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

Beta1-containing adhesions at the plasma membrane function as dynamic complexes to provide bidirectional communication between the cell and its environment, yet commonly are used by pathogens to gain host cell entry. Recently, the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin was found to inhibit host invasion through beta1-containing adhesion complexes. To better understand the regulatory mechanisms controlling adhesion formation and uptake and the use of these complexes by Staphylococcus aureus, the primary etiologic agent in sepsis, bacteremia and endocarditis, we investigated the mechanism of inhibition by simvastatin. In response to simvastatin, adhesion complexes diminished as well as beta1 trafficking to the plasma membrane required to initiate adhesion formation. Simvastatin stimulated CDC42 activation and coupling to p85, a small-guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activating protein (GAP), yet sequestered CDC42 coupled to p85 within the cytosol. Loss of p85 GAP activity through use of genetic strategies decreased host cell invasion as well as beta1 trafficking. From these findings, we propose a mechanism whereby p85 GAP activity localized within membrane compartments facilitates beta1 trafficking. By sequestering p85 within the cytosol, simvastatin restricts the availability and uptake of the receptor used by pathogenic strains to gain host cell entry.
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PMID:GTPase activating protein function of p85 facilitates uptake and recycling of the beta1 integrin. 1991 8

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading causative agent in sepsis, endocarditis, and pneumonia. An emerging concept is that prognosis worsens when the infecting S. aureus strain has the capacity to not only colonize tissue as an extracellular pathogen, but to invade host cells and establish intracellular bacterial populations. In previous work, we identified host CDC42 as a central regulator of endothelial cell invasion by S. aureus. In the current work, we report that ML 141, a first-in-class CDC42 inhibitor, decreases invasion and resultant pathogenesis in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. Inhibition was found to be due in part to decreased remodeling of actin that potentially drives endocytic uptake of bacteria/fibronectin/integrin complexes. ML 141 decreased binding to fibronectin at these complexes, thereby limiting a key pathogenic mechanism used by S. aureus to invade. Structural analogs of ML 141 were synthesized (designated as the RSM series) and a subset identified that inhibit invasion through non-cytotoxic and non-bactericidal mechanisms. Our results support the development of adjunctive therapeutics targeting host CDC42 for mitigating invasive infection at the level of the host.
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PMID:Small Molecule Inhibitors Limit Endothelial Cell Invasion by Staphylococcus aureus. 2521 10