Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0014118 (endocarditis)
 15,629 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The sanguis streptococci are primary colonizers of the tooth surface and thus form the foundation for the complex multiple species biofilm known as dental plaque. In addition, these bacteria can colonize native and prosthetic heart valves and are a common cause of endocarditis. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms governing multiple or single species biofilm development within this group of organisms. Using an in vitro assay for biofilm formation, we determined that (i) Streptococcus parasanguis FW213 can form biofilms on inert surfaces such as polystyrene and (ii) environmental and nutritional factors, such as glucose, affect S. parasanguis biofilm formation. Several isogenic mutants of FW213 were tested in the biofilm assay. Strains containing mutations in fap1, a gene encoding a protein required for assembly of fimbriae, were deficient in biofilm formation. Mutants defective in recA, PepO endopeptidase activity, or the production of a fimbriae-associated protein, FimA, were still capable of biofilm formation. Phase-contrast microscopy was used to follow biofilm development by wild-type and fap1 mutant strains on plastic coverslips over time. Wild-type FW213 attached to the surface, formed aggregates of cells, and eventually formed a dense layer of cells that included microcolonies. In contrast, few fap1 mutant cells were observed attached to the surface, and no cell aggregates or microcolonies were formed. These results suggest that the long peritrichous fimbriae of FW213 are critical for the formation of biofilms on solid surfaces.
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PMID:Streptococcus parasanguis fimbria-associated adhesin fap1 is required for biofilm formation. 1125 14

The potential for the development of resistance in oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) to lysostaphin, a glycylglycine endopeptidase produced by Staphylococcus simulans biovar staphylolyticus, was examined in vitro and in an in vivo model of infection. Following in vitro exposure of ORSA to subinhibitory concentrations of lysostaphin, lysostaphin-resistant mutants were idenitifed among all isolates examined. Resistance to lysostaphin was associated with a loss of resistance to beta-lactams and a change in the muropeptide interpeptide cross bridge from pentaglycine to a single glycine. Mutations in femA, the gene required for incorporation of the second and third glycines into the cross bridge, were found following PCR amplification and nucleotide sequence analysis. Complementation of lysostaphin-resistant mutants with pBBB31, which encodes femA, restored the phenotype of oxacillin resistance and lysostaphin susceptibility. Addition of beta-lactam antibiotics to lysostaphin in vitro prevented the development of lysostaphin-resistant mutants. In the rabbit model of experimental endocarditis, administration of a low dose of lysostaphin for 3 days led predictably to the appearance of lysostaphin-resistant ORSA mutants in vegetations. Coadministration of nafcillin with lysostaphin prevented the emergence of lysostaphin-resistant mutants and led to a mean reduction in aortic valve vegetation counts of 7.5 log(10) CFU/g compared to those for untreated controls and eliminated the isolation of lysostaphin-resistant mutants from aortic valve vegetations. Treatment with nafcillin and lysostaphin given alone led to mean reductions of 1.35 and 1.65 log(10) CFU/g respectively. In ORSA, resistance to lysostaphin was associated with mutations in femA, but resistance could be suppressed by the coadministration of beta-lactam antibiotics.
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PMID:Mechanism and suppression of lysostaphin resistance in oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. 1130 6

Oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is rapidly killed by the endopeptidase lysostaphin, and the addition of beta-lactam antibiotics provides synergistic killing. We investigated the possibility that beta-lactams given in combination with lysostaphin would improve the activity of lysostaphin against oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (ORSE), which is normally less susceptible to lysostaphin. Checkerboard synergy testing was performed for lysostaphin given in combination with oxacillin against 10 ORSE isolates for which the lysostaphin MICs were > o r= 8 microg/ml. The fractional inhibitory concentration index ranged from 0.0234 to 0.2656, indicating synergy, which was confirmed in growth curve experiments. In the rabbit model of experimental aortic valve endocarditis using an ORSE strain, the combination of lysostaphin and nafcillin was as effective as vancomycin alone and significantly better than lysostaphin or nafcillin alone. We conclude that beta-lactam antibiotics given in combination with lysostaphin are synergistic against many strains of ORSE.
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PMID:Combinations of lysostaphin with beta-lactams are synergistic against oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. 1201 30

To characterize fibronectin binding with Granulicatella adiacens, a causative agent of infective endocarditis, monoclonal antibodies were generated against human fibronectin and selected for their capacity to inhibit the fibronectin binding of the organism. Thermolysin and lysyl-endopeptidase digests of fibronectin were characterized by Western blot. The epitope of inhibitory monoclonal antibody was found in the central portion of fibronectin known as the cell-binding domain, and not in the N-terminal portion known to be the binding region of most microbial species, e.g., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. While these two species could bind to both the N-terminal and central portion, Escherichia coli and G. adiacens bind only to the latter. Excess amounts of free fibronectin in the solution inhibited the bacterial adherence to the N-terminal fibronectin fragment, but not to the central region, thereby suggesting the central region plays a significant role for in vivo bacterial colonization in the presence of high concentrations of soluble fibronectin.
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PMID:Identification and characterization of bacterial-binding property in the type III repeat domain of fibronectin. 1521 33