation, short and whole size pure DNAs, two types of sub-purified DNAs and MVs were extracted from S. mutans by beads destruction, treatment of proteinase K, and ultracentrifugation of culture supernatant, and applied into the biofilm formation assay using the S. mutans UA159 gtfBC mutant, which lost GTF-I and GTF-SI, on a human saliva-coated 96 well microtiter plate in sucrose-containing conditions. Sub-purified DNAs after cell lysis by beads destruction for total 90 and 180 s showed a complex form of short-size DNA with various proteins and MVs associated with GTF-I and GTF-SI, and induced significantly higher biofilm formation of the S. mutans UA159.gtfBC mutant than no sample (p < 0.05). Short-size pure DNA without proteins induced biofilm formation but whole-size pure DNA did not. Moreover, the complex form of MV associated with GTFs and short-size DNA showed significantly higher biofilm formation of initial colonizers on the human tooth surface such as Streptococcus mitis than no sample (p < 0.05). The short-size DNAs associated with MVs and GTFs are important contributors to the biofilm formation and may be one of additional targets for the prevention of oral biofilm-associated diseases.


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